Today's tip can intentionally be taken several ways.... we all need to lighten up! Obviously, for the literal meaning... don't make this a do or die issue. Yes - we all want to have a perfect house with perfectly behaved kids and a husband that is home at 5 on the dot to a gourmet meal... but it's very rarely going to happen like that! Throw the added stress of selling your house (especially in this economy) and it's almost important to remember to not overdue it!
If only I listened to my own advice! Yesterday while eating lunch for the brief 10 minutes when naps overlapped I saw the coffee table in our family room and was reminded that I REALLY wanted to do something (anything!!) to spruce it up! So what better time than the present? It's not like I have about 100 other things to do to prepare for meeting with realtors on Wednesday. And let's just say this quickie attempt at a DIY resulted in the hubby commenting "It's okay. It's a cheap Ikea Table, We can just throw it away." Umm yeah.... Fail! So save yourself the time and focus on the big stuff and not on the not quite perfect coffee table. (Note - I am not giving up on this table! I just need to work on when I have a little more time)
If only I listened to my own advice! Yesterday while eating lunch for the brief 10 minutes when naps overlapped I saw the coffee table in our family room and was reminded that I REALLY wanted to do something (anything!!) to spruce it up! So what better time than the present? It's not like I have about 100 other things to do to prepare for meeting with realtors on Wednesday. And let's just say this quickie attempt at a DIY resulted in the hubby commenting "It's okay. It's a cheap Ikea Table, We can just throw it away." Umm yeah.... Fail! So save yourself the time and focus on the big stuff and not on the not quite perfect coffee table. (Note - I am not giving up on this table! I just need to work on when I have a little more time)
The table
Modge Podge Burlap Scrapbook paper... great idea!
But you need to match up edges... not a quick project!
And now onto the real meaning... Lighting is very important in houses! You always want your home to look bright and filled with light. Natural light is the best kind if your house obliges. Ours does, but we had been blocking out lots of this super light based on the exposure our house gets. No joke - our house really cooks! So most of our windows are equipped with not only blinds or shades but also some type of curtain to block out even more sun. It makes for super cozy movie watching on the weekends but not ideal for achieving that bright look.
So what to do? The main area that we wanted to up the shine factor was in the living areas and the kitchen. We have 3 sets of large windows in those areas and all of them have 96 inch curtains (actually every window in our house aside from the Master requires that length... that was done on purpose to allow for easy changes and only needing to buy one length of drapes!)
Here is what we looked like before...
I knew that moving things around would really help to lighten things up since some of the panels are more for privacy whereas others are more for light blocking. You will notice that both the nook and family room have 12 foot ceilings while the dining room is a full two story tall room. For this reason the Dining Room always appear brighter than the family room and nook so it can better handle the heavier panels.
I started in the Breakfast Nook. Kitchens are the make and break of the house and I wanted this extension of the kitchen to look big and bright! The pattern on the drapes was not only making the space look small, it was also darkening the room. The no brain solution was the Silk panels. They allow lots of light in, are a more neutral color, and block the view into the kitchen from the outside.
So now I need to find something to put up in the Family Room. The easy solution would be the ones from the nook. So I tried those...
And found some leftover fabric..... and what do you know??? It worked! Yes, it is hanging now without me having done anything to it other than fold over the top edge and using drapery clips!
So this left just the dining room and as you probably noticed the Ikat panels made there way up to the kids loft. The colors worked perfectly upstairs and they are just the right amount of funk to adult up the kids space. I was hesitant about bringing the Ballard panels out because they really did not work with the striped shades but that issue got eliminated (to be covered in my next post) and it was settled!
And there you have it - my curtain change-around! I think that the switches really helped and you will get to see more when I show the full room shots early next week!
So what to do? The main area that we wanted to up the shine factor was in the living areas and the kitchen. We have 3 sets of large windows in those areas and all of them have 96 inch curtains (actually every window in our house aside from the Master requires that length... that was done on purpose to allow for easy changes and only needing to buy one length of drapes!)
Here is what we looked like before...
West Elm Silk Weave Panels in the Family Room
DIY Ballard Lined Panels in the Breakfast Nook
West Elm Ikat Panels in the Dining Side of the Great Room
I knew that moving things around would really help to lighten things up since some of the panels are more for privacy whereas others are more for light blocking. You will notice that both the nook and family room have 12 foot ceilings while the dining room is a full two story tall room. For this reason the Dining Room always appear brighter than the family room and nook so it can better handle the heavier panels.
I started in the Breakfast Nook. Kitchens are the make and break of the house and I wanted this extension of the kitchen to look big and bright! The pattern on the drapes was not only making the space look small, it was also darkening the room. The no brain solution was the Silk panels. They allow lots of light in, are a more neutral color, and block the view into the kitchen from the outside.
Loving how light and airy the Silk Panels look here!
So now I need to find something to put up in the Family Room. The easy solution would be the ones from the nook. So I tried those...
Okay, but not quite right.... too much pattern I think, so I kept searching...
And found some leftover fabric..... and what do you know??? It worked! Yes, it is hanging now without me having done anything to it other than fold over the top edge and using drapery clips!
Who needs curtains when you have fabric???
So this left just the dining room and as you probably noticed the Ikat panels made there way up to the kids loft. The colors worked perfectly upstairs and they are just the right amount of funk to adult up the kids space. I was hesitant about bringing the Ballard panels out because they really did not work with the striped shades but that issue got eliminated (to be covered in my next post) and it was settled!
I think that the pattern works here because of the super tall ceilings!
If you look very carefully you can see the Ikat upstairs in the loft!
And there you have it - my curtain change-around! I think that the switches really helped and you will get to see more when I show the full room shots early next week!
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