New Year, New Room Refresh Challenge-A Multi-functional Bonus Room (Reveal)

Are y’all ready, because I am!  Today we are revealing our bonus room makeover for the New Year, New Room Refresh Challenge!  Thank you to all of you that have followed along, and welcome to those of you that may just now be finding us!

I’d say out of all of the rooms in our home, this one holds the most sentimental memories for me.  It was the first room we slept in when we got the keys to the house.  It was the room I stayed in day-after-day with my son, during his first year of life, when he wouldn’t let me put him down.  It then became his playroom, and once we managed to fix up the room right off of this one as his new playroom, it became our media room/sitting room, even though it was poorly designed to accommodate the needs of our growing family at the time.  Today, it’s a multi-functional space that my family enjoys, and that I believe will grow with us over the next few years, until life may call for a different incarnation of the space once again.  We will see!

One thing that was needed in this space, for sure, was a larger couch that would accommodate the three of us.  Our old couch was just too small, and we were basically sitting on each other while trying to relax.  This large sectional from West Elm just fits into the space, but it’s a non-negotiable , as it fits our family of three perfectly.  Plus, it has held up nicely against a messy little boy’s attempts at destroying it, more than once.  Ha!

The biggest change in this space is our new media wall and built-in.  Our old built-in (my first DIY build project) felt a little too big and useless, since I found myself trying to fill the shelves with pretty things, instead of actually using it to store the things that we needed to store.  Go figure!  Once we pulled it down the room felt more open, and I was able to come up with a more useful design to not only offer storage, but give us extra seating, as well as a focal point that wasn’t just our TV.  We used four sets of Lowe’s Arcadia cabinets, and with a little DIY thrown in, we created a storage/bench seat combo that works perfectly for our needs, and is quite nice to look at too!  The DIY faux shiplap wall, and two floating shelves decorated with simple decor pieces, and art, give us something to look at other than just the black box, when the TV is off.

The bench seat is probably my favorite part of the design.  Again, it adds more seating in the case that we have a large gathering, but most of all, I envision my son sitting there, reading a book (he just started reading), and relaxing.  The large lumbar pillow from Loom & Decor really helps to define the space, and give it character instead of leaving just a blank wall. between the two units.

Not pictured, is a plethora of throw blankets that will soon be hanging from this blanket ladder.  I chose my prettiest ones to display for photo purposes, but it’s going to be nice just having to reach over for one when I’m feeling cold, which is always.

As you can see, the coffee table has two levels, so the bottom one will also hold some of the throw blankets I mentioned above.  Oh, and you can see some of the new rug in this photo.  I love the muted tones, don’t you!?!

We have a tendency to pile stuff up onto any and every countertop we own, but it’s my goal that this coffee table top stays free of clutter.  I like the minimalistic way it’s decorated now.

The space has two windows on one wall, one being a very small window.  I have found that hanging curtains at the same height as the larger window creates the illusion that both are similar in size.  It also draws the eye up, and makes the room look taller than it is.

Etsy shops were my friend when it came to finding the perfect pillow covers for the space.  I’ve made it a goal to use color and pattern more around the house.

My grandparent’s painting sits re-framed on one of the floating shelves, along with a vintage piece of art.  I grew up with that little painting in our living room, and to have it here in my family room, for my son to grow up with as well, means so much to me.

My plan is to keep a basket on the counter, to hold our remotes.  We misplace our remotes all the time, and it’s so annoying.  Having a dedicated space for them should help alleviate the stress of having to find them day after day.  I’m even more excited about the two slip-covered swivel chairs we added to the space.  It’ll be easy to turn them around to face the TV when needed, and in the meantime, they look amazing!

Our new chandelier (Brigitte) from Mitzi, of Hudson Valley Lighting Group, truly makes this space a stunner!  It feels so fresh to me, since we’ve had the previous chandelier in the space for so long.  I love that the design of the light isn’t over the top, distracting from the rest of the design choices.  Instead it blends in nicely, but still manages to wow me every time I catch a glimpse of it.

There you have it, friends!  Our multi-functional bonus room.  Truthfully I haven’t shared all the ways that we use this space.  Behind the couch is a good sized area, dedicated to our workout equipment.  There is enough floor space for aerobic exercises too, but I didn’t think anyone would be interested in seeing that, since it’s pretty boring stuff.  Maybe in another post, if y’all do?

Well, I hope you have enjoyed the mini tour of our new space!  Please continue on to see the rest of the spaces made over by my fellow New Year, New Room Refresh Challenge participants.  I’m so excited to see them myself!

-Iris

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