First-Floor Refresh on a Budget

My husband was in the Navy Reserves and traveled once a month when our boys were young (to be honest, there were moments when I thought about joining myself just to get a weekend away, haha). One time he brought back a book for them, “If You Give a Pig a Pancake,” which details the domino effect when you do what the title says: If you give a pig a pancake, the pig is going to want syrup, then a bath because she’s sticky, then some bubbles and a rubber duck because she’s in the bath and so on. One thing leads to another and by the end of the book, the pig is wanting another pancake.

And so it is with decorating our homes. You decide to paint the walls only to realize the trim needs painting, too. So you paint the trim and realize the carpet should probably be replaced. So you replace the carpet and all of sudden the couch just isn’t right. The next thing you know, you’ve redone the whole room and you can already see the next domino falling as you wonder, “how would it look if I …”

This is what happened with a client’s redesign, in the very best way.

This family of five, with two working parents, three children at home, a cat and a dog, are DIYers with a house full of love. They had successfully transformed their primary bath, hallway bath and mudroom themselves, but finding time to evaluate, prioritize and shop for furnishings to update their family room and kitchen was presenting a problem for them that we were happy to solve.

They had already answered the first questions we like to ask when diving into a project like this, “what do you love about this space?” and “what isn’t working for you?” They loved the openness of the floor plan that made getting together for neighborhood supper club convenient and enjoyable. But they spent most of their time around a wobbly table that was too small and a family room where they couldn’t all comfortably watch the game. They told us they had plenty of space, but somehow not in the right rooms. 

Fortunately, much of the solution was found in what they already owned. The table and chairs in the dining room turned out to be a great fit for the kitchen. The table in the entryway turned out to be perfect for the dining room. The secretary in the family room turned out to be just what the entryway needed. And just like that, the dominoes started to fall, with a satisfying end result.   

Once we had used much of what they had, we supplemented with nicely-priced additions, mixing their family heirlooms with modern pieces. The dining room was updated with new lighting, green velvet chairs and a large pouf. By pairing these with low shelving from another room for kids’ books, games and craft supplies, we transformed the space from one that wasn’t being used into a happy home for reading, homework, games and projects. This is the beauty of owning your home: you get to decide how to use it. A lot of us don’t require a formal living room. Maybe it could be an office instead. Or a craft room…a workout room…a wine-tasting room…a dance studio. One of our friends turned the dining room into a martial arts/wrestling room. No furniture, wall-to-wall mats. Their boys loved it. 

The family room is where our clients spent the most money on new furnishings, because it’s where they spend the most time. They added lots of affordable, comfy seating options including a three-seater sofa, two matching accent chairs and faux leather poufs. A new rug defines the area, new lamps create a cozier vibe, and a new round coffee and end tables balance all the angular shapes – rug, tv, sofa, bookcase and artwork. The old sofa, chair and rug shifted to the next room over, formerly a playroom. With the addition of a bench from the dining room repurposed as a coffee table and the removal of some of the larger toys, this room transitioned to a living room where adults and kids could both be comfortable. 

One of our favorite parts of redesigning with what our clients already own (besides keeping the costs low), is incorporating their art in ways they hadn’t considered. These homeowners had lots to work with and were open to relocating it. Rotating or regrouping your art is a low-cost, low-risk way to change the feel of a room. What’s the worst that could happen? You hate it and you have to patch some holes and touch up the paint. Worth it! If it feels too risky, trace your artwork on brown kraft paper, newspaper or wrapping paper, cut it out and tape it up with painters tape to get a feel for how the art would use the wall space before you make any holes.

Two other changes that required more time than money but made a big difference were changing the wall color from tan to white and replacing the cabinets above the kitchen desk with open shelving. The total cost of goods for this first-floor redesign came in at approximately $4,000. Most of the purchases were made at Target, Home Goods, Lowe’s, Crate and Barrel, West Elm and Wayfair.

The takeaways:

1) When starting a home project, ask yourself, “what do we love about this space?” and “what isn’t working for us?”

2) Use what you have. Shop your home. Try it in another room. Give it a different job. Save your pennies for a night out or weekend away.

3) Mix it up. Family heirlooms can live side-by-side with those modern velvet accent chairs you can’t stop thinking about.   

4) Move your art around. Anything can be art. It doesn’t have to have a frame around it!

5) Paint is a game-changer. Try something different. If you don’t love it, you can always paint over it. 

Many thanks to our lovely clients for inviting us in, patiently waiting for their online orders to arrive, and trusting us to help them make decisions about their home. It’s a privilege we never take for granted.

If you would like to talk to us about a home project you need some help with, please share the details with us by clicking below.

- Carrie + Emily