change is my favorite color

mixed up chiars

Here’s a little glimpse of the current state of our family room/dining room area, brought to you buy harsh, yet interesting late afternoon light. I was ready for a change and a little dash of color mixed in with all this neutral and I knew I had a few touches of blue that I could tuck in around the house.

Here’s what I did in one hour…

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15 Minutes: shopped the house for anything blue: pillows, throws, books, dishes, vases, pens, tables and even blue paint –all I had was those little 79 cent craft paint things, no problem.

before chairs

We’ve used these Ikea chairs for years. But they are not comfortable.

cushy dining area

table and chairs

15 minutes: switch out the chairs at the table

I challenged myself to find enough cushy chairs for everyone in our family just by shopping the house (and my office and our barn which is my storage room right now). Here’s what I came up with: one pair of Ikea parsons chairs (these were already at the ends of this table, I just put them together on one side), one pair of black velvet chairs from world market that were in the way in my office, and I pulled the gray velvet chair in from the family room. Now that our boys are older I don’t worry about ruining fabric on the chairs like I used to. Added bonus, I plopped a little blue pillow in one of the chairs.

family room in summer blue

25 Minutes: Updated and freshened up the wall art.

canvas

I used my craft paint to paint over an old canvas like I have here in the past. I don’t use anything to mix my paint on, just poured some navy and white paint directly on an old canvas covering what was there, and spread it around until I liked it. Be sure to paint the sides too!

wall art

This is SUCH an easy an noncommittal way to introduce a new color. If you hate it, just paint over it. No one ever has to know.

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I made this dot painting a few years ago with the back of a picture that was in this thrifted frame. I just pulled out the paper and painted over it with navy paint and then re painted white dots. Now it sits on the top of the dresser…

top of the dresser

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naptime diariesnaptime diaries

DSC_5479antler posters: vol 25

That gray velvet chair keeps getting moved around. Remember, it was a $35 thrift store find that I put off painting for 9 months because perfection got in the way?

Also, we moved the leather sofa into this room around Christmas. The white sofa is currently in the basement but it’s permanent home will be in the barn once that’s all finished. Honestly, I REALLY miss the white, mostly because a white sofa is so photogenic, and I crave light and this dark leather sucks up precious natural light.

All I did in this part of the room was throw in a big blue pillow. That took about 8 seconds.

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DSC_5465I use cake toppers as plant picks, shhh, don’t tell Lisa!

5 Minutes: make sure there’s green in the room. I swiped this plant from my office, I haven’t been in there enough to enjoy it. I also cut some branches from a tree and put them in the vase on the fireplace.

My hour is up!

I like to purposely make changes in our home every season. It helps our little rooms feel fresh and selfishly, I think it’s fun and inspiring to shop the house and see what I can do to make a change with what we already have.

Related:

Where to start when you’re sure a space is hopeless

Hope for the weary home.

7 Signs that you are decorating out of fear

Three secrets to creating that perfect focal wall

How to change the theme of your decor without breaking the bank ( styles from our two previous homes).

the nesting place book

What quick changes have you made in your home as warmer weather is approaching?