The Gathering Place

When we bought our house, the family room (an addition put on by one of the previous owners)

strongly resembled a Country and Western bar.  As I mentioned in this post, there were actually guns and cowboy hats hanging on the wall.  The walls and ceilings were covered with a cedar paneling 

and there was some commercial grade carpet on the floor.  Of course, the highlight of the room was the 

built-in Jenn-Air grill to the left of the brick fireplace.  It even worked. I just couldn't envision carrying 

a plate of steaks into the family room and firing up the grill.   Much like the rest of the house, 

we decided to take everything out and start fresh. 

Here are a few before pictures. 

All this room needs is some peanut shells on the floor 

and a blinking Budweiser sign above the desk.




Here are a few pictures of the remodel in progress

Almost there.

We decided to drywall over top of the brick and then add the stone to the fireplace.  

Don't ask what all those wires are for.  That was my husband's project.  

The new and improved fireplace.

We use this space all the time.  The table was in my parent's house the whole time I was growing up.  All five of us would crowd around this table for every meal.  My sister had it for a while and then we 

did a little table swap. It means so much to me to have this table in our home. We gather around it to 

play board games, do homework, work on craft projects, play cards, and of course, eat.  We have had the chairs since before we were married, and I loved them way back when, but I'm on the hunt for something a little more modern looking, maybe metal.  In the meantime, I think I'll slap on a coat of paint to brighten them up.  There is a lot of wood in this room and I think a little color would help make it a 

little brighter in here. 

  

This room is where we hang out most often (besides the kitchen).  It has a very cozy feel with the fireplace and plank ceilings. I know I mentioned I have a bit of an issue with fabric in this post, 

but I failed to mention my couch issue.  We have been married for 12 years and we have owned 8 couches.  We decided to bite the bullet with our last couch purchase and get a really nice quality couch.  

The problem is, we bought that couch for our previous home and while it works fine here, a gorgeous sectional like the one below would fit this space wonderfully.  Maybe some day. 

image from Arhaus

This is one of my favorite features of the house.  The ceiling was stained brown when we bought the house. We had it painted white and it really gave the room a whole new look. 

This is a my favorite piece of furniture in the house.  It's from  a local antique junk store.  I stalked it for several months.  When I say stalked, I mean I went in to the store several times and did a drive by at least once a week to make sure it was still in the front window.  It finally disappeared and I thought I'd missed my chance.  My sweet sister-in-law called me one day and said she saw it there and if I wasn't going to buy it, she was.  Well, you know how sometimes you don't really want something, until you know someone else wants it.  She made me really want it.  I sent my husband down there immediately to get it, and what do you know, it was 30% off!!  It was obviously meant to be in this room.