Making changes in the family room

Hey all! I'm back to show you some updates I've made in the family room lately! I'm so so stinking happy with them. 

You may remember how we knocked down a wall years ago and nearly doubled the size of our family room. We doubled the length of the room but it is more narrow than it used to be because of that. We didn't buy any new furniture when we made over this space and instead made what we had work for the room. 

We had two arm chairs in the room -- one in this cozy corner: 

And one off to the other side, closer to the sofa: 

That corner by the windows used to be where I'd sit and work every day, but I haven't used that space in quite a long time since I finished our office/craft room in the loft. That corner was such a cozy spot but felt so detached from the room. When we had company of course it was empty because no one wanted to sit by themselves. ;) 

I knew since we finished the makeover years ago that I wanted to add two matching chairs at the end of this room, but it wasn't a priority. So occasionally I would search and see what I could find for a good price. I never found anything that was the price I wanted and the style I wanted at the exact same time. 

Until I came upon the Rotterdam chair from Wayfair a couple weeks ago:

It checked off all of my wants -- classic design, neutral color, simple look -- and the nailhead trim was just the icing on the cake. :) 

I rarely buy chairs online -- I'm not sure I ever have actually. I like to try them out first. But the reviews were great and the price was right so I went ahead and ordered. (Side note -- they were supposed to be two-day delivery but I ordered at 6 p.m. one night and by 8 a.m. the next morning they were on our porch!)

We had a small candlestick table I made there before, but I wanted something a little lighter feeling between the tables. (I moved the candlestick table to another room because I love it.) I found a small side table at HomeGoods on clearance but didn't love the kind of mottled gold look: 

It's hard to see here but it was a bit harsh -- I wanted to tone it down a bit so I sprayed it with gold spray paint. Perfect!!: 

So much better! 

I get asked a lot if it's OK to mix metals in decor. I say absolutely! It could get boring if you didn't: 

I had already moved the floral art down to the basement bathroom, so I hung three frames in this spot instead and LOVE them. This is all in between here so bear with me -- there are not photos inside just yet. :)

We love having the extra seating in here and you can see the TV from both spots. I was surprised how it opened up the room too. You'd think it would feel more closed off but it's the opposite. Having that corner open makes it feel so spacious: 

It's so nice to be able to get to the window shades to open and close them. It's the little things. :) And we have plenty of room behind the chairs to utilize the dresser. The backs on the chairs are low enough that it keeps everything open and airy. 

By the way, you can see how to care for the beautiful fiddle leaf fig here. I brought this one down from our bathroom to fill in some of the space and I love how open and simple this corner is now:

He seems to love that corner. Hopefully he'll love it as much as he did the bathroom! 

Now I just need to decide on a fabric for the pillows. I already had this one but I used the last of my fabric to make it: 

I can get more but would have to buy a yard which is way more than I'll need. We'll see -- thankfully I already have another matching insert for the other chair. 

I have some other minor changes in mind as well, including drapes. I love these but have had them for a very long time and am ready for a different look. They were the perfect height before I trimmed out the windows but now I'd love them to be longer so I can hang the rod a couple inches higher. I'll be tweaking some things as the budget allows but I'm so thrilled with the addition of these chairs! They completely change how the room looks!: 

Oh, and the chairs are great. Again, they are the Rotterdam from Wayfair and they come in a bunch of colors. The fabric is a little bit rough -- not the softest, but so far has been easy to clean. And the cushions are nice and thick and bouncy. You don't fall into them but I know they will soften up over time. The chairs are comfy and deep -- I like a chair I can sit in and pull my feet up and these are perfect. Even with all of that they have a nice small profile which I love. (And if you get these watch for stray nailheads in the packaging -- we had a few extra ones that fell out and I'm glad I found them before stepping on them!) 

And one of you smarties noticed that I switched out our rug when I reviewed our sectional sofa a few weeks back. Our previous rug in here was great but we got it for our old family room. It was so large it covered nearly all of the hardwoods in here. This slightly smaller rug (used to be in our library) lets the floors show and makes the room feel so much bigger! I love how it looks in here too. 

Moving some stuff around and adding these chairs makes this feel like a brand new room and we LOVE it! :) I'm so glad I waited till I found the right chairs! 

Do you ever buy furniture online? It always scares me but I'm pleasantly surprised with these.