How One Upholstery Job Triggered A Complete Family Room Redesign

My house is the party house. Not the kind that the neighbors complain about. The kind that friends and extended family come to know for holidays and special occasions. Like most families, when there isn’t a party, most of our time is spent in the hub of our house: the family room.

We recently reupholstered the sofa and loveseat in our family room. Our old set was so well-made and comfortable that nothing we saw in showrooms compared. Reupholstery was not cheaper than buying new. In fact, we probably paid a bit more when all was said and done, but I know the set will last and I wasn’t convinced some of the new furniture we saw would. Plus, we were able to pick the fabric we wanted from an endless selection.

Once the reupholstered sofas were delivered, I realized that my ‘eclectic’ taste in furnishings was a bit too diverse in that one room. Five types of wood tones in one room felt almost chaotic. Over the course of 30 years, we’d bought or inherited different furniture styles and somewhat ignored the fact that they didn’t work together all that well. Also, a few unnecessary pieces of furniture were in the room, making it feel cluttered.

With the new sofa and loveseat in the room, I began looking at the space with a new pair of eyes.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie…

My newfound vision started me on a journey like that mouse in the children’s book “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”.

I was the mouse that had been given a cookie (reupholstered sofa and loveseat) and was now looking for a glass of milk (new end tables)…then a straw (new TV stand)…then a napkin (new rug). Can you see where this is going?

That’s sometimes how room redesigns go. You start with one element, and then before you know it, other things need updating. Sometimes, the new item makes something else in the room look outdated or worn. Sometimes when it’s time to replace an item, the choices available ‘force’ you to update some other aspects of the room due to what styles and colors are trending and available.

In the mouse’s defense, we had not made any major furniture purchases for about 15 years. We had perhaps enjoyed a few glasses of milk (end tables), but definitely no cookies (new couches and sofas). A pretty good run for a home that has had large and small gatherings regularly and an active family of four.