so here are a few more pics of the downstairs changes... in the original part of the downstairs we did a lot of switching around. we moved the our bedroom stuff upstairs to our new room, the couch and tv moved into our old room and we call it the den, the dining room table moved into the old family room and the old dining room is now the "mud room".
this is the new dining room. this used to be the family room, where our couches and tv were. one day it popped into my head to make this the dining room. where our dining room used to be was right where you walked in the door and everything got dumped on the table as you walked in. each night we would spend a good bit of time clearing off the table before we could eat. this was beginning to drive me crazy. i am not a fan of having a separate formal dining room what you only use on special holidays but i sure do love having our everyday table in its own separate room. i just spent a long time searching for a before picture of what this room looked like as the family room and i cant find one, oh well. you just get to see the redo part of it.
this is the new "den". this is the room that was our bedroom. now we have moved the tv and couch in here. we both really like how this turned out. still nothing on the walls yet but we'll get there. the couch fits perfect in here and dave even gets to have his green chair back out of the garage. someone had given us this great chair but we just didnt have any room for it... well now he does. this is also where we have the wii set up. it is a great little room for the kids to hang out in when we have company over too. we have already tried it out :) (below the first picture is of the room as our bedroom)
and this is the new "mud room" or "mommy central". this is the room you walk right into when you come into our house. this used the be the dining room. (below is a before picture, when it was still a dining room) since we now have three kids in school and lunch boxes and backpacks and coats and shoes..... and all the other STUFF that goes along with growing kiddos, i really wanted a room i could keep all that stuff organized in. 
we used one of the wardrobes from our bedroom and turned it into a coat closet and i have plans for dave to build benches and cubbies for the kids to each have a place for their shoes, backpacks, lunch boxes and coats. we want to make a total of 6 cubbies so each family member has their own spot. i am excited for the potential of this room. right now it is pretty much just an empty room. 
Wow, Bonnie, I LOVE what you have done! Great idea to put the dining room set in the old living room. I love the feel of that room now, especially with the fireplace. And I love the mudroom idea too!!! I've been wishing we had a place like that for our family too. There's just so many coats, backpacks, lunch boxes, etc.
ReplyDeletePS. Just a thought: I saw once that a large family had "lockers". They were tall cabinets, and each member had one. They were great to put their school stuff in, and then they could be shut so you didn't see all the stuff inside. Just a thought since you've got such a handy hubby who can build anything!
I can't believe how beautiful everything turned out! I just love how functional it is now for your growing family. I remember your living room and just love it as a place for your family to gather for meals, complete with a fireplace! And the mudroom...what Mom wouldn't love a place for all the "stuff" that comes along with kids after a day at school? Thanks for sharing all the pics and can't wait to see the upstairs!
ReplyDeleteAll your rooms look absolutely gorgeous, love how you decorated them all!!
ReplyDeleteI am almost speechless! I love every detail. And I'd give my right arm for a mud room. Are the other kids' bedrooms still where they were? It seems like that would be a long way from where the new bedrooms are. And I'll bet it's heaven to have your own bathroom again. :)
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