Bonus Room Re-do

Do you have a room that STUMPS you? Well, I’ve had several. But our bonus room/upstairs TV room has been a doozy. The weird part is, it’s probably the most-used room in our home, and yet, when I tried to come up with a design direction for it…Nothing. Nada. Zip. Maybe that was the problem. BECAUSE it’s the most-used room in the house, I had some kind of subconscious block. Or maybe we just needed one room that wasn’t too decorated, but just felt restful.

Ah ha! I think we’re on to something. Maybe I was just TRYING too hard? What if the answer to the undecorated room was simplicity? And a dash of inspiration from our recent trip to Israel? Let’s face it, I’m famous for making a mountain out of a mole-hill. I can worry myself into a pretty sorry state, when the answer is right in front of me. I love to stew about things and look at them from all sides, and think of how impossible it’s going to be. And then finally, after tormenting myself for quite awhile, I gather up the courage to tackle the situation. Our bonus room turned about to be no different. Classic Janna. Ugh.

The good news? The bonus room finally got tackled, and guess what? IT WAS SO EASY. And fun. And rewarding. And inexpensive. And as usual, I worried and fretted for no reason at all. Oh I hope you’re nothing like me. ha, ha

I’m kicking myself for not having great “before” pics of this room. But just imagine a plain, plain, plain room with a big comfy sectional.

Here’s how I broke it down (when you’re a worry-wart like me, you have to break things down into manageable chunks). 😉

1. The window treatments.

Ok, these windows were plain. I knew they needed a little love, but I didn’t want to spend a lot. Here’s how they looked before. (below)

Ya, not cozy. I’m not gonna lie. When our family would gather in here to watch a movie, I would stare at the windows and think WHY HAVEN’T I DONE ANYTHING WITH THOSE WINDOWS YET. It’s a sickness. 😉 One day it hit me…drop cloth curtains! I’ve enjoyed making them before, for our living room, and then I remembered the swiss cross stencil I already had…perfect!

Guys. This project was so fun & easy. To see a quick little video on the whole curtain-making process, click here! (This was originally an “instastory” on Instagram…not a professional video. ha,ha)

2. An Area Rug.

This room is already carpeted, but you know how CRAZY I am about area rugs! The rug we ordered is SO cozy, and adds a much-needed dose of pattern to the room! You can find this rug here.

Can you believe what the rug does for the room? I’m in love!

3. Pillows for the sofa.

We needed to update the pillows on the sofa, and it wasn’t rocket science. My color palette is black/white/green…so I found some gorgeous mud cloth pillows at Rescued Living in Springfield, Oregon, and then found some beautiful green pillows from an etsy shop…once I saw they were coming from Israel, I was SOLD! Perfect! (Remember, this room was inspired by our recent trip there!) You can find them here.

4. Accessories

The finishing touches are always the fun part, and we hit the jackpot at a favorite shop in Springfield called The Vintage Industry. The black & white throw (above) is from Target, in the outdoor section…so cute!

The adorable “Live in the Moment” sign was made by my talented friend Tiffany (you can find her on Instagram @whimsicaldetails, or her etsy shop is here.) The old white door was actually in our last house, then my sister had it for years, and now it’s back at our house (it’s actually green on the other side, and that’s the side I had intended to use. But, it was just too much for this neutral room. It overpowered the corner and made everything feel off balance. Sometimes you just don’t know until you get it into the space!)  The amazing basket hanging on the door is from Real Deals in Salem, Oregon…I might have started shaking when I saw it! So. Perfect. The large woven basket on the floor can be found here, and the throw blanket is from Target.

Surprisingly, nothing really changed on this side of the room. (above) Can you believe how it goes with everything new that was added? Crazy!

Here’s the view from the hall (below)…I love how this space blends with the upstairs landing.

Just for fun, I’d love to share a few images of our trip to Israel with you…you might be able to see where some of my inspiration came from, in these particular pics. You can see them below.

Well? What room has got you STUMPED? Take another look. Break it down. It might not be as tough as you thought! 🙂

Happy decorating!