Family Room Redo, Part 1

Wedding, wedding, wedding. You're never far from my mind.

Four years ago, Brad's sister Katie got married, and we hosted her reception at our house. From that day on, I VOWED that I would never do that for one of my own children. I was a beast, and so stressed out that I knew that if it were my own child, I couldn't enjoy the day.

Fast-forward to November 2009: Heidi calls a very volatile mom, two weeks post-partum (do I need to explain that in detail?), sharing with me the news that she's getting married. Oh, and I'd love to have the reception at home, she adds hopefully.
Even on my post-partum roller coaster, even crying two to ten times a day, even then I knew I couldn't remain true to my vow. Heidi is not a demanding creature in any way, so how could I refuse her one sincere request? Didn't, that's how. (Later, Brad told me that he'd confided in Heidi that the bride always gets what she wants. Luckily, she hasn't wanted a week's trip to Hawaii or Swarovski crystal centerpieces, because he's right.)

So, not only have I been focusing on planning a wedding reception and dressing dozens of people and feeding hundreds of people and housing a few to boot, I've had to seriously analyze my house and see what needs to be done before April 13th. The last two weeks I've been rearranging my family room, painting over Hyrum's artwork, washing furniture covers, deciding what should stay and what should go. Most of the changes have been easy. Like I always say, if a decision can't be made in 10 seconds, it's probably not worth the change. (That personal philosophy has come back to bite me only a few times, but when it bites, it removes chunks of flesh.)

Some of these improvements have been a little harder to execute than others. Let me share this one:

I love to decorate and redecorate and change my house. Tucker laments this quirk every time he's asked to move and re-move furniture to see how it looks "over there." I had a vision of what I wanted the family room to look like, and I had a great idea looming in my brain. It consisted of random frames and constructing an abstract artwork to place above the TV. Brad, ever the cynic, discouraged me from attempting this project, saying, "Do you know how hard that would be?" Even as I surrendered my dream, my friend Kelly was living it! And she posted her creation yesterday. You can see it here. Isn't she great?

So, after abandoning my original idea, another formed in my head--one involving a display shelf and three open cubes beneath that could be used to rotate seasonal or holiday tchotchkes. The shelf was easy--74" Lack shelf from IKEA (IKEA, oh how I love thee!). The cubes, now that seemed impossible. After a failed attempt, I took some stuff back to the store and then made my way to Hobby Lobby (Hobby Lobby, oh how I love thee!). I wandered aisle after aisle, trying to bring my vision to life, with no success. Then I found three storage boxes, and my wheels began turning--these could work! And work they did! Brad mounted them to the wall, and they were exactly what I'd had in mind.
Now to find something to fill their 7 7/8" by 11 3/4" space. That's where the real challenge came. Who knew that would be such a chore? I wandered Target (Target, oh how I truly love thee above all others!) and came up empty. But on the way home, we passed JoAnn's and decided on one last-ditch effort. We were about ready to wave the white flag of surrender when the dollar bargain bins caught Brad's eye. And we found the solution in the most unlikely of places--three green and white striped spray bottles for 97 cents each. With the nozzle removed, they make perfect vases! Now, over to the flower section, and one stem of orange gerbera daisies, and we had it--feng shui, yin and yang, balance, perfection!--all three display boxes filled for $5!

What do you think? Here's the whole effect. I'm so happy. Not as creative or resourceful as Kelly, but it's great. Now, all I'm waiting for is the chairs, and this room's wedding-ready.What did you say? The wedding is outside? Well, you can see the family room through the back windows, right? And there might be someone who has an emergency bathroom issue, right?