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Decor & DIY

Home Tour – The Family Room

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Hello guys, I’m back to share another room in our home with you today. I’ve shared the porch, the kitchen, and now I’m sharing shots from the family room. Along with the family room photos are my thoughts on how we feel about renting. I’ll share the images first and I’ll share a little bit of our thoughts at the end.

If you asked what my decor style is, I tend to love things that don’t look rustic. Everything I have ever tried that looked too rustic or farmhouse-y, did not last too long. They always made me feel like I needed to upgrade them for a smoother look. I do love things that are stylish but as you’ll notice, I have a bunch of random collectibles as I’m still figuring my way around this home. The one thing though is that you probably won’t see any rustic/farmhouse in our family room.

The green little room at the front, is very unfurnished. What you see back there is what has been placed there for a while, nothing more. I used to have a console table on the opposite wall of this bench but I’ve moved it to the dining room.

Home Tour - Hallway - Opened Entry - At Home With Zan

Home Tour - Corner - Hallway Shelf - At Home With Zan

You can see more of it’s emptiness from this angle. If you’ve seen some of my previous seasonal posts, you may have noticed this room decorated and furnished. Those things were temporarily placed in this room for seasonalย purposes.ย  At this point, I have no idea what I want to do with the green room. When we first moved in, I had a plan which has long fallen by the wayside:(

Home Tour - Opened Room - Hallway - At Home With Zan

Home Tour - Front and Family Rooms - At Home With Zan

The Family Room – It’s very yellow and orange and I don’t like it (I’ll explain why below). But this is what it looks like.

Home Tour - Mantle - At Home With Zan

Home Tour - Coffee Table - At Home With Zan

Home Tour - The Family Room - At Home With Zan

Up until recently, the wall behind the TV was empty. I added a few pieces I had to spruce it up a bit but it is not exactly how I’d like to have it decorated. But for now, that is what it looks like until I figure something out. The cute end tables are actually side tables that I used to fill the sides of the TV.

TV wall - home

I’m still figuring out how to decorate around the mantle. I love the mirror though and it was such a steal at Target’s clearance.

Home Tour - Family Room - Mantel - At Home With Zan

Home Tour - Single Chair - At Home With Zan

This is the other side of the room leading to the kitchen. You can see the hallway at the back with a few doors leading to the bathroom, unfinished basement (which I sometimes forget about), the laundry room (behind the wall), and the dining room in the far corner.

Home Tour - Family Room - At Home With Zan

Home Tour - Couch and Pillows - At Home With Zan

I had this little play/books area set up for the kids here because when we first moved, theyย did not play in the playroom so much. They read and played a lot with the books and toys but the toys seemed to always end up in the walkway here so I moved it out. I recently moved it here again and the are always in it – and making a hug toy pile on the floor here. At least they play with it here rather than it being in the playroom plus it’s much easier to read when the books are in view.

Home Tour - Kids Play Corner - At Home With Zan

If you are interested in seeing the kitchen close-up with before’s and after decorated shots, you can click on this link. Find the post to the breakfast nook here.

Home Tour - Family Room & Kitchen - At Home With Zan

Home Tour - Couch - Kitchen - At Home With Zan

Home Tour - Family Room into Kitchen - At Home With Zan -

Thoughts after renting for a year already

When we first announced our move, some of you were eager to see what we would do with this house. Well, I’m here to tell you, we really have nothing much to show for it. This is NOT a pity post – rather a reality of part of why we have not gotten far along. After all, a home takes a while to create and if it is a rental house, then there is only so much so you can do. So without being too opened, here is the quick summary of our thoughts.

The Negatives (Quick Summary)

After we’ve owned homes, it’s taking us (both hubby and I) a while to get used to renting again. We rented town-homes and apartments when we were newly weds, but once we upgraded to buying our own home(s), it’s a bit challenging to go back to renting, especially a house. I used to wonder how others did it and thought I would never find myself doing this. In fact, I always thought it was a silly idea, until I found myself renting again. The saying goes, “Never judge a book by it’s cover” and it really is such a true saying. You never know why families make certain choices.

Organizing & Decorating: It’s only recently, I’ve started to feel like a couple areas are sort of coming together. For the past year, we’d had restrictions as to wall hangings, painting, and such. There is not much we could do about painting so the yellowย (oh the yellow in the family room) and all the colors are staying but we have a bit more freedom to decorate the walls within reason.

I knew there are things we would not be able to do to a home while renting but at the same time,ย I do feel like you have to make a home yours whether you are owning or renting.ย Plus as an online influencer who loves sharing all things home, some things plus not knowing what to do for a while have put a stump on my style and on my blog’s growth.ย I’ve been trying to find my around and have been so out of it for quite a while. It’s also another reason why I decided to put the Spring One Room Challenge (ORC) on hold:)

Could I have inquired of these before moving in? Maybe so but you know, you don’t always want to be the nit-picky one, ya know. But like I mentioned, we have a bit more freedom now so I’ve been organizingย some rooms to make them more functional.

The Positives (Quick Summary)

Lessons Learned: We are learning differences between owning and renting and learning is good for us. I’ve learned some new ways to get around (through trial and error that is) but it’s coming along. Now note that we are not too far away from things but just a little further than where we were previously. Given my personality, I’mย always kind of frazzled trying to get used to know new roads but it’s coming along.

Area:ย The area is very pretty area and we love walking around the neighborhood. We’ve met some of the neighbours and even had of their kids in our home.

House: The house is large with lots of space and recently I’ve started to feel like a couple spots are somewhat coming together.ย Now that things can go on the wall (within reason) and I’ve gotten some organizational items, I’m slowly workingย to make a few rooms look more put together and for better functioning, of course. I’ve ordered online and bought so many organizational items from the stores recently that my husband says the neighbors are going to think we’re selling something:) Gotta to get organizing!!

Home Tour - The Family Room - At Home With Zan

Have you moved from owning to a rental? What are some of the challenges you faced? How did you deal with them?

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15 thoughts on “Home Tour – The Family Room

  1. I love this room. It’s so airy, homey and looks very comfy! I’m still a renter and yearning to go into owning. Maybe in the next two years. Love your blog.

  2. I love your open plan home! I live in Ireland so open plan living is only for the warm blooded. My catch phrase in winter is ‘close the door pleeeease!’ but I do wish I could live open plan as it just feels so spacious!

    1. It feels spacious – just has to be organized properly because as soon as you open the door – everything is seen right away. But ya, I know how it goes during the winter when the door gets opened:)

  3. Zan, it looks beautiful. It’s what works for you and your family needs. When you are in a new place, it takes a bit to figure out what works and what doesn’t. You are definitely hitting it on the mark
    We went from house to one bedrooom rental for a temporary time. I try to forget about it. Lol

    1. Ah, that one bedroom apartment sounds tough – we did it one time too.. haha! But yes, we have to do what works best for our family and it surely takes time to figure out a new place. Thanks for your encouraging words!!

  4. I’m loving the mirror above the mantle! Your house looks spacious, neat and clean and that’s what I love in a home. I don’t like clutter. I think we have the same kitchen cabinets and backsplash. I’ve been thinking about painting my cabinets white. Maybe this fall. Also, it’s good to see someone who loves throw pillows as much as I do. My husband says I have way too many but I think they add texture and a homey feel to a house. Your house is very inviting.

    1. Thank you Alli for your kind words – makes me smile. When I took the photos, the house needed a good carpet cleaning which we did afterwards. But I too don’t like clutter and too much un-necessary stuff all over the place. I think your kitchen would look so bright with the lighter color. Overall, ours is not too dark but lighter is always brighter:)

  5. It is amazing how well organized, neat and clean your home is with 3 small children. Even their play area is neat and organized. It’s just fine if they sit there and make a big mess sometimes, those are precious messes with children learning. They will always remember that spot their Mom created for them to play.
    Your living room is very inviting, the perfect space for family time. I share your love for throw pillows. When we have all of the family over, everyone uses the pillows and that makes my heart smile.

    1. Such a sweet, sweet compliment Shirley. I do love an organized home. The family room is coming together but the kids do throw the pillows, blankets, and toys on the floor. For the most part, it’s not hard to clean up if everything has a place to go back. Happy they enjoy it though. And yes, throw pillows are definitely a kids favorite:)

    1. Girl our smallest used to play with some of them such as used the candles to build blocks. Even though they don’t play with the decorations, it takes consistency to keep things in place. Thank you, Kristen!

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