Be Colorful Coastal

Designing A Family Room During Supply Chain Challenge

 

 

To say designing and furnishing a room in 2022 poses some significant challenges would be putting it mildly.

I expected to deal with longer lead, or wait, times because when the pandemic began there was a major uptick in demand while many factories were shut down or running at a fraction of their normal capacity. Even now, many of them still aren't back to their normal production. Then, add in the supply chain difficulties and most recently some serious increases in fuel surcharges, and you have a perfect shopping storm.

 

Photo source

 

This isn't the best time to take on this project. but last month we started taking a long hard look at our family room and some of the furniture that came with the house. It was okay back then and we've lived with it for seven years while we made other improvements to our home, but the time has come to update it.

 

It's looking dingy and droopy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The current arrangement isn't the best for entertaining. When it is too hot outside, it would be nice to be able to comfortably seat more people here. I always thought that the room was too narrow to allow for the sofa to be turned toward the window, but when I tried it with our current sofa, I was surprised and thrilled to see that it was a viable option. So the measuring and planning began.

 

 

This is the planned layout.

 

We are fortunate in Southwest Florida to have a multitude of furniture stores but when I didn't easily find what I was looking for at a price point that made sense, I started thinking about how happy I had been with the sofas I had purchased for our home up north.

 

 

 

 

 

Would it be crazy to purchase them again for our Florida home?

I've always loved that Louise sofa and it would pair nicely with this Wesley chair.

 

 

Again, Norwalk lets me choose the cushion firmness at no extra charge, nailhead, and welting options too. We have purchased numerous swivel chairs from this company over the past fifteen years and we have never had any issue with them. 

 

I thought I had this room all figured out. I knew that the lead time on orders would be long but I was surprised when I was quoted 28 to 35 weeks for delivery from a US manufacturer. That is actually better than a lot of overseas companies but, because there isn't a Norwalk dealer in our area, we would need to have the items drop-shipped to our southern Florida home resulting in a sizeable surcharge for freight and fuel. Since the cost of fuel is so volatile, we were advised that those surcharges could easily double by the time our furniture would be delivered.

Yikes! 

 

 

Usually, the furniture hunt is exciting but in this challenging environment, and with price increases coming again on March 1, 2022, it has become a lot more arduous.

But we ventured out again, this time locally. There are so many things to consider: comfort, style, scale, cost, lead time, and for us personally, after hearing from a friend and designer about the odor issue, we knew we wanted a product that was domestically manufactured.

 

 

We are still waiting to hear back on pricing and new upholstery options, but I keep pushing forward. The hunt continues. I realize I am fortunate to be able to take on this task but who would have guessed that pulling together a family room would be such a time-consuming and uphill effort?

I think I have earned a cocktail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Twenty Year Update Series - The Family Room

I loved coral before it was cool. I loved it so much that when it came time to update our family room, I went all-in. These coral walls contrast so well with the white sofas and create a great backdrop for the greens, yellows, and hints of turquoise that are sprinkled throughout the room.

Welcome to our family room and the most recent installment of the Twenty Years of Updates series here on Be Colorful Coastal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you miss the earlier posts in this

Twenty Years Of Updates Series on Be Colorful Coastal?

Get caught up by clicking the links below.

Twenty Years of Updates - The Entry

Twenty Years Of Updates - The Living Room

Twenty Years Of Updates - The Library

Twenty Years Of Updates - The Dining Room

Twenty Years Of Updates - The Kitchen

Updating The Master Suite

I am sharing my Updated Master Suite post over at The Dedicated House and Sweet Parrish's Totally Terrific Tuesday and one more favorite, A Stroll Thru Life Please join me there for more creative inspiration.

Click on the coral links for more details.

new wood flooring

hurricane windows

dining room updates

living room

entryway

fireplace facelift

ceiling

kitchen remodel

lighting

family room

guest room

pool

Our Coastal Blue Room

 

 

Shop this coastal room:

Houzz

Houzz

 

sofa (available in numerous fabrics)

Table

artwork by Lucy Designs

artwork by Teri Causey

Be Colorful Coastal Clock

Chenille Pillow

Coral Throw

Wall Color: Benjamin Moore Opal Essence

 

Our blue coastal room is being shared with Saturday Sparks, The Creative Circle,  The Dedicated House, and A Stroll Thru Life

 

 

Downsizing, Listing the House

 

To see the inspiring video our agent put together for this property

click on the video link at the end of this post. 

 

 

     

More About the Family Room

 

       The Breezeway 

 

          The Library

 

 

       Media Room

 

     The Dining Room

   

         

  More About the Kitchen 

 

    

         The Master Bedroom

      Master Bath Details

    The Home Office

Click here to see the short video.

video

All photos and video are property of REMAX Realty

 

 

 

 

Let The Kitchen Remodel Begin!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When All Else Fails, Paint It

 

When we bought our coastal home we tried to have some of the furniture included. I especially wanted those Maitland Smith chairs. The homeowners, as I expected, said no to most of our requests but they did agree to throw in this cocktail table and the sofa. These two pieces were in the living room then but after we bought the house we moved them into the family room. 

 

 

We are hoping to achieve a slightly coastal look. I didn't want a house dripping in beach signs and fishing nets. That is a whimsical look that I'd rather leave to the true seaside cabins and bars. Instead, I chose to subtlely introduce a bit of classic coastal flair with this nautical inspired navy and white striped rug. 

I am all in when it comes to mixing woods but somehow I just didn't care for how this glossy finished table was pairing up with the more rustic entertainment center and end tables and I felt like the lines of the table said, "formal".

 

 

 

 

So, my go-to solution when something isn't working is to paint it, and that is exactly what I did.   

 

 

I began with this undercoating primer from Behr Paints that is available at Home Depot.

 

 

Then I threw on some pizzaz with Sherwin Williams Ravishing Coral SW2612

 

 

 

 

It took two coats and in some places three coats to get the look I wanted.

I used an ultra soft mini roller for this step to get an extra smooth finish.

 

 

  

Now I have a tradtional table in an unorthodox color. I've always thought that every room should have that one unexpected statement element.

For this room, it will be this cocktail table. 

 

 

 Hmmmm, now that's done, what's next?

:D

xoxo,

p

Pulling Together a Coastal Family Room

1.

 

We just celebrated one year in our "new chapter" house. I still don't call it home but it is starting to feel more and more like my grounding spot.  We have established residency here but we also still have a home up north that we have lived in for eighteen years. That extended amount of time trumps a new start when I think of the word home and the feelings it conjures up.  The longer we are here, though, and the more things we do to and purchase for the house the more it is beginning to feel like it is uniquely our space and not the previous owners home.

 

2.

This time last year this room was very bare bones. We were using a Rubbermaid chest as our entertainment center and the sofa, two slip covered chairs, and entry table that came with the house were the only pieces of furniture in the room.

 

3.
 

 

The clock and lamp were two pieces I brought down from our home in Galena. The shade on the lamp did not survive the trip and I eventually had to have it replaced.

 

 

4.

One of the biggest improvements to the room was when we finally purchased this Hooker entertainment center and I could relegate that Rubbermaid piece to the garage where it belonged.

 

5.

 

 This is definitely a work in progress. The step ladder is a keeping it real moment.

:D

I was drawn to the more rustic wood finish of this piece because I felt like it brought a more casual and coastal feel to the room. My challenge now is to successfully blend this laid back look with a more polished style that is occurring in the living room.

 

6.

 

I am not rushing in to style the shelves of the entertainment center. Yes, I could go add some mass-produced tchotchkes from a big box store, but I prefer to bring in accessories that are unique or have a special meaning or memory attached. We did find this intriguing mermaid, though, and I love how perfect she looks here. I named her Lily.

 

7.

A big portion of the house budget this month went toward power washing the exterior of the house and some painting but we still managed to add two classically coastal area rugs.

 

8.

 

This rug has inspired me to focus a bit more on the family room. It has given me some direction. I hadn't done much in here until recently because this room flows right into the kitchen and the kitchen is going to undergo a major renovation in the near future. Until then, I will have to be content with smaller touches of flair to our coastal styled family room. Here is a hint of my next project. When a piece isn't working for me, I paint it. 

 

:D

 

xoxo,

p

 

Resources:

1. Sofa and chairs unknown. Chest is from Hooker's Sorella Collection

2.  John Richards lamp

3. Storage chest via Rubbermaid

4. Clock from Ethan Allen circa 2002, lamp is recycled from up north with a shade from Home Goods. Lamp finial from Sticks Gallery in Des Moines, Iowa

5. Hooker entertainment center, Sorella Collection

6.. Upholstered breakfast chairs by Sherrill from Baer Furniture

7. Carved wood mermaid from Alison Craig Furniture

8. Navy and ivory striped wool hooked rug from Amazon.com

 

I am sharing this post on Coastal Charm another coastal style blog that I just discovered.  I suggest stopping by for more beachy and nautical inspiration.