A BIG Wall
We built our house in 2018, and I love the open feel of having our kitchen, dining and family area all in one big room. What I didn't consider, though, is what I would do with the big 2-story wall in our family room. This wall has been my source of frustration since the day we moved in, and I've tried several layouts and decor ideas .... none that really felt homey and "finished."
Enter Modsy. I don't want to work with a full-service decorator because I like doing most things myself - paint, window treatments, tile, etc. We built a house in Western Springs, IL, in 2006. Our decorator did absolutely everything for us, and we moved into a completely furnished and decorated house ... right down to labels on the jars and shelves in the pantry. That house never fully felt like mine.
I was fully involved with designing and decorating this house as it was being built, but I didn't do any of the work myself. Funny, genetics run strong because our youngest daughter, Emma, insisted she and I paint her room and bathroom rather than allow the painters to do it. I guess she's a little like her mama.
When I do the work myself, it makes my home feel more like mine. Silly, I know.
As for the family room walls, I just couldn't come up with an idea that made me happy. Yes, Pinterest gave me inspiration, but I didn't quite get it right.
Modsy to the Rescue
I read several reviews about Modsy and a competitor Havenly. I decided to go with Modsy based on this review, and I'm so happy I did! Setting up the account, loading photos, and working with my designer (Jennifer), was so easy!
I have to admit I was a little impatient with excitement to wait the few days it took to view the initial design, but I'm absolutely thrilled with it and have begun working on making the changes.
I uploaded photos (they said to send photos, messy room and all!) on February 9, and by February 16, Jennifer provided two potential layouts of the room. I let her know I was less concerned about the furniture layout than I was with designing that wall. A week later, she sent two really great designs.
Design 1
White dots are links within Modsy to purchase the items.
Design 2
Design 2 was a little busy for me, so I chose Design 1 and began determining what I could do myself vs. what items I would need to purchase. I'm going to try to keep the redesign under $1,500. Let's see how I do! (Note: I originally wanted to see if I could do it for $1000, but that just wasn't going to be possible).
Paint First
My first task was to determine the paint color. I took a swatch of the window panel fabric (Yep, I made those!) to The Home Depot. I really like the Marquee One Coat Paint, but this job should be even easier than normal painting because I'm painting over white walls. I considered going with a cheaper paint, but I like the look and ease of the Marquee. I always try three different shades on a wall before I paint. Samples are inexpensive, and I use a throw away brush for each color to keep things simple.
It surprises me that I rarely choose the sample I like best while in the store. At the store, I chose a lighter shade just to have a third color. Now that I see them on my wall, I like the lighter shade much better than the other two. The sample I thought I would like best was the Poseidon (top left), but I like the Superior Blue (bottom) much better. From the kitchen, the top samples look almost black.
Paint swatches - Clockwise: Poseidon, Deep Breath and Superior Blue
Furniture Reupholstery
Our little beagle boy, Bear, is now two years old. During his first year of life, he decided our furniture and baseboard made great chew toys. I tried Jalapenos on the baseboard, and that only made him like them more. I tried the spray deterrent on the furniture, but you have to spray a few times per day to keep it effective.
I spent last year redoing most of the furniture, and I found that I really enjoyed upholstery work. Good thing. My daughter, Abbie, came home from college for the holidays, and she brought her puppy, Rae, along with. Rae proceeded to chew up everything all over again just like Bear before her!!
Bear, Missy and Winnie. Innocent, huh?
The photo above is just a sampling of what our busy boy could accomplish when left alone. At least he grew out of that phase!
Follow Along
Follow along to see if I'm able to stay under budget, and to see if my work ends up close to the suggested design. I'll add tips and tutorials when I think I can be helpful to anyone else wanting to take on similar projects.
And please comment below any suggestions or words of encouragement! If this works out, I'm going to tackle some more rooms that need updating!