Tuesday, March 16, 2010

What do I do with this odd space?


Four years ago, we transformed our hideous, yellow glazed family room & repainted with luscious (teehee), soothing green. Two or three (I can't remember - it was a daunting experience, so I think I've subconsciously discarded it from my memory) grueling days of two coats of primer & two coats of paint. At the time we had 3 young children, who totally ran amock for those days. Fun stuff. I lie. It was horrendous. (See my little Bentley climbing what he shouldn't be climbing? ;o)
As you can see below, I never completed the detailing. Uh huh. This is it's current state, four years later:

Around the fireplace, but also in two corners, where the accent color meets the room color. I freehanded the corners because I was just too darn tired to do it at the time & I really couldn't have cared less. The corners current state (that is actually a light green/sage on the right side):


Trust me when I say, it looks much worse in person. :) All that said, I'm finally considering finishing these areas. Maybe I'll get around to it in a year or two. I don't like to rush things. :)

So.

Here it is.

The most awkward, odd space(s) in our family room. Heck, in the entire house! What in the world? What were the builders thinking? Were they drunk? Why would they do this? Sheetrock would be better than this! But alas, it is what it is. And to be honest with you, that whole corner is strange. (You get a better view in the very first photo.) The tv armoire is caddy cornered because it won't fit flat in the space behind it. And having it situated like that, blocks one of my tiny family room windows which certainly does not tickle my fancy.


What to do? I'd like to pull the shelving off, but don't know if I can accomplish that without destroying the sheetrock. And where would I put the kids' books? I don't like traditional choices. (Like the brick I use as a bookend? I thought it was brilliant. :) As far as the triangle & box niche, I have absolutely no clue. This is all some sort of wood paneling stuff, so I can't really fill it in with sheetrock. Or can I? Plus the trim edging isn't flush with the paneling. Did I mention I despise paneling? But, that's another post. For someone (me) who is no longer 'country', we ended up with a totally 'country' home, right down (or up) to the wallpapered ceilings. :)

So, now tell me. If this was your goofy space in your home, how would you utilize it? How would you fill it? How would you camouflage it? 'Cause I got nothin'. Ü

6 comments:

Mommy Brain said...

My first thought is a big fish tank??? No, I'm not kiding.

Tina said...

Melissa:

You could always paint the triange and square box white to blend better with all the trim. The rounded shelf...I need to think on that one.

Sorry I am just now getting back to you...thank you so much for the sweet comment....I have been so depressed about my Mom I have not been able to keep up with blogging....I'm home now..12 days of the hospital and I needed a break....

Hugs...

Rebecca M. said...

can you re-arrange your family room so that the TV is in another part? If you can do that, I would make that space a kids reading nook. Put comfy bean bag chairs and a little throw rug down to define the space. It's the perfect size for little ones to read or have quiet time. Just my 2 cents LOL!

Kriss said...

Don't hate me but I think the curved place under the stairs is really cool! Not so much the triangle part under the stairs. I don't think I would sheetrock that. Not sure how much it would cost but maybe a trained carpentar could come in and cover up the triangle. Then maybe match up the stain. You mentioned you didn't like the country look. Maybe you would like the area more if the staircase wasn't both stained and painted. Maybe see how much it would cost to have the stairs primed to kill the stain and then painted all one color. That might make the triangle blend in better. Then use the spot to hold a few folded throws in the bottom. A good painter could have that staircase taped off and sprayed in no time. Normally I am all about do it yourself but I don't think I would want to wait a staircase, lol. If you wanted to simply dress it up, you could remove the books, maybe get a few smaller frames than what you have now to intermingal among the larger ones. Maybe you could make this the "family" corner. Maybe take your FAMILY word and have it up there on the shelf too. Give it a new color that would pop (I think it's brown now). If you have pictures from their adoption finalizations or special trips, put those in frames. Take those pictures and have them all reprinted into black in white. OR maybe a few other nicknacks from around your house could be repurposed and a small one wouldn't mess with to much. Have you seen that shows where someone comes in and tells you what they would do differently? Maybe you need a friend to come in and see changes they would make to get ideas or thing they think could be repurposed. I love doing stuff like that!!

Lisa said...

Well, first of all, that would be my two-year-old climbing on that banister. Those shelves make great steps. But it looks so nice otherwise! I like built-in shelves, but it's so hard with little ones because they are always knocking everything off. So I have no suggestions!

Melissa :) said...

Christine - never in my life would I have thought of a fish tank! LOL That is too funny. However, if I attempted a fish tank, my 2 year old would be in it daily. ;o) Believe it or not, though, I have wanted a salt water fish tank for quite some time. :)

Tina - I think painting it white would make it more obvious. I want to just get rid of it. But I don't know how. At one time I had an over-stuffed leather chair in front of it, but I think you can see in the photo that the triangle showed above the top of the chair. Ugh.

Rebecca - there is only 1 full wall in our family room, & it is directly across from the wall we're discussing. We actually did have cable run (when we had cable) & did relocate the armoire to the full wall. The entire room itself is just nuts, & having the armoire over there totally looked crazy. We moved it back. The "nook", as you call it, would be great for reading! I have considered making that tiny area a (sophisticated) computer area for the kids because once they begin using the computer more, it will be in the family room where mom & dad can see. ;o) We also have a sectional now, so maybe we could rearrange & see how it would look!

Kriss - Dang girl! I get the hunch you like decorating!? Those are great ideas. And this entire area can be renovated & maybe I should get some bids. I totally don't like framed photos on bookcases (just not my liking - fine for others) but, I have them there to fill the space. Those burgundy (I don't do burgundy anymore) wooden letters I want to attempt to spray paint silver & move to another room. I am all about letters right now! Those are small for my liking but they work. I really like your idea of folded throws in the niche. What about rolled throws? Maybe I can find some inexpensive ones, in the colors I like, just to fill that niche. I'll have to try that. And yes I have seen that show! I forget the name. They take current items/furniture & move it all around & it looks like a new home, but with all the same stuff!

Lisa - I haven't 'seen' you in a while so howdy! Bentley actually didn't climb up the shelves; if memory serves me correctly, he started at the bottom of the steps & worked his way up. He's still doing it - not long ago, I found 2 footprints in the dust on top of the armoire! LOL

Thank you girls for helping me! I ♥ the ideas & now I'm so glad I posted this! :)