The dream for most parents is a kid free space that is comfortable and relaxing and dedicated to ‘the moment’. You guys know what I’m talking about. It’s that split second of complete and utter release where you collapse after a long day of diaper changes and food prep and toddler tantrums and think OH HECK YEAH. And maybe THIS IS SWEET. And a little I CAN’T BELIEVE WE ALL SURVIVED. And that dreamy place….that oasis in the desert of life….is my sitting room. I truly can’t believe this space is ours. It’s my very favorite makeover….not because of all the things….but because its the best room to decompress after a long day. It’s our happy place. We talk about this room with hearts in our eyes. It’s a spot that is filled with more adult conversations, moments of laughter and silence (which as a mom of four boys is pretty priceless) than any other in our house. And today we are sharing our big reveal with you. I can’t freaking wait!
Here is the before….it’s the room attached to our bedroom and it has a bay window and a fireplace.
When we moved in, we immediately hung a tv and would sit up here – welcoming baby after baby home to this pretty bland space. We didn’t even paint or retile the fireplace till late last year.
And now the space looks like this…
The fresh paint was long overdue. The beaded light fixture is my very favorite in the house and compliments the weird shape of our ceiling. In front of the windows, we got two big comfy leather chairs….a big investment but one that is paying off in spades as they are just getting more comfortable…
And the fireplace we retiled, added shelves, and created a visual centerpiece for the space. It’s EVERYTHING I love….the wood and stone with navy walls and lots of space to display and store all our stuff.
On the far wall, we knew that we needed something big and impactful….the shelves had a bunch of stuff going on and we decided a beautiful console is the perfect storage solution.
Let’s just talk about that piece for just a moment because I’m obsessed. I had so many different options but in the end, I opted for this four door wood option and it matches our fireplace shelves pretty perfectly. It’s not very deep (14″) and that is perfect for us as we didn’t want it to push out into the room.
The doors are my favorite. They have glass and this wood detail that is beautiful. And that texture. Oh the texture.
We kept the top simple with few decor pieces and of course, our Amazon dots (my dad got us each one for Christmas and Jeremy loves them!).
Inside, I found some lidded baskets and they are great for hiding away unsightly necessities….like printer ink refills and cords for our electronics.
Next to the new console is a tripod lamp and I love it. It balances that weird corner out and I can still reach it while sitting….which is amazing.
It’s from Target and looks way more expensive than it actually is.
Now let’s talk about this chair situation one more time. Jeremy and I are ALWAYS uncomfortable. Always. We sit next to each other on a couch and fall into each other. So we end up sitting on opposite sides….and we always complain that we don’t have that ‘other’ armrest. It’s a weight shifting thing. We both do the same thing. And I finally said to Jeremy…I just need a chair…a big comfy chair….and you do too….one that is hard to ruin.
We called the Pottery Barn outlet and they had a couple leather chairs that were exactly what we wanted but in a different color. But then we realized….we just need to get a coupon and buy the thing that we are gonna sit in every night. It’s a splurge….sure….but it’s gonna last us and we spend hours each night in these things watching Survivor and The Walking Dead and ALL of Netflix. It’s a necessity. So armed with a 20% off coupon, we ordered these leather beauties and we have never regretted it….not for one second.
First, they are comfortable for our butt….but also for our necks….we can slouch down, lay our heads back and have a perfect posture for tv watching, relaxing or taking a nap.
And the extra wide square arms….perfect for shifting weight and tucking that blanket in and around and for Jeremy to do his weird wrist itching thing that ruins most arm chairs. Love you babe. Glad you have a chair.
The table we have in between is an old hand-me-down and we like the height and the size and the shape….we try to keep it relatively empty because we always have drinks and phones and card readers and cameras on it. A stack of books and a vase is all we can manage other wise 🙂
The fireplace transformation is still one of my favorite tiling jobs ever. It’s got a lot of texture and shine (literally there are little sparkly bits!) and the way it wraps around the shelves feels very intentional and luxe….but in a casual way…not in a flashy way.
If you want to see the DIY tutorial on tiling this area and building the shelves….CLICK HERE.
All of the plants in here are fake except for the floor snake plant next to Jeremy’s chair. I can’t manage to keep much alive and most of these are pretty good faux versions. Gotta love a nice never-dead 🙂
One of the hardest decisions for this area was footstools or ottomans. At first I thought we would just buy the matching ottomans that go with the chairs….but I’m glad we didn’t. The ottomans would have shown wear more quickly and looked distracting as compared to the chairs…so I went with these leather pieced oversized ottomans instead. They are sort of a gray denim color and have other metallic leather pieces interwoven to add some interest. At first I thought they were too light but now I love the way they tie in all the blues and grays in the space. AND they don’t show any wear. At all. Jeremy’s should be brown by now because he wears his shoes on them.
And so you can properly appreciate my tv-watching view….here is what it looks like 🙂
And because I know everyone will want to know a little more about that artwork….it’s from Minted and it’s just every one of the things. It’s one of my first things I see in the morning and I love it. Emily Jeffords is the artist and she is one of my very favorites.
It is the biggest size and we had it framed by Minted because I was worried about a framing issue taking it somewhere else. My goodness, what if they had ripped it?! I always say that art is a wonderful DIY project but if you find a piece that makes you FEEL something….buy it. Buy it now.
If you want more info on any of these pieces – here are the links….just click on the picture for the direct links….
And here is more info on the room as well as past posts from this space…
I like that it is a kid free zone. You always have such beautiful kid photos but nice to make an adults only space with your growing family.
Beautiful as always. Can you share where you purchased the curtain rods at? I have some but they stick out so far from the windows it takes up more room in a small area of my house and would like to try something else. Thanks.
Oh my goodness, what a beautiful space! I would LOVE to have a sitting area like this in my room – how fabulous! It looks so gorgeous, it came together beautifully!
This is GORGEOUS!
Katy, I have to say, this is probably my favorite room in your house. I love everything you did. And I’ve had my eye on that painting for a while now. I’m so glad to see it in a real life setting. It really is stunning and now I know I do need it for my bedroom.
Where did you put the couch that you were gifted to review? Did you move it to somewhere else in the house?
Katie your retreat looks fabulous. A perfect place to snuggle a baby.
Beautiful! Hope you get to enjoy it once in a while.
Looks amazing and SO comfortable! Did you get the large or small PB chairs? I’ve been trying to find more pictures that show scale…
This space is everything! Great job! Mind sharing where you found your lidded baskets?
So how do you keep the boys out of that room, or are they naturally uninterested in it? My son would turn the ottomans into stepping stones and before I knew it there would be toys in there and goodbye oasis! Love the room btw!
Great job on this space! I love the colors and the way you decorated. I can totally see why you love this space so much.
Looks nice & cozy.
Great space. Are the poufs gray or light gray?
I agree, this room is amazing! The tile on the fireplace is my favorite and makes it such a focal point. Can I ask where the white curtains are from?
Wow!! It looks amazing!! I can’t wait to have a little room like that of my own, someday! 🙂
I am sincerely in LOVE with this room. It’s one of my favorite makeovers you have done. Thanks for sharing with all of us! We painted our sun porch dark blue (Indigo Batik by HGTV Sherwin Williams at Lowes), and it’s my favorite room in the house right now. I love how the white trim and all of our plants contrast against the moody color!
Congrats on baby #5 being A GIRL!!! That’s awesome. I don’t think you need to worry… you and Jeremy are going to rock it at parenting a girl just like you do with all of those beautiful boys. 🙂
The pattern on front of the TV stand matches the rug pattern in your office – love it!
It’s dreamy….but the money spent, holy heck!
I think your master bedroom area; sitting, bedroom and closets and bath, would literally be my whole house. Lucky you x
I absolutely love it! I have always wanted a sitting room/reading room right off my master bedroom. Sadly, we don’t have one in our current house. Maybe someday… I love the way yours turned out though, and I can see why you want to spend so much time there. The console is my favorite part of the room. Just gorgeous.
I totally agree. Holy heck.
xo – kb
They are more of a medium gray…not light not dark.
xo – kb
Yes – it’s in our basement right now 🙂 We decided that eventually we want to put it in the Monroe house.
xo – kb
The baskets are from At Home 🙂
xo – kb
They come in here for sure but we always usher them out. It’s not interesting when we aren’t in there 🙂
xo – kb
They are from Home Depot…just standard rods.
xo – kb
Ikea. They are the ones that have a little texture to them.
xo – kb
Just the smalls. I would say they are the size of an average armchair…the large seems like it would be chair and a half.
xo – kb
I can’t pick one thing. I love the tile, wall color, shelves, bead chandelier!
I tried the blue after seeing yours but I do not have the beautiful windows and light you do. That color is bold but soothing to me. Love it!!
Once again you rocked it! ❤
Great details in this space. Those ottomans are darling. I adore the Navy and we did something similar in our bedroom. The color is perfect for coziness. Enjoy your new space.
I love the sitting room makeover! Could you tell me the brand or where you purchased the sectional sofa that was in the room “before”? I love that too!! Thanks!
Omg Katie! This room could not be any more perfect! I love the combination of the navy wall and the green from the art. Fantastic job girl!!
I love this space so damn much Katie! The styling feels very mature – and I don’t think it is just because it is a kid-free zone – I can’t put my finger on it but I feel like your styling has matured over the years as well?? It just feels super professionally done. Does that make sense? I LOVE IT.
Did you never use the interior define sofa in this space? Why are you showing the sofa from before that “makeover”? Is the interior define sofa unsuitable or bad quality? I don’t remember seeing anything but positive reviews before. Just wondering….
I really love that navy-ish blue wall color. The fireplace is definitely beautiful and the chairs look very comfortable. It was wise to go with 2 chairs and the sideboard rather than a couch, especially since it’s just used for up to 2 people most of the time. And you have A LOT of stuff! Holy Moly! I get that this is your job, though, and shopping, staging, and new items are just a part of the gig that keeps the blog rolling. But I have to remind myself before I fall away with jealousy about how much you guys spend and how much stuff you have! Throw pillows galore! 🙂
Beautiful, peaceful, and cozy. I love the space. I think you were painting your ceiling in the bedroom that bold navy too?? Can’t wait to see that! I painted my bedroom a dark matte blue and love it.
this is kind of a strange question. you mentioned calling the potterybarn to see about floor samples to buy for the chairs. I need a couch… how does one go about doing this? like:
“Yo PB (i assume this is how they would want to be addressed) I need a couch – what do you have on the floor that you’ll give me?”
…and just keep calling until someone says the style you want, or until some one stops saying “if you call again we’ll call the cops”…
I’d love to do this , but am unsure about the “how”.
We have a Pottery Barn outlet in North Georgia. You can call your local outlet and ask them if they have any item that is what you want….like I said leather armchairs. They will tell me the style and then the price and color. If they don’t have something I am looking for, I just ask to be added to a list if they get one in the future. Hope this helps!
xo – kb
Nope – it works great but since it’s not really a true before, we just used the other photo. We actually still own the Interior Define sofa and love it….I contemplated listing it on Craigslist but I don’t want to NOT own it right now. So we moved it to the basement and hopefully we can use it in the Monroe House when it’s done.
xo – kb
It’s from Rooms To Go I believe – we bought it off my brother in law for $200 🙂 He was moving and getting rid of it.
xo – kb
Thank you Kayla – that is seriously the sweetest compliment!
xo – kb
Yes we did! I can’t wait to get started in that room next!
xo – kb
Bahaha! I do have a lot of throw pillows! And yes, you are right…it is definitely part of the gig…but also remember that this whole house is a work-in-progress. We have been here 6 years already and this is one of the few rooms that we have really spent big bucks in! So it definitely takes time – even for the people that have it as a job. That disclaimer aside — I am a hoarder and as such, I like to hoard all the things 🙂
xo – kb
Your living room looks stunning Katie! I am in love with that beautiful console or that beaded light. About the console like you said the room was asking to have something big but at the same time nothing that it’s too pushed out into the room. Great job!
this was super helpful thanks!
Love, love how the sitting room turned out! The Minted art fits perfectly in this space – I can just imagine the comfort of having this restful space right off of your bed. *swoons*
Awesome job, guys.
Can we please get a Monroe update by the way? Itching to see progress!! 😀
I need to! I’ll definitely add that to the list 🙂
xo – kb
For anyone who may be interested – this exact sideboard is on sale in Costco (At least was in my local NJ costco) for $350. We managed to snag it for our living room and I have to tell you its as amazing! I am in love with it!
Hi! I absolutely love this room! Did you order the light gray or charcoal poufs? I want to order them for my living room, but a lot of the reviewers say they’re surprised by the color when they get them. I was thinking yours are the light gray, but now I’m second guessing myself. Thanks so much!
Charcoal! They are lighter than a charcoal – more like a medium gray.
xo – kb
Hey! I know you say at the end that the links are there but for some reason nothing is working for me. I have tried to click everywhere and it is not working. The problem may be my work is limiting me!! Annoying. Anyway, can you please tell me where the console table is from? It looks like what I am looking for in my bedroom and cannot find. Love this space! It’s my favorite you have ever done. Great job!