Hey Hey Hey!! I’m so excited to share today’s post with you, but first, thanks so much for your response to yesterday’s new series, Sugarplum Style Tips! I’m thrilled you liked it because I have tons of ideas for more posts. And if you got the Invisible Heels, be sure to let me know what you think!
Now let’s get down to the business of today and a surprise room reveal! I told you in last week’s House Report post that I was lucky enough to collaborate with Ikea for our Bonus Room makeover, and they just surprised me with the finished video! Starting with the reveal is a little backwards from how I usually do things around here, but I couldn’t wait to show you, so we’ll just go in reverse order this go-round.
Let me give you a little background…Ikea contacted me late last year and asked if I had a problem area in our home I’d like to tackle with their help. Um, we just moved, how about 87 problem areas!? But the first one that came to mind, was the upstairs Bonus Room, and the big rats nest of cords we had thanks to the TV, stereo, video games, music gear, etc, etc, etc. My goal was to get the TV mounted, and corral all the cords and components in a tidy little media console.
Well, Ikea not only loved that idea, but also the potential of the entire space (which was already anchored by the Ikea sectional from our previous Family Room), and suggested a full room makeover…all done on video! #signmeup #action
But let’s first start with the room as it looked when we bought the house…a great space at the top of the stairs, with a large window seat and skylight, and hosed down in yellow. Since the kid’s rooms are upstairs, we knew it’d be the perfect hangout for them and their friends. And also a casual zone for the whole family.
Even though it’s upstairs, the open floor plan means the walls are a continuation from downstairs, so it’s painted the same color as the main areas on the first floor…SW ‘Repose Gray’. And to make the room feel even bigger, we carried the wall color all the way up the pitched ceiling. Then for the next year, it looked like this…
Enough of a room for the kids to wallow and watch movies, but completely unfinished. The disarray was easy for me to overlook considering it’s upstairs, and I’m usually only up there to gather dirty laundry, so the room kept getting backburnered.
But in the last few months, I’ve become devastatingly aware of how fleeting the time with our son still living here is, and I didn’t want to wait any longer to create a space where he and his friends want to hang. Because you mamas of teenagers know, you’d much prefer them hanging at your house! I know how lucky we are to even have this bonus room, so might as well make the most of it while the kids are still here! #sob
The first step was to meet with the Ikea Home Tour Squad. This amazing crew of Ikea-loving, talented peeps came over just before Christmas, and we chatted up all my goals and ideas for the room:
Then they returned last month bursting with solutions and energy, and together, we transformed the room in two days! Well, they did 95% of the work…including all the assembly! #praiseGod #meandIkeaassemblydontmix
We hid the room from the kids until it was complete so we could surprise them with the reveal…and their reactions were priceless! I worked on the room from start to finish, but even I was overwhelmed by the final transformation.
To see the full makeover, including the process and why we’re laughing so hard, watch the video below (or click here to watch directly on YouTube if the embedded video isn’t working for you).
It was definitely the most fun I’ve ever had on a room makeover, and I can’t thank the brilliant Ikea Home Tour Squad enough for their ideas, hard work, amazing attitudes, and oh yeah…a finished room in just two days!
We only had about 30 minutes for the final styling, so it’s mostly just staged for filming at this point. I’ve been working on actual organization and adjusting it to fit our specific needs and style, and will share all the details, breakdown, and supply list with you soon. Until then, make sure to check out the video, and try to ignore my excessive ‘Whoooo!’s.
