Welcome Winter & Adding Cozy To My Family Room
Even though it has a beauty all its own, winter is NOT my favorite season of the year! It’s just plain cold, y’all, and all I want to do is snuggle up with a warm, fuzzy blanket and a cup of hot cocoa. Brrrr and brrrr.
During the winter, I add cozy spots all over my house. You just might be a little surprised at how I added coziness to my family room though. I guess that traditionally, you’d normally just add some blankets or throws and pretty much call it done. Well…I did all of that, but I took it a step further. Take a look at my much improved cozy and rustic gallery wall!
If you’re visiting for the first time, let me give you a little background. My husband and I purchased an outdated, mid 90’s home a little over a year ago. We’ve been giving the whole house a remodel – room by room. I’ve shared bits and pieces of several rooms, but so far we’ve completed the remodel on our farmhouse kitchen, breakfast area and laundry room. The family room is pretty much completed too, so I’ll have a full room reveal sometime next week.
On to the deets about my updated gallery wall. In case you don’t remember, this is what it looked like when I first started working in the family room. (Please excuse the badly exposed photo.)
BEFORE
Not awful, but not quite right either. The clock never did look like it was in the right spot and the whole wall was too sparse and empty for me.
I moved the clock to a different location and replaced it with my fiddle leaf fig print that used to reside on the other side of the room. That one change was an immediate improvement, but I didn’t stop there!
Many of the original elements remained, but I added several new things too. One was a diy rustic ladder that I filled with cozy throws and a winter scarf or two. This ladder was very inexpensive and super duper easy to make! You can find the complete step-by-step tutorial HERE.
I made a couple of chunky tassels too, just to add a touch more cozy. Tying them off with jute twine instead of the same yarn used for the tassels gives them just a bit more of a rustic touch.
Another addition to the gallery is an awesome wood shutter that came from a house that was built in the 1800’s. It still has the original hardware on it and you can see that the nails used to build it are handmade. It was in several pieces when I bought it, but some carpenter’s glue took care of that.
I found it at a local architectural salvage place and just look at that patina! A twig wreath hanging from it adds more of that all important texture. Texture = cozy, right?
The last new item that was added to the wall is a “Count Your Blessings” sign. This was another super easy project. First I created the saying on a Word document. I then went to the Block Posters website, to reverse the image and print it across multiple pages. I then used THIS METHOD to get the outline of the words onto a scrap board that I painted with black chalk paint and filled the letters in with some white paint. I gave it a light sanding once it was all dry, which helped to dull down the bright white a bit and contributed to the old and worn look. I could have just hung it from the wall with a hook, but I chose to add a couple of eye-screws and suspend it from jute twine.
There’s one more thing that made a huge difference in making the whole family room more cozy. It’s the addition of a diy sofa table that I placed behind the couch.
An added bonus of the table is that it allowed me to add more lighting to this side of the room, which it needed. The step-by-step tutorial for building a sofa table like this one, can be found HERE. It was another easy-peasy project!
Our family room is a generously sized room, which is nice, but that generous size presents its own set of challenges. The room felt empty and uninviting with the couch all the way against the wall. There was too much space between the front of the coffee table and the other side of the room. Plus, there’s a little bit of an overhang above the couch which makes pushing the couch against the wall even worse. Adding the table behind the couch brought everything closer together and cozied the room up a little.
I didn’t just rely on the improved gallery wall to add coziness to this side of the room though. I added a cute winter vignette to my tall lantern and placed it on the console table beside the couch. And I kept out a mini snow covered evergreen tree from my Christmas stash for some added winter decor.
The new gallery wall has really completed this side of the room and I so enjoy relaxing on the couch (under the blanket, of course) in front of a warm fire.
Winter Fireplace Mantel And Hearth
What’s your favorite season of the year? I say, come on spring!
Suzy, every time I visit I am amazed at how you have made that house into your beautiful home in just a year. Loving the new gallery wall and things in it. the wreath, where did you get that? love that mirror on the other side , where did you get that?
Thank you, my friend! The round mirror came from TJ Maxx quite a while back. Which wreath are you referring too? The green boxwood wreaths came from Target, the driftwood wreath came from TJ Maxx and the twig wreath on the shutter came from Hobby Lobby.
Gorgeous…as always! Just love your blog! Suzy could you tell me where you purchased your gray lamps from? Thanks! Happy New Year!
Hi Judy. I assume that you’re asking about the gray lamps on the table behind the couch??? If so, I found them at Lowes.
Oh So Beautiful! You Bring Sunshine into our Lives!
Beautiful, Suzy! You are really making this house your own and I love all the changes and direction you are going. You have done an amazing amount of work in a year. That kitchen and breakfast area are to die for!
Thank you, Rhoda! I’m so, so glad to be out of the dated red, green and gold that was in the last house. It was a pleasure Welcoming Winter with you!
Your gallery wall looks amazing!!!!
Thank you so much, Christine!
I love all of the projects you’ve personalized your home with!!
Thank you, Jennifer! It was a pleasure to Welcome Winter with you.
That gallery wall is amazing! I love everything about it. And the ladder is awesome too! Where did you get the “Count Your Blessings” sign?
Hi Hannah. So glad you like the new gallery wall. The sign was easy to make. I explained how I made it in this post. Just look at the paragraph right above the sign that starts with “The last new item….”. Let me know if you have any questions!
I like how you cozied everything up. You are great with details. I saw your kitchen dining area featured on several blog parties! I like your fireplace. The white lanterns remind me of what I did on mine. The shutters behind them make a nice accent and of course the center area with the big wood wall piece looks fabulous.
Thank you, Liz! I’ve really enjoyed the big center piece. It makes a good backdrop for just about anything.
Looks great, Suzy! Where did you get your Fiddle Leaf Fig print?
Hi Lisa. I found an image online, saved it to a thumbdrive and then took it to Kinkos/FedEx and had them print it the size that I wanted it to be. Sorry, but I don’t have a link to the image. :/
I adore your blog and have pulled ideas for my own home! I would love to know where you found your pillows (cream/black). You have such great ideas that I love incorporating!
Thank you, Vicki – you just made my day! I love it when I can inspire others! The pillows came from Target. I got them just the other day, so if you can’t find them in your local store, they should be online.
Suzy, I’m in love with your family room! You did such an amazing job with the gallery wall. You’ve inspired me so much I’ve added a DIY ladder to my to do list. 😉 Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, MJ! You probably don’t need it, but if you do there will be a tutorial posted on Monday.
I will definitely check back for that tutorial!! Thanks so much!
Your room does look cozy and inviting! I love the sofa table behind your couch – it does add to the room that coziness factor. The gallery wall is also wonderful. Great ideas and I’m looking forward to the tutorials!
As for my favorite season – Autumn! I always look forward to the cooler temperatures after our very hot and long Summers.
Thank you so much, Cecilia! The tutorial for the ladder will be posted on Monday. I adore the autumn too, but it’s so hard for me to overlook the fact that it’s followed by winter! LOL
I have enjoyed all of your decorating ideas.
Thank you, Rebecca!
GF, everything looks awesome! I don’t know how you get so much done!! Makes me tired LOL!! The sofa table is just perfect for what you needed and adds a lot to the gallery wall too. Loving all the textiles and really CRUSHING on the old shutter!!! Let’s get together soon and go antiquing or to PB Outlet! How about the first week in March? (We are going on a trip the middle two weeks of Feb). ?? everything!!
Thank you, sweet friend! That sofa table has dramatically changed the coziness of the room. It took a while to get used to it though. Would love to get together then!
Completely Gorgeous! And so inspiring! Did you make the driftwood wreath? If so, where did you get your supplies?
Thanks for sharing the pics!
Hi Sharon. No, I didn’t make the wreath. I found it at TJ Maxx. Thank you for stopping by!
I love what you did! Your gallery wall looks wonderful. Thanks for showing the before picture. I always wondered what wasn’t clicking with my LR arrangement and its that I didn’t take the gallery wall longer than the sofa.
Hi Christine. I struggled with the exact same thing as you. It took me a long time to figure out what wasn’t quite right with my wall. I’m glad that you were able to find some inspiration!
I love how you have added to your gallery wall, and the pops of green are just perfect. Love the ladder for holding blankets, but really everything is wonderful, so welcoming and cozy!!
Thank you for sharing on Oh My Heartsie Girl this week! I love seeing what you are doing with your home!!:)
Your living room is darling and super cozy! I love it! And that fiddle leaf fig picture is my favorite! Thanks for sharing!
p.s. your pictures are so crisp and clear!
Thank you so much, Kate! Wish I had a place for a real fiddle leaf fig – I figured that a picture would have to do. LOL And thank you for your comment about my photos. I really struggle with my photography sometimes.
Suzy, I love your gallery so much that I’m featuring it this weekend at the DIY Sunday Showcase Party. It is so warm, inviting, interesting, and well executed.
Thank you, Marie!
I really like your gallery wall, you have done a great job.
I still want do do this in our home as the walls are still pretty bare even after 4 years of living here. I think it looks so much more homely.
Thank you, Sam. I’m glad you were able to find some inspiration!
Beautiful! I love the way the texture is the strongest element on the wall. And the colors… or neutrals are beautiful! Liz
Thank you, LIz! I love all of the texture too! I think that the dimension of the texture makes the wall that much more interesting.
I love this room so much. I printed out a color copy of a few of the pictures and stuck them in my “Perfect Home” binder. Can you tell me where you bought that plaid pouf? It looks great with the Target plaid pillows I will buying soon…
Hi Andrea. What a sweet compliment! I can’t imagine being in anyone’s Perfect Home binder! 😀 I bought the plaid pouf at Target last fall. I’m afraid that I don’t see it on their website anymore.