TV Room Before & After

Our TV room is done! The first photo is the before (when we bought the house) and the after is as of a few days ago. The gorgeous linen romans from Tonic Living have been installed and I am thrilled with how they turned out and they definitely add a warmth to this room, that the space desperately needed.  To see more pictures, what we did to change it and the shopping guide click on the read more link.

A lot has been done to improve this room since 2008 when we moved in, so you can pop over to this post to see the stages. But the last pieces of the puzzle were done over the last few months - new romans, a new carpet and some greenery. The romans are worth elaborating on as they are definitely the thread that pulls everything together for me - As I mentioned in my intro - they add a warmth that this room desperately needed. The fabric and the fabrication are from Tonic Living. 

FABRIC
In terms of the fabric you can read more about the fabric choice from Tonic Living in this post. But to summarize the decision, I knew that I didn't want a fabric that would cut out light entirely when they were down, instead I wanted a fabric that just diffused the light. I picked Tuscany Linen, Oatmeal Slub.  They are also lined in a white cotton fabric, that was pretty standard I think - Tonic knew what I wanted so advised on the best one so I just trusted them.

The number of windows in this room, not including the door is five. And each window was a different size than the next. A bold patterned fabric would have likely been too busy and drawn attention to the different sized windows - so choosing a natural fabric, although my taste to begin with, was carefully considered because of the odd shaped windows.

One thing that is worth noting is that the romans have a manual pull, meaning you have to manually wrap around the cord to a hook on the wall, to secure the drapes from unraveling down - whereas some companies (mass produced romans) have mechanical stops that make it easier to adjust. I was worried that this may be annoying but I'm pleased that it's actually really easy to get the blinds to adjust to the same level as the others. The blinds go up and down occasionally twice a day. At night when we're watching TV and in the morning they come up so we have bright beautiful sunlight.

I'm in LOVE with them. I highly recommend Tonic for fabrication and I absolutely adore the fabric too. There are other little elements that came in to make the room feel done.

A rug: An awkwardly shaped room I thought a custom rug was our only solution. But that wasn't in our budget so I put in an Ikea Havbro wool rug that is really too long for the room but you wouldn't know because I've hidden the majority of it under the couch. Totally works.  Side Table: I've moved my favourite table - my Duncan Phyfe games table that I bought in Craigslist, from the upstairs hall to beside the couch in this room. It adds a little more warmth. It's possible from a design perspective it's too tall but it's staying where it is. A lamp from HomeSense, my DIY Concrete Planter, and a Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree that sits in a new HomeSense basket - all make this room warm yet uncluttered. Aubrey and I watch TV in here every night and the leather couch makes it a stress free room for me with Oscar. He eats on this couch, and we just wipe it clean.

I'd love to add an ottoman in here but it has been tricky to find the perfect one in our budget. So the hunt continues. Anyhow, it's not a grand room but it's potentially now one of my favourite spots in the house because of how cozy it is at night and cheery in the day. I do love it!

Shopping Guide:
Wall Colour ............... Cloud White, Benjamin Moore
New Windows ............ Fieldstone Windows
Roman Blind Fabric ................... Oatmeal Slub Linen via Tonic Living
Roman Blind Sewing/ Fabrication .................. Tonic Living
Leather Couch ........................ Verona by Barrymore Furniture
Duncan Phyfe Games Table ............ Craigslist
Glass Lamp ..................... HomeSense (2011)
Concrete Planter ................... I made it. 
Picture of Oscar .................... Tynan Studio
Frame (Picture of Oscar) ......... Ikea
Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree ................. Ikea
Basket for Tree ......................... HomeSense (April, 2013)
New Glass Door ....................... Lowes, Aubrey installed
Rug  ............................ Ikea


Posts of interest: 
Installing a new door
Installing new windows