by christina britt lewis photography by angela statzer we use what you have first. always. this fun football family already had the beautiful rug and just about everything they needed to make the gorgeous built in bookshelves a focal point instead of an afterthought. we repurposed the perfectly comfortable but a little worn sofa in the empty sunroom you can see in the background. along with that leather chair and great coffee table. they thought they needed new furniture for that room, but this all looks really cozy in the space. we found a pair of leather chairs already in the home that work great in the family room and got them an oversized man chair (as requested) facing the tv straight on, a distressed ottoman, and a seriously sexy sofa that's made for lounging. you may have seen it before. wink. the huge distressed ottoman is perfect for dog lovers who love to put their feet up. it's indestructible and looks better the more wear and tear it gets. the tray is actually a copper boot tray. you gotta have a place for beer and popcorn and football game fare. when it comes to bookshelves...
the man of the house is a football coach. the family room should tell everyone's story. "GO" and the collection of whistles and footbally things tell more than just his story, the whole family loves football. they are also very outdoorsy people who collect rocks from everywhere they go, a really lovely family tradition. these things have more impact when grouped together... we found the framed photographs of doors in other rooms and felt they made more of a statement displayed as a collection on the top shelves. we replaced them with family photos in the other rooms, we try to never leave you with holes anywhere. if you scroll back up you'll see that the crate on the bottom right shelf was being used to hold dog toys. we gave them a basket for the dog toys and displayed the very cool crate in a more important place next to things they have collected and love from their travels... the man chair, as requested, upholstered in a sunbrella fabric that is dog and drink spill friendly... we used to overdecorate. time and experience taught me that less really is more. fussy coffee table decor is just not how most of us really live. this driftwood looks great leaning by the fireplace when they need room for drinks and munchies on the tray. how great is that ottoman? i have ottoman envy... less is more on mantels too. these are just a few of their favorite things... read all about how kelly lies created that crazy affordable gallery of black and white images here. and if that sofa looks familiar it's because you probably remember it from here. we are big huge fans of danielle and steve sechrest, owners of the comfortable couch company. they are this really great family who tim and i have known pretty much since we moved south to start our lives over 10 years ago. they make affordable luxurious furniture right here in north carolina. go sit on their couches at their showroom in cornelius. you'll see. and tell them how brilliant their gallery walls are...ahem... this light fixture is going to be our new signature piece. i can just feel it. i totally love it... all things they have and love, beautifully pulled together by angela... happy words from the happy homeowner... Oh my goodness! You guys did such a wonderful job! I couldn't be more happy...thank you so much!! I love the whistles!!! And those big football pictures on the wall are perfect for us! All the baskets look great and really it all looks so well done! ...I didn't want to leave for the football game because I just wanted to stay and look at it all! Can't tell you enough how much I love it! ...when (my husband) saw the rooms he loved everything and he knew who the people were in the football pictures! peace and oh so much happiness, christina by christina britt lewis photography by angela statzer we love ribba frames from ikea. the big square ones look way pricier than their $20ish price tag... when we meet with a client for the first time we ask all sorts of questions that help us get to know them. sometimes it takes some investigating to know what they are going to love. other times it's very clear right away. we want your home to feel collected. not decorated. this family is a football family. big time. football makes them happy. we didn't want their family room to feel themey or bonus roomy though. we wanted it to feel sophisticated and casual, beautiful and fun, all at the same time. so we found a book with some vintage, black and white, footballish photos and tore out our favorite pages... the mats that come with ribba frames are bigger than we usually need them to be. so we have mats cut to fit whatever we find to frame. having mats cut is super affordable, these came to under $10 per mat. kelly lies is not just a brilliant interior designer and our newest status quo antagonist... she is also a master hacker with cute pink tools... new mats we had cut to the size of the book pages... ta da... the finished framed photos came to less than $35 each. we hung them in two columns on either side of a french door. they feel important but most importantly, the family LOVES them. if YOU love them, you might love this too (click here). more about that sofa, that lamp, and the whole redesigned room soon. peace, christina by christina britt lewis and timothy dean lewis photography obviously not by angela statzer, oh how i wish she was with us always. she makes us look good. once upon a time a rock(ing) star came to family dinner. (go read that. it's the best part. we'll wait...) AND THEN... this little company went to market in high point and got to chill with joe manus again! tim said "oh my, what a big bed you have." joe said "all the better to sleep in, my friend." or something like that. i don't remember exactly... that's joe in the hat. and kelly lies, our newest status quo antagonist, next to joe. and us. in bed. yup. then we fell head over heels for joe's latest creation. globe lights. GLOBE LIGHTS! that's tim's "i'm so psyched about your globe lights, joe" look. really. we loved them even more when he posted photos of his own foyer. before, formal and kinda *yawn*... and after, SO FUN! and shockingly affordable, we gotta say.
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