Home Teachers Still Allowed but No Longer Reserving a Room

Over the past year, I have slowly been trying to make our front room more A) Pretty and B) Useful to our Family.  Most homes have them nowadays, the pretty front room that's small but stuffed with couches, always clean and without toys.  Around here it's often nicknamed "The Home Teachers Room".  It serves its function in that there's a nice place to visit but guests don't have to see your dirty dishes.

But Home Teachers just come once a month, or in my case, once every 18 months. Our front room is small- too small for a couch and loveseat.  Piano is our musical talent we invest in around here, so I decided I would make our front room the "Piano and Reading Room".  When and if the Home Teachers show up, we just take them into our main family room, mess and all.

I took some pictures after I moved the loveseat out, but before the transformation.   Wait, let me clarify: before the mini-makeover.  I am not a decorator, and organization takes way too much brain energy and money for me to be a natural at it.  If I had my way, this room would have wood floors, wood plank walls painted white, and no vertical blinds!  The ceiling fan would be replaced by a quirky white chandelier, and the piano would be refinished in white.  In essence, the dream lives on this Pinterest board.  I have to say however, that the new reality is far from magazine pretty, but a dream come true for me.

 I have almost tried to sell our glider rocker a few times, but I still yearn to have a thinner profile chair that I can occassionally rock and snuggle my littles.  

 Here it is with the glider and me trying to find the perfect rocker recliner without taking up half the room.

 I have seen several tutorials on painted pianos, and would love to paint this piano WHITE.  I just don't dare start such a project, plus what if it turned out crappy?  On a piano?!

This is how far our piano makeover went.  The colorful mismatched knobs have made a big difference however!

 I purchased a teak rocking chair, only to discover I had to rocket fuel my legs off the carpet to get it to rock, and then it lasted for approximately one (1) back and forth.  So that sucker went back to the store.  So the glider remained waiting to find the perfect replacement.

This rug is fun and it's not that old.  But it didn't fit my new criteria of WHITE, WICKER, and WOOD.

So here is the AFTER picture:

The glider is draped with fabric I have had forever, which I will recover it with.  It is a white linen with embroidered tan flowers.  The plan is to paint the honey wood a clean WHITE and so that the only wood remaining in this room is the dark finish of the coat rack, piano, and small rocking chair.

I love the Ikea Expedit shelves with wicker inserts.  It stores piano and guitar books, Primary Music props, and the like.  The Ikea shelves with inserts ended up being around $200 altogether.  When I thought of the clean look and the ample storage, it was well worth the price.

Plus it has been fun to treat the shelves as a sort of mantle and make simple holiday arrangements.

The rug is made up of old indian silks and was just $17 at TJ Maxx.  

So Marilyn, are you proud of me?  I'm still trying to be el Decorateur but this will have to do for now.