Let’s take a road trip to Swift Current SK! Swift Current is about a seven hour drive from Edmonton, and it is where my clients Nicole and Logan live. I don’t normally take long distance clients in person, but Nicole is the sister of my friend Scott and I wanted to make it work. When Nicole expressed interest in working with me, we realized that if we did a lot of prep ahead of time, we could makeover her space in just one weekend. So after months of prepping and planning I headed out to Swift Current with a packed truck and my good friend Anna-Lisa by my side. 14 hours of driving and 16 hours of work later, Nicole’s living room/entryway and primary bedroom were completely different spaces.
Nicole is a teacher and Logan is a carpenter. They recently decided to stay in their current house after debating about moving to a new build. Since they are planning on staying here for a longer period of time than they had originally thought, Nicole wanted it to feel more like home than it did. She was pretty open to any style, but based on her Pinterest boards it was clear that Nicole likes warm, cozy, inviting spaces, and generally prefers traditional with a little bit of shabby chic thrown in. However, her husband Logan has a very different style. He grew up on a farm outside a small town in Saskatchewan, and he hunts and loves motorcycles. I knew that it would be a challenge to create a space they both felt comfortable in.
It became very clear that their families are really important to them. Both of them grew up on farms in tight-knit farming communities, so I wanted to make sure they felt their families’ presence in the house. They had treasures that reminded them of home, but weren’t sure how to fit them in. The last thing I had to keep in mind was that they really wanted a more functional entryway, because it flows directly into the living room and is a bit tricky to keep separate and tidy.
Let’s start in the living room. Logan had a favourite moose picture that he wanted to be incorporated into the makeover, as well as a piece of art that his mom had painted. The living room is also where they spend most of their time at home. This is where they watch TV, entertain, and just hang out. Nicole wanted to beautify it. Here are some before and after pics.
Since I had not seen the space in person, I had to base my plan on pictures and measurements Nicole sent me. The space in the living room is actually bigger than I had anticipated, and Nicole’s treasures were even more beautiful than her pictures conveyed. One of my favourite pieces is her grandma’s trunk, and it really became the focal point of the entire room makeover.
The chest was given to Nicole by her grandma and is the perfect size for a coffee table in the living room. Nicole had it in her entryway before, but it was too big for that space. The beautiful colour of the chest became our accent colour in the living room and entryway. Nicole loves neutral spaces but wanted a little colour. We added it using the chest, a lamp, pillows, and plant pots.
The art used in the living room was already in the house. I rearranged it into a gallery wall surrounding the TV. The TV cabinets for this makeover were found on Kijiji for $30.00 each. I stripped the cabinets, painted the bottoms, and stained the tops with a nice warm stain. Here is what they looked like before:
A closer shot at the cabinets in the room:
I found the lamps on clearance for $20.00 each. They match the new chairs perfectly. The chairs were bought on Kijiji for a steal of $25.00 a chair. A small change we made that had a huge impact was the window area. The windows had heavy blinds that didn’t always work properly. We took them down and added white curtains for privacy. This change makes the room so bright!
Lastly, we were able to incorporate some neat things from Nicole’s family farm. Two antique fire extinguishers frame another piece of art, and an antique oxen yoke harness balances the pieces opposite Logan’s moose picture.
Let’s move on to the entryway. Here are the before and after pictures.
Nicole originally had her grandma’s trunk here in the entryway but it just became a catchall for everything. It is also too wide, and they would trip on it when going through the hallway. We took it out and made some other small changes that had a big impact. We bought a rug with Nicole’s Canadian Tire money that ran the entire length of the hallway. Now they can walk all the way down the hall without worrying about messing up the floor. We also added a large mirror that I got for free and whose frame I painted the colour of the trunk. It makes the entryway so much brighter and gives Nicole and Logan the chance to check their appearance before they leave the house. The mirror makes the entryway so much brighter and more spacious looking. I’m so happy with how this Swift Current makeover turned out.
Do you have a room in your house that needs help? A design plan could be your solution.
