This is a sponsored post is brought to you by CREE LED light bulbs.
Right now I’m in the middle of a project.
Actually right now I’m typing this post in a house full of the sounds of the song YMCA blasting on the video game Rock Band for the 256 time since December 25.
And I wish I were exaggerating.
Truly.
Have you ever tried to write a post before when all you can think about is…..
“Young man there’s no need to feel down.
I said….young man pick yourself off the ground.
I said,….young man ’cause you’re in a new town.
There’s no need to be un–ha–ppy.”
But I digress.
The project? What is 2015 is bringing to the table (literally)?
I’m switching all the rooms around on the first floor.
For example, right now we have a room in the front of the house that we never use. Mostly no one ever uses it because there’s not a television in there. There’s a lot of natural light and lots of seating and most importantly there’s a fireplace. But without a television most of the time the room looks just like this.
Without the Christmas tree.
And without anyone ever sitting in those chairs.
A whole room that we use twice a year for parties and when I’m in the middle of a really good book and need a quiet place to read.
So this room is switching places with the family room (the room in picture number one).
I’ve moved the television in here right over there by the snowflake where the birdcage and the lamp are right now to move the population up to the front room where it’s warm and there’s more space.
And this room where the television was?
This room is where I’m moving the farmhouse table from the kitchen. The space is going to become sort of an extension of the kitchen. I’m filling the bookcases with milk glass and baskets and storing school work supplies in those cabinets.
This is where everyone gathers anyway and now there’s a space to do homework and crafts and still have a place for the family to eat dinner. The floor plan will make a little more sense now. It’s hard to tell from the picture, but there’s a pass-through that is located between the kitchen and the family room.
Here’s a better view of the wall between the two spaces.
This is the view from the family room into the kitchen.
The transom opening and doorway separates the two rooms.
And the space in the kitchen where the table was?
That’s going to be more of a keeping room. I’m moving two of the chairs and the ottoman into this space to create a hang-out space while I’m cooking. That’s a desk to the left where I pay bills and write notes and sign permission slips and write blog posts.
You know…..all the important things.
Does this even make sense? I know it’s confusing. I know you need pictures.
I’m on it and I’ll post a few next week.
And while I’m changing everything up, I”m changing all the light bulbs, too.
When CREE contacted me to partner with them and talk about my experiences with light bulbs, I was a little skeptical. So I asked them to send me the bulbs so I could try them out before I said yes.
I mean….light in a room….the right light is a serious thing.
And when they sent me the bulbs and I tried them out in the room and saw the difference….
….I sent them a thank you note.
I thanked them for the brilliant clear light.
I thanked them for the way the lightbulbs made the rooms feel warm and welcoming.
I thanked them that I would only have to change a light bulb once in a blue moon.
And my electric bill thanked them for only using 6 watts and saving all those dollars for a rainy day. 🙂
PS You can purchase CREE bulbs at your local Home Depo.
PPS I’m posting pictures from the big change-up soon. 🙂
This sponsored post is brought to you by CREE LED light bulbs.
All opinions on light bulbs and room change-ups are completely my own.
Please see my disclosure page for more information.
I love changing rooms around, it makes it feel like you have a new home and gives you a good excuse to redecorate! Have fun!
Exciting movement in your home. Can't wait to see more. We changed to LEE'S several years ago, and it was a great change. Hope you have a wonderful birthday and new year. Sending love from me to you.
Oops! LEDs
Before Thanksgiving, I switched lamps in our family room to Cree bulbs. Your words"warm and welcoming" perfectly described the room's atmosphere for the holidays. I will be adding more Cree bulbs room by room as we rearrange furniture too. Excited to see before and afters of the completed project.
I can not wait to See pictures of your big changes. You are going to Start the New Year off with. Bang!!
Looks great and can't wait to see all of the changes! Don't lose a quiet place for yourself. One question, where did you get the picture in the first room, "I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean....?" Would love that....
I'm so excited to see all your changes! I will have to try out the CREE bulbs since the generic bulbs I picked up at the grocery store make for terrible lighting. Eerie bluish light that looks like it is emanating from a bug zapper probably is not the mood I'm going for in my home. I now have the following song zooming through my brain, "It's fun to change out your lights with C-R-E-E..." I think I need another cup of coffee.
Absolutely love the decor in all your rooms. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Can't wait to see the pictures of the big change. I know its going to be fabulous and work better for you. I also would like to know where you got the picture "I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean...?"
I think your plan for the change-up makes a lot of sense. I know how difficult it can be to get people to hang out in a room without a television. I like the idea of a space for people to hang out in the kitchen while I am cooking and baking. We have a couple of large chairs in our kitchen where my husband will sit and chat while I am busy in the kitchen. Sounds like you will enjoy the new layout and it will be more functional for you and your family. Happy New Year! Chloe
Looking so forward to your next post! :)
LOVE Cree lights. Hubby used to work for Cree and we converted all the lights in the house at that time. We love them! Can't wait to see the changes! Jenny
It is so important to be able to look at our homes as it they're a blank slate. It is so easy to fall into the trap of "that's how it's always been." We made similar changes to our home a few years ago, and it's been life-changing for how our family functions. We lived in our home for a number of years and let our house tell us what we needed to change to fit our family. In our case, the room swapping/reconfiguring involved construction but if you can make such changes just by moving furniture, BRAVO. Have fun!
I love changing rooms around so that all spaces are more readily or practically used. Just gives the house a fresh feel without painting :) I'll be anxious to see the changes. If I haven't commented before, the new blue and white drapes look beautiful! Happy New Year, KariAnne!
Looking forward to seeing the changes! We swapped our rooms around several years ago - the family room which opened to our kitchen became the dining area with a 9 foot table. TV went to the never used living room. Best thing we've done to our home.
Love room swapping! Could you also draw a sketch so we can see where the rooms are exactly? We are slowly switching over to Cree led's as the old bulbs burn out...it does make a difference. Our rooms stay so much cooler too! Enjoy your day...I'm sure they'll get hooked on another song really soon...and then you'll have THAT song going through your head! ;)
Yes!!
I'm inspired! LOVE all of the changes! I'm rethinking my downstairs as well...like knocking out a wall between our kitchen and family room...and making the current dining room a sitting room... But, first I need to get my Christmas decorations taken down! Can't wait to see the changes! Happy New Year! Melissa
Change is always good. At our last home, I changed rooms up quite often. Kept things fresh and new... here it's harder. Looking forward to all the new changes... Happy New Year KariAnne! Hugs, Gee
I can't wait to see the change up. We have a very small house. We had five rooms which included an entry, formal living room, formal dining room, kitchen and den. We busted all the walls out and now have one big open space. We love it! I'm always switching things around to find the best solution for seating and comfort. Looking forward to seeing the pictures.
It sounds like a great idea and fun too. I love changing things up. Many times people come to my house and think I have new things but it's just because I've moved things from room to room. Can't wait to see how it all turns out.
Change is always good. Now if I could convince my husband. :)
Can't wait to see it...sounds like the perfect switch-a-roo ;)
Okay. Stupid question: Do you ever rest? Okay. Never mind. Looking forward to seeing all the changes you have planned. Happy New Year! --Michael
Oh I so love room switcheroos! I think it all sounds like it makes perfect sense! You need to use the rooms the best way for your family. Plus, it's so fun to get to reuse things in a new and exciting way! I did that a couple of years ago, and would love to again but there is no need to change rooms around any more. I satisfy the urge for change by painting rooms or rearranging decorative items. Can't wait to see what you do!
I would love to have a front room like your current one. When we moved from IL to OK 11 ys ago we went from have a living room to not having one. The houses are so much small here unless you want to pay $150000 more (which we couldn`t). Glad you are blessed with space.
Karianne, I did that a few years ago with my dining room, living room and family rooms. My dining room was much too small for my massive dining room furniture, my living room was huge and mostly unused. I moved the dining room into the huge, unused living room, which created a dream dining room with a fireplace. The living room furniture was moved upstairs into the bonus/family room. The family room furniture was "retired". And the former small dining room? It was made into a charming little parlor which we now use all the time for reading and/or quite conversations! Sooo....you go girl. You're gonna love it!
Oh my! What wonderful energy! My retirement home is quite small so fruit-basket-turn-over is not really an option. It goes like this... If I move a table that is in storage into an area where it would fit so I can have bigger dinner parties then I would have to give up a cherished Welsh cupboard that provides necessary storage ...one move confuses another. It sounds like you are going for comfort and convenience and that should, at all times, trump other aspects of decorating. Happy New Year!
So smart of you, to think about how your rooms would function best. I did a similar-but-different thing a year ago--we had a kitchen renovation and since everything was out of our kitchen, anyway, it forced me to think through how I really use the space ... what should go where in the cupboards ... what should stay out on the countertops ... in short, how to best use the space available to me. You have lots of lovely space to use--enjoy it!
Karianne, which are you using, Soft White or Daylight?
Stephanie, Soft white is warm and I have them in the hallway. Daylight is really clear and bright and I have it in the family room! karianne
This is going to be sensational! I know you will do a great job. Sigh...I wish I had rooms to switcharoo! Fun! I am going to check out the lightbulbs, I have a little trip to HD planned for some new shelves...so excited! :) Jane x
You go girl!!!
Wow! I'm doing the exact same thing this new year. We have the worlds tiniest dining room that my family of 6 just fits into, with no room for guest. And a den that never gets used. So the den will get a tv and some paint, the dining room will become a cozy den and the living room will become a roomy dining room, (which I really want to add molding to). It took months for me to convince my husband that you don't have to use the rooms as the builder designed. I look forward to seeing your progress.
Okay! You had better give me map and photos. I'd hate to get up in the middle of the night and go to sit in where I remember a chair and sofa was and end up on the floor. I know it is presumptuous of me to already believe I have been invited to visit but hope springs eternal. I could find a few more sayings if that would help. Also I need to find out if Cree light bulbs come in the 5000K output. You see, our house has lousy natural light and for the food photos I need as much natural light as possible. I find the other bulbs make the food look blue or yellow - YUCK!! Who wants to eat blue or yellow looking food when it's supposed to look green or red?? Now the soft light is great for reading my mushy romance novels. What a dilemma - I'll have to purchase several types of bulbs depending if Cree has them - do you think??
I can totally picture this and I think your ideas are great!! It's funny about the light bulbs...we just changed our pot lights in the kitchen. 10 years ago we re did the kitchen and never thought twice about the lights, until the other day when we pulled one down to check the wattage....each one (6 in all) are 75 watts, ouch! Now maybe when we get our letter in the mail from our electric provider comparing us to our neighbors that our neighbors are now consuming more energy than us ;) Happy New Year!
We have LED bulbs in most of the fixtures. So much brighter but it is not a glaring light! Especially in the kitchen which gets very little natural light. We purchased an LED lighting strip and put that under the kitchen upper cupboards as cheap task lighting and that is working out well too. Your new room placement makes perfect sense and sounds great.
I can't wait to see results! I. Have. Been wanting to switch my living room and dining room for holidays Thanksgiving and Christmas. We have 16 immediate family members - and growing. We need the space to use all the table leaves so we can all sit together during Christmas and Thanksgiving. I would even leave it that way and use our family room all the time for family and company instead of the living room. It suits our needs better. HURRY! Lol! I need pictures!
Can't wait to see! I switched our dinning room, which we only used once a year , to a living room. Where I can curl up with a good book & be away from the TV. GOOD FOR YOU! Happy Moving & decorating ( the best part! )
The room shuffle makes total sense after you have explained it so well...and Cree?....love the bulbs...Cree is based here in the great State of NC ... and the guy responsible for the bulb is my neighbor!...Happy New Year Kari!
Light bulbs & change ... timely topics around our place. Hubs is retired now and we're looking for ways to save $$ AND take things up a notch with better lighting. Want to brighten up those long winter nights that are on the way ... maybe they just seem darker up here in the northland :( We'll check those bulbs out. The blog will feature some home changes soon too. The Fall was busy for us so the new year is looking brighter ... maybe even more so if we like the CREE bulbs!
How exciting!!!! I am looking forward to pictures. Soon!!!!! December 31st I celebrate my 48th Wedding Anniversary. I know that seems like a really, really long time, but it didn't seem all that long to me. I have great plans for 2015 and can hardly wait to get started. You are never too old to learn, create, and enjoy life. That is what is on my agenda for next year. Will share some of my creations with you. I enjoy opening my email and seeing your blog pop up. Thank you for sharing with all of us. Jill
I can't wait to see the photos of everything switched up! I know it will be stunning. Have a fantastic New Years!!
Hello! I love your blog and your beautiful pictures! I was wondering if you could tell me where you got the two hanging lights in the room where your desk is? We are looking for something like this!! Thanks and Happy New Year!! Have fun changing it all around! Tammy
I love it! I can already tell that it is going to be awesome.
Happy 2015! Love your ideas...I have one question...what paint was used for your white moldings etc...I have a similar set up as your transon opening and we repainted but I feel like it's not holding up...yours looks beautiful! Thanks in advance
I love the idea of switching the rooms up! When my mom used to do that when I was a kid I used to get so excited! My house is too tiny to switch around the rooms but we're adding some new pieces and changing out some decor items! As always, thanks for sharing you are such an inspiration!
What a wonderful kick off for the new year - creating fresh new spaces! looking forward to the reveal.
My hubby's been changing out all our lightbulbs with led's too :)
Oh Kari Anne how I have missed reading your lovely posts. How can I let the birth of a child steer me away from blogging and being inspired by creative geniuses like yourself?? : ) I have some milk glass vases I would love for you to have for your shelves if you are interested. I purchased them years ago at an antique store but never found a comfy corner for them in our home. Let me know if you have any use for two small milk glass vases. Happy New Year to you and your family. Xo Alison
Ohhh, I want to check those light bulbs out. Thanks for telling us.
Will definitely try the CREE bulbs. Need lightbulbs for the bedroom. I love your changes. Wha is the lamoshade made of ? (Silver base with drum shade)
Oooh!! Oooh! I can.not wait to see this! It totally makes sense and I know it's going to look ah-mazing!! I love the idea of a keeping room! Cant wait to see lots of pictures! Happy New Year, my friend!
Great idea! Can't wait to see it all.