The Snug The Victorian House

The Wallpapered Back Room

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I’ve been working on a few rooms lately (yay!), one of them being the former sleeping porch behind the kitchen.

Wallpapered Back Room (Former Sleeping Porch)

We’ve never made good use of the room. I initially thought it would be my office, but when that didn’t work out it served as a catchall, taking the overflow from the rest of the house. Maybe a year or so ago we added a little TV and rearranged things a bit, but we didn’t put much effort into making it look good. As I took over the former playroom for my office, I thought I would relocate all of the toys downstairs, but aside from the play kitchen (which is in the library right now), everything just ended up in the kids’ rooms.

Wallpapered Back Room (Former Sleeping Porch)

The room is small and has its quirks/annoyances. (If we’re ever able to do a massive renovation of the kitchen, this room would become part of that project, but we can’t do it right now so I’m working with what we’ve got.) Rather than make another playroom my kids may or may not really use, I’m keeping it as more of a family room. There will still be space for the kids and their toys, but it is nice to have a TV on the first floor since our main television is upstairs. An antique daybed serves as our sofa, and I’m working with Overstock.com to bring in some more pieces to make the space more functional.

Here’s the plan.

Family Room Plan

  1. pink lamp

  2. convex mirror

  3. cabbage rose wallpaper

  4. antique daybed with daybed cover

  5. cream pillow

  6. pink pillow

  7. ceramic garden stool

  8. TV console

  9. slipper chair

  10. white carpeting

Yep, that cabbage rose wallpaper is staying. I think I can make it work!

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  • AnnW
    June 30, 2017 at 3:08 pm

    That wallpaper is a Waverly pattern I believe. I had that same fabric on comforters, shams, and curtains in a condo near Vail in the 1990’s. I bought the condo already decorated, but I still love the pattern. It is probably a copy of something in a museum.

    • Making it Lovely
      July 5, 2017 at 6:06 pm

      That makes sense! I would guess that this was probably papered in the ’90s.

  • Kelly
    June 30, 2017 at 4:51 pm

    I’ve learned from the show, Escape to the Country, that the British would call this room a ‘snug’ – a sort of cozy, small room for reading or watching TV. If you haven’t watched the show, I recommend! It’s about people from the city escaping to the countryside. This room looks like one you might find in one of the country houses.

    • Making it Lovely
      July 5, 2017 at 6:06 pm

      Ooh, stealing that term. It’s perfect.

  • Jessibee
    July 1, 2017 at 3:54 pm

    I love the wallpaper so much! I’ve always, always been a total sucker for cabbage rose. It looks so beautiful with the wood trim. I wish this room were mine! Kelly is right…a perfect snug!

  • Vanessa Bailey
    July 2, 2017 at 7:55 pm

    I also like the wallpaper even though it is kind of squarey.

  • Laura
    July 3, 2017 at 3:39 pm

    There is worse wallpaper to deal with (like the artichoke bird wallpaper in my dining room), so I consider you pretty darn lucky. Is that a water stain a see on the wallpaper between the doors?

    • Making it Lovely
      July 5, 2017 at 6:09 pm

      I think there was art there for a long time, and the wallpaper faded around the frames. The yellowish spots are pretty rectangular.

  • Peggi
    July 3, 2017 at 10:55 pm

    I dig the wallpaper and your plan! Every room can’t get a complete makeover in the real world.

  • cd
    July 5, 2017 at 12:58 pm

    Do you ever feel that your house is too big for you? Even with 5 of you? This is part of the reason why we downsized (or “right-sized” recently. We had a lot of family spaces – enough that we didn’t spend time in all of them. Felt like wasted space – and definitely spaces that didn’t get cleaned, dusted, or vacuumed too often! I can’t keep track of all your common areas (library, parlor, upstairs play room, that room off your master bedroom, etc). Do you spend time in each of these spaces?

    • Making it Lovely
      July 5, 2017 at 6:14 pm

      This house is for sure too big for us — I think we knew that going into it. I love it so much and we can walk everywhere (we do have one car, but we like to walk more and we’re close to the train and shops), but maybe we’d be open to ‘right-sizing’. We use the house fully, but I think we could downsize by about 1/3 and still be pretty comfortable.

  • Alisa Bleske
    July 6, 2017 at 1:15 am

    I love reading everyone’s comments and catches. It makes me go back and look at the pictures again.