While updating our home’s before & after page and paint color and sources page last week, we noticed several photos were already out of date. The upstairs family room is a prime example — we’ve made a few important additions since we first showed it in July. See if you can spot what’s changed.
The most noticeable change is the oversized capiz globe light we finally installed — a fixture Sherry has been pinning for years. It’s one of Serena & Lily’s signature pieces, and until now we never had a place with the right scale to use it. The vaulted ceilings in this living room made it the perfect spot (the pitch reaches about 10′ at its highest point).
The fixture is available in three sizes — 10.5″, 22.5″, and 29″ diameters — and we chose the largest. It’s hard to show scale in photos, so we took a few shots during installation to give a better sense of its presence. One of our favorites shows Sherry goofing around with the light before it was hung.
Getting the globe upstairs was a small adventure. Our stairway is narrow (it’s the same stairway that nearly caused us to cry while getting the couch up here), and the light barely squeezed through on its side. We could have lifted it up from the deck, but fitting it through the stairs was much easier — and we were relieved when it just made it.
Once installed it immediately felt right. The room is long (about 25′) with tall ceilings, so the light solves both a functional need and a visual one — it’s the only overhead fixture in that high plane and creates a strong focal point. For the record, this light was a personal purchase, not a gift or sponsorship, and we’ve been loving it.
And to answer the obvious question: can a tall person walk underneath it? Yes. I’m 6′ and I still have nearly a foot of clearance above my head when I walk beneath the globe.
Sherry also filmed a short walkthrough so you can get a better sense of the room in motion — a silent spin around that helps show scale and layout. You can also watch that video on YouTube here.
If you watch the video you’ll likely notice changes on the seating and TV side of the room. Previously we only had the long sofa and the kids’ bean bags. Our sofa is roomy (93″ without the large arms), so it seats the four of us comfortably for movie nights. Still, when friends or family visit we wanted extra seating that didn’t clutter the space. We solved that with a woven bench from HomeGoods and new upholstered ottomans that replaced the bean bags. The ottomans look neater, function better as footrests, and even double as extra seats when needed. Bean bags were never great stand-ins for a coffee table — they flop and don’t support a drink well — so this change made the area feel much more usable.
We plan to upgrade the woven bench with a custom padded cushion (thick foam with a removable, zippered cover seems likely). Since that will add height, we’ll lower the bench legs slightly so the seat aligns better with the couch. Small tweaks like that make a big difference in comfort and cohesion.
We’re also reworking the media console. The current piece works fine and holds baskets full of board games, but we have a custom storage solution on order that will run along most of the TV wall. Materials are on backorder and installation won’t start until next month, but when it’s done we expect to dramatically increase our storage — which, in our house, feels like a major upgrade. Sherry calls smart storage our love language, and I’m inclined to agree.
On the opposite corner we added hanging planters and some art above the kids’ desk. With so much greenery visible through the windows, adding plants inside creates a better visual flow from inside to out. Sherry has fully embraced hanging plants, which is a fun new level of plant enthusiasm in our house.
That covers the main updates so far. We’re still tweaking details and adding small touches, but the room already feels settled and functional. It’s become a great place for the kids’ remote learning, crafts, movie nights, fort-building, and general hanging out — and with the long layout and smart vertical storage, we’re making the most of every inch.
We’re also making changes outside the windows — updating the upstairs deck and adding a privacy solution between us and the house under construction next door. Stay tuned for those updates.
P.S. You can catch up on all our Florida house progress here, from bedrooms to the kitchen. There aren’t many posts since this house only has six rooms, but it’s easy to get up to speed.
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