• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Simply Designing with Ashley

  • DIY
  • Oils
  • Recipes
  • Craft
  • Travel
  • Decor
  • Holiday
menu icon
go to homepage
  • DIY
  • Oils
  • Recipes
  • Craft
  • Travel
  • Decor
  • Holiday
search icon
Homepage link
  • DIY
  • Oils
  • Recipes
  • Craft
  • Travel
  • Decor
  • Holiday
×

Living Room Reveal | Decorating a Habitat for Humanity Home with GMC

Published: Aug 20, 2015 · Modified: Sep 23, 2015 by Ashley Phipps · 1785 words. · About 9 minutes to read this article. · 2 Comments · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads and sponsored posts · This blog uses cookies · See our privacy policy for more info Filed Under: DIY, Home Decor, Sponsored Post

Alright sweet friends!  Today is the day!  I have already shared what a huge impact decorating a Habitat for Humanity Home with GMC had on me HERE.  Be sure to click over, you don't want to miss that post!  And today I am really excited to give you a few more details and also to share my Living Room Reveal with you!!!  Wahoo!  So here we go!

Living Room Reveal GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure Habitat for Humanity Home-00535

Participating in the GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure has probably been one of the biggest highlights of my life!  It was one of the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences.  (See why here.)  I was so grateful to have been chosen to participate in this amazing adventure.  And here is how is all went down...

GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure

Day 1

On Wednesday August 5th, 2015 I flew out of Indianapolis Airport and into Detroit, Michigan.  After a bit of trouble finding my luggage (because they forgot to unload it from the airplane...) I walked over to the adjacent hotel and met my 7 fellow bloggers and the wonderful people from GMC.

The other bloggers included in this adventure were:  Lucy from Lucy Inspired, Sarah from Nestrs, Michael from Inspired by Charm, Rhoda from Southern Hospitality, Dusty from All Things G&D and our two fearless mentors: Allison from Two Thirty Five Designs and Brooke from All Things Thrifty.

GMC Bloggers

I know right!?  I can't even get over the amazing talent all these bloggers have!!!  Serious.  World-Changing.  Talent!  And I was able to work with all of them, grow to love them, and wish I could bring them all home with me!  They are all awesome!

We were also met by our fearless GMC team!  Wahoo!  Thank you Megan, Jenn, Dee and James for making this trip so amazing and for making it possible!

We ate lunch and discussed our upcoming adventure.  Then we were given our room assignments.  Mine was the Living Room!  Which was exciting, and nerve wracking because it would be the first room the family (and their guests) would enter into every single day.  This was an important room!  But I was thrilled for the challenge!!  I was told that black couches had been donated for this room.  Which was a wonderful blessing to not have to find and purchase couches for the family during the yard sale.

GMC Team and Bloggers

After that we loaded up into GMC Yukon XL Denali's (uh....whoa...this is an amazing car by the way...) and took off!  We drove only about an hour and a half that day to Montpelier, Ohio where our journey would begin the next day.  We did a little sneak peek yard sale shopping, met for a yummy dinner, celebrated Michael's birthday and headed off to bed at a reasonable hour.

Treasure Hunting at the World's Longest Yard Sale

Day 2

We woke up and left Montpelier, Ohio to begin our trek down route 127 for the World's Longest Yard Sale!

Old Barn

I can not fully describe this adventure!  Yard sales lined the street!  Some were big, some where small, some were individual people selling items, some were vendors and companies.  Each yard sale had its own feel to it and no two were alike!

Treasure Hunting at the World's Longest Yard Sale

We could not stop every place though because we had to travel quite a distance this day all the way down to Frankfort, Kentucky.

However I really focused on finding the main pieces of furniture for the living room this day!

Treasure Hunting at the World's Longest Yard Sale

I found a dresser / buffet, (2) wire spools (that became end tables), a ladder, an amazing green metal chair and two wood and metal pallet things that I turned into my favorite coffee table ever!!

World's Longest Yard Sale

While we were passing through Cincinnati we came to a point where I was fairly certain that we were close to IKEA.  So we decided to make a quick stop!

Treasure Hunting at the World's Longest Yard Sale

Most of the items in the living room are from a yard sale.  But certain things, like fabric items, I wanted new because I knew I would not have proper facilities or time to properly clean any fabric items.  I had the best luck at IKEA and found the perfect pillows in colors that the family loves!  I also snagged two throws and a few other random little items while I was there.

Old Barn

By the end of day 1 I had found nearly everything for the room except art for the walls and I needed a few more decorations.

Cool Old Car

Day 3

We started off our second day of shopping a little more tired then the day before!  We still had a lot of ground to travel and a lot of shops to check out!  But because I had found most of my items the day before, today I was able to relax a little bit more.

Treasure Hunting at the World's Longest Yard Sale

When an opportunity came up that a local news station wanted to do a quick segment with a couple of us bloggers, because I had most of my shopping done, Allison and I were able to hang back a bit to do this!

TV

Here is my world debut on Kentucky News!

TV Spot

Click HERE to see the segment

We also had a little more time to explore just for fun.  But we still had to travel a big distance today to end up in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Finding Treasure at the World's Longest Yard Sale with GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure

That night we had dinner at the cutest, yummiest restaurant ever!  The Public House in downtown Chattanooga.  Dinner was amazing and I simply loved getting to talk to the other bloggers to see how everyone was doing.  It was so fun!  But we were all exhausted by the end of dinner.

Finding Treasure at the World's Longest Yard Sale with GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure

Day 4

Today we only had a few hours to travel to make our nearly 1,000 mile road trip complete!  We didn't stop at any yard sales today because we needed to get down to Lithonia, Georgia to FINALLY see our Habitat for Humanity home and begin pulling our rooms together!  Yes, we were buying and planning for a home we had never seen in person!

Refinishing Furniture

This was a long day and night for many of us as we refinished and repainted furniture and decorations!  We also had an insane amount of fun and I don't think I have ever laughed so hard!

Refinishing Furniture

This is the best group of friends and bloggers I could have spent 5 days with!!  Love them all!

Living Room Reveal GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure Habitat for Humanity Home

Day 5

We were up early this morning so that we could take furniture over the the home, finish putting the rooms together and create some awesome art for the walls!!

Things came together really nicely!

Paint Chip Art

Megan from GMC helped me with a little paint chip art for the walls!  (Isn't she the best!)  All three of the girls from GMC helped me with my room in some way!  And all the bloggers gave amazing support and encouragement!  They.  Are.  All.  AMAZING!!!!  Truly some of the best people I know.

And here is it!  An onslaught of too many living room photos!!!!

Coffee Table

I am in love with this coffee table!

Living Room Reveal GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure Habitat for Humanity Home

Living Room Reveal GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure Habitat for Humanity Home

These wire spools made great end tables!

Wire Spool End Table

As soon as I saw this green chair I knew it would be perfect in this room!  Love it!

Living Room Reveal GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure Habitat for Humanity Home

The whole room!

Living Room Reveal GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure Habitat for Humanity Home

I refinished this dresser and hardware.  And this wall art was created using a large body pillow case cut and stretched around a wooden frame I built.

Living Room Reveal GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure Habitat for Humanity Home

I love decorating with old books!

Living Room Reveal GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure Habitat for Humanity Home

Living Room Reveal GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure Habitat for Humanity Home

Seriously.  This coffee table!  It was made from two wood and metal "things" I found, stacked on top of each other (I secured them together so they wouldn't fall.).  The wood and metal was sanded and then we applied a coat of polyacrylic to the wood and painted the metal black.

Living Room Reveal GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure Habitat for Humanity Home

I found this cute Georgia print online, bought the file and had it printed!  I love what a fun touch it adds to the room!

Living Room Reveal GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure Habitat for Humanity Home

The colors they like are black, white, green and blue by the way!  I tried to keep a lot of neutral colors in the living room with fun pops of color and I definitely leaned more towards adding green to this room.  And I love how it turned out!

Living Room Reveal GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure Habitat for Humanity Home

This ladder was one of my first purchases and I really love how it looks in the space!

Living Room Reveal GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure Habitat for Humanity Home

Living Room Reveal GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure Habitat for Humanity Home

Living Room Reveal GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure Habitat for Humanity Home

Living Room Reveal GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure Habitat for Humanity Home

Living Room Reveal GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure Habitat for Humanity Home

Living Room Reveal GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure Habitat for Humanity Home

Living Room Reveal GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure Habitat for Humanity Home

Living Room Reveal GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure Habitat for Humanity Home

Living Room Reveal GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure Habitat for Humanity Home

Living Room Reveal GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure Habitat for Humanity Home

We all finished our rooms and cleaned the house in the nick of time!  At 3:00 the family arrived!!

Habitat for Humanity Family

Oh, this sweet family!  They were told they were coming to see their new home.  They had NO IDEA that it would be fully decorated!  Ready to move in!  And we were able to be there for the reveal!

Yaro Family

If you follow me on Periscope, I even did a quick reveal tour!  Wahoo!  Follow me on Periscope @simplydesigning to check out my fun live videos there, but here is the video I did!  It was my first periscope, so be kind!  If you notice in the beginning of the video, maybe you can tell by my voice, but I was already fighting back tears.

http://www.simplydesigning.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/IMG_3696.mp4

As we waited in the home for the family to walk in, I had the hardest time fighting back tears.  This was such a neat thing to be a part of.  It was so incredibly special.

GMC Habitat for Humanity

As the family walked in, tears were shed by many of us.  The family was so surprised and grateful.  And I could hardly believe that I was able to be a part of this amazing experience!  It was simply indescribable.

GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure for Habitat for Humanity

As we got to know the Yaro family we knew that this home would be perfect for them.  They are so deserving of it and are such amazing family.  Their son loved his cute new room and their daughter was elated with her new room!  And the whole family was happy.  They said that the home looked like a show room or something on tv.  They were so happy with it!

And these bloggers....

Bloggers

I love them all!  And I wouldn't have wanted to experience this without them!  They are incredible!

GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure for Habitat for Humanity

And they are all so talented!

GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure for Habitat for Humanity

And so fun!

GMC Hidden Treasure Adventure for Habitat for Humanity

It was an amazing adventure to be a part of.  To be able to use my talents for decorating and refinishing and reusing items to DO GOOD and to help someone was such an incredible experience.  And I am incredible grateful for this opportunity.  It has truly changed me.  It has changed everything.  You can read more about this here.

In a few days I will be revealing the rest of the home so that you can see all the fun photos of the entire Habitat for Humanity Home sponsored by GMC.  So stay tuned!

Also, a BIG HUGE GIGANTIC THANK YOU to GMC for making this whole adventure possible and for inviting me to be a part of it!  Love and hugs to all of you!

Be sure to check out my first post about this adventure HERE:

Because I Knew You - Yaro Family

More Home DIY

  • DIY Firewood Rack 09979 DIY Firewood Rack 1 firewood rack
    DIY Firewood Rack
  • How to make a Bat House 09477 How to make a Bat House 2 firewood rack
    How to make a Bat House
  • How to make an Address Sign 09259 How to make an Address Sign 3 firewood rack
    How to make an Address Sign
  • DIY Cat House 09103 DIY Cat House 4 firewood rack
    DIY Cat House

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dusty @All Things G&D

    September 08, 2015 at 12:33 pm

    Such a great post, Ashley! Your living room turned out so beautifully and I'm absolutely obsessed with that gorgeous coffee table you created. Wonderful job, friend!

    Reply
    • Ashley Phipps

      September 11, 2015 at 10:45 am

      Thank you Dusty! 🙂 I love how your space turned out as well! So glad we were able to spend the week together!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Hello Friends!

Ashley Phipps Simply Designing I'm Ashley Phipps and I love sharing SIMPLE DIY, home, travel, food, craft and essential oil ideas with you! Learn more about me here. Contact me here. Find Media/PR info here. Privacy is important to us. Please read my Privacy Policy.
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Favorite Posts

7 St Patricks Day Crafts

7 Easy St. Patrick's Day Crafts

Himmeli Wreath with Shamrocks

St. Patrick's Day Himmeli Wreath


COPYRIGHT: You’re welcome to link to Simply Designing or use a single image with a brief description to link back to any post. Republishing posts in their entirety is strictly prohibited.  Any use for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited. Feel free to pin on Pinterest. Find out more in my Privacy Policy.  Simply Designing with Ashley Phipps LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com . Simply Designing with Ashley Phipps LLC and it’s owner, employees and affiliates are not liable in any way for injury or loss (whether physical, emotional, monetary or any other kind of loss) resulting from any inspiration, ideas, directions or information gained from this website. We advise you to always follow manufacturer instructions, take appropriate safety precautions and hire a professional when in doubt. We love it when you use our site for inspiration, but by using it, you agree that you do so at your own risk.

Privacy Policy 

Copyright © 2023