From drab to fab: Room for Living winners announced
The Daily Herald Media Group has named two winners in its Room for Living room makeover contest.
The winner, Cindy Krizizke of Schaumburg, wants to add a bit of color into her boring, drab living room, which is stocked with brown, hand-me-down furniture.
Our runner-up, Cindi Lamkin of Elgin, wants to yank her living room out of the country phase, but has hit some roadblocks along the way.
Grand prize
Winner: Cindy Krizizke of Schaumburg
Prizes:
• $4,000 gift certificate for furniture from Steinhafels in Vernon Hills.
• $2,000 gift certificate from Littman Brothers Lighting in Schaumburg.
• $500 gift certificate from Calico in Barrington.
• $100 gift certificate from TreeTime in Lake Barrington.
The entry letter: We are a family of five. We have 16-year-old triplet boys. College is in the near future and, let's face it, feeding three teenage boys is costly enough. My husband and I both work full time and I have another part-time job. Furniture and room updates are just not in the cards right now. This is the room we have guests sit in and I just find it depressing. There is no color. I would love paintings, colored items, etc., but it's just not on the list of things to buy for the family. All of the furniture is hand-me-downs. My living room needs to be revived.
Runner-up
Runner-up: Cindi Lamkin of Elgin
Prizes:
• $2,500 gift certificate for interior doors from HomeStory Chicago.
• $2,000 gift certificate from Littman Brothers Lighting in Schaumburg.
• $100 gift certificate from TreeTime in Lake Barrington.
The entry letter: Decorated during the height of the country-phase, my living room is still stuck in that time warp. I've taken down the wallpaper but was scammed by the painting contractor and have walls that never saw two coats of paint and the primer shows through. The carpet is missing behind the “pineapple-print” love seat and along the entrance to the study (another unscrupulous contractor) and don't ya'll just love the curtains. The long room is difficult to decorate around two windows and four doorways. My plan was to add a fireplace mantel between the windows with a comfy chair to read, but am now “contractor-shy” and have nightmares about power saws. Please help erase the decades!