A Tour of the Den

I have been busy busy sewing and bringing some color to this room. 

There is still upholstry to be done on the bergere chair, a coffee table and a few more accents but I am happy to be at this point!

Do we remember what it looked like when we moved in 18m ago?

Can't wait to show you the project we have planned for this weekend!

When you find a room that makes you want to throw everything out...

via talbotcooley.com

I mean this room is stunning.the furniture placement is perfect....

but the coffee table.... dear heavens its perfection!

And when you entertain alot its exactly the perfect  place to store extra ottomans!

Needless to say my original plan for a marble top coffee table immediately changed to either glass or acrylic!

What do you think of the space?

(my room will obviously have some different patterned pillows, but all in all it knocks my socks off!)

Den: upholstery part 1

The den progress is still slow but steady. 

Last weekend we went to a cousins graduation and on the way dropped these two items off with the upholsterer!! 

This chair is being recovered in a dark charcoal and will also be getting an upgraded paint job. 

And our beloved pottery barn ottoman had seen juice and soft drinks and some magic markets... 

So she is getting a fresh layer of a very similar fabric! 

I have about 5 more weeks before I pick them up so I am anxious to see how they turn out!!

Next up is new fabric for the toile chair!! Soo many options and only 5 weeks to narrow it down!!!   

Den Progress

Just a quick little update to say we are at a mild standstill in the den. 

One chair and ottoman have been sent to the upholster!

WOOO HOOOO!!!!

and it will be 4-6 weeks before we get those things back.

We have found a new ceiling fixture, and a few pillows for the couch.

I am having an exceedingly difficult time locating a coffee table I like.

Suggestions welcome :)

I will hopefully be back tomorrow to show you the plan for the fireplace. 

Then all we have left is picking out fabric for the bergere chair and we will call this room done!

To do:

pillows for the couch

roller shade for the back door

paint the room

pick out a couch

fabric for the arm chair

fabric for the ottoman

new light fixture

artwork above the mirrored piece

plan for the fireplace

flooring for the room

So... just a little over halfway done!

Den Makeover: Paint, Lighting and

I did lots of research after we purchased the house and tried to go with colors I knew would be condusive to a home that faces North.

remember our style board?

Luckily our last home faced north, as well so it made things a hair easier. 

I knew anything with brown undertones would make the room way way dark. 

There are no windows to the right wall (west wall) and therefore I would only have very faint light from noon til about 4:30.

We ended up settling on a Valspar color.

Fairmont Penthouse Stone

Shanty 2 Chic did a great job documenting the process. 

She picked the same color!!

Mine is not quite this bright. Looks much more grey in my space, we also chose the satin finish for a higher sheen since the room is so dark. 

Here is the before of the room.

We could only go up from here right?

Clearly this room has had some serious issues and the things I thought were going to work, well... Aren't. 

This is how we sat throughout the holidays, just undecided on a paint color until we had enough friends weigh in and help us decide on Fairmont penthouse stone!

Then we tried this and I thought ah hah!!! 

Ahhh and here is the first shot of the paint color. 

Biggest issue for me here was front door shot to see a side view of a piece of furniture. 

Then we got here and I finally finally felt like this room was cozy. 

Basically it took3 months of rearranging before I deemed this some that blog worthy!

And the light. For me it's the piece de resistance for the room!

And this....

Getting the brick like washed and to this point was huge! 

Be back tomm with more details on the light and some accessories I have found over the past few weeks!

Den Makeover: The Couch

Whew... this post has been a long time coming...

When we purchased our house we knew almost immediately the sectional from our previous home would not work in here.

We made it work from July until one glorious day back in November. 

I had been eyeing this couch for months and months in the Pottery Barn Catalog. 

The Carslisle

not skirted, not chenille, and only linen if it was extra soft... 

Then we thought we would order it if  I could find the perfect fabric.... 

Then the 2,000.00 sticker to have it custom upholstered held me up... 

Ugh, alas....

Until one glorious friday morning.

I was perusing our local Pottery Barn Outlet.

There she was.... in all her splendor. 

Not in the ideal fabric but the price was RIGHT yall..

SOO RIGHT.

Called hubby and he wanted to see it, sit on it... I rounded the corner in the store while we talked and I saw the red sign. 

"THE" Red sign.

All upholstry an additional 20% off.

I seriously squealed. Then... while waiting on him to allow me to pull the trigger... I opened my email.

To a glorious 10% off your purchase in store or online, catalog, or outlet.

NO WAY!!!!

So put it on hold to pick up after dinner. 

On the way to the outlet I did this....

I was so mad. 

I kenw it was totalled but I did NOT want this to prevent me from getting the couch!!!

My very sweet friend Lauren picked me up first thing the next morning and we were there waiting as they opened!

Elated yall. 

This was the first iphone picture with the couch in. 

Trying to decide which panel we liked better.

Ended up being neither! 

Next up is paint, accessories and furniture layout!

Living Room Style Board

Hello friends!

Can I just say thank you from the bottom of my heart??

Ya'll have blessed me beyond measure with all your kind words regarding a piece of our story. 

Thank you for trusting me with yours and your outpouring of support. Means the world!

Now that my head is clear, I have been thinking its about time to nail down some elements of this room. 

Here is what we are working with. 

Contemplating a cowhide rug....

there will be a treatment like in the picture over the fireplace!

and hoping for some ah ha moment on where my pop of color is going to come from!

This is obviously my rough draft board but this is sort of the direction the room is headed in. 

getting quotes this week on having the builtins made.

wrapping up switching out the electrical.

and picking out a roller shade for the back door.

Once the roller shade is installed and the outlets switched out I will be sharing pictures!

Den progress

I know this seems a little backwards to some of you.. (No full house your yet) but we are making steady progress in our den. 

One of the first things we wanted to do is paint the fireplace. 

Before:

During:

Finishing up in some spots! 

Almost done and we lost a baby brick (right by my paint can)!! Ack! 

And here we are with the secretary. 

At midnight.

Way past my bedtime (since baby thinks he has an all night pass at the milk bar 😜) 

Soo... The plan is to finish it up this weekend. 

Be back with our entry table make over and a full house tour. (Pre moving and then now, so you can see our slow progress)

That Chair

Soo... For most women it's "That Handbag" or "That Pair of Shoes" for me... My thing.... Is "That Chair"

I have been obsessing over French styled chairs for some time now and I must say I am soooo excited my husband let me get it!!!!

We have been looking for one with the down cushioning and a really sturdy chair with the 8 way tied structure!

This chair met all the criteria!!!

Now I just think she needs a skirted table with a mercury glass top by her side and we can call it a day!!

Show us your Home:Living Room

This is my first time ever to link up with Kelly's Blog. Usually there are sooo many people linked up it is rather intimidating. 

Needless to say I bit the bullet and decided to share our Living Room.

Plus... it is kinda fun to reflect on spaces as we are considering moving.

Here is our den a few months after moving in.

The drapes, artwork, everything was just a hair too dark for me.

And to be honest the couch is overpowering for this space. We knew we would not be in this home forever and this couch would be perfect in a playroom/movie room in a future home so we stuck it out.

So we did some tweeking and this is how our den looked in December 2010.

We finally decided to get some items to style the entry space.

Since this picture we have tried quite a few many rugs as well as switching out the main walls artwork.

Sometimes working with what you have can prove to be more challenging than you think!

I found a new lamp last fall for the entry so here is that space as of December 2011.

(what's my deal with december)

And here is the space with a bit more sophisitcation.

(Man I am soo ready for a "grown-up" couch for our living space in our next home)

And the other view of the room.

And finally here is how the room sits now. This is the actual photo on realtor.com

Just removed the rug and some accessories so potential buyers can see themselves in our space. 

Thanks for letting me reflect!!

And head on over to Kelly's to see some really great rooms!

Click Here!

I LOVE Lamp

Okay, I know I had to... some mild Anchorman humor!

 

Ugh... I think I must have been standing crooked or something when I took this picture. 

haha

But in all honesty I have really struggled "styling" our entry. 

We needed a tall lamp, like 2 feet tall, tall!!

And this one finally adds the height to the entry of this space we have been missing. 

Door open, fresh light pouring in, a small project started on the side.. you know, keeping it real. 

But now you can see how much this space needed this!!

Happy Monday All!

Den:Completing the Look

Notice anything different with our den??

Here is the before picture.

A few new pillows, same layout... but wait.. the picture over the couch changed... and some new accessories...

First thing first I knew we needed something a little bigger for the main wall you see when you look into our den.

I saw this sunburst mirror on decorpad and fell in love.

Several stores seemed to be selling it, but at the time I found the best price at Pier 1. I believe I paid 89.99. (this was back in April, yes... my blogging log is THAT FAR BEHIND, be prepared for 2 a days once I hit maternity leave :)

And my "secret store" I blogged about last week... doesn't this lamp look familiar??

couldn't beat the $45.00 price tag!!

And a floor lamp, exactly what was needed to fill the space between the other side of the sectional and the upholstered chair I finished.

This is another "secret store" purchase. Can't remember what I paid for this guy... but are you sitting down?? It is SOLID WOOD!!! heavy as can be. 

I also purchased these back in April!

haha

Now if I can just find a new throw blanket I like and a complementing fabric to make 2 more pillows I will be pleased as a peach with this room. 

Oh, and disregard the rug, the old area rug had to be thrown out and this one... well he is keeping the floors warm until we really decide what we want.

Here is a final look before you go... So much better, I am sure by spring I will have it just how I want it!!

I have this beautiful wooden tray I need for the ottoman... Maybe for my birthday??
Wouldn't something like this look great there??