I’m sure most of you know how changing a room with paint can make such an impact. It’s easy on the budget and is a quick and inexpensive way to get instant gratification. So yesterday the painters finished up in my den and now I’d like to share the new color with you.
This is how I styled the mantel last night….I’m sure I’ll be making changes. I put my basket with bread boards on the hearth because it needed some texture. I want to put a pretty basket there and I saw some at World Market that I like.
It’s hard to get a wide angle photo because there are two openings to the sunroom on either side of the fireplace that get a lot of light and cast a big glare in pictures.
The fireplace is painted the same color as the walls. I wish I’d had that brick painted years ago, I love it!
Our carpenter friend came by Friday night with my newly built mantel….he did such a great job! My husband told him I’d probably have his number on speed dial since I have several things I need (want) him to do.
And just to remind you of how far it’s come….here’s a little “before” for you. The mantel has primer on it and you can see my “gold” walls and ugly brick color. I also had the chair rail removed.
Since I’m still tweaking the room, today I wanted to mainly share my coffee table along with another little change in here. I brought in my faux zebra rug in from the sunroom and placed it under the table. I thought with all that tone-on-tone I needed something unexpected and to pop in there and that rug really makes a difference. I thought about ordering another one of these rugs to put back in the sunroom but that might be “overkill” so for now I’ll just keep the seagrass rug in there until I find something to replace the zebra. Both rooms are painted the same color and decorated very similar so I still might end up with another zebra rug for the sunroom!
See that big empty area on the table? That’s where hubby props his feet so it has to stay “clear” according to him! I’d love to find an industrial cart to replace the glass topped coffee table.
I love that sweet little statue my DIL gave me years ago….it’s a mother holding her child. I’ve covered some of my books in the brown kraft paper and look for neutral covered books as well as those with a turquoise jacket. I don’t think I’m going to cover all my books with the kraft paper because I like to “mix it up” with the book jackets
Here’s the chair that was covered with a German grain sack and black linen. I’m not gonna lie, I was a little disappointed in how it turned out. I don’t like the finish on the chair but I couldn’t decide if I wanted to paint it or re-stain it. A friend was with me when I dropped it off and she suggested I use the black gimp trim but I wish I’d used a color that would have blended with the grain sack better. But like they say “it is what it is” so I’ll just live with it (and you can see I still have a faux ficus tree!)
I put my old dough bowl on top of the entertainment unit and filled it with pinecones (some have turquoise tips) and antlers. I may put some other things up there but for now I like the simplicity of the dough bowl by itself.
That about all I’ve done in here so far. Still have a dresser to paint and I haven’t decorated the sideboard in here either. I’m just living with the new changes until I get a feel for what else I want to do. Also, I think we’ve made a decision on the sofa. Although the Pottery Barn basic sofa is on sale for a great price, I think I’m going to get the Ikea Ektorp with a while slipcover and buy an extra in Svanby beige. Then I can have two looks for less than the price of the PB sofa. Now I need to plan a trip to Atlanta to the Ikea store…anyone up for a road trip?
(source)
Ikea Blekinge White
Ikea Svanby Beige
