All The Den Details

Hello, friends! Before I begin I wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the tremendously positive comments on my den, which I revealed yesterday. Your feedback overwhelmed me, honestly. I constantly remind myself that I'm not an interior design professional. I just follow my eye and my heart...sometimes, it actually works out!

Since a number of you wanted to hear about specific items, I'll break down all of the details of the space today.

Let's start off with the "before" condition of the den when we bought our house in January:

(our den "before")

The paneling, wide plank flooring, cabinetry and dutch door were positives; the acoustical tile ceiling, dated hardware and 70 gajillion doors weren't. We got to work removing the tile ourselves, but hired professionals to skimcoat the ceiling and install crown molding.

My plan from way back in the winter looked a bit different than the den I revealed yesterday. The long and short of it is that plans change. Items I planned to use were discontinued or were one-of-a-kind and sold out. Boo, hiss...whatever. I got over it.

We forged ahead and began gathering furnishings for our den. Let's chat about them, shall we?

Seating:
I knew I wanted an English roll-arm sofa for its classic but comfy shape. When I was researching the style, I discovered the Bluebell sofa from Sofa.com. Adam insisted we sit on it, so we visited their NYC showroom one weekend. Like that, he was sold. I can't say enough good things about our experience, the quality, the options. We ordered the three-seat Bluebell sofa in brushed linen.

The small parlor chair next to our pine chest is newly-upholstered in a cream linen. I bought it last year for $50 and it certainly didn't look chic back then. I toyed with the idea of a pattern on this chair, but decided that a solid linen was going to be more versatile.

(before the parlor chair was reupholstered)

Our large ottoman is one of my favorite pieces, but it didn't start off so pretty. It was a bargain from Overstock that we got for a song with credit card points. It was the right shape and size though! Now it's gorgeous in inexpensive navy ticking stripe.

(via Overstock.com)

In June I shared my estate sale find of a lifetime, this antique English pine dresser. I loved it then and I might just love it more today. I might want to be buried with it...or in it.

Curious about the black bamboo chair next to our pine chest? Tomorrow I'll talk all about it.
Paint and fabrics:
As many of you know, dark blue is a popular one for paneled rooms these days. We opted for Benjamin Moore's "Gentleman's Gray" in a flat finish. Our paneled walls weren't in perfect shape, so we wanted to downplay any flaws in the wood. To appreciate the color, just look at the contrast between the new crown molding looks and new white ceiling:

The striped linen curtain panels were a labor of love from Mom, which I wrote about here. Smaller panels in the same fabric also cover the dutch door window.

I used several patterns for sofa pillows, including Ralph Lauren's "Azores" print for a matched pair.

Other decorative details:
Most of the small decorative items in our den were collected over the past few years. Our built-in shelving is the prime spot for photographs of special people, books on our favorite artists and special pieces of art.
One such piece is our Aubrey Levinthal painting entitled "Flowers with Cups, 2013", which Adam surprised me with this year for our anniversary. You may remember I wrote about Aubrey's amazing talent in April.

The lily of the valley papier mache sculpture is by Stray Dog Designs was a wedding gift from my aunt and uncle. It always sits in a prime location wherever we've lived.

The pair of floor lamps flanking our sofa were purchased at CB2 in 2012. I spray painted them gold and haven't ever regretted that decision.

We also replaced the original fireplace screen with this spark guard from Woodland Direct.

The mounted tv and our electronics:

We watch a good amount of tv/Netflix and Adam plays his Xbox in this room, but I didn't want to see any cords or equipment. Our built-in cabinet hides our cable box, router, etc., and the cords connecting our tv and cable box run into the cabinet.

I know some people are militantly against mounting a tv over a fireplace, but we were limited on where we could place the tv in this room. Remember the 70 gajillion doors I mentioned earlier? Adam found this slim-profile option from Crutchfield that keeps the tv from projecting too far from the wall. Note that the tv is centered over the hearth, not the mantle.

Hardware:
The final update worth mentioning: the new oil rubbed bronze door knobs and vintage-style cabinet latches added to the room. The dark knobs felt like a nice contrast to the blue walls.

 (all via Meet Me in Philadelphia)

Phew...did you read all that? There's no way you did...that's okay. I hope I covered all of the elements you, my sweet readers, wanted to know about. If I didn't though, please feel free to email me or comment with your question below!

Be back here tomorrow for the full details on the antique bamboo chairs I mentioned above!