Den Progress - The Ceiling

My dad was down this weekend and we started work on framing the beams in the den. So far we got one beam installed and almost finished the crown molding for the section. He will be back the 4th of July weekend so one more day and we will have it completed. Already with just the raw wood I think it is starting to look better.


The before beams - these are 2 inches narrower than the new beams and the new crown is 1.5 inches thicker.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day our Dad's that have helped with floors, baseboards, crown molding, remove walls, install French doors, install kitchen doors and many more projects to come. Thank you!!

The Ceiling - Make it white

So our den has dark rough wood beams that at first I thought added personality to the room. Now they just bother me. So the biggest undertaking in the Den redesign is to frame in the beams and paint them white. I wish I could just paint them, but they are a strange rough wood. Once they are all framed, we need to add new extra tall crown molding to make the room feel a little more interesting. Over all I am hoping the white walls, white ceiling and white beams will make the room feel taller and brighter.

I have been searching magazines to find inspiration for what the finished product could look like, but found that no magazine really features the ceiling of rooms.


Before (almost) - Dark like the designer's of Libertine's living room, only I have 8 foot ceilings.



After (almost) - the white ceiling makes everything blend in and makes the focus the room below.


(First Image, Domino September 2007. Photo by Paul Costello. Second photo, Domino November 2006. Photo by Paul Costello)

The Walls, shiny white

The walls are going to change from Edgecomb Gray to be... surprise Decorator's White. I know going white is not very daring, but the room always feels so dark I love how bright the kitchen feels white. My spin will be to paint it a satin or gloss to reflect more sunlight. I found this photo from House & Garden June 2004 (I miss this magazine so much). My scanner is not the greatest, but the clean white on the paneling makes it look more modern. Also I think it will give the rough wood mantel more salvage than lodge feel.


(Image from House & Garden, June 2004. Photographer Michael Mundy)

Part 1: Planning for the new arrival

So my sofa needs a new room to come home to, so I have started to plan the new look for the den. This is the very first room we decorated when we moved in and I took a lot of time planning the perfect color and everything I wanted to do to the room. After the walls were painted and a few other items were added, the room has fallen off the list of priorities to complete. First the before and current state photos, then I will start to share the plan.

Dark wood paneling with blue/green carpet, yuck. (I had to show this, it makes the current photos look much better).


Today it is a light beige color with the carpet removed to expose the hardwood floors that were covered. Surprise! I guess the bigger surprise is we lived with the carpeting for year before we discovered the hardwood. So bad. My dad made us the bookshelves and I love them, however I painted the inside a horrible green. The gold mirror is on indefinite loan from my mom. The other stuff needs to find a home, but I have not gotten around to finding a spot. The chairs are both Nick's which we will need to see how they play into the final design.


The most recent purchase for the room is the sideboard to hide all the TV compentents. I have no clue what to do with the top of it. I have tried different objects, but have not liked anything yet so it stays clean for now.


Here is the bar stand I painted last summer with my favorite poster. The hallway goes to the basement, garage and half bathroom. It will also be apart of the decorating plan.


I am not sharing a photo of the current couch and the windows. This weekend was catch up on laundry and the whole couch is covered in folded piles waiting to make it back to the closets. I will share later once they are all put away. I am really happy how the room photographs, but it really needs help. I should finish other projects first, but this is too exciting to wait.

I did it.

It took me five years, but I have finally done it. I ordered my dream sofa. Say hello to Francis (also known as the London sofa from Lillian August). After searching and comparing sofa after sofa I sucked it up and just ordered it. I threw caution to the wind and bought a white sofa that is not slipcovered (crazy I know). Francis is what I have been comparing all other sofas to and I do not have a dog or kids to make it dirty, only Nick so why not. I am having Francis Scotchgard which is guaranteed for five years, after which I will have built up funds to have a slipcover made. I am so excited, and now I can start the count down for delivery. 72 days to go.

Domino - I guess I will have two copies

On Friday, my friend Jen got her copy of the June Domino delivered, and on Saturday gave me a peak of what was inside before my copy arrived later that day in the mail (or so I thought). I was very upset that opening my mail box on Saturday only produced Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids catalogs (yuck). I could not wait until Monday night after work to read for myself, so I purchased it at the bookstore. This is a great issue to have two copies, I love the John Derian sofas and the creative director of Lee Jofa's beach house. However next month my issue better arrive early.