The Den: part 2

So its been like two years since I wrote about renovating my den. It is so much better now, but it is NEVER CLEAN. This is the computer room and also playroom for the kids. It is always a disaster. Today it was sunny and we (mostly) cleaned it, so I finally took some pictures to show you the finished den.
Did I mention that we are probably making this the kitchen again, as it used to be before the 80's? So this will look much different in a few years. Perhaps it will take me less than half a decade to show you lol.
OK so, we put in green carpet. Its more mossy than the one I'd picked out, but we decided the one I liked was TOO green, like 60's green but not in a good way. So we found one that was a little more modern but still retro. I really like it! Lowes was brand new in town and they had a fabulous free installation and sale on their carpet so it cost under $500 to carpet this room. While the carpet isn't the best of quality it is fairly decent and will hold up for the duration of time that we need it in here.

kitties smell the new carpet

You can see in the above picture the baseboards we had made. Also, that is the amazing vintage wallpaper we put up. At first it was pretty overwhelming but once we lived in it for a bit, it's normal and I really really like it. here's a close up of it (ps it is old and was painted, not a print):

pretty folksy!

It was fairly easy to put the wallpaper up, as it was preglued and was in great shape. Sometimes vintage paper has damage on the end of the roll and that can make the seams quite obvious. greg did a great job of lining everything up well.

I found some nice lacy curtains at the thrift store that were exactly what I wanted. this room has two windows, a big south facing one and a smaller west window so it is very bright in here. I like the sun shining through the lace a lot. In fact I take quite a few hipstamatic pictures of sun through my lace curtains cause that's how I roll.

Solly is consumed by squirrel activity in the lilac outside the window

Else also likes to look out the window

After this, we picked up a sweet yellow sofa bed from Kijiji. I love this couch. I take so many pictures on it, especially of kids and cats. It is holding up quite well for the abuse it takes. The mattress needs replacing but other than that it is solid and pretty :) Its a Kroehler so it will last forever!

ive added the quilt as an extra child mess barrier

look at that sweet fabric!! its my favourite. also love the buttons. love the cat too i guess.

  I got a teak bookshelf from FullCircles (freecycling! yeay!) which did house books until Else was old enough to start ripping them. Now it is the toy shelf. The desk is also teak, and needs to be sanded a little and reoiled. The mirror on the wallpaper wall is not teak but it's from Ikea and has that teak stain going on. This room needs teak. This woman needs teak. NEEDS TEAK I TELL YOU.

desk is always messy. this is nothing.

i promise theres a shelf under all those toys. 

I put up a watercolour of a yellow iris that we bought at an estate sale for this room, and also a picture by Alicia Bock who I have loved since I first found her shop on etsy way back when I first started looking at it. This is her etsy store and I can't recommend her enough!!!

i think this was $5. estate sales are a great place to get cheap art

it took me forever to find a frame that had matting that would fit this 8x8.

This is the room that Liza lives in. She freaks out many unsuspecting visitors.

liza is ususally sporting some crazy vintage dress and sometimes a wig. other times she is naked and hairless. which is how I like my mannequins.

before: fleshy and crowded

after: brighter and happier

 

 

 

 

before demolition

after demolition

room is so much bigger

where all the stuff is, used to be closet.

 Taking the closet out of the room was a lot of work, but worth it. We didn't need the storage (and it was crappy storage anyways) and now the room is bright and open and happy. We did have to have our electrician come and and move the light switch over to the wall (it was on the closet before) and that was a bit of a pain cause he had to make some holes in the wall and ceiling. These houses were built with lateral supports half way up the wall so you can't just run a wire up through it, you have to get past that wood support so that's good to know if we need to do any other electrical! Our electrician did a bunch of rewiring for us while this wall was open, as the basement light control is on the other side and it had some issues. Greg got really good at hiding the repairs to the plaster by making drywall patches which you can barely see. 

 This is a special room where sun rays bounce off the walls and ceiling and the lilacs bloom outside the windows, making it smell heavenly in May. Its a nice central room so the kids can play while I make dinner, or I can hear them running around while I write or waste time online. It is fairly easy to keep clean, and its a good room for guests to stay in (though the door has been removed to save little fingers from being smashed and yes that mattress needs to go!).

And just to let you all know, my husband knows how to do everything right. I will never assume otherwise again :)