Blog - Bower Power

Let me introduce you to our den. I call it the den because it has our fireplace.

Here is my boyfriend making a move on this here wall. Jeremy was eager to rip a hole in it. Also, the den was previously walled with paneling…yup, good ole 70’s paneling with one coat of antique white over it. The paint probably came off on his hand after he took this photo.

For you map people – here is a not-even-close-to-scale layout of our first floor. As you can see, the den was separated from our living room by ‘the wall’. Jer’s hole would open it up and create some flow in the first floor. Note that the dark line between the kitchen and the den was also a wall which made the already too-small kitchen feel closed and cramped. And the doors were everywhere -it was a confusing maze.

Not one to be shy with a sawzall – the hole was soon formed. And see those little wires running through the studs? Those get the credit for being the sole reason why Jeremy learned electrical work. A thousand million points goes to the wires.

While you are at it – please look through the hole to the other side – see the fireplace – yea, the bricks were crumbling, the mortar was cracked, the previous owners had done a shotty job of painting it white and the whole thing lacked a mantle. Jeremy complained about it constantly. Something had to be done.

So we ripped out the paneling and the insulation and replaced it with better/newer insulation and drywall. Also, my hubbie built around the crumbling brick with furring strips, drywall was installed and he scored our new mantle and surround at a custom wood mantle manufacturers for $50. I mudded and tiled the slate hearth and fireplace to finish up our project. Not bad, right? Well, it certainly looks better than broken bricks.

So the after snapshot includes a better fireplace, the kitchen wall was torn out (that’s for another day though), the hole was formed, and a bunch of the doors were removed. WHEW!

Now on to the decor…I love some of the ideas in this picture – it is my inspiration of sorts. I love the fireplace flanking chairs, the large coffee table, the huge number of seating available, and the laidback feeling that flows. I am not big into rooms that I can’t throw my feet up with a glass of sweet tea and just feel easy-breazy-covergirly.

and our room was a hodge-podge of different items and a bunch of clutter.

Jeremy bought these chairs for me at (this if for you Emily) IKEA! And they were a steal for leather chairs at only $200 a pop.

A little light rearranging gave me my fireplace flanking chairs. Plus I got some more sticks to balance out the other side of the fireplace.

Last week, I got this lovely octogonal coffee table for $10. I think if I add some feet to the little sucker – instant growth spurt – and some white paint – it can really add an open airy feeling to the room. What do you think?

And then last night – I bought me a big box….full of chair.

And here she is in the corner working her magic. What do you think? I think I love her. I also think if we paint the room an almond color, switch out the drapes (which are actually sheets right now…I know, the horror), hoist & paint the coffee table, and get some real side tables or console tables to flank the window (and provide storage), and maybe score an area rug…we should be good to go.

Next time I will try to clean up the clutter before the photo is actually taken…sorry folks. Oh – but if you have any suggestions for any of the delimmas that I have listed above – please help. Except if your tip is de-clutter…that one has been heard loud and clear. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words 🙂