1.30.2011

Dealing With My Dated Den

Sorry for the silence last week, girls! I had some kind of flu bug rip through our house and it took us all down with it. Feeling better now, and I have saved the best for last in my new house Before & After series!

Behold, the horrific Before photo of the den, from the day we toured it:

And the same room, minus the laundry, clutter, huge television and dated wood paneling:

From another angle, here's a During shot:

And the same wall, after three coats of primer and one coat of "Pearl" by Olympic:

I love the built-in bookshelves and the iron chandelier I got to hang from the ceiling. (Note: I did not love the built-in bookshelves when I had to paint them all four times!)

This house was built in the 1950s, and I'm telling you, those fifties chicks knew how to work the storage. I have lots of cabinet space in here for all my crafty business, plus a cubby that holds all the over sized stuff. I just sewed a few squares of fabric and hung them with a tension rod to hide the messiness!

This bulletin board was part of the room already, and I really like how it looks now that the wood paneling above and below it is painted. I've already used that work table for a few projects, but it also doubles as a catch-all for mail and the usual junk!

A close-up of the bulletin board, with some of my inspiration clippings, fabrics and paint samples. I love having a place to hang up all this stuff!

I also have a little basket for my latest magazines, with a pen handy to circle stuff I like. I know, I am a big geek who gets all excited about a marker and a pile of magazines! I realized that as I was typing it.

So there you have it! How I Made Over Every Room In Our House With Paint for Under $500. Too bad there's not a House Painting Olympic Team. I would SO try out for that.

But now I'm off to take a nap!


18 comments:

sara@augustfields said...

carrie......i love it! it looks amazing. you did a great job with all the details.

Carry Grace said...

Carrie, you have done and amazing job! Everything looks so nice, paint really does make a big difference.

We just moved into a rental that hasn't been touched in about 30 years, so I know the pain of the paint marathon, only I'm still on the just getting started side of it.

Great job, just the inspiration I needed to keep painting.

The Starr Family said...

Holy Fantastic Carrie!

This is by far the most fun transformation... and now can we finally say Welcome Home to you??

Congrats, enjoy it!

The Hooper Family said...

Carrie, this has been so inspiring! We're about to be renting after owning (moving to CA too actually!) and its been great to see how you perked things up at your new rental. Thanks!! btw, just curious - how did you convince the owner to let you paint the paneling? Was it a hard sale or were they thrilled you offered?

Anonymous said...

You are so talented! Who would've thought you could take such a dated house and make it so inviting! Do you do consultations? I need help with a few rooms in my house (bad)

Momto4boysinflorida

Christi @ Writing the Waves said...

You have truly done MAGIC to that house! Great job!!!! So cozy, beautiful and welcoming! How do you find the time??? :)

Anonymous said...

you've got amazing talent. i think there's more skill in having a vision for what a home can be than simply decorating a brand-new one with few challenges.

Unknown said...

Great job! Everything looks so nice and so comfortable! I bet you guys are really happy there. Still amazed that the landlord let you do all that painting!

Cheryl said...

this makeover is my fave in your series because you can really see a dramatic tranformation. Love your table area with the magazine basket and the bulletin. Nice space!
You are quite lucky that your landlord is okay with you painting.
Thanks for sharing.

Bridget said...

That looks amazing! Nice work!

Kimberly said...

Carrie, I have enjoyed every step of your decorating journey! You have a gift -- thank you for sharing!

Buzzings of a Queen Bee! said...

Just to answer a few questions!

Catherine: My landlord was actually very supportive of painting the house, but I did show him a few photos of what I imagined the den to look like, before I painted. I wanted him to know I wasn't looking for anything extreme or crazy, so I found a few photos of others' houses (on some of my favorite blogs, of course!) that had dated wood paneling and had painted over it.

To the mom of 4 boys in Florida: I have been asked to do a few consultations recently and am thinking about how I might work that. Email me if you are interested and we can chat further!

Have a great day everyone! :)
Carrie

Kristen@hillcountrycolonial said...

Carrie,
I love the room! You are seriously on busy bee. I'm not kidding, you are fast. I moved into my house three years ago and yours looks more lived in. I'm with the mom with 4 boys, I might email about some consultations.

Jack Canfield quotes said...

The room certainly looks amazing with those lightings!

Richella Parham said...

It looks great, Carrie! You could do an ebook on the power of paint!

Glad you're feeling better--hope you're back to 100% very soon!

Tulip and Turnip said...

Carrie, it looks just beautiful! I don't think you can call yourself an "amateur" decorator anymore!

Love that fabric hiding your messes. Adorable.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely beautiful. What a great example of ugly paneling re-made. Love it!

Free Art Printables said...

It looks amazing!