I have only ever painted walls white, or some shade of white (like gray, that’s a shade of white right??). But seeing all of these beautiful, dark and moody rooms come across my Pinterest feed has me itching to to be bold and daring.
I want to expand my decorating ability and leave my comfort zone when designing and furnishing this house. And I made a big step towards doing just that with our den… (aka the fireplace room behind the kitchen).
This room needed a lot of love. It was the original family room of the 1950’s cabin before the large addition was added in the 90’s. You could see smoke stains on the ceiling and walls. And the whole ceiling was sagging, so Jake had to screw it back up and patch all the nail holes.
Even just having the flooring installed in this room really helped it feel less nasty. Let me tell you, the nasty factor in here was very high….
So people had been asking me, what are you going to use this room for?? And I’d be like, I don’t know, another living area? Seriously, though, how many sitting rooms does one house need? Always another I guess… But, I did want it to at least feel different that the bright light and airy great room, so it could have it’s own purpose and function. In our last home, we painted the den (I just really like calling rooms dens, I don’t know why…) paneling a medium gray. It really made the space feel cozy.
I wanted another cozy space, but to take it even a step further: darker colors and a matching dark painted ceiling. I’d been eyeing Inchyra Blue rooms by Farrow and Ball, leaning towards this dark blue/green/gray hue. But, since I’m not about to spring for Farrow and Ball prices right now, I went to Home Depot and got a bunch of Behr color Samples.
Jake helped me narrow it down by picking the greenest ones. Green is having a serious design moment right now, and I am joining the trend bandwagon. Plus it feels a bit more rustic than the more teal-hued colors, and they leaned too tropical for my preference. We settled on Behr Mountain Pine.
It took us 2 coats and 2.5 gallons, but the effect is feeling very dramatic. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’m nervous about this space, but I’m also pretty excited for what it could be. The ivory tufted chesterfield sofa (that we found for $65 at a local thrift store!!) fits the mood perfectly. I feel like it needs to be positioned in the middle of the room, or it’s too far from the fireplace.
There are lots of decisions to be made in here, like will there be a leather armchair? What lighting should be added? What goes behind the couch? And, does the fireplace need some love?
