HOME MAKEOVER: DEN

i know it's been awhile since i posted anything on our home renovation, so i thought i'd share with you what we've done to our den.  and just get ready...this is a LONG post with A LOT of pictures!!  the den was really a major selling point of the house for us.  we loved the open floor plan.  we loved the french doors going outside to the large back porch. we loved the real old hardwood floors.  but it was just like the rest of the house...the paint was REALLY dark; the floors could not be appreciated because of their condition; it was really cluttered so it was hard to appreciate the beauty of that den.  but once again, drew told me to trust him, and that we could make it really nice.  and i have to say, he was so right.  i LOVE my den now.  it is one of my favorite areas of the house.  i just LOVE my house.  i feel so blessed.  it is the PERFECT house for us...it is the perfect blend for us, old and new, country yet not solitary...not new construction, and yet still has some newer upgrades...PERFECT.

so here you have it...

BEFORE:

AFTER:

 BEFORE:

AFTER:

this was after the family had moved out but before we had done any work to it.  and this was about the extent of the help we got from kylie on the reno...

our changes...

 some of my favorite things about our den are:

*the french doors

BEFORE:

 AFTER:

 i decided to do curtains around my french doors because i love to let all the natural light in during the day {i don't like blinds to take away any natural light!}, but i need my privacy at night!  so this way i got the best of both worlds!

*our new fan

it may sound silly {and simple}, but i have always wanted a bamboo fan, and i just love ours!

*my pew!  and my gallery wall above it!

i have REALLY wanted a pew for a long time {didn't even know it was a pinterest thing, but apparently it is!}, and i was so excited when we saw this bad boy at the antique mall in memphis.  this gives us an extra four to five seats, in addition to approximately seven seats in the den.  i had a group of over 20 people out the other day and it was tight but comfortable in our den.  i am SO glad for that since we like to have large groups over!

*the mix of antique and contemporary furniture

as you can tell from all the pictures of our couches and love seats {and our rug}, those have more of a contemporary feel.  however, i loved incorporating the antique pieces and things like our old record player into our decor to give the old and new look...it really fits our house well!

*pictures, pictures!

as you know just from my blog, i take a ton of pictures, and between my gallery wall and my piano, i am able to display a lot of pictures!  yay!

i am really learning that it is the little things that make a big difference...julie was in town last week and gave me this vase that she had gotten from ikea, and it was the last little thing i needed to pull my shelf on my wall together {and those flowers came straight from my front yard.  gotta love that!}...

overall, i am SO STOKED about my den.  it may not impress other people, but i feel like it perfectly represents our family, and all my family members love it and feel like it's so homey.  in fact, kenzie said to me the other day, "mom, you know what?  i think when you grow up you could TOTALLY be a home decorator!"  love that sweet girl.  she thinks i do a fabulous job on decorating this house.  and that's really all that matters is that my family loves our little hacienda!

so there you have our den makeover!
happy tuesday!