Bar Halfway Done

So I've painted the bar with chalk paint. Once I finished all the coats of paint, it was time to wax it. Waxing was really difficult, mainly because I couldn't find any consistent instructions on how to do it. It seems that every person has their own way of doing it. After doing one side of the shelves and the shelf above the cabinet base, I decided it wasn't worth it to wax the rest of the built-in, just the parts that would receive heavier use. I'm completely content with this decision now, but if I change my mind, I can always wax the remaining parts later.

The last part to this are the cabinet doors. I've ordered these handles for the doors:

I ordered them from Liz's Antique Hardware which looks like a shop I will definitely need to visit if I'm ever in LA. They have not arrived yet, but once they do, I'll decide which way I want them to face. I'd like them to be vertical, instead of horizontal as shown, but I can't decide which direction I will do. We'll have to wait and see!

In the meantime, I went ahead and installed the shelves and started to fill them up/attempt to style them.

Here's my progress before it got dark:

And I made a few changes after dark, mainly adding a lamp, hoping it would help with our lack of light:

I don't think it worked. The light that the lamp produces is trapped by the shelves. I think the only way to solve that is to do glass shelving or a mirrored back. I think we'll live with this for a while, see how it works for us and just enjoy it as a function space before doing anything else.

Now, I plan to make it much cuter, but I'm still finding some things packed away throughout the house. I have the perfect piece of art for behind the humidor, but I can't seem to find it anywhere. I'm beginning to think it might still be at my in-laws from the moving weekend madness. I want to corral the bottles on a tray or something that defines that area as it's own little space. 

The pink blob you see on the second shelf is a stack of hot pink linen napkins. I want to get them monogrammed sometime soon...I'm thinking of doing something fun like gold thread or white thread. 

I also plan to paint/paper the back of the bookcase, but that's not happening right now.

I think this paper could be cute to use this wrapping paper on the back wall of the built in:

I think it could be fun to switch it every so often, with the seasons or mood changes. I think I could do some solids colors or various prints. We'll get there...slowly.

In the meantime, Phil and I are trying to decide HOW to light the den. It's just soooo dark, even with the new panelling. Neither of us regret taking down the florescent lights, but we're both tired of the room lite only in one corner. Today we discussed putting one, maybe two of this chandelier in the den:

PROS: Let there be light! And it would make the room feel more grand, I think. Oh, and it would light the room.

CONS: This room gets REALLY warm. The sun sets on it every day and there is nary a tree or branch blocking that direct sunlight. So we'd kind of like to put a ceiling fan (I know, I know, they are usually ugly) in the den to manage the temperature. But if finding a decent ceiling fan is tough, finding a ceiling fan with a light kit that is also moderately attractive feels impossible. These are the only ones that we've liked:

This coppery one:

And this huge one (diameter is 63"....only 3" shorter than me):

I just don't know. For aesthetic and light reasons, I'd like a lovely light fixture. But I'd also like to go a day without sweating while watching television, which makes me want a ceiling fan.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to light this room? There's not a ton of space for lamps in the places that need light, but I can't figure out what kind of lights need to go where. We'd also like to avoid having to do any extensive and expensive lighting changes, but that may be our only option.

Here's pictures of the room in its currently dim status, if that helps you help me:

and the darkest area, leading to the hallway/basement access:

Any ideas on how to add some light to this room?

Made a Dencision?

I'm really liking this pun. I'm just so indencisive about what to do in there (the den, for you people who don't get this fabulous pun). With the arrival of the new rug, this is what I'm thinking:

So I'd like to cover the sofas in a crisp indigo blue. All the fabrics I've found so far are too...nautical boys room. I want to find a really beautiful crisp color. Then I want to spice it up with some pinks and aquas and maybe I'll even throw in some green. I'll choose all the accessories later, but for now I need to find whats going on these sofas so I can have some slipcovers made!

But while I'm looking for that perfect blue....I'll also keep my eyes peeled for a fun color to do this with:

Contrast lining! If I did that fun dotted fabric for the curtains, wouldn't it be fun if I lined them with a fun color? It would need to be pale since we get some intense light...but because it's just lining, it could also be really cheap and lightweight. I'll see what I can find - maybe a crisp robins egg blue or a good peach, etc.

This weekend is fabric-hunting weekend! I'll let you know if I find THE ONE.

Bookcase Bar Progress

Nope, it's not done. This is merely an update on an unfinished project, written perhaps so you won't lose hope (and I won't either). I took your suggestions into consideration (conveyed mostly over gchat, text message and in person) and chose to go with a more neutral color...a greige, if you will.

Now Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan only comes in 30 colors, but it has a really lovely finish and when you put a wax finish on it, it's even nicer. Or at least that's what they told me - I haven't gotten to the waxing yet. You can mix you own color out of their options, but I was worried it would look too shabby chic (as most stuff painted with chalk pain tends to) and well, I'm too lazy to add color matching to this already tedious process.

So I chose this guy. French Linen.

In the store, it looked much more beige than the other grey choices but I reminded myself of the difficulty I had with greys for the front room. What looks grey at the store looks lavender at home. And I finally realized that what looks grey at home looks beige in the store. So even though I hate beige and this paint wasn't cheap, I went with it.

And it's great. Perfect. It blends in so well with the fireplace stone and its a few shades darker than the front room so I think has a nice cohesion to it.

 (This photo allows you see the new rug in this room...along with our really nice collection of upholstered sofas.)

 The photo above is after like...2-3 coats. I bought the paint last Monday and I think I've painted for at least an hour each day since, but I'm STILL not done. It's a very thin paint so it takes multiple layers.

Earlier today, after another coat or so, I took this picture:

Ugh. I'm sorry these are so low-quality. But at least you get an idea of the color. And also, if I keep showing you bad pictures, you're more likely to be impressed with the final result, right? About an hour ago, after I took this picture, I painted over that white spot at the top, and finished all the other touch-ups on the actual built-in.

 Watching paint dry.

Now, I'm trying to finish all the shelves and the cabinet doors. This is hard. Why won't they just paint themselves? I just ran out of paint (which is why the only progress I can make in this moment is to write about it), so I need to go get some more tomorrow. Maybe I can really knock out the shelves tomorrow night. I probably won't have a chance to put the wax finish on until Friday, but if I can have everything painted by then, that would be ideal.

I won't have a chance to look for fabrics until next weekend. In the meantime I hope to present a clearer idea and options for the upholstery. And then you can give me your thoughts, again. I'll work on this and hopefully update soon.

Den Changes...What color to paint the built-in?

I guess nothing is as permanent as change, especially when it comes to my house ideas. Since I posted the first Den Decision Option, we got some more family hand-me-downs that are changing my whole idea for the space. This rug is the "culprit."

And when I say "culprit," I mean that in the best way possible. I really like this rug. It BELONGS in the den for several reasons:

1. It's very large, and so it make sense to put it in the biggest, most used room
2. It's very soft and feels good to bare feet, unlike the sisal rug I was planning to use. And the most-used room needs a soft rug, right?
3. The only other place to put it is in the front room, and it competes with the yellow sofa. I'm just not sure I could make those two work together. Or that I want to try.

But, this means I have to ditch my previous idea. This rug doesn't need the room to match it, but it does need the other elements in the room to embrace it's beauty. I just don't think the black/white stripes will embrace it properly.

Oriental rugs are kind of difficult for me. I grew up loving them and I love so many of them that I've seen in homes but I've never had one available, so I've never thought about them in terms of my design. And now, we have 3. And lots of carpeted rooms. So as a result, I'm a little confused about what, exactly to do with them.

So, in my attempt to make this rug SHINE in this room without being too matchy-matchy, I've decided to go with a navy or dark blue sofa. I've ordered lots of fabric samples in those colors, and hopefully they will arrive tomorrow. I'm thinking of something like this:

So I've pretty made my mind up (for once) on this. BUT what I can't decide is to do with the built-in bookcase aka "bar area." Sadly, this is what it's looked like since we painted the den:

So, I felt like I should do some labor on Labor Day so I decided to plan out the layout of the "bar," so that I could figure it everything fit appropriately. It did! Here's the "rough draft:"

Sorry for the poor photo quality. I always take pictures after I've been working on the actual project and I tend to get shaky hands...need to try to get better about that. Don't worry, the bottom part will be covered by the cabinet doors so none of that stuff will show...(and most of it will go in the basement after these projects finally finish. After I set up the shelves at the heights I needed them, I finally finished priming all the wood. I just need to choose a color and start painting.

I want to paint it a contrast color...something different than the walls. I'm just at a loss as to what color to paint it. I'm thinking an almost-black navy...much darker than the sofa. Or maybe a pale aqua? Or a blush pink? I'd also like the do the back of the built-in a different color...unless you think that is a bad idea.

Any ideas of a good color for the bookcase that will complement the white walls and navy sofas?