Keeping Room Take Two

The keeping room, hearth room, den or whatever-you-want-to-call-it room in our house has been a thorn in my side since we moved in two and a half years ago. It became the catch-all for extra furniture that didn't really have a place. Here's a photo of the keeping room when we purchased the house.

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of it after we moved in because I never knew I'd be doing this. And I never liked it enough to photograph it. At any rate, take a journey into your imagination with me...it had a red sofa facing the fireplace, a red chair to the right, a red and gold hooked rug, and a brown wood/woven chair with gold cushions to the left of the fireplace. The brown wicker storage trunks that you will see in the photos below were pushed together in front of the couch to make a coffee table. The pine cabinet that you will see below had a red and gold silk flower arrangement on top and random pottery pieces inside the glass doors. Basically the room was very red and gold French country looking, and while I like that look, those colors are not found at all in the rest of our house. It also was very dark, as the room faces south.

We have two young boys and a dog, so we mulled over what to do about the furniture. Leather cleans well, but it is also dark. I wasn't sure about upholstery. After much consideration, here's the room now:

So airy and light! And, yes, that is the head of a little boy hiding behind the pillow. He's son #2 (age 5)  and I'll call him Monkey Boy from here on out because he climbs all over everything. 

Anyway, back to the room. That's right folks, WHITE slipcovers! WITH TWO BOYS AND A DOG! I must be CRAZY! At least, that what some others think. But, they are the best thing EVER! We already had the Ektorp sofa and chair from IKEA so the most economical thing to do was just buy new slips for them. We did have to retrain the boys not to eat in there because I didn't want to have to wash them everyday, but they have been on for about three months now and I haven't washed them yet. I take a lint roller and go over them weekly, but so far they still look great.

The new jute rug is also from IKEA. I pushed the dark brown wicker trunks that we use for toy storage in front of each window flanking the fireplace. That opened up the room tremendously and gives the boys a place to set up their Hot Wheels tracks and Monster Truck shows (the activities du jour).

Ok. Yes. I'm a sucker. I bought the Pottery Barn bird pillows. When I saw them in the spring catalog, I instantly loved them and had to have them. I'm usually too cheap to shop there, but I knew they'd look great in the room as it was already painted yellow. As for the green pillows, I did go cheap. They are from IKEA. The wall color doesn't come across very well in these photos, but it is one of the Laura Ashley cowslip colors. Can't remember exactly which number, though. It isn't nearly as bright and loud as it looks here.

Wheeeere's Monkey Boy?

Another look at the chair with the embroidered bird pillow.

We've had this pine cabinet for a few years and it is currently houses the boys' art supplies and random crap, junk, stuff that I'm sure we don't need. It used to have a very nice, but very traditional/French country flower arrangement on top. I was perusing Ballard's Back Room (the Ballard's catalog outlet) and found these cute olive trees. The room has a vaulted ceiling so I felt I needed some height. I'm still not sure about them. What do you think?

Behind the glass doors, I changed out the random pottery with some of my ironstone pieces. The picture propped up is kind of an accident. I was going to hang it somewhere else, but I decided to leave it there because it hides a basket full of more stuff the boys can't seem to part with. I'm not sure it looks great, but it's better than the eyesore behind it.

Time to play Can You Tell What Monkey Boy Destroyed? Look closely at the lower cabinet door. Now do you know why we call him Monkey Boy? He used the knobs as a step one too many times. (Don't judge...yes, dangerous, I know...he did it when no one was looking, k?)

This is another can't-decide-what-to-do-with-it spot in the room. The t.v. is housed behind the doors so I can't put anything on the mantel in front of them. I found the lanterns at Home Goods and loved the little birds on top (see below) but now I'm not sure about them. Again, any suggestions? I'm more than happy to take them! By the way, the clock was on clearance at Target.

And before you tell me I need curtains...yes, I know. However, the house is for sale (another post for another day) and I don't want to put them up now. 

Close up of the bird lantern. Should they stay or should they go?

Overall, I'm very happy with the way the room looks now. Maybe just a few accessory changes and THEN it will be finished. And then we'll sell the house and have to move. One thing at a time....

I'm joining the Slipcover Party at Pink and Polka Dot and Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch. I'm pretty sure you're visiting from one of those two places since I don't have many readers yet, so thanks for coming!