progress in the den

our house has the same floor plan as most DC townhouses. front living room, dining room and adjacent galley kitchen, and a former porch that is now enclosed. this back room is our den, our TV room. it's thin and cool in the winter and warm in the summer. one wall is brick (as it used to be the exterior of the house), and has two doors and windows. there are also double french doors to our back patio. it is where we spend most of our time - it has the TV and is right off the kitchen : )

i've been struggling how to use these first floor rooms, looking at lots of inspiration for help. we only had one couch when we moved to the house (makes sense, since we were in a tiny one-bedroom apartment), and it was not my favorite. a red monstrosity that we got for free from phil's co-worker during his denver internship. we saw it in his garage after going to a july 4 barbecue and took it home in the back of the truck. we've been on the hunt for a new couch for a year. we bought a small khaki nordic sofa off craigslist right when we moved in, but it wasn't the comfy lounge-y couch we needed for the back room.

we finally found one! a year-old crate & barrel sectional on craigslist. we luuuurrrrrrve craigslist : ) and it is a perfect fit. brown leather, comfy, and, oh, that chaise! it is so great to put up your feet. and we can both snuggle for movies without feeling cramped. we were also able to sell the old red couch (goodbye, old friend!) to a new loving home.

but what to do with the rest of the room? obviously, we need some storage. the photo above was right after we moved the sectional in, so please excuse the messy mess. there are built-ins to the immediate left of the sofa that i will repurpose as an end table. and cook book storage. ha. i have a problem.

we decided to paint the room. originally, the brick was a maroon-ish color and the other walls tan. i prefer cool colors over warm colors, so we decided to paint the entire room grey. i don't know what my aversion to warm paint colors is all about. i just need the cooling, calming grey or blue. i like bright red rooms, i could just never have one in my house. the pink is not working out, so i went back to my tried and true.

very happy with how it turned out. the room is not done. but it's closer. we are looking for a coffee table and the right artwork for the room. phil wants movie artwork (like this). i want a mixture of photos and small original artwork. we'll see...

the first year

yikes. it's been awhile since i've written! i completely missed our year anniversary in the house!

i have loved this year. we love this house and our life in it. yes, it is too big for just the two of us. that's why we have a housemate in the basement. yes, it is a little inconvenient since we're not on the metro. that's why i can finish my reading for book club during my quality bus time.

we recently went on vacation to peru. it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. we ate well, hiked it the glorious sun, met friendly people, and relaxed in a real way. i'll do a full series of posts detailing our adventure... hopefully! but one of the best parts of the vacation was coming home. phil pushed me to pack early so we had time to clean the house before we left. walking into a clean house (our house!) was so calming after 11 days away and a red-eye flight.

there are a lot of projects planned for year two. we've spent the first year getting to know the house. does that sound crazy? i can't paint a room (and be happy with it) until i've lived it in all types of light. there's no way i could really work in the garden until we'd been through all the seasons together. so now, we have a better idea of where we want to go with our home. we also have a better handle on what it costs to run the house for a year. we've watched the local real estate (phil is a hawk!) to see how much we should invest in improvements. we've entertained groups of all sizes - from a single friend to a party of 75, from a neighbor dropping in to multiple overnight guests - and know better how we can best make the spaces comfortable for us and others. i can't wait to share each project as it unfolds!

cheers, beloved house, and here's to many more happy years together!