The Den, Done

Yikes!  When I said yesterday that I was really far behind on updating, I hadn't even realized how far behind!

The last you saw the den, it looked like this:

As you probably recall, the den was the temporary master bedroom while the master bedroom looked like this:

And, of course, while the bed was in the den, the desk was in the kitchen:

A certain someone in our house is extremely happy to now have his official den:

While I've dreamed and schemed on every possible home renovation project, decoration project, etc., Justin's dream has been pretty stead-fast.  Aside from wanting a safe, comfortable home, the recurring theme has been a DEN.  His dream grew from seeing his late Pop-Pop's den, and hearing of its magnitude of importance in family life (all big decisions were approved or denied amidst a cloud of pipe smoke in Pop-Pop's den).  Although Justin isn't giving any daughters' hands in marriage (for many years, anyway) and isn't doing any pipe smoking, it's his space to focus on work.  The most special part of the den is that Pop-Pop's crucifix now hangs above Justin's desk.

Here's the rest of the den, as it looks today (and some before shots for comparison!)

The last pictures are the best representation (on my computer, anyway) of the actual before and after colors.

Although the den, like the living room, is in need of some additional decor, I've already added a few little touches.

Kudos to my mom for both the "joyful home" cross-stitch, and the monogram G.  I found the wooden G at a craft store, and she sprayed it for me using some textured spray paint leftover from painting the flower holders from our wedding.  A (faux) stone letter is surely manly enough decor for the infamous den!