The Den
In the winter we spend all of our time in the den. It has a door that closes and a lovely fireplace. It was the warmest room in the house, but that is not saying much!
The den after moving in
In August Rob decided that it was time to fix the windows in the house and fit them for storm windows to better insulate the rooms. He worked on the interior and the exterior of the windows and once they were out of the room it was apparent we would have to do more then just the windows. Soon enough the wall paper was being removed and the room was ripped apart.
The Den at the beginning of the renovation with the windows removed
We weren't planning on renovating the room this early but once the windows had been restored it was obvious that we needed to take the plunge and renovate the room. There was water damage and cracks in the plaster that needed to be addressed but there still remained some beautiful details.
Detail of window hardware after the paint was removed
For me, the den is a room that I knew we would not be restoring to its original state. It gets beautiful afternoon light and the bay of windows allow amazing views that we wanted to highlight.
The first layer of wallpaper off
After the first layer of wallpaper was removed it was apparent that we would need to scrape back further and I was so happy that we did.
First appearance of the original wallpaper.
The wallpaper under the light fixture
Original Wallpaper in the Den
Detail of the wallpaper
Revealing the wallpaper was an amazing experience. One minute it was plaster, the next a beautiful design appeared and when you scraped too hard the design would disappear. There was no way to save the original paper but I made sure to take photos and have even kept some of the plaster we took out of the room for further investigation.
The den once the plaster was removed.
It became apparent that the plaster would need to be removed and insulation added to any exterior wall to try to retain as much heat as possible. As quikly as the room was ripped apart it was being put back together. Before I knew it there was drywall up and the room was coming back together.
The den drywalled
We decided to paint the room white as we were not ready to make a big design decision at this point. Rob is a finishing carpenter and it was amazing to watch him work. He turned our cold, old windows into a thing of beauty.
After all the trim was reinstalled and the finishing touches on the paint job were completed the room was a bright and airy space.
Mind the dust...
Soon after it was done we had a tour come through with the Saanich Archives.
The den with displays for the visitors
All winter long the room was lovely to be in. It was warm, cozy and bright on the darkest days.
The den during the holidays
The den is now a space we love to spend time in, one day we might wallpaper it but for now i will enjoy the crisp canvas we have.