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The Den Bedroom at the A-frame

December 24, 2018

This post is sponsored by Walmart.

We're hosting 15 family members at our cabin for Christmas so we've been working double time over the past couple weeks to make it a cozy place to all be together. We're not aiming for finished or "afters" at. all., but it has allowed us to get rooms headed in the right direction. One of the trickiest spaces has been one of the bedrooms on the lower level. Because the A-frame is built into the side of a mountain, it's the only room that doesn't have any natural light. For safety reasons, it still has a window that leads to a window well and then outside with a cover on it so no animals can get inside--but it doesn't add natural light like most windows do. We have a fun solution we're going to add to the window to minimize that a bit. But for now I wanted to show you how the rest of the room has shaped up.

Below is how the room used to look. The tile floors extended throughout the lower level along with the poop-colored walls. So. Much. Light Brown everywhere!

During the major renovations over the past couple months, we replaced all of the tile floors with light wood flooring (Oak Aspeland from Stuga Studio) and it feels like it brought us to a starting point. Let's paint! 

Painting a room with no natural light can be tricky. A lot of times I see people wanting to paint it light or white in an attempt to make it feel light and airy. But the truth is a room with no natural light source will likely never feel light and airy. I've seen a room with no natural light painted white a few times and with exceptional lighting and multiple light sources--it can work. But mostly, it just looks dingy and shadowy. For this room, and this setting (the woods!), we wanted to embrace the cozy, den-like vibes so we went darker on the walls.

We chose Benjamin Moore's Castle Peak Gray--which is a lovely warm green with a lot of neutral gray undertones and once again--the power of paint does not disappoint.

The above photo was taken before the floors were oiled/sealed and the photo below was taken after! You can see they warmed up quite a bit and are a lot less chalky looking. The floors came with the oil and how-to.

When it came time to furnish--the fun part!--we really wanted two queen beds for this room. When we travel, we always get a room with two queens (one for us and one for the girls to sleep in) and this was the only room large enough to fit that option. Of course, buying two queen beds meant double the budget for beds and bedding so I started scouting for affordable affordable options that didn't sacrifice style. I rounded up a lot of my favorite finds right here but ultimately landed on chic, green tufted beds.

Obviously I picked the paint color to coordinate with the green channel tufted beds.

You're never going to believe this, but I got everything (besides the checked lumbar pillow covers--those are from Juniper Studio) at Walmart! I think tone on tone furnishings and wall color really modernize a space, especially paired with crisp white bedding--these are my favorite affordable sheets.

Each bed got dressed with white sheets, a knitted ivory blanket and an oversized thick, furry faux fur throw (the 58x84 in Amber Fox) that brings in some rustic flair.

The nightstand is hard to see here, but I'm so incredibly happy with it! It was only $144 and even came with three different knobs to choose from. It's well made and really good looking. I got this lamp (on sale for $61!) and swapped the lamp shade for this one that has a shape I'm really into right now.

I'll be back soon to share how we're addressing that window, but for now we're so happy with the cozy simplicity of this room. If you're putting together a room of your own, on Walmart.com, you can now shop by style right here – so you can get all the inspo you crave, while being able to add to cart right then and there. And every order over $35 ships for free--no membership required!

Since making headway in this room, I suddenly feel like I want to name the bedrooms at the cabin. Is that weird? I keep calling this the Den even though that's a completely different type of room. Weigh in! Hope you're having a Happy Christmas wherever you are. We're catching our breath over here and will share more of everything we've been up to soon!

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  1. I'm in love with this room! Obsessed with these green tones. Can you tell us how your beds are holding up-seems like this post is almost a year old and would love to know how sturdy the beds are. Love the look of them!! Price too good to be true??
    Thank you!!!!

  2. Quick question on the bed upholstery. Is there anything reflective about the linen material? I have been wondering about this channel tuft for a while now!

  3. I am constantly blown away by your vision and your execution. Your typical reveals are fantastic, but this year especially has been absolutely amazing! Your choices for the cabin are brilliant and gorgeous. LOVE your blog!

  4. Love it!

    I do have a question or two about the beds. How tall are your mattresses? From some reviews I saw people were complaining of the headboard being way too low. Also was it easy to assemble? Easy as in possible one-woman-job?

    1. I believe the mattresses are 10". We used Leesa mattresses. I think they are the perfect height for a more modern space (super high headboards go more traditional fast!) As for the assembly. It definitely took some time. Probably an hour and a half for each bed?

  5. Love the fur throws! It definitely feels like a "Den" or maybe "Bear's Den" to me. (And I say definitely name the rooms, even if it's just for your own entertainment.) I just wanna curl up under that fur and pretend I'm hibernating!

  6. As a lake cabin owner, I'm so motivated by you pulling rooms together so quickly and on a budget. I have "grand plans" but there's nice to see the place in the middle (which actually looks like a perfect retreat from chaotic days).

    And, yes, you must name the rooms! My uncle once had a beach house where the rooms were simply named ("Cranberry," "Green," etc.), but I just finished reading the novel, "My Ex-Life," in which an Airbnb owner calls the name by their most distinguishing feature, e.g., "The Window Seat Room," "The Cabinet Room," etc. Whether you go with more obvious or more clever/personal names, I believe that naming rooms (particularly in getaways) helps to give life to the space, which is certainly what I would hope to do. It looks amazing!

  7. this is looking so good! just one question, if you cover up the window with that rug you showed on instagram, how are you ever gonna get fresh air in this room? i was just really wondering about that... Oh, and in my humble opinion the lampshade looks a little small and oldfashioned. i somehow don't think it matches your style at all..

    1. I, for one, think this style of lampshade is making a major comeback! Also, there is a steel-hinged lid over the window well, so the window would only be opened for escape emergencies.

  8. You used an 18x50 inch cover on the 20x52 inch pillow insert, right? It looks great in the photos; just want to double check before I do the same! Thank you!

  9. I've been following along on the progress and I have to say it looks great. The one thing that keeps catching my eye is the green color of the headboard against the green color of the walls. They look a bit off (as the headboard is more "mossy" green and the wall is a tad cooler green) and I wonder is this just the way it appears on the web? But please know it still is such a great room!

  10. I love that you want to name the rooms! Each of the bedrooms at my grandparent's summer cottage off Cape Cod are named...my favorite is the Honeymoon Sweet. It's funny because there are two twin beds in there.

  11. What about The Sett? It's a badger den -- cute and unique (and avoids confusion, since "den" is actually a room type?), but easy to say.

  12. We named all the bedrooms at our family cabins! But they’re named a weird smattering of things: Ron’s room (Ron has been dead for 20 years), Naomi’s room (former owner, never met her), the dorm, Fred’s room . . . Fred is also gone . . . ok, hmm, apparently all the rooms are just named after dead people. Huh. I guess I can’t recommend that approach, but having names for each bedroom is very convenient!

  13. Can you provide info on floors? Hardwood? Engineered Hardwood? Did you lay them yourself? Were they shipped to your home? Sorry for all the questions, but replacing existing floors and can't decide between Hardwood or EH and color choices make it even more difficult. Thank you.

  14. I love that you feature products bought at Walmart- very affordable and easy to get! My question is how do you search such a large site for all the fabulous things you find? I’m overwhelmed by the amount I need to look through, but you make it look so easy to find gorgeous items!

  15. Call it the Lair! Naming the bedrooms is a completely natural impulse in a vacation home IMHO :) Name the house too, while you're at it. I love the cozy monochromatic vibe going on here. Very modern mountain/luxury rustic. Want!

  16. I love the idea of naming each bedroom, especially for hosting overnight guests. “The Den” is much easier to communicate than “the downstairs bedroom with two big beds and no windows.” I could even see you doing something cool (maybe with the company who makes custom house numbers) to clearly identify each room for your short-term renters.

  17. I vote for "the burrow"! And the kids' room obviously has to be the crow's nest :)

    The room looks great already-- even with the window exposed! Is there a reason why you couldn't put something like a clear plexiglass cover on the window well to let in at least a smidge of natural light? Or a light on a timer in the window well... Haha

    1. The Burrow is the name of our house! Not a vacation home, but we still like naming homes. We have a little cupboard under the stairs, and a friend remarked that our third floor "felt like Gryffindor Tower" so we had to go with a Harry Potter name!

  18. Definitely name the rooms! The Den is perfect, especially since we just read The Bear Stays Up for Christmas (so sweet). It is a cozy place to snooze and hibernate, but also a great place for late night talks with friends (I’m thinking grown up slumber party). Name them! Name them all!!!

  19. I love the fact that you too are working on your new home,You're off to a good start,I just want to say one little thing,a house is not a home without Art on the walls,I may not be an expert,but art is the icing on the cake,have fun decorating it is a lot of work and go for what you love not style!

    1. If you've followed C&J for long, you'll know they love art and that this room is in good hands. It looks great already, and I can't wait to see where it ends up!

  20. I love that you've decided to keep the walls in a darker color, it makes the room so elegant and rustic at the same time. The bedding seems so cozy, especially with the furry faux fur throw that completely takes the show. Makes me wish to curl up on it the whole day. It's incredible what you've done with this room and can't wait to see your solution for the window.

  21. Yay! Been waiting for this! It looks good! I’m normally a white walls kinda girl, but this green is gorgeous. Especially with the floor. Everyone that has this bed always has the bottom covered. Is it because the frame is a little bigger than the mattress? Some reviewers online had this issue. I am stuck between this one and the other one you shared a week or so ago. Thanks

    1. The mattress IS a little smaller than the frame but only 2 inches? And I'm actually grateful for it because it makes making it so much easier.

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