The den at the lake house is one of our favorite places mainly because of the incredible view! The large triple window draws your eye in as soon as you enter the room and showcases the beautiful lake!
When we bought the house four years ago, the house had the original carpet throughout. It also had popcorn ceilings. Ugh! The first order of business was to remove all of the carpet, which we did ourselves, and then have the popcorn ceilings removed, which we hired out. It was a huge and nasty job, so we were happy to leave it to the professionals. Below is a grainy black and white picture of the den from the listing brochure.
On the opposite end of the room is a brick fireplace. The room is pretty spacious given the size of the rest of the house. It allows for a sitting area lake front and a small conversation area in front of the fireplace. In the picture below you can see the staircase on the right leading to the basement and the front door beyond the fireplace.
We removed all of the old baseboard, ceiling and window moldings and casings. They were small and ill fitted. We painted every square inch of the house. We added larger crown molding and baseboards, which also had to be painted. It was well worth the effort. However, this process took months so during that time we were basically camping out. We had no electricity for a while, so we used battery operated lanterns. It was fun at first but quickly lost its charm after a few months. Here is a picture of our “camp”.
Originally the brick fireplace was red. It got a coat of white paint along with the stairwell railings and trim.
This is the hardwood floors going in. It was a long time coming, but we love the look of the wide planks. Once the hardwood floors were stained, we were on our way!
We enclosed a pass through opening between the kitchen and den to allow more wall space in the kitchen. This of course made a perfect spot for my husband’s fish in the den!
Once the flooring and painting was complete we started to slowly add furniture and accessories. There is a recliner for watching golf (code word for taking a nap), a swivel rocker that everyone fights over since you can rock and pivot to look at the lake and an old leather sofa, also perfect for napping. The wooden skis in the corner probably could be used still, but I like them as decorations.
These cleats (below)are original to our old dock. We repurposed them as ties for our wood shades in the den.
I can’t say how many pictures of the lake I’ve taken from the swivel chair in the den, but it is a LOT. So beautiful.
My fisherman lamp boys stand guard on each side of the tv (which rarely gets used) However, Lacey does enjoy a good dog show.
The area in front of the fireplace is a favorite spot too. In addition to painting the fireplace white, we added gas logs and a mantle with custom made cedar corbels. I found the two wing chairs at a consignment store for $35 each and had them recovered. In the winter they face toward the fireplace and in the spring and summer they face the lake. The azaleas are from our yard this spring. And my fun fishing lure lamp table sits in between the chairs for a reading light.
We have a desk area in the den too in case anyone wants to work, catch up on emails, or charge their devices.
Lacey loves to look out the window and keep an eye on the lake and yard. We all love the beautiful views of the lake from the house and deck, but most of all we love being ON the lake! Thanks for stopping by!
