A State of the {Dis}Union: Part 2

Judging by your responses to Friday's post, my half empty, half unpacked home really resonated with y'all. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised though, after all, is one's home ever really complete? Decorating, at its best, is a long term process, and as Rome wasn't built in a day, neither should our homes be fully furnished in one. That said though, I'm truly touched by your votes of confidence. Decorating can be downright scary (especially if you're willing to take some risks, which I am) and you've helped me screw up my courage to -- for lack of a better way to put it -- keep on, keepin' on.

But down to business, shall we? I promised a follow-up tour of the upstairs and I thought we'd start with the den. Much of the contents of our old great room was relocated to here and, while this room is noticeably smaller, I think everything fits together rather cozily. I still haven't unpacked all of the art and accessories, but once I do, I'm hoping this room will come off as a trifle less...brown. I'm contemplating painting the walls a lovely, subtle shade of celadon, which would pick up on the green in the rug and throw pillows, but as I've rather had my fill of painting for the quarter, I plan on living with the room as-is for now. I imagine that eventually I'll redecorate this room at some point down the line, as even now (some three years after I purchased/permanently borrowed) these items, the decor is no longer quite to my taste. But again, that's for another year and a replenished budget.

The first guestroom, decked out in our old guestroom's hand-me-down furniture. Bedding is from Amenity Home, a great organic linens company that specializes in modern, nature-themed linens. I picked this set up three years ago, but there are similar style still available on their site.

The second guest room. I know, it's completely insane to have two spare bedrooms, but in truth we currently have three -- the third being completely empty. The furniture here is courtesy of my mother and was actually my bedroom set as a teenager, which I remember excitedly picking it out at the age of 16 from Ethan Allen. I believe the series was called Radius and I distinctly remember loving it for its modern take on a classic 4-poster style. At the time, I paired it with tone-on-tone ivory chinoiserie wallpaper and slate blue chinoiserie linens for my take on the "modern Zen" look that was all the rage in the late '90s. Today, the bedding is from DwellStudio (but scored on sale via HauteLook). As this room is the "permanent" guest room, I'll be painting at some point over the next few months -- though of course I'll have to settle on a color first. I'm thinking a light gray at the moment. By the way, the wood circle on the bed is actually a mirror (only right side down).

Various and sundry vacation photos line my upstairs' hallway, awaiting hanging. I told myself I'd get to it before Labor Day, but that's still days away....

Dave's room. If only this room had more storage! While we fit two large bookcases along one wall, there's still plenty of space (and need) for more. I'm really liking the peacock blue against the mahogany wood tones -- the dark woods lend a more masculine touch to the room that suits Dave well. If I were the sole voice of decorating for this room (which I'm not), I'd really kit this out as an old-fashioned library, complete with beat up leather chair and ottoman, wall-to-wall bookshelves, brass library lamps, antique lithographs, etc. Dave, on the other hand, is already talking about putting a stringing machine and weights in here. Sigh.