The Den: an all purpose room

A Den? Seriously? Only in Texas would a home have a formal living room, a family room, a gameroom, AND a den! Yes, we were given the choice of making the den and/or the gameroom into bedrooms, but we felt that 4 bedrooms in the original floor plan was already enough. You know, too many extra bedrooms and family members feel a need to move in.

So the "den" has been many things over the last 9 years. My Dad's room about 7 years ago, my sewing room (really, my stuff didn't fit), my husband's office (for about a month), then when my Dad came home after a stroke last year, his room again. Dad has since been moved and the room is empty again. Hmmm, what to do with an empty room?

Three years ago, we had tile installed throughout the entire first floor. We despised the baseboards that the builder had put in, some of them were so rough and had so many flaws that we had the tile installers throw them away, with the intention of installing new ones ourselves. And so we have not had baseboards downstairs since. Before Dad came home from the hospital last year, Hubby hired 2 incompetents to come install the baseboards in the den. We purchased the materials and DH paid them to install them. Well, this is the type of job they did.

Can you see that? The paint on the tile AND the wall? And the paint was so thin that you could see the streaks throughout the board. Wish I had a pic of the 3/4" gap in the molding right smack in the middle of a different wall....

I was so busy making plans for Dad to come home that I didn't go check it out right away. BIG mistake! I was so angry when I saw it, I started tearing the baseboards off, only to find they GLUED them to the walls with Liquid Nails!

So I ended up with 1) no baseboards & 2) the paper torn off the sheetrock at the bottom of the walls.

Yes, I can get pretty angry. I told my husband I could have done a better job with my eyes closed, one arm behind my back, and trying to do a bad job! I tried to pry the name and phone # of the home monkeys from him, but he just ignored me. Gosh, you would think he thought I was gonna call them and chew them out. Or something. Which I would. Have liked to. But would have just cursed their names instead.

We moved my Dad in anyway, but I had a really hard time ignoring the bottom of the walls where we were supposed to have baseboards. And had paid to have installed. But didn't.

Now, a year later, the room is empty again, and it's my chance to try something new.

I have to install wider (taller?) baseboards to cover where there is sheetrock chalk crumbling out and to prevent any further damage. And checking out the board and batten that is all the rage at blogs such as: Decor Chick and Centsational Girl, well I have to give it a try! It seems like the perfect makeover for this blah room! Take a look at what I have to try to "fix":

see the torn sheetrock at the bottom left?

BTW, the home monkeys were supposed to patch holes in the walls where I had things hanging. I had to scrub the excess spackle off the walls with baby wipes.

Tomorrow the home health agency comes to pick up the medical equipment.

Stay tuned for updates...