southern fried gal

I’m going to price out my den. It is still a work in progress but it has come so far from the beginning of this year! This is a full shot of the sofa. You can still see the wall is blank behind it. I’m still on the lookout for just the right inspiration. I love our sofa because it is so comfy. The sofa, chair and a half (next pic) and ottoman (not pictured) were purchased over seven years ago when we first moved into our home. It was one of our first big purchases. We paid $2200 for all three pieces. My philosophy is to invest in the big pieces. These pieces are Bernhardt and are down wrapped. They are holding up well – just need a good fluffing now and then. I like the neutral color because I can change out on a whim. I so need new pillows. Oh and the cute little boy is priceless!

The built-ins on either side of the fireplace are both a blessing and a curse. It’s fun to have that much storage and display area but sometimes it is a daunting task to get each shelf just so. I love a good deal when it comes to accessories so I either shop at TJ Maxx, Steinmart and the like. OR I get it for FREE and at deep discounts through my Southern Living at HOME (SLAH) business. It’s so fun to change out decor throughout the year and on a budget!

It is so stinking hard to capture a good picture of the mantle – the lighting is weird. You can see what’s going on better if you click to enlarge the photo. Anyway I got the mirror at a thrift store for around $20 and then spruced it up with some FREE SLAH iron. For summer I added our Santorini Bowl (just picked up last month for $9.95), Santorini Vase (free!), and the Galveston Hurricane (free!). All in all mantle area cost less than $40! The firescreen is not pictured and we paid $100 for it seven years ago as well.

Beside the sofa is this chest. We bought it just after BBC was born at a local furniture store for around $200. It was perfect to hide toys in this room. The lamp was a $7 find on the Wal-Mart clearance shelf. The shade needs help – another project! Books came into the marriage with DH – he loves to read so that works well with my need to use them as displays. The cute little green olive jar another SLAH freebie! I usually have a sofa table, too but that is out of commission for now and on the project list! I bought it many moons ago at an unfinished furniture store for around $100.

I have started added some interest to the walls. The two iron pieces are SLAH as well and are on sale this month for $18.95 each! I got the upper fabric for the wall treatments at a discount fabric store in Hot Springs (six yards @4.80 a yard). The trim came from there, too (three yards @$0.40 a yard). The lower fabric was a remnant that I picked up for $5. I had the liner on hand but probably paid around $3 a yard for that. All in all these were crafted for around $55. The rod (not pictured) was from Lowe’s for around $80.

I love this area and the way that it balances out the other corner with the bigger chair. I picked up this chair at Sam’s Club a few years back for around $200. I’ve recovered it a couple of times with discount fabric. The throws (one here and one on the sofa) are from Steinmart and were around $8 each. Watch Steinmart extra off clearance sales – it’s a great way to pick up pillows and throws! The nesting tables are from SLAH and I got these as a hostess special earlier in the year for $50. More of DH’s books and three architectural pieces (SLAH, on sale this month for $44.95) complete this corner.

Wow – that was fun! I didn’t individually count the built-in decor and rightly so. I change those things out so often it is a moving target. But I think it is safe to say that this room is currently furnished for less than $3500. Not bad especially since the biggest chunk of that came seven years ago! I can’t wait to see how this compares to other rooms featured in the party. Now I want to go price out my other rooms just for fun!

P.S. As you probably already know or figured out, I am a Southern Living at HOME independent consultant. As you can see, it makes home decor lots of fun! If you would like to find out more about getting our products for FREE or at a discount, earning extra income through our opportunity, or simply purchasing our products I would love to help you with that! Don’t forget to check out the summer sale (top right sidebar). Please drop me an email j(dot)fryar(at)comcast.net.