A couple of little ideas for the den

[clarksdaleplace]

Sorry for the silly graphics but I am stuck in NC and working with photos from the real estate listing [these aren't our furnishings]. I have had to shut down my studio so I don't really have any way to work. So I am just goofing with some ideas.

Before:

After:


Before:

After:

Sorry that the panels are so out of whack but you can kinda get the idea about what is going on / where I am headed.

http://www.clarksdaleplace.blogspot.com

[Joe]

I don't understand the grass cloth-luan panel thing. mixing the two surfaces like that on one wall seems a bit odd. almost like you're featuring the luan as art. perhaps a grasscloth wall sans the panels would look better.

sliding barn doors are more industrial-contemporary-Dwell-ish than any sort of mid-century detail.

I am really not trying to be a design snob, clarksdaleplace, but those two ideas seem a bit foreign to typical elements I have seen in mid-century interiors, modern or traditional. perhaps I misunderstood your intensions with this home.

I suggest you go on ebay and find some copies of Sunset, House Beautiful, Better Homes & Garden, Living for Young Homemakers within 2 years of when your house was built. in those magazines, you'll find tons of images germane to the style of your home and will spur ideas for future renovation.

[clarksdaleplace]

[Joe]

[egads]

[clarksdaleplace]

[redneckmodern]

[clarksdaleplace]

[egads]

[Joe]

[Joe]

moderator note: clarksdaleplace and everyone else, please reduce the size of the images you are linking! it blows up the table in the coding for this forum. when that happens, people on hand helds cannot zoom in. otherwise, we'll be deleting oversized images. if you can't or don't know how, don't link the images!

sorry

[egads]

If the lines are unevenly spaced, it will read as cheap paneling no matter what.

[egads]

[clarksdaleplace]

[dani]

[janelom]

If I were you I would consider putting grasscloth over the existing paneling. You would need to fill the grooves and tape the seams but all in all it would be much easier than removing the paneling and all the trim. It would still be period appropriate although I'm not sure if that matters to you.

[clarksdaleplace]

[Joe]

[egads]

It all awaits an escrow close and further study. I would not keep any of it if it is, as it appears in unclear photos, what I think it is.

An aside, I have a good idea about doing a pocket door. I would hide it behind wall to wall, floor to ceiling book shelves. Either continuing the left hand desk element or just doing a whole new thing. Deep shelves for display and art books on one side, shallower, novel deep in front of the door. Use a solid door if life requires a more sound deadening opening. In fact, thickening the wall would also help. (TV in there, folks trying to sleep elsewhere in the house) But it does bring up one of the basic Lotta Living tenets: Live in the space awhile before making big changes. You just never know what works until you are there. That said, I ripped the cheap paneling out of my "rumpus room" right away and have no regrets. I do think that your paneling was not cheap in it's day and perhaps should be removed carefully.

[clarksdaleplace]

Pocket doors are a fantastic idea egads - I will most definitely put it on the list. I think the panel is actually nice [in its day] but stylistically more country than cool. we are debating about what to do with the built in wine bar/desk area. would one larger pocket door - being pulled from the right side be awkward? so much to think about and work with - i am so excited about all of it and am champing at the bit to get into the space
thanks again
http://www.clarksdaleplace.blogspot.com

[janelom]

[clarksdaleplace]

Hey Jane -
I was just talking with my wife about budget - this isn't a $850k Eichler so every dollar will have to count and we will have to be smart about our choices. I am sort of in the fantasy phase of it using 'magic material' at the moment. i am sure there will be tons of editing. Fortunately the kitchen and baths are all in excellent shape - we may have to replace the cabinet doors but all the tiling is perfect - same with the bathrooms.
Our loose timeline is something like 3-5 years, depending if we have a kid or not - sorry to get so personal there -
anyway I was poking around with my 1997 technology and came up with an image for the pocket door/bookshelf idea so I thought I'd share.

http://www.clarksdaleplace.blogspot.com

[dani]

I like the pocket door bookshelf idea. We personally have 2 pocket doors in our MCM and I wish we had 2 or 3 others that were..... they would just function better as pockets. I would search flickr for Mid century modern shelving or Danish shelves for a layout that you are fond of.... something just a tad more asymmetrical IMO would look wonderful there. Then have fun creating!

[egads]

In everyday use, a single door is better. The opening would have to be at least 56" to bother with double doors. I would speculate that the door would be open (out of sight) most of the time. The need for a door at all should be assessed. Remember the first tenets of modernism: Less is More

[janelom]

[clarksdaleplace]

[clarksdaleplace]

Hey all,
I created a poll on my blog [it is at the bottom] about what we should do with the wood in our den and would love for people to chime in and voice your opinion - I have a feeling what the majority will say but I am still curious.
Thanks
http://www.clarksdaleplace.blogspot.com

[Joe]

why are doors needed?

[clarksdaleplace]

They aren't - just an idea someone here had that I was playing with. I have the feeling that if energy prices skyrocket as the chicken littles are saying they will you will see design move toward smaller rooms that can be sectioned off easily and heated/cooled individually - somewhat like they do in Japan.
Of course this means that all those open floor plan McMansions [McMs] will have one more hurdle to climb - suckahs.
I am thinking that simply having bookshelves may be the way we go in the long run - possibly just on the right.
http://www.clarksdaleplace.blogspot.com

[Joe]