Baseball

Lucky Seven Easy Steps in Decorating and Furnishing Your Den

Some of us, very few, are thrilled by the idea of home improvement; others, the normal people, shiver at the sheer thought of the work and costs involved, and at the possible aggravations to face when the final product doesn’t match the plan . My lucky seven easy steps are here to let you love your den project from beginning to end. 

Are you ready for a fun roller coaster ride with smart ideas, great color schemes and intelligent furnishing choices? Let’s go!

1)      The den has to reflect the terrific lady or guy you are for you to comfortably enjoy your den . Your den, more than any other room in the house, can show how conservative,  moderate, free spirit, homebody or party tuned individual you are.

2)      If you’re a lady, dazzle with your femininity. If you’re a guy, show off your masculinity.

3)      Pick color schemes and lighting designs that make the voyage to “I love my den” reaction  a reality. Let’s start by introducing your favorite color as the base color. God bless your elementary school teacher who had your write about your favorite color! LOL.

4)      Work with room size, floor coverings and walls (paints, and papers)

5)      Select the furniture pieces and curtains your feel comfortable with.

6)      Complement your den with paintings, posters, photographs, and plants  that mean a lot to you or you like a lot.

7)      Add your personal touch, the signature of your distinct personality.

The Den Defined by Your Personality

If you’re conservative, then the choices you make will be conservative; same goes if you have a bubbling personality or you are moderate person in your tastes. Medium to dark colors if you’re conservative; otherwise, light to medium colors.

Bring Masculinity or Femininity into the Den

Emphasize masculinity with sports related items, a combination of materials such as leather, stone and iron, or wild western objects.  Show off femininity with flashy blacks/reds objects or soft/muted tones, flowers, plants, and handcrafted wood pieces.

Color Schemes and Lighting Designs

Harmony and contrast principles dominate color schemes by combining warm colors (reds, pinks, oranges, yellows) with cool colors (greens, blues, purples), and neutral colors (browns, beiges, grays, blacks, whites): warm neutral colors for ladies, cool and neutral colors for men.

The den, being a quiet and comfortable place in an informal atmosphere, won’t have bright lights. Wall lighting and standing lamps will be very effective.  For warm climates, a ceiling fan with lights may do it.

Room Size, Floor Covering and Walls

Small can be beautiful.  We just have to work around it by not overpopulating it with excessive items.

If you’re conservative, choose medium tone solid colors such as blue, green or violet for wall to wall carpeting and you are not allergic to mites; medium color ceramic tiles (gray or in the brown family) or hardwood floors (mahogany or walnut). If you have contemporary tastes, go for light or very light tones for wall to wall carpeting or ceramic tiles, yellow or red oak for hardwood floors. If you are a moderate person, you may pick temperate tones and or neutral colors in wall to wall carpeting and tiles, and light to medium colors for hardwood floors.

If the furniture you have or pick is dark, then you want to choose light to medium colors for the floor and the walls; otherwise, medium to semi-dark colors. I would not recommend wall paper because the den is informal, but if you love wall paper, then go ahead with it, just make sure the color/s blend in with the floor and drapes. Because the den has usually one wall populated by windows, it’s smart to sponge that wall (three colors – a base color and 2 colors for the sponging) for the windowed wall and as the solid color for the remaining walls.

Furniture and Curtains

Select colonial, country, traditional or contemporary style to suit your taste. A computer center, a bookcase, and a recliner may do fine if you’re a guy.  If you’re a lady, you may want to add different size and height tables for your favorite flowers and plants, and a sewing machine if you’re into sewing.

If you live in a hot climate, go for medium to semi-dark curtains to deflect the light and glare; otherwise, light to medium colors will do fine.  You may want to avoid layers  like you have in a dining room or bedroom where a lace light curtain is under a regular fabric curtain.  

Paintings, Posters, Photographs, and Plants 

Go wild! It’s your place. A guy is not less than a guy if he has a plant or two in the den, like a desert plant. The fish tank you have always wanted – put it there! Some painting, photographs and posters will look nice.  Sport memorabilia and rows of photographs on the fireplace mantle and hanging on the wall will look great.

Personal Touches

Here some ideas: an antique phone or coffee table, medieval items such as swords, knives, helmets, a favorite book on display, baseballs or footballs signed by your favorite player, beads, ocean shells, traffic signs hanging on the wall, a liquor cabinet, etcetera.

Now you have created your dream place, enjoy it! You worked hard and smart to make it look the way you like it. If your friends don’t like, they aren’t your friends. This is your  private retreat where you can let it all “hang out”. In this place, it is alright to wear that T-shirt or blouse, and pants with holes because fashion doesn’t belong in the den.

I’m proud of you.! You did it. Now just keep your spouse and kids out. LOL.

About the Author

Joseph Mangraviti, author of
Hooked on You (heart-felt poems), was born in Genoa, Italy. After completing high school in Messina, Italy, he came with only a pocketful of dreams to the States where he received a college education. The dreams became accomplishments in time. Mr. Mangraviti lives in New Jersey with his wife and kids. He has always enjoyed reading and writing poetry and, most of all, sharing it with family, friends and the public.

Walgreens Robbery 2-19-11

Mizuno Women’s Select Belted Softball Pant $38.00 Mizuno Womens Fast Pitch Pants…Serious Performance! Mizuno Womens Select Belted Fast Pitch Pants Feature: Constructed of 100% polyester double knit Tailored to fit the female athlete Designed with input from professional and amateur players Flat front with zip and double snap closure Elastic waistband for a comfortable fit Tunnel belt loop waistband Strategically placed quilted padding for slidi…

Mizuno Youth Premier Baseball Pant with Slider $32.00 Designed specifically to fit a youth body. Tunnel belt loop waist. Fly front with extended two-snap closure. Two set-in back pockets. Double knee. Performance plus slider padding built inside pant. Colors Grey, White. Sizes S – XL.Youth Baseball Pants…

Easton Youth Deluxe Pant $14.99 Swing for the fences in the Easton® Deluxe boys’ pant. It’s crafted using the moisture-wicking Bio-Dri™ performance technology that draws sweat away from the skin to keep you cool and dry. The UV-protective fabric shields your skin from harmful sun damage….

Easton Youth Pro Pull Up Pant $9.99 The Easton® youth Pro Pull-Up Baseball Pants offer a pro-style flat waistband with inside drawcord, a mock stitched fly, and front and back belt loops. Elastic cuffs ensure a great fit….

Adams Youth Baseball Pant with Belt Loops Adams BLP baseball softball game pants are designed with a 2” elastic waist with belt loops and drawstring waist. They have a no fly front and have double knee material for durability. 1 back pocket….

2-pk Reebok Baseball Pants Gray Grey Youth Boys Medium $17.99 Reebok’s United Kingdom-based ancestor company was founded for one of the best reasons possible: athletes wanted to run faster. So, in the 1890s, Joseph William Foster made some of the first known running shoes with spikes in them. By 1895, he was in business making shoes by hand for top runners; and before long his fledgling company, J.W. Foster and Sons, developed an international clientele of …

2-pk Reebok Baseball Pants Gray Youth Boys Small $17.99 Brand new, with the tags, never been worn, 2 pack of youth (boys) small size Reebok pull-up style baseball pants. Solid gray. These feature an elastic waist with an internal drawcord and a rear pocket. The Reebok logo is silkscreened on the butt pocket. The waist measures about 20″ unstretched and stretches comfortably up to 24″. The inseam from the crotch to the bottom measures 13″. These are 3/4…

Mizuno Youth Premier Piped Pant (Gray/Royal, Large) $22.15 Mizuno Youth Select Piped Baseball Pants Feature: Made of 100% polyester double knit Designed specifically to fit a youth sized body Fly front with two snap closure Tunnel belt loop waist Two back welt button through pockets Double knees for extra durability Performance Plus™ padding in the back for added protection Elastic bottom cuffs Tonal embroidered Mizuno on the back waist …