Den DEN den DEN Den...oh, the Den

It wasn't until we moved into our new home a few months ago that we realized...we need some stuff.  Like, furniture stuff.  We had incorrectly assumed that because we were downsizing (by 700sqft) that there would need to be some major purging on our part in order for us to have a hope and a prayer of ever parking our cars in the garage.

Welllllll...not so much.

For our move out to California after selling our house in England, we shipped a honking 20' container packed with stuff.  Dining room table.  Beds.  Dressers.  Crib, changing table, armoire. Etc.  And with the exception of a kitchen table, some bookcases, shelving, a few rugs and accessories, we hadn't bought anything since our relocation with the thinking it wasn't our "forever house."

But still, we thought we were definitely going to need one mother of a major garage sale once we moved into the new digs.  As it turns out, the floor plan of the new house, despite being smaller square footage wise, allowed for more usable/living space.  Huh.  Go figure.

Okay, enough with the preamble...let me introduce you to the DEN:



The view as you enter from the main floor...psst...outside, where you see dirt is now grass!



At least the TV got mounted.  We have our priorities strait.  Yep.

I promise, we've cleaned since this picture was taken (most of the "crap" has been donated or tossed.)

So - there is a LOT of work to do in this room...like getting rid of those monster 1990's leather chairs that my husband bought (new) in 2004 and insisted they were worth taking up space in our container (along with the ugly metal IKEA "corners of death" filing cabinet, but hey, I'm all about compromise - ha.)

The end goal is to have the room function as the following:

1.  Family/TV room:  We have a larger living room upstairs, but it doesn't have a TV and frankly, I prefer to have the boys use this room for TV viewing given it's tucked away from the rest of the house.
2.  Guest room:  See that door in the second picture?  That leads to the laundry area and half bathroom.  With two toddlers in the house, this will give our overnight guests (aka Nana) a place away from the kids rooms to make as much noise until whatever time they wish.  We're considering both sofa and Murphy bed options for sleeping.
3.  Play room:  I don't have an updated picture, but as of right now the area behind the chairs currently is home to (a) the play kitchen (b) a small toddler size table (c) a whole lotta toys (d) several small dents in the wooden floor from Nico pounding the metal ladle on it as hard.as.he.can.  Awesome.  So in reality, it's a pathetic example of a play area.
4.  Office:  I'll use the term "office" loosely - essentially this is where I would like the homework/computer area to be located once the kiddos are old enough to have homework.  And use a computer.  (I hear this should be around...Pre-K age these days?  Crap, I've gotta get a move on.)

Let's talk floor plans.  In the most simplistic terms - here is the current "Before" shot:

I'm embarrassed for the website I made this with that they had our leather chairs.

And, my current pipe dream of what I hope is the eventual "After" shot:


Listen, there were only a few rug options to choose from, ok?

 Things I'm sure about:

1.  Built in cabinets on the TV wall
2.  Sectional sofa bed couch.  We went back and forth on this and because we want seating for at LEAST four people...we've gotta go sectional.  The rectangle shape of the room (and location of the TV) impedes us from doing a couch plus occasional chair and/or similar options.
3.  An ottoman style coffee table that can double as extra seating.
4.  Lighting. We're going to need to bring in someone to install/wire can lighting as well as search for good task lamps.
5.  A very large patterned rug (or dark solid color) to hide stains and dirt from little boys tracking it in from the garage and backyard.

Things I'm not so sure about:

1.  Position of desk:  Up against back of couch or the wall behind it, flanked with bookcases?  Or maybe a corner desk with a bookcase where the above picture has one placed (just smaller to accommodate corner desk?)
2.  Configuration and storage for playroom:  How to work this in with desk area and make it "transitional" when kiddos no longer need that play kitchen?  Should I ditch the playroom idea all together and go for more of an office/storage config and store toys in big baskets?
3.  Rug size:  Ugh.  Help.  Definitely doing a rug where the couch is located...but do I buy a huge one that extends wall to wall OR two separate (coordinating) rugs OR one rug and those (fugly) foam flooring thingies they make for kids?
4.  The "Wall of Doors":  Given this is the path to/from the garage, I wanted to put a small bench and hooks on the wall so you can sit, take off shoes and jacket, and dump keys, backpack, etc.  Too crowded?  Push this area towards the back wall where Office/Playroom is?

Right.  So your task, if you choose (or I force you) to accept it, is to provide any and all input on the future configuration of this room.  There is nothing wrong with a little design by consensus, right?