Ikea Mirror Tiles and Bedspread Swap in the Den

Something just didn’t look right. The den in our new condo has been driving me crazy. I tried to make it in to another monk’s room, like the one we had on Capitol Hill. But this room is larger, and has no windows. It also has the living room carpet and chair that didn’t match the black and white bedspread, along with the clothes rack/bench from the hallway. A new bedspread just didn’t look right either. I thought about hanging curtains to create an illusion of a window but decided against it. So trying to lighten the space up was a priority. One way to do that is with mirrors. I put several Ikea mirror tiles up when we first moved in, but that wasn’t enough. So I added a few more a few weeks later. It was better but still not good enough. Then it dawned on me to cover the entire back wall with the mirror tiles. We picked them up last week and it made a huge difference. We also added a spider wall sculpture to add a touch of whimsy. When all was said and done, the black and white Restoration Hardware bedspread and pillow were resurrected. It just looked better - more serene and clean. The red one looked really out of place for our neutral style. But the stripes of the bedspread were placed horizontal rather than vertical to break up the long vertical lines of the carpet. I’d still like to switch out the kitchen wall art with the red border wall art hanging there now - but my husband likes it the way it is. The room definitely looks better - one can’t expect much when you’re using pieces from the old house.  Having a reflection from the foyer really helps. I just wish I could add a bit of natural light. In the ideal situation the room should have a desk with file cabinets and a Murphy bed option. But that will have to wait. 

An Ikea Adventure

I needed to pick up a few more packages of mirror tiles at Ikea. The den in our new condo was still lacking something. Without windows it is a pretty bleak place and one way to lighten it up is with mirrors. I already had twenty mirror tiles on the back wall but it could do with another bunch around the perimeter. So we set our sights for the Ikea store in College Park Maryland. And since it was lunch time, we thought we would stop at the cafe and check out the fare. We ended up with Swedish meatballs and salmon. We once went to a Swedish restaurant by the University of Chicago - and had Swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes. I dare say we probably wouldn’t return any time soon - for lunch. Afterwards we walked the store and got in a few steps in the huge place. There we some interesting showrooms of 250 and 500 square foot homes - like our tiny condos on Capitol Hill. It’s amazing what you can live in if it’s set up right. After finding our mirror tiles we made our way to the check out line wandering through the huge warehouse. Everyone who worked there was very pleasant and eager to be of help. The drive home was a royal pain on a Friday afternoon. All in all it was a great adventure!