There is one thing I really wish I could make happen when a person walks into our den.
Either Guns N’ Roses Welcome to the Jungle or an Elvis song would start playing automatically.
Alas, my skills aren’t capable of such an epic event.
Either way, welcome to the jungle room, otherwise known as our den. It’s inspired by, you guessed it, Elvis’ jungle room, but has our own twist on it of course.
Disclosure: Mohawk Home provided me with the rug for this space and Minted provided me with some of the art. However, all opinions and bringing paneling back in style are 100% mine. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
The Jungle Room Den Makeover
We started with this….
And now we’re here…
Rug / Trim and Fireplace Color / Sofa / Light Fixture
Yes, gasp, we kept the paneling. And we love it.
Besides the furniture of course, all we actually did in here was switch out the light fixtures, paint the trim and the fireplace. Can you believe how different it looks just with those three changes?
I really really wanted to give the paneling a try. Grunt Labor really didn’t. I had seen my friend, Kellie’s house where she kept the paneling and it looked great. Also, I didn’t want to spend any more money than we had to on the renovation. And it is the 70’s Landing Pad, I really wanted to give a nod to the house and it’s roots with the design and the paneling helped to do that. Grunt and I negotiated and came to an agreement that I could keep the paneling as long as he gets a bigger television by the end of the year. I think I got the better end of the deal, he thinks he did. So obviously it was a pretty good deal.
Let’s back up for a second though, before you enter the den, when you come down the stairs, you’re greeted by this..
Ray Bans Art / Brass Wall Sconce
I was trying to keep the den more “manly” than the living room so that Grunt Labor would have a space that was more him than me. I saw this sunglasses watercolor and knew it would be great for setting that tone before you entered the den. Grunt Labor has a pair of those glasses himself and I think it also lends a good vibe to the jungle room.
I painted all the trim, bookshelves and fireplace in the den in semi-gloss Limousine Leather by Behr, which is my go-to black paint color.
I really wanted some pops of red off the black fireplace so I brought in the Shut Your Mouth art (it was just DIY art I made on PicMonkey) from the gallery wall at our previous house and threw up my little red boots from when I was a kid and also the same ones the Circus wore out. I snagged the single of mine and Grunt Labor’s song, Your Love, a while back and had been holding onto it forever. It found it’s perfect place on top of the mantel.
Cheetah Art / Fireplace Paint Color
And since it is the jungle room, I of course had to give nods to some wild animals. I found this cheetah print on Minted and had it framed in a matte brass frame to pop off the fireplace and also coordinate with the light fixtures in the room.
The most challenging aspect of this makeover for me were those built-in shelves.
Y’all, larger scaled shelves elude me in terms of styling. The ones are the right weren’t so bad, they were actually smaller than the ones on the left.
Brass Horse (similar ones) / Copper Frames
I pretty easily styled those without making it look too cluttered. I just added in a few framed pictures and trinkets. One goal of mine in this house was to have more framed family photos, whether candid or posed out, so the shelves gave me the perfect opportunity for that. I put framed photos of the Circus and my Pap when he was a kid on the top shelf and a photo from our wedding on the bottom shelf. However, on the other side of the fireplace it seemed everything I did made the shelves look like a cluttered mess.
Brass Horse Head Bookend (similar ones) / Magnifying Glass & Letter Opener Set / Vintage Travel Clock (similar ones)
Luck was on my side though and my father-in-law sent up a set of his old law books – all with beautiful green covers. I used those throughout the shelves and it worked out nicely. That photo there is my in-laws on their wedding day. It’s one of my favorite pictures. They laughed at me when I first framed it. 🙂
Sofa / Malachite Table / Navy Side Tables / Fur Throw / Rug
If there was one thing that I got deals of a lifetime on with this house, it’s the sofas. The living room sofa was a steal of a deal and a beauty. This sofa, which is actually the Gordon Tufted Chesterfield Sofa from Home Decorators Collection was a Craigslist find. The lady selling it had ordered it for her bedroom sitting area and once she got it, she decided it was more for a den and didn’t want to use it in her bedroom. Yes please. I will take that off your hands for hundreds less than it would cost new. She had literally never used it one single time, y’all! I drug Grunt and Bill out in the freezing rain (literally, freezing rain) to buy it because I was so scared someone else would get it before I could.
There’s a ledge that runs across the wall the couch is against. I created this small vignette just above the couch to create another focal point in the space as well. The brass lamp was a vintage find and I’ve had the antlers for quite a while. Grunt Labor picked out the vintage car and palm print, which is called Ocean Avenue. He said it reminded him of Isle of Palms, which is our favorite beach destination. A photo of Grunt and his Grandpa digging up dirt worked in perfectly with this vignette too.
Navy End Table / Oversized Jack / Sofa
For now, we have the navy end tables in here. I really love their lines and plan on keeping them, but not sure if I should paint them. I thought the navy might clash too much against the black, but it doesn’t seem to. What do you think? The tables are topped with the snakeskin lamps. I did have those in our master bedroom, but realized they most definitely fit in better in the jungle room. 😉
The fur throw used to be in the guest room at our previous house. However, he wasn’t using it over here, so I snagged it for the den for now.
The malachite table was my birthday gift from my dad. He did good, right? He may or may not have gotten an email with the exact link to what I wanted. 😉
Down from the couch is the vintage black chair we had in our previous living room. Yes, I cheated and threw the fur throw on it for photos. #sorrynotsorry It just looks so good on both the couch and the chair.
Radio turned Bar / Green Lamp / Giraffe Tray / Cow Print
Opposite the fireplace is the vintage radio turned bar. Once more, not 100% sure about the blue in this space, but it works for now. The cow art used to be in our bedroom and the lamp used to be in Bill’s room, but neither was needed in those spaces this time around so the den took custody of them.
The big statement piece in the room that really lets you know this is the jungle room is the rug. It’s the Waitsfield Zebra rug from American Rug Craftsmen. The rug is bold in pattern, but thick and plush in comfort. It gives a cozy feel to the space when you walk across it. The Circus has already claimed it as one of her favorite places to play on the floor. It’s got stain protection built into it as well, which we all know is good for the Circus.
Alright, what do you guys think of the Jungle Room Den Makeover?
I can’t wait to hear your thoughts – good or bad! ha!
Shop the Jungle Room…
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