Deer hunter theme living room~need help...

[lunagardens]

I am moving to a friends property which has an older 4 bedroom home and for the last 8 years has just been used during hunting season. As a "thank you" I would like to make the room enjoyable for the guys when they are down. I have his permission to do what I want with the place (I have "free run" as he put it) as long as I do not touch the structure of the place.. and I do not burn it down...LOL.
There are 2 living rooms and the "second" living room (the far end of the house with 1 bedroom) has a stone fireplace plus an elk and deer head hanging on the wall. There is also a coyote that just came from the taxidermist a few months back. The furniture is the old wood frame with outdoor deer theme cushions. This is the room they will use when they come down for hunting and I would like to keep their theme as a "deer hunter" manly room. But it needs updating and cleaned. I need (budget minded) ideas on wall color and what to do about the old shag (green combo color) carpet in there. This is a huge room. Maybe 20X30 with a sliding glass door on the same wall as the fireplace.
The walls are the old dark wood "wall board" that, to me, looks cheap and outdated. I was thinking of a dark red color for the final paint color. I will also see if I can get some antlers for a small ceiling chandelier.
Any tips/ comments on how to put this together? being a woman, i do not wish to impose on the "man cave" but know he would appreciate the updating and care I will be putting in the place.
I need advice and budget minded tips!
Thank you for any help you can give me.
~Tammie

[cfabe]

I am not very good with colors and such, but I did paint a room dark red once and I don't think I would do it agian. It was a home theater room and it made it look smaller than I thought it would. Also, it was incredible hard to get the red paint to cover well, I think it took 5 coats. I think this is typical with red paint.

As for the carpet, unfortunately I don't see any solution except replacing it. Or, you could check to see if there is hardwood underneath, if it's in good condition you could just remove the carpet and clean the floors.

[Big Dave]

DO NOT PAINT IT RED. White, beige, Ruben skin but I plead do not use red. Red is the color to bring out tension like a flag at a bull??? Go check out wall paper, Paint a murel but in my opinon you will not get a good reaction with red.If you are able check out salvage or freight stores.do so. they also have inexpensive flooring. Hope it goes well for ya red no.

[lunagardens]

What would be a manly green without getting too dark, as mentioned about the red by cfabe? I did not think about the red like that... Than you for the heads up. Thats all I need is a bunch of men duking it out in the cave...
I may have over estimated the room size. I went back through our pics of the trip and the room may be more like 15X30.
Here is an "edited" pic showing the fireplace in the background and that wonderful green carpet...LOL. Had to edit out faces and other items.
[IMG][/IMG]

and here is a shot from the man cave living room into the main living room. You can see the wall board and the ceiling type in this shot plus one of the many deer head. Excuse the mess. After all, I did mention it needs cleaned and updated. This walk way will have a new wall up with french doors to separate the rooms more before hunting season.

[soulsurvivor]

Looks like any deer hunter's paradise I've ever seen. Honestly, the hunters, both men and women, don't seem to care about color schemes when it comes to where they rest and relax after a big hunt. Comfort is the key. Give the room a decent cleaning, throw around some big floor cushions, make certain there's a beer fridge close by, and it's good to go.

[diamondtim]

Check what kind of floor is underneath the green shag carpet. If it is hardwood, you could sand it down (machines and supplies available at a Home Depot) and refinish it. Put down a large area rug (braided rag oval).

You'll update the room without making it too "girlie". Good Luck!

[snowshoehair]

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...meCabin*121108

Tammie, check out Cabela's online for some ideas. They have alot of home decor for sale and the paper catalog has pictures of it all set up as a finished room.
You can get some good ideas for colors and such....

[Wayne02]

I also like cabelas for decorating ideas.

[pistolsmom]

My bedroom and bathroom are both done in Mossy Oak camouflage and the rest of the house is done in what I jokingly call "Deer Decor". Heck...I even planned a cammo wedding for my son! Ever think of camouflaging the walls?? Or as mine rooms are use a light beige/off white paint and camo accents. Cammo curtains can be bought or made. I have deer curtains bought thru Cabelas also. I have a antler chandelier in the living room and a antler type light in the bathroom. Both of these were bought from a Ebay store at a fraction of Cabelas cost. Antler glasses if there is a bar....antler candy/snack dish for the coffee table. Camo fan blades for ceiling fan along with anter pull. Nice whitetail buck pics for on the walls.

[lasergrl]

I honestly wouldnt change much. They probabely chose the carpet because it is very outdoorsy, looks like grass. I love it. the paneling is a bit dark. You could replace it with a cedar or oak type. We have the cedar one in the basement it looks very rustic. If you can hang it sideways it would look like log cabin and would brighten it up. The paneled ceiling is kinda old looking, maybe just a paint job on that.

[travlnusa]

If there is hardwood under the carpet, look into that.

Other than that.....DONT TOUCH A THING!!!!!!!

It is perfect as it is.

Remember the decor is part of their moemories as much as the rest of it.

[beccachow]

http://repair-our-home.com/home-remo...er-decor-room/

Also look into deer themed border on a nice, clean painted wall. Border is relatively inexpensive, easy to put up, and adds an eye catching way to pull the room together, with muted tones for furniture and walls to bring it out.

[Oldcountryboy]

My cuz done a great job on his living room. As soon as you walk in the door you see the back living room wall which is covered with native oak plank that he bought at a local saw mill. It gave the wall a rustic look. There is a pot-bellied woodstove setting next to the wall which doesn't get used for wood burning but is set up to look like it. He has a red heat lamp inside that he switches on to make it look like it has a burning fire inside. Then he has a deer shoulder mount on the wall, a old muzzle loader with the powder flask, etc. and some old wooden frame pictures of ducks all hanging on the same wall. Also a old fishing pole is hanging on the wall. It's a really neat looking wall.

The other 3 walls are just regular painted sheetrock with pictures of his family, etc.

[Cabin Fever]

Here are a few ideas:

[mandidawn]

Do all the walls have that paneling?
If only one does - I would paint that paneling an off-white/beige, then paint the other 3 walls a nice warm green, not quite hunter green, but sorta-dark.
Paint the ceiling a fresh white (to match the paneling) and keep those wonderful wood beams in the ceiling as they are.
If you are dead-set on getting rid of the carpet, I would go with some type of hardwood floor, ie don't put carpet back in. It would be nice if there is hardwood underneath the carpet that you could just fix up.
I know that at our hunting cabin, we hate carpet!

[lunagardens]

Thank you for all the great ideas and input. There is not wood flooring under the carpet, unfortunately. I am painting the rooms in the rest of the house since they are all that wood paneling and since the fireplace room will be seen from the main living area, i did not want to leave it like that. I just want to "clean it up" and make it fresh for the guys. all their stuff will still be there but organized. I plan to put some linoleum in front of the sliding glass door for when they get back from hunting there is a space they can kick off the boots without stepping on carpet. That carpet may have to stay for awhile...Prices are not in the budget yet. but removing a decent size section for the entry may help with the look and it will be professionally cleaned. Hopefully that will at least make it look nicer.
Lots of great ideas to roll around. Thanks again for the great advice.
~Tammie