Upper Bedroom Down!

Honestly, i didn't just finish.  I was done a while ago and then waited for a nice sunny day to take the pictures, and then i waited some more until i had the motivation to write about it.  Today is that day!  I'm beginning to realize that there is a lot of work that goes into making over a room a  that really doesn't need to be documented, that is, it really wouldn't be all that interesting to read about.  And so, you will only be seeing the good bits.

I think the walls turned out great.  It was actually the worse cracks that look the best now since i had to work so hard to get them smooth, and the hairline cracks that i just sort of skimmed over are in some places noticeable through the paint.  The ceiling that before was extremely dingy is now a bright white and the walls are a cheerful yellow.  I suggested a color like i had in my room at the nest and my mom wanted to go a little more yellow.  I wanted the butter and she wanted the margarine, i guess.  It looks good.  It's going to be so bright in there when the afternoon sun shines in, which is perfect for a craft room.  I'm kinda jealous.  I also love how the walls and the floor just set each other off, it's quite lovely.

In preparation for taking the pictures, i gave the floors a thorough cleaning.  That may sound like no big thing: get out the broom and mop and polish it up in no time.  Unfortunately for me, i was very messy as a child and i took terrible care of the floor in my old bedroom.  When i moved out, the room just became a storage place and no one bothered to clean it.  It was probably a good 15 years if not more since the floor was decently cleaned.  Of the things i cleaned off the floor, these are some of the things i could identify:

a GIANT puddle of dried elmer's glue
a bunch of seed beads that were stuck between the floor boards
glitter nail polish
acrylic paint
puffy paint
what i can only assume was cat vomit. 

Needless to say, it took me a lot longer than i expected.
But here are the results:

One thing i've been enjoying about these projects is that i'm not just changing the color or giving the rooms a face lift, i'm actually creating all new spaces.  Its as if i just gave my parents a room where there wasn't one before. 

Now I have to refinish the doors and do some other odds and ends and i'll be ready to start on my grandpa's house!

Part 2

Ok, remember all of those cracks in the wall?  They are nicely patched up now.  SO much mud!  Here's a helpful hint: if you think you remember seeing a mud tray amongst your father's things and assume since he has all the other necessary equipment, that he would have that as well, then after at least a half hour of searching you still can't find one, you should probably just go out and buy one.  I discovered that it is not very easy to clean out a bread pan caked with hot mud and it isn't even big enough for the largest knife.

So, the less painful task of mudding is complete and now comes the dreaded task of sanding.

The new, old bedroom part 1

Well, I knew I would be a slacker.  With the blog, that is.  I've actually been working almost full time on my project, but it's the posting that's lagging.  Here's the first installment of my story on refurbishing my old bedroom.

Growing up, I loved my room.  It was a little, south facing, gabled room that was the warmest place to be in the winter.  I also adored that it happened to be a room in a house that was white with green trim.  I lived in Green Gables!  When I was old enough to make a decision on wall treatments, I chose wallpaper with pink, yellow, green and blue pastel hearts.  Good choice.  Well, unfortunately the idea of stripping the wallpaper to redecorate proved too daunting for my parents and I, so I went all the way through high school with the same juvenile walls.  When I finally got up the ambition to strip the wall paper after my freshman year of college, I got about 3/4 the way finished and that's the way it remained for the last nine years.

My mom would like the room as her crafting and sewing sanctuary, but she's going to have to find some serious storage solutions before that's a reality.  I wouldn't say she's a pack rat, but I am sometimes surprised at some of the things that are still kicking around.  Here are some of the before pictures:

 The last vestiges of the old wall paper

The door wasn't painted properly, so the paint is just coming off in strips.  It's SOOO satisfying!

Look at all the delights that were hiding under the wallpaper- tons of settling cracks!

 You do see the cuteness potential though, don't you?

One down....

My parents have a three season porch and it is one of the best places to be on a summer day.  It's shaded by the giant silver maple tree in the front yard and when the windows are opened, gets a pleasant cross breeze.  It also hasn't been painted or had any real attention paid to it since before my dad bought the house in 1977!  A lot of damage can be done by the weather over time as you can see:

I had a feeling it could look a whole lot nicer and be more inviting for someone to enjoy the space as an actual room.  This was my first project I took on.  Like most projects, it ended up being a lot more work than I originally anticipated.  That was of course because I decided not to just paint over the crackling paint and the grime that had accumulated over nearly 40 years, but to really attack it and get it closer to it's condition when it was new.  Not wanting to use harsh chemicals or be scraping for eternity, i decided to fill the cracks.  I hope the material I used will stand up to the extreme temperature changes, I guess we'll see.  The process was about as fun as you might imagine- not very.  Nearly all of the wood trim and original siding had defects that needed filling.  I ended up spreading the compound on pretty much all of the surfaces and then sanding most of it back off again.  That was THE BEST.

I also haven't been able to escape masking (obviously), but it helped a lot that I had such a sunny and cheery scene to look out on.

I consulted with my mom about colors and we decided on something I think of as "warm biscuit" for the walls.  Using a technique I picked up from Kristina, the wall paint was a color I threw together from a handful of mistinted paints.  It ended up costing next to nothing.  We went for a simple white semi-gloss for the trim. 

Finally, the floor.  I admit I was a little anxious when the paint went on the floor.  The previous color was a dingy gray that was indistinguishable from the dust that was on it, so I think any color would have been a startling contrast.  The ceiling of the porch is really one of it's best features.  It's a lovely dark wood that's a little on the reddish side, so I thought a green floor with some blue in it would compliment it well.  Well, paint never seems to look like you imagine it to be when you see the swatch, but I think it looks pretty alright.  Maybe it will mellow with time?

And now a couple of before and after:

I deem it a success.

Upcoming projects: Next up is the bedroom that I had while growing up.  There are a lot of cracks from settling to deal with and the last of the pastel heart wall paper to be scraped.  The big bathroom remodel at my Grandpa's old house may now wait until after the holidays, but there could be another super secret project in the meantime!  I'll keep you posted.

In the future I intend to post throughout the process so that progress can be measured in more or less real time.  Then you can see how fast (or slow!) I work.

Until next time!