Room Makeovers – Page 11

Guest Green

Published on May 20, 2015May 20, 2015 by Our Humble Abode13 Comments

I’m finished with the quick and cheap guest room update. I wouldn’t consider it a makeover because all I really did was repaint the walls, upholster the headboard, rearrange the bookshelves, and swap a few furniture pieces. Add in a few accessories and voilà, new room. For a full walk down memory lane, here’s the room the day we got the keys to this house:

Good starting point, but it was dark and drab. I quickly unloaded the books and accessories on the shelf and we pushed the bed against the only wall wide enough for a queen bed. Not at all better.

To add another foot of usable space opposite the bed, we carved out a little nook in the shelves, adding sconces for a cozy space. A larger window, white paint, and color cheered up the room tremendously.

Almost three years after finishing that, it didn’t flow with the rest of the house. It’s not that I didn’t like the room, it now felt chaotic and cluttered. Not wanting or needing to completely overhaul the room, I devised a plan to shake things up while toning it down. All for under 100 bucks. Ready to see it now?

I always say this, but paint offers the most bang for your buck when changing a room. For only $25 the room is calmer, but still has color. After comparing swatches, I settled on Thicket by Benjamin Moore, color matched at Home Depot. It’s a mid tone green with subtle brown undertones, making it soft.

Another easy change that cost twenty dollars was the upholstered headboard. Two yards of natural linen fabric, batting, and a staple gun covered the old painted panel. Better yet, it took two hours, tops, to knock it out.

I adore the softness and texture it adds.

Changing the bookshelves might be my favorite update though. More on that soon.

For another $20, I got a cream and gray stripe cotton throw from TJ Maxx. Using more of my Fab.com credit, I chose a light rose Pendleton wool pillow. Yet another fast way to add texture and pattern to the room without committing to anything drastic.

Shuffling furniture from different rooms was another free way to change the mood of the room. Previously, a petite mid-century dresser sat against this wall. I love it, but it always seemed just a tad small.

Moving my grandpa’s old dresser up from the basement took only a few minutes.

Just a few inches wider and taller, it fills out this side, but still leaves breathing room.

Perched atop is a small lamp, a few accessories, and what may be my favorite new houseplant. This Rhipsalis, found as a hanging plant at Home Depot, thrives in low light. Perfect live greenery for this north facing room.

Oh, here’s another tip. When artists include art on business cards, don’t throw it away. Cut a small chunk of trim to size and mount the card to the front. Tiny little art to settle in.

Years ago, I received an old oak chair from my great-grandmother. After sanding the peeling finish off and replacing the seat cushion, it’s a piece I love.

It still has plenty of character, but the wood tone against the green wall was too good to pass up. A stack of stripe towels are guest ready and in sight.

The bird, tree, and feather gallery wall is still my favorite collection/grouping.

Even better, it covers up the old sconce boxes, so you’d never know they’re behind there.

So that’s the story on the calm and nature inspired guest room. Even better, it cost about sixty-five big ones.

Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes

Published on May 6, 2015May 6, 2015 by Our Humble Abode1 Comment

Our guest room was one of the first rooms we tackled after moving in. Not much has changed since finishing it.

While I like the room on its own, now that we’ve worked on more of the house, it doesn’t exactly flow with the rest of the house.

Fortunately, it’s nothing a can of paint, a few yards of fabric, and a little rearranging can’t fix. For the walls, I’m really feeling an olive-green, to cozy up the room.

After painting the main bath vanity Tate Olive, I started thinking about making similar changes to the guest room.

Using leftover paint, I made a sample board on a scrap of foam core.

Clearly I like the color, but for an entire north facing room, it might be too dark. In the much brighter south-facing master bed and bath, I didn’t hesitate to go dark and bold.

On the other hand, it could be warm and enveloping. The wall of white bookshelves brightens up the room, too. When paired with a linen upholstered headboard, the natural tones would be perfectly earthy.

If Tate Olive is too dark, I found Thicket, a lighter, still similar color. After paint, the other side, opposite the bed, will get a little change. I still love the art and arrangement, but I’d like to repaint the dresser top.

Perhaps new curtain panels, too. The rolled shade is easy to close, but annoying to roll up to open. How do you feel about dark colors in small spaces?

Nuts for Walnut

Published on April 7, 2015 by Our Humble Abode16 Comments

In the master bath, the room looked cold before adding the dark walnut vanity. After, the room came to life, and contrasted against the darker elements.

Seeing the result, and the combo with the slate tile, we knew we wanted a similar look in the kitchen. Essentially, several elements from the bathroom were a trial run for the kitchen remodel; slate floors, tongue and groove planks, and walnut cabinetry. The slate has held up beautifully, and we love the subtle texture the tongue and groove adds. Just recently, we added the walnut to the kitchen scene. It’s so amazing how different wood looks unfinished versus unfinished.

Bland, gray-ish sanded wood transforms to bold and beautiful. Not to be confused with The Bold and the Beautiful soap opera. The change isn’t nearly as dramatic. Nothing dead coming back to life twenty years later.

One drawer stack oiled, the other waiting to get attention:

The left side below the cooktop is actually two fronts attached to the single trash drawer. Super sneaky ninja move right there.

Getting all the drawer fronts attached and oiled made a world of difference, but the lack of toe kick needed attention. I pestered Ben a few times, trying to get out of the 90-95% finished rut.

Voila, the magic of the internet. Toe kicks instantly appear.

To skip the awkward leaning on the floor, applying oil while avoiding getting it on the floor, shoulder cramps that’ll surely follow routine, I applied water based poly before install. That way it’s a one and done deal. The rest is sealed with teak oil.

So far, I’ve got three coats on everything. Lightly sanding between coats makes the finish ultra smooth, leaving a subtle sheen.

We chose teak oil because it’s easy to reapply as necessary. Either as a rejuvenating/refresher coat or if there’s a damaged area in need of sanding. On this side of the kitchen, we have to finish the last 5% by closing off the sink cabinet.

And grout the tile behind the cooktop.

Sometimes, as we work on things, plans change. In our original plan, the walnut also covered the back of the bar area. For a few reasons, we had to change gears and go in a different direction. Nine foot, clear (no knot holes completely through) boards are seemingly impossible to get right now. We also couldn’t secure the boards without visible nails or screws marring the faces. Which kind of defeated the purpose of attaching a pretty wood to the back. A line of nails would bug the crap out of me. Plywood only comes in 8 foot lengths, leaving a seam somewhere along the back. Again, it would drive me nuts.

Ben suggested tiling the back to match the backsplash, but I thought it’d look too busy. Instead, we attached 1/2 inch MDF, with casement covering the seam and divided the back into four areas. Once we get four stools, each will have a designated area. Not our first plan, but the white looks fresh against the maple.

Now I have to finish the wall smoothing and we’ll be able to build the cabinet across from the breakfast nook. I’m really pushing to become a 100% finisher. Any lingering projects you’re finishing up?

Doors and Knobs

Published on March 24, 2015March 24, 2015 by Our Humble Abode2 Comments

Almost exactly three months ago, we started tearing out kitchen cabinets and knocking down walls. Since then, we fully gutted the room and are slowly building a new room. Each step is stupidly exciting, as we get new function or a more complete kitchen. You know what’s really great about cabinets? The storage they offer.

What’s better than storage? Hidden storage. Such a novel idea.

Because these doors are simple and quick to build, we decided to make an interim set for the dish cabinet.

Eventually, we can build glass frames. That didn’t stop me from arranging the interior as though it is open. A fake succulent fills an open area.

Soft close hinges are the coolest thing since sliced bread. The smarties at Blum sure know what they’re doing. To prevent the doors from hitting the cabinetry, they make tiny metal pieces that clip into the hinge, limiting the opening to 86 degrees. Hiding junk above the fridge, like the food dehydrator, is fantastic.

It’s amazing how much bigger, brighter, and more finished the kitchen feels with that addition. Also, sneak peek of the walnut island drawer fronts.

After holding up the silver handles, and not liking the look, I began a search for simple pulls. Nothing that draws too much attention. Then I remembered I had these glass bubble knobs. Totally perfect. Basic, functional, but almost blend in with the cabinets.

Fewer and fewer items are on the to do list, most minor. Some trim. Finish the cabinet under the sink. Install a vent hood. Strengthen my forearm muscles while smoothing out the uneven old pantry wall.

Once I finish skim coating, we can straighten out the cabinet configuration. Then, we just might have a finished kitchen. Light at the end of the tunnel. And just in time to start summer work on the exterior of the house.

Office Space

Published on March 13, 2015March 13, 2015 by Our Humble Abode3 Comments

While focusing on the kitchen, my office nook didn’t get as much attention. For a while it had only floors, looking blank and sad.

Then Ben set the drawer boxes and it stalled again.

Once the kitchen was fully functional, we were able to focus on the office. A matching maple desk top is warm against the white cabinets and drawers.

After spending several days priming and painting, the office is nearly complete. By complete, I mean useable.

These drawers are already getting loaded up.

We have to add trim under the window before the office is back at 100% capacity. Though torn sheet rock and foam is beautiful.

I’ll also need to apply a last coat or two of poly on the maple. Before settling on water based poly, I tested six other options: mineral oil, cutting board oil, Danish oil, butcher block oil, wax, and teak oil.

Based on color, sheen, and water repelling abilities, I loved the paste finishing wax. It looked natural, but still brought out the depth of the wood.

It looked and felt wonderful – so smooth with a subtle gloss. To test durability, and stray marker/pen situations, I wiped the desk with a damp cloth. As expected, the water wiped the wax right off, raising the grain. I knew right then and there the wax wasn’t for me. So far, the three coats of Polycrylic with light sanding between is perfect.

In addition to useful office supplies, I celebrated a new office with greenery.

A lemon button fern and succulent.

Just a few small steps left in here. I’m itching to get everything out of the closet and from under the bed. To work at a desk instead of a tiny dresser. Any favorite office file organization systems?