Room Makeovers – Page 16

Cedar Planked

Published on July 7, 2014July 8, 2014 by Our Humble Abode25 Comments

I’ve mentioned this year’s big task, operation siding, many times. While we’re still no closer to finishing due to weather, we have made some progress inside. In the form of a reclaimed cedar planked wall.

Our bedroom has received so little attention (only a coat of paint and plain Jane white curtains) and neither Ben or I ever felt excited about it. Sad, because master bedrooms should feel like a retreat.

I never thought I’d love tattered old wood as much as I do in here. The reclaimed wood feels like a big, warm hug for the room. And the perfect starting point for a full makeover.

Okay, calling it ‘reclaimed’ makes it sound super special and old. Really, it’s just the back of old cedar siding.

Yes, our old, blue cedar siding. While the finished side had seen better days, most of the backs were in great shape.

Several months ago, I told Ben I wanted to plank our headboard wall in old wood. Being a dude, he was immediately on board. Did ya get that pun? We tossed out the idea of pallets, but we’d have to save and disassemble them. Old barn wood can get pretty expensive these days. So when we pulled off the siding, we knew we wanted to save it from the landfill and put it to use. The first step was pulling out every nail and staple. Our siding is similar to tongue and groove, so Ben cut off the edges by running each piece through the table saw. In the photo above, we had already finished one side. Our pieces are 6 inches wide once ripped down.

Most of the pieces had cupped over time, creating a slightly less than straight piece. To remove this and allow the boards to sit flat against the wall, Ben ran the blue sides through the planer. We have the 13 inch Ridgid, if you’re looking for a nice, affordable planer.

In our original plan, we wanted to plane both sides to a smooth finish. Unfortunately, the cedar had different plans. It gummed up and dulled the blades really quickly. On to plan b. Installing the planks as is to paint over. To secure each piece to the wall, we marked out studs, drawing a line up with a level. The arrows show each line:

Using the 2 1/2 inch 16 gauge nails, we nailed into each stud on the top and bottom. Rather than butting the boards together, we used nickles to leave a small gap between each board.

This process was super quick and we had a nearly finished wall in about two hours.

Once we finished, we put the room back together, including the curtains. And we absolutely loved the wall. Old holes, bits of tar paper residue, and all; no painting necessary.

One of the quickest, biggest impact projects we’ve done. Let’s plank all the walls now! And the first thing we’ve done in our room that has made me downright giddy to tackle more.

Because the rest of the room certainly needs help. A lot of help. And this was just the project to motivate my ass.

Next up, scraping the popcorn ceilings. Fortunately I have experience in this department and it was surprisingly fun to do. It’s the patching after that sucked the big one. But, but! (and mine is a big one) if I want to work on the rest of the room, it must happen first. I’ll be back with the rest of the plan for the room soon. Until then, let’s talk old wood. That’s what he said.

Olive You

Published on June 16, 2014June 16, 2014 by Our Humble Abode20 Comments

Green has always been my favorite color. As I child, I realized green brought life and zest to my pictures/drawings. I’m finally done cheating on green with blues and determined to bring in more of it.

Ironically, about four weeks ago, I was amassing green paint samples to change out the vanity. Then I got an email from Better Homes and Gardens asking if they could feature our master bathroom in an upcoming I Did It article. Umm, yes!! While they had a team out here, they wanted to photograph the main bathroom, too. Double yes!

So I put my plans on a brief hold. After the photo shoot (two weeks ago) I set my plan in motion. The quick makeover added more green and natural elements to the main bathroom. It feels so different now, even with the few simple changes:

Even better, I spent only $6.99 for a small can of Tate Olive by Benjamin Moore paint. After clearing everything off, I taped the edges and gave two coats of paint. Taping everything inside the vanity was the biggest pain, but so worth it.

Once fully dry, I restocked the shelves. On the bottom, I put toilet paper in an old wooden crate I found on the side of the road. Green + old wood = love. Towels we already had along with a basket left over from the photo shoot fill the top.

On the shelf stack I have clear lidded jars filled with soap, cotton balls, cotton swabs, and band aids. More toiletries, and another navy and white striped bin below.

The dipped woven basket is a great small clothes/towels hamper. In place of a normal trash can we have a geometric patterned hole-less ceramic planter. Another prop from the photo shoot; Char (the stylist) is a genius.

With the new natural scheme, the quirky Woman/Man art and shower curtain didn’t feel right.

Instead, this old oil painting fills the space and looks right at home.

I’ve had this painting for four or five years and never had the perfect spot for it. Until now, where the natural setting and wood frame complete the design.

By the door, I wanted to add a little life, so I made another copper bud vase and filled it with boxwood clippings.

A white striped shower curtain we had in our old master bath is super simple. Maybe too plain though. I’m thinking of adding a strip of green along the bottom. It’ll add length and bring more green over to this side.

A low light plant and white flower dish fill in one side of the vanity.

A white and wood soap pump from Target and woven cup round out the other side.

Shopping the house for accessories made this change without taking a toll on my wallet. Of course it helps when I have a few props left from a photo shoot, too. Even if I had to buy those this make over would have cost about $50 total.

Au Natural

Published on June 6, 2014June 6, 2014 by Our Humble AbodeLeave a comment

For the past two years, the hall bathroom has looked like this:

White and light gray walls with a bold blue vanity and coral accents. While I love how fun, happy, and bold it is, I’m feeling the need to change.

More recently, I’ve been drawn to natural colors and elements; rustic woods, earth tones, leafy greens, plants and botanicals. This bathroom doesn’t have any of those pieces. Nor does it have the same feel as some of the more recently finished rooms.

To make it flow better, I’ve got a few simple ideas that will change the vibe. Leaving the walls alone, I can still infuse nature and color.

A quart of paint can easily cover the vanity in a new color. I’ve got scrap wood in the garage I could use to make boxes or picture frames.

Just yesterday, I found a really neat vintage wooden crate free by the road. We’ve needed a lower toilet paper bin for a while, so the shelf doesn’t get scuffed pulling it out. This character rich crate is the perfect piece with a few felt pads on the bottom.

To complete the quick refresh, I’d love to paint the vanity a warm mossy/evergreen. Something with plenty of color, but still slightly muted. A few new bins and baskets for added function would be nice, too. On the large wall, I’m debating between one large botanical style piece or three (maybe even a grid of six) smaller nature prints. Maybe a plain white shower curtain? Not sure on that yet.

Hopefully I’ll get a chance to start on it this weekend, now that this crazy week is almost over. Last week of school paired with another exciting event is a lot to handle in such a short time. Getting back to normal feels really nice right now.

Two Year Check Up

Published on May 5, 2014May 5, 2014 by Our Humble Abode10 Comments

This month marks two years of living at this house. Like last year, I’m taking you on a room by room tour to show you the changes. Here’s the plain entry the day we closed:

Recently, we installed a tongue and groove accent wall, new front door and window, modern light, giant Longhorns and cute art.

We now have a bright, light filled happy space we’re not ashamed of. Especially because this is the first impression. We still have to replace the uneven, stained tile and railing, but this space is nearly complete. The living room had great potential, but it felt too traditional for us.

Much of this room is still subject to change, but it’s functional and more ‘us.’ Painted light gray walls modernize it, while still feeling warm.

Coffee table plans are in the works, and I want to find a new rug and chairs. Art, too.

But the modern twist on a rustic/Western style is coming together. The newly finished sofa is perfect in here.

Hopefully a leather sofa will replace this one, but it serves the purpose until then.

Our dining room has seen some progress, but it’s not looking so hot these days. Though it really didn’t look to great when we bought this place either.

A window replaced the door, and we’ve got one sheetrock-less wall while we deal with electrical changes.

One of the least changed rooms is the kitchen. Maybe this winter we’ll have some updates to tackle.

Aside from removing wallpaper and painting, no action going on in here.

In the adjacent family room, we’ve refaced the fireplace, added an insert, built shelves for a little nook, painted the walls a soft beige.

This room is one of my favorite places to relax and enjoy the back yard views and wildlife.

Our first remodel here, the main bathroom, was a full tear out. Though it was one of the most recently updated spaces, the dark, showerless layout didn’t work for our two young boys or guests.

Replacing the tub with a tub/shower, it now functions for kids and adults.

Across the hall, the small guest room was very dark. North facing, small window, and a wall of 70’s oak shelving sucked the light and life out.

A new egress window lets in more light while the white shelves and happy yellow walls add cheer.

A beige box of boring wasn’t really a happy place for two little boys.

After asking for their suggestions, I scraped off the popcorn ceiling, painted the walls a pear green, and filled the room with color and kid friendly decor.

The master was completely opposite from the boys’ room starting point with obnoxiously bright blue walls.

So far, I’ve only painted over the shocking blue. Soon, we’ll get new windows.

The biggest interior project from the past 365 days is the master bathroom remodel. It was a dated yellow and red room of yuck.

Now, its our updated sanctuary complete with a walnut vanity, clawfoot tub, and pretty slate and marble tile.

A few big inside changes, but our landscaping saw the most attention last year. I’ll get to that in another post. We’ve been adding plants and greenery!

Sometimes, progress feels like it moves slower than a turtle, even though we’re most often working on something. It’s nice to look back to see just how much we really have done; to be reminded of our excitement at closing. And look back at the ugly and plain space we inherited.

A Hole in the Wall

Published on April 14, 2014April 14, 2014 by Our Humble Abode28 Comments

Just a few days ago, our dining room had a large 8 foot tall door in a room with 8 foot ceilings. From day one, we didn’t like how it looked in the room. And the header-less wall wasn’t the most rigid.

This summer we have grand plans to replace the remaining windows and siding the house. It’s a big task, but we’re anxious for the change. Each big project is usually broken up into many smaller segments to make it more manageable. While the weather was warm last week, Ben and my dad pulled out the big door, leaving a slightly larger hole.

Together they built a sturdy header and a knee wall to build the space to fit the replacement window.

So, why a window instead of the door? Well, we will replace the bay window with a sliding door and extend the deck over. We’re 95% sure this was the layout when the house was built.

See that little brown rectangle on the bump out? That’s where the deck railing was attached and painted around. Right around four feet wide, this will become a perfect walkway. Which allows us to better use the covered section of the deck. Instead of a grilling/smoking station, we’ll have shaded seating. The area behind the grill will become the deck extension.

Back inside, my recent paint job isn’t looking so hot.

Rather than adding small pieces of sheet rock to fill in, we plan to recover the entire wall. Some outlets and switches will move, and the texture is terribly mismatched from the door install. Small seams are more likely to crack, too, so we’d prefer to avoid that situation.

That big, expensive door didn’t go to waste. At 6 feet wide and 8 feet tall, proportionately it is better suited for the 12 foot tall entry. Ben pulled out the old door and picture window.

Replacing it with a thick header for stability, leaving room for a smaller, transom style window above.

Voila, new front door. Most exciting to me is the amount of light this door lets in. Several times, while walking past, the light catches my eye and my first reaction is, “Who left the door open?”