Room Makeovers – Page 21

Good Morning

Published on July 17, 2013July 16, 2013 by Our Humble Abode17 Comments

When working on the boys bedroom I got the idea to make speech bubble pillow cases. Just a quirky, cute little thing. And because Vincent likes to use two pillows at night, but the throw pillows aren’t soft enough.

I bought navy cases from Wal-Mart, then made a Photoshop template and grabbed our freezer paper.

Using a pencil, I traced my design on the matte side of the paper.

And cut out the letters.

For my design, I wanted to keep the letters and bubble surround navy and fill in with white.

I used a hot iron to adhere the templates to the corner of each pillow.

And filled in with white fabric paint.

A little paint got under the paper, but it wasn’t enough to bother me.

After letting the painted cases dry flat for three days, I turned them inside out to wash and dry. Good to use, and cute to boot. If you want to make your own, here’s the design I used.

A little personal touch really can take something plain and turn it into something completely custom. And it’s so cute to see their heads on the pillows, saying good morning or night.

Build-A-Bed

Published on July 15, 2013July 15, 2013 by Our Humble Abode13 Comments

How ’bout we talk beds. Specifically the beds Ben and I built for our boys. You already saw them in action and we’re so happy with them. At the beginning of the room make over, I threw out the idea of getting Ikea beds. Sadly, Montana doesn’t have an Ikea. So we had three options. One, wait until our next trip to Minnesota. Two, buy the beds and pay shipping to get them here. Three, build something. After crunching the numbers we realized building would be almost the same price as the Ikea bed and slat system.

To make two extra long twin beds we needed:

Three 4 by 4 by eight foot pine posts (we ordered four because we worried about the look. Good thing we did because one corner was completely gone on one)

Six 2 by 8 by eight foot pine boards

Two 4 by 8 foot OSB sheets

Six 2 by 4 boards

6 inch long screws

We cut four posts at 20 inches long for the footboard and four more at 40 inches to make the headboard. Then cut four 2 by 8’s to 39 inches to connect the posts together.

Two more 2 by 8 rails at 81 inches make up the sides.

Ben drilled staggered pilot holes in the posts. The screws go completely through the post and in a few inches of each 2 by 8.

Each rail connects to the inside of each corner post.

To support the matterss Ben cut 2 by 4 boards in half length wise and nailed them into the rails.

Four more 39 inch 2 by 4 pieces go across, resting on the rail supports.

Which holds the OSB in place before putting the matterss on.

Oh, I should mention I sanded all the pieces with 120 grit paper before giving it two coats of Minwax Polycrylic. Between coats I sanded with 400 grit paper, just to smooth the raised grain.

Now for the headboards. Unfortunately I don’t have pictures of this because we both had to stretch the upholstery fabric. Ben cut a sheet of 3/4 inch plywood to 19 by 39 inches, then nailed more cut 2 by 4 strips to all outside edges. Two by 2 pine would also work. Then we wrapped a foam matterss pad (cheaper than foam by the yard!) over the front, top and bottom, leaving the sides clear. Then we stretched the fabric over, stapling to the back under sides of the frame.

Three inch screws from the back into the posts hold the headboards in place.

All the lumber cost $120, another $12 for the fabric, and we already had the screws, foam, and clear coat. So, basically the same price as the Ikea beds, without hauling or shipping, but these beds are twice as beefy. They’re extra long twin instead of a normal twin, too. And took only two days to make. Can’t say that about some Ikea items. Ha!

Boy Bedroom Makeover

Published on July 12, 2013July 12, 2013 by Our Humble Abode36 Comments

So, I’m trying something different with this one. Rather than a play by play of makeover progress, I’m switching it up and starting with the before and after pictures. This is what the boys’ bedroom looked like before I started:

Sure, we had done some work in there, adding striped curtains, install a new window (the other still has to change), and paint swatches on the walls. But it was still such a blank slate.

Then I stumbled on the perfect dresser and gave it a makeover and swapped out the flush mount light fixture.

But that’s where progress stopped. This room makeover really kicked off by scraping the popcorn texture off and smoothing the ceiling. While the furniture was out of the room we decided to change the trim (to match the other rooms) and paint. I stayed close to the mood board, too.

Check out their (nearly) finished room today:

V requested yellow walls and Ev wanted green. This bold yellowy-green (Anjou Pear by Ben Moore color matched to Glidden) is a great compromise and is still really youthful and fun. Some original items are in there: the dresser, curtains, and some art, but most everything is new. A ReStore light fixture for $6.40 (the barn light focused too much light downward).

Matching custom built pine and upholstered beds replaced the vintage bed and Ev’s crib.

Gray, ivory, and navy bedding helps balance the bright walls.

A new art arrangement fills out the off centered window space.

The boys chose their favorite and I made new movie posters, too.

Fun pillows for a little pattern and color.

Across the room are the constellation canvases with added frames and bookshelf below.

But I’ve got two things I still want to do. Find or make a large piece of art for this wall:

And get a 4 by 6 or 5 by 7 rug to go between the beds.

What do you think of the changes? Any suggestions for art? What are you up to this weekend?

Busted Bathroom

Published on July 3, 2013July 3, 2013 by Our Humble Abode15 Comments

Let’s talk about our master bathroom, shall we? What to say about this space. Well, it’s dated. The 70’s called, it wants our bathroom back. Orangey oak cabinets aren’t the worst offenders, but they’re not doing anything to help, either. And because of the sink placement, only one top drawer opens.

But the cabinets aren’t the real problem. Oh no, the tile is. Not only in the looks department, but the shape they’re in. At the base of the shower, the tiles are separating from the wall.

Which means…water leakage. We all know that’s a bad situation. Of course we could fix just the problem areas, but where’s the fun in that? I mean, the whole bathroom needs an update. Super hot weather means we’re better off working indoors. So, tackling the master bathroom has been bumped up our to do list. Shower, get ready for a makeover.

Walls, prepare for a facelift.

And vanity mirror, you’ve gotta go. And finally we’ll get some paint around the light fixture.

Most exciting to me is adding the old clawfoot tub from the main bathroom below the window.

To accommodate the tub, we’ll shorten the vanity to one sink (two is unnecessary for us). And convert the swinging door to a pocket door.

We’re still in the early planning stages, but we’re discussing changing the layout of the shower. In my ideal world, we’d make this a full glass wall:

But it’s not realistic; where would we put our switches? And I’ve heard full glass showers are a pain in the arse to clean. Not to mention, spendy. We’re excitedly discussing plans and looking for materials.

What prompts you to start a remodel? Damage that needs fixing? Just sick of using/looking at a space? If you could choose one feature for your bathroom, what would it be? I’m most excited for a separate tub and shower. Especially because that tub is a clawfoot.

And to all US residents, Happy Independence Day! Hope you enjoy your long weekend!

Getting Preppy

Published on June 12, 2013June 12, 2013 by Our Humble Abode12 Comments

Finally having the ugly popcorn off the boys ceiling feels great, but that was the easy part. The texture came off rather smoothly and easily, but that doesn’t mean the ceiling is primer or paint worthy. Because we’ve had a few ‘what to do after scraping’ questions, I’m back to share my steps. Our sheet rock is held in place with nails (the quick way to hang it) and every nail hole needed filling.

A few areas had scrapes from my spatula and some minor popcorn residue was still on the ceiling. Before I could break out the primer, I first filled every nail hole (twice), filled in any scratches, then sanded the whole ceiling smooth. I started with a drywall pole sander (like this one) but quickly got frusterated with it.

Lacking serious upper arm strength, I couldn’t keep the sander head flat on the ceiling with enough pressure to do much. Instead, it kept flipping over, causing more damage. So I ditched it, filled in the scratches from it, and used a sanding sponge to get ‘er done. Oh, and I taped off the door to contain the dusty mess. Also, wear glasses and a mask because the dust is everywhere.

Use a fine grit paper and sand until smooth to the touch. Carefully, sanding through the tape can be a serious pain in the butt. Drywall mud should sand easily off, as will the popcorn residue.

Sanding drywall, it’s a dirty job (said as Mike Rowe).

It was annoying to use a small sanding block, moving a chair all around the room, but it’s done. Even primed and painted. Looking gloriously smooth.

Unfortunately for me, the ceiling wasn’t the only wall needing attention, sanding, and spackling. I’m 99% sure the two outside walls had wall paper. Wall paper was all over this house: the kitchen, previously in the family room and guest room (found pieces behind outlet covers), and some painted over in our master bedroom (which will make it super easy to remove, I’m sure). Either this paper really stuck on or someone was especially careless when removing, leaving big triangular gouges behind. That’s bound to happen. Then the chunks were filled, but apparently not sanded before painting over. Behind Everett’s crib was the worst spot.

So I’m currently tending to the walls before we can prime and paint. First I used a metal putty knife to scrape off the uneven areas, filled, sanded, even primed the problem areas. But the moisture of the primer made the surrounding paint bubble. I scraped again, making the area larger, sanding smooth, and filling again with mud. Annoyingly, the wet mud made more paint bubble. You guessed it, more scraping, sanding, and filling. Now I’ve got this to work with:

Hopefully (key word here!) I’ve gotten the flaky paint off and I can carry on with my plans. Which should include new door trim, crown, and base boards before a few coats of Anjou Pear paint.

It’s exciting to take another virtually untouched since we’ve moved in room and make it ‘us’. Kind of getting sick of feeling like I’m living in someone else’s house, you know what I mean? So tell me, what’s the strangest thing a previous home owner has done to your house? Something that has you wondering, “why in the world did that happen?!”