Office Space

One of the last room we hadn't touched was the office area.  It had become a storage room of sorts.  The hardwoods in this room were in especially bad shape, but I didn't want to cover up all of them throughout the entire house.  So I just let them be for several months.

Finally, we decided to clean it out and put it to use. We cleaned it out, leaving a very dark gloomy room.  The floors in this room were probably the worst in the house.

Cleaned and sanded... Still looking very bad

Dark and gloomy

I love the large window!

I wanted something that would brighten this room, make it unique.  I started searching painted hard wood and I found several that I liked.  It was difficult to actually pour the paint on the floor, cause there was no turning back.

Before and after

I will start on painting the walls tonight.  I can't wait to see how it brightens everything up!!

The backyard in March..

What better to do on a beautiful March afternoon than work in the backyard?!

First, with a little help from the massive tiller that dad loaned, we were able to till up a spot for the first garden.  It's a beginner, we didn't want to be over achievers.

Can't wait to start planting some spinach!!

The next project was built completely out of landscaping bricks we removed from the front yard when we pulled out the bushes.  A fire pit!  Free projects are the best!!

Don't worry, I did help some.  I supervised.. and gathered sticks!  Now, if we can just keep Duke from removing all of them and placing them back in the yard where he originally had them! 

The finished project.  I think it will be lovely with a fire.

Now it was time for a little decoration.  We still haven't hung anything on the inside walls, but that doesn't mean we can't hang stuff outside first.

From start to finish...

Updates...

For those of you that read my posts on occasion, I haven't figured out how to display the posts as "most recent edits" yet.  They seem to be in order of original posting.  I do update them when I change or add things to the rooms.

I have recently added an update "Kitchen .. Redo!" and "Tearing apart the lovely living room," nothing major, but a few updates.

I love posting to this blog.  It's fun to go back and see the progress we've made in such a short time.  We still have quite a bit of work left, but it's coming along.

I have come to believe that working on a project like this is good for the soul.  

Guest Hall

The hallway leading to the guest room and guest bathroom was very dark after the carpet was pulled up.  The original wood floors had a dark stain and the paneling was the same as throughout the rest of the house...Too dark!

I had some time during Christmas break and before I knew it I was painting the doors white.  One thing led to another and I got very close to having that area finished (painting, not flooring).

Hall before painting (furnace door)

The wood soaks in the paint.  It takes about 6 coats to turn a door white.  This picture was on about number three.

The original wood floors.  They need a lot of work, so I don't know what I'll end up doing.

The after shot...

I painted the walls Furry Ottertail, the same as the den.  I love the wide molding at the bottom in this section of the house.  I wish they were all this way.  Maybe someday!

Master Bedroom

The master bedroom is huge.  I love having this much space.  Originally the walls were white and the moldings were a pale yellow.  The drapery on the windows were very nice and heavy, but I couldn't make them work with the new color scheme.

I painted the bedroom walls a very pale yellow (Aged Hazelnut, I think) and the moldings white. I decided to go with brown curtains.

Master Bath-entry

Well, it's much harder to work on the house when you live in it. We have worked on it some, but nothing that was overly exciting. Until now...

The master bathroom is two rooms. I started working on the smaller of the two first, the entry room.

The very pale pink striped floral design wallpaper wasn't for me.  (However, I have grown very fond of the drop globe glass light fixture, the glass globes hang on either side of the sink/mirror.)

I changed out the pulls on the bi-fold doors with Cream Crackle Ceramic Scallop Knobs from Hobby Lobby.  It made the bi-folds bearable.

Cream Crackle Ceramic Scallop Knob

I decided to cover the wallpaper with brown craft paper.  I found some detailed instructions with just a quick internet search.  Holly and I loaded up and headed to Wal-Mart.  We picked up a few rolls of Duck Brand Kraft Paper and some Zinsser Universal Wallpaper Adhesive.

Before I began working on the walls I went ahead and painted all of the trim white to match what is in the master bedroom.  The trim was a pale yellow before, painting it white made everything look cleaner.  And by painting the trim before I put up the wall covering I didn't have to tape anything off. Yay!

As I was letting the trim paint dry, I read through the instructions again. Here is a combined version of their instruction and some of my additions.

1. Tear a strip from the brown paper roll (most of my were somewhere between six and nine inches)
2. Tear pieces off in any shape that you desire (I did most of mine square or rectangular with a few odd balls.  I could get about five pieces from each strip I tore.)
3. After you tear off a piece wad it up like a trash ball.  Make two piles, one for your pieces with all torn edges and one for your pieces with straight edges from the roll.  You will use the straight edges to put along the ceiling and and trim you butt up against.  This makes a nice clean line at your edge.
4. After you get a nice collection of wadded up paper, start opening them up and pull out any edges that are bent under.  The creases in the the paper piece will give you texture on your wall. 
5. I started on an area that butted up next to some trim, using my pieces with a straight edge. (See picture below.)
6. I used a paint brush to apply the adhesive to the wall (I put mine directly on top of the existing wallpaper).  
7. Make sure to get your edges down and lightly go over the piece of paper so that it is securely glued to the wall, you will still be able to see the creases as long as you don't use too much adhesive and stretch the piece out. 
8. Don't worry, I had never done anything like this and it was not hard to figure out the right amount of adhesive or how much to press on the piece to make sure it was up there well enough.
9. After I got all the way up the piece of trim with the straight edges I started using the pieces with all four sides torn.  I didn't put them in any particular order.  I just made sure I didn't see any of the old wallpaper coming through.  I preferred a more random look/pattern, but I think that's all up to you.

Like I stated in #5, I stared with my straight edge pieces next to a piece of trim.

After I went up the trim and across the counter top with straight edge pieces I started filling in with the all torn edge pieces.

I went all the way round the door trim with straight edge pieces.

Now, reverse a little bit, while we were in Wal-Mart looking at polyurethane I stopped to look at the hammered spray paint (again).  I just can't seem to say no to that stuff!  So, I bought two cans of the Rust-oleum Hammered spray paint in Copper color to redo the counter tops (similar to those in the kitchen).

I had to test a little spot last night.  So far, I think I am going to like it!

This picture was taken Friday morning; you can still see areas that are not completely dry.

Full view of the area surrounding the door.

6 days later... I love the way it looks, even with the differences in color from the adhesive.

A panoramic of the entire room.  I still need to decide on a color for the cabinets, but for now I'm pleased with the results.

Faceplate Project

So today I saw something on Pinterest (love me some Pinterest right now!!) on covering faceplates with scrapbook paper. I thought I'd give it a try.

It's so easy!! I cut out the paper slightly larger than the faceplate. Then using mod podge and a sponge brush, I applied a thin layer of mod podge to the face plate and smoothed put any bumps. I folded the edge over and made sure it had plenty of mod podge to stick. Let that dry completely.

When the first part is dry I brushed a thin layer of mod podge over the surface. In this project, I used matte mod podge (even though glossy would look good too, I was just going for a matte look). Make sure the entire surface is covered evenly don't use too much, if your paper is then it might soften it. Let that dry.

When the faceplate is completely dry, using an exacto knife, carefully cut the holes for the plugs/switches.

This took me less than an hour to do four different sized faceplates. I love the way they look on the wall. In Holly's bathroom I spray painted the switches a cream color.  I couldn't figure out how to get them clean with out fearing I might electrocute myself. :)

(Tonight I am going to paint the tips of the screws cream also.  I didn't think of that at the time. :)

Before and After...

Before

After