Whilst no renovation is ever a cinch, renovating any room in an old house always seems extra challenging. I usually manage to underestimate how much primer and paint I'll need, and end up making multiple trips to the local Home Depot for more pots of of the stuff. Ten foot ceilings always seem higher when painting.
And then there's the wallpaper. Everywhere. Even on those ten foot ceilings.
I'm sure whoever buys our house will question at least a few of our design choices, but I seriously have to wonder why any sane person would choose the wallpaper and rug we were left when we moved in eight years ago.
And in case you're going to be one of those people who freak out when other people paint over old house wood trim, don't. Most of the 'wood' trim in our 130 year old home has been painted over and faux finished to look like wood grain. Bleh.
Chad had the one day job of removing wallpaper from the ceiling and walls. After that, it was all up to me.
Oh. And he had one request from the get-go: Please don't paint everything white, and please don't make it all look too girly. Done and done.
After slapping on a couple coats of Glidden satin in untinted white on the walls, and a couple coats of primer and porch paint on the floor in a dark, charcoal, I got to work putting everything back together. Or, as I like to refer to it, the fun part.
If you'll recall from this post, I shared an inspiration board with you to give you an idea of what I had in mind.
Are you ready to see my newly non pink, not flowered master bedroom?
The Ektorp love seat from Ikea had been in our living room for ages (it's 13 years old and going strong) but after finding some different CL furniture for downstairs, I pulled the old, white slipcover out of the attic and put it back together in our room.
The bed was a find several years ago, and the dresser was given to us for free.
Fiona painted the sign (and said I can't keep it) and the curtains were bought at Salvation Army a year or so ago for just $12, total. I saved them knowing they would be put to good use.
The bureau (above) and Ikea armoire (CL, $50) were coated in ASCP in French Linen. This was my first foray into ASCP and I really like the color and finish. I still think it's way too expensive, but it pretty much lives up to the hype.
If you follow me on Facebook, you'll recall that I was looking to source a great rug for an uber cheap price. Thanks to some recommendations, I went to Ollie's and got this beige, 9 by 12 waffle rug for $70! I am so pleased with it. To save more cash, we vacuumed, cut down, and re-used the old rug pad.
I found this broken rake in our garage not long after we moved in. I cleaned it up and have been using it to hang jewelry since. Still works for me.
My bedding was bought in dribs and drabs, since I didn't want it all to match. Also, I'm cheap. The gray, floral pillow cases came from Ollie's and the throw pillows and covers came from Ikea. The duvet set was an Ebay find.
My very favorite thing might just be this stretch ottoman cover from Surefit. How fun is the zebra print? And it perfectly marries my main colors of gray and beige. Yum. Much better than the ugly mint and rust stripes that lurk underneath.
So, just to recap, we went from this:
to this:
Better, yes?
{alison}