Last week spring break afforded me some time away from school. While I had the best intentions of working on a new book, that project seemed to fall by the wayside as Jeff and I undertook revamping our office spaces before our ambition spilled into the living room.
We started with Jeff's office - which we now share because it frees up my old office for a dedicated craft room, something I've long yearned for. New Brazilian cherry laminate floors went down to match the flooring in the rest of the upstairs. In the beginning, there was some trepidation about whether or not we could install the floors. (Notice I say "we" when I really mean "Jeff.") I said he could do it without too much trouble and (fool that he sometimes is) he took my word for it. Actually, though the flooring did take the most time of all the projects, he did a great job and didn't even swear (much). Of course, before the flooring went down, we repainted the room an icy blue called "spring spritz." It only took two coats to cover the warm garnet red on the walls and bring a feeling of space and coolness to the room. After the paint and the floors, moving furniture in was the easy part. Of course, giving my desk a new home allowed me to rethink my work space, so I took the opportunity to hang several note boards (where I've already started planning novel chapters) and a colorful piece of artwork while shedding some of the distracting clutter.
Once the office was finished, we followed the same plan of attack in the craft room. This time, while Jeff was putting in the flooring I did some work on an old desk to create a home for my sewing machine. The desk began life as part of French provincial girl's bedroom set (and not even a particularly good one since it is about half wood and half particle board with veneer). When I picked up this diamond in the rough at an auction last fall for $5, the legs were a little wobbly, but some wood glue and a few smacks toward realignment fixed them right up. I spent about $15 on a no-sand primer and high gloss paint (which I still have half of to use on another project). Once completed, this dirty, yellowed, rickety desk became a clean, bright sewing machine cabinet with storage drawers for all kinds of little notions. When the bookcases went back in, I had culled many items for a Goodwill stack along with moving actual texts to the new library area in the living room, so the shelves afford plenty of storage space for future projects. A small, easily movable table provides room for scrap booking or cutting fabric.
As the week drew to a close, I was content to finish the two smaller rooms we had planned for, but (alas) Jeff had grown greedy and wanted to tackle the living room as well. So, Saturday morning found us painting that room and Sunday brought a trip to IKEA for some slip-covered furniture to fill in the newly emptied space.
While the major portion of these rooms is complete, finishing touches are still needed here and there. For example, Jeff has to swap out the red CD boxes for the black and white ones we purchased, and I'm still waiting for the slip covers I ordered for the upholstered chairs in the office and craft room. In addition, there is an empty wall in the living room waiting for Jeff's instrument collection, and we haven't picked up new draperies to go with the plantation blinds, yet. (Penney's is having a sale though!) All in all, though, we feel our break was productive and gave us an excellent start on refurbishing the house. We plan to continue the color throughout the upstairs and add some kitchen upgrades to boot. Wish us luck!
We started with Jeff's office - which we now share because it frees up my old office for a dedicated craft room, something I've long yearned for. New Brazilian cherry laminate floors went down to match the flooring in the rest of the upstairs. In the beginning, there was some trepidation about whether or not we could install the floors. (Notice I say "we" when I really mean "Jeff.") I said he could do it without too much trouble and (fool that he sometimes is) he took my word for it. Actually, though the flooring did take the most time of all the projects, he did a great job and didn't even swear (much). Of course, before the flooring went down, we repainted the room an icy blue called "spring spritz." It only took two coats to cover the warm garnet red on the walls and bring a feeling of space and coolness to the room. After the paint and the floors, moving furniture in was the easy part. Of course, giving my desk a new home allowed me to rethink my work space, so I took the opportunity to hang several note boards (where I've already started planning novel chapters) and a colorful piece of artwork while shedding some of the distracting clutter.
Once the office was finished, we followed the same plan of attack in the craft room. This time, while Jeff was putting in the flooring I did some work on an old desk to create a home for my sewing machine. The desk began life as part of French provincial girl's bedroom set (and not even a particularly good one since it is about half wood and half particle board with veneer). When I picked up this diamond in the rough at an auction last fall for $5, the legs were a little wobbly, but some wood glue and a few smacks toward realignment fixed them right up. I spent about $15 on a no-sand primer and high gloss paint (which I still have half of to use on another project). Once completed, this dirty, yellowed, rickety desk became a clean, bright sewing machine cabinet with storage drawers for all kinds of little notions. When the bookcases went back in, I had culled many items for a Goodwill stack along with moving actual texts to the new library area in the living room, so the shelves afford plenty of storage space for future projects. A small, easily movable table provides room for scrap booking or cutting fabric.
As the week drew to a close, I was content to finish the two smaller rooms we had planned for, but (alas) Jeff had grown greedy and wanted to tackle the living room as well. So, Saturday morning found us painting that room and Sunday brought a trip to IKEA for some slip-covered furniture to fill in the newly emptied space.
While the major portion of these rooms is complete, finishing touches are still needed here and there. For example, Jeff has to swap out the red CD boxes for the black and white ones we purchased, and I'm still waiting for the slip covers I ordered for the upholstered chairs in the office and craft room. In addition, there is an empty wall in the living room waiting for Jeff's instrument collection, and we haven't picked up new draperies to go with the plantation blinds, yet. (Penney's is having a sale though!) All in all, though, we feel our break was productive and gave us an excellent start on refurbishing the house. We plan to continue the color throughout the upstairs and add some kitchen upgrades to boot. Wish us luck!
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| Here's one before and after shot of the living room. Check out the rest of the photos on Facebook. |
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