Perfect Solution for a Large Blank Wall

 

In the master bedroom, we have a large blank space of wall right when you walk in.  The space isn’t really large enough for furniture, and even if it were, we’d have to walk around the furniture to walk through our room to the master bath.  Several months ago, we removed the large mirrored closet doors in our master bath.  They were original to the house (1982) and very dated.  However, with those mirrored doors gone, we were left without a full-length mirror anywhere in the house.  Given that we had this large wall space to cover and we lacked a full length mirror, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that a large mirror was the perfect solution. 

I’ve been eyeing this Mongstad mirror from Ikea:

…but Ikea is a 45 minute drive and the mirror is big.  I’d have to go by myself and take all the carseats out of the minivan and fold down the seats.  Not so much fun. 

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a very similar mirror at HomeGoods for even less $ than the Ikea mirror, but when I went back a few days later it was gone.  I tried Ross and TJMaxx but neither had any large mirrors whatsoever.  Well, two nights ago I made an outing to Target for baby wipes (We only had like 3 wipes left) and lotion (I have seriously dry skin in the winter).  Guess what is next to Target?  Yup.  HomeGoods.  I dash in just for a minute and they have several different large black mirrors.  Given what happened last time, I decided to go ahead and make the purchase.  It was snowing outside.  I live in Texas.  This doesn’t happen here.  I must have looked like a crazy person trying to wrangle this seriously huge mirror into my minivan…by myself…in the snow.  Oh well. 

I finally got the mirror hung this morning, and I must say. I love it!  It is the perfect size and really adds needed light, depth, and dimension…and I am thrilled to have a full-length mirror once again!

Painted & Faux-Finished Subfloor

As I talked about before, we needed an inexpensive flooring solution for our upstairs. With allergies, messy young kids, and a large dog, we couldn’t deal with carpet in our house, but we were faced with a big dilemma. Money! We didn’t have any to buy new flooring. After some research, we decided to go ahead and rip out the carpet. We patched the seams and knots in the subfloor, rented a drum sander, and then painted the floor with Glidden Porch and Floor paint. I then went back with a chalk line and a Dremel and made small lines in the floor to look like floorboards. Finally, I went over the floor with a Ralph Lauren glaze to give it an older, rustic look. It isn’t perfect, but I don’t plan on keeping it forever. It is a wonderful interim solution for us. We managed to do about 1000 sq feet for less than $200. Keep reading for more of the details.

A close-up of the finished floor

After we pulled up all the carpet and tack strips, we used 2” coarse thread drywall screws to secure our squeaky old subfloor. We made sure that the screw heads were slightly below the top surface of the subfloor so that they wouldn’t show once patched and sanded. We also made sure to countersink all the old nails that were in the subfloor.

In the photo above, you can see the original state of the subfloor. It was not a pretty sight! We used Simple Prep Pre-Mixed Floor Patch and a margin trowel to patch the seams between the pieces of plywood subfloor, as well as to fill in any knots, screw holes and countersunk nail holes.

After the patch compound dried and hardened, we went to home depot and rented a drum sander. We sanded the entire floor with 60 grit sandpaper. This smoothed the floor, eliminating splinters but leaving some texture. You could easily sand with progressively finer grit paper for a smoother finish. Just a warning, this part generated a ton of dust! I highly recommend removing baseboards before sanding. We didn’t and I couldn’t get as close to the wall as I would have liked. Ideally, we would have removed the baseboards and then used a smaller sander to get close to the walls.

After we finished with the drum sander, we swept and vacuumed up all the dust and applied two coats of Glidden Porch & Floor Paint tinted to match Sherwin Williams Sawdust. This paint is self-priming and super cheap! If you don’t remove the baseboards, definitely tape them off.

This is a close-up of the floor after sanding and painting two coats.

Because we were going for a rustic feel, I didn’t want my faux board lines to be stick straight. I used a chalk line to make lines that served as rough guides for my faux board lines.

Then I used a Dremel with a cutting wheel to go over the chalk lines. I did this freehand so the lines had some interest to them.

This is the floor with the lines Dremelled in.

After I finished all the lines, I vacuumed up the dust and then rubbed the entire floor with Ralph Lauren Glaze in Smoke, making sure to work it into the cracks and crevices that remained as well as into the lines I made with the Dremel.

I’m really pleased with the finished product. It’s not perfect, but it’s also not going to stay this way forever. Eventually we will install bamboo flooring. One added bonus is that our floors are already patched and leveled from the sanding we did, so all we will have to do is start the install whenever we can afford the flooring. Until then, I am just thrilled to be rid of our carpet!

linked at Shabby Nest, A Soft Place to Land

I *heart* spray paint!

In the last 24 hours, I have spray painted two picture frames and a lamp and hung roman shades.  The roman shades were bought on clearance at Home Depot for less than $10 a piece.  I’ve had them in the garage for months and finally got around to hanging them yesterday.  I like the added layer of texture behind the bold curtains.

I had some plain metal frames that were slightly blah.  I’ve needed to add color, so on a recent trip to WalMart I bought several different colors of spray paint.  I think the result is a definite improvement and gives the color punch I was after.

While I was at it, I painted this lamp orange.  I need to find a new shade.  I’ve never been crazy about the one that came with the lamp.

I also scored some grasscloth wallpaper on ebay.  I’m going to use part to wallpaper the back of the Ikea bookcase.  The rest will probably be used in the half bath downstairs.  I’ve never wallpapered before, so this might be an adventure. 

Other things on the agenda for the master bedroom:

1. Paint walls Sherwin Williams Ramie

2. Get more fabric and sew remaining 3 curtains

3. Wallpaper back of bookcase with grasscloth wallpaper

4. Find bedding that isn’t ridiculously expensive

5. Sew throw pillows

6. Get decorative full length mirror

7. Paint mirrors above dresser

8. Paint storage bench (maybe)

9. Accessorize!

A Place to Start

 

We purchased this house about 2.5 years ago.  We’ve done a few basic projects and a little inexpensive decorating, but now I’m ready to make it into a place I really love.  I’m trying to add color to cheer up the space, and will be decorating in an eclectic style.  We have three small kids.  Our twins, Grace and Jacob, are 4, and Clare will be 2 in April.  The space will have to be child-friendly and very durable.  We started out with a neutral, coastal style.  I was looking for a soothing, relaxing environment.  However, after living with it for the past year, I really I feel like I need a more energizing space with lots of color and pattern.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting photos of our house in its current state and coming up with plans for each area.  The photos above are of the master bedroom.  The top photo is from yesterday afternoon, and the second is from about a month ago.  With allergies and messy young kids, we couldn’t deal with carpet in our house, but we were faced with a big dilemma.  Money!  We didn’t have any to buy new flooring.  After some research, we decided to go ahead and rip out the carpet.  We patched the seams and knots in the subfloor, rented a drum sander, and then painted the floor with Glidden Porch and Floor paint.  I then went back with a chalk line and a Dremmel and made small lines in the floor to look like floorboards.  Finally, I went over the floor with a Ralph Lauren glaze to give it an older, rustic look.  It isn’t perfect, but I don’t plan on keeping it forever.  It is a wonderful interim solution for us.  We managed to do about 1000 sq feet for less than $200.  I’ll do a separate post on it eventually.

Back to this…

To quiet the noise of the floor, I bought two of these rugs from HSN in 8x10.  I overlaped them, lining up the stripes, so that they cover about a 10x13 area.  Not bad for $120. 

I really liked these rugs from Madeline Weinrib, but it would have been way too expensive in the size we would need.  Also, I think the bigger white areas might be a problem with the kids and dog.  (Did I mention the dog?  We have a Golden Retriever.)

I’m really happy with my solution, and at 1/10th the price, who wouldn’t be?  …And I think it even looks a bit like this Madeline Weinrib rug:

More on future plans for our master bedroom to come!

About Me

My name is Megan. I am wife to a lawyer and mom to twins, Grace and Jacob, born October 2005, and Clare, born April 2008. Remodeling and decorating my home has become my main hobby (along with running). I am a stay-at-home mom who is trying to reduce our family debt. We have quite a bit between my husband's law school loans and my own graduate school loans. It was out of sheer necessity that I started many of my projects. I just couldn't afford to pay someone else to do things that I could do for a fraction of the cost. My efforts have invoked a great personal interest in interior design and do-it-yourself home remodeling. This blog will focus primarily on these areas.