Monday, October 8, 2012

The Evolution of a Bedroom

When we bought our 100-year-old farmhouse in 2010, no one had done anything major to keep the home updated.  The walls were cracked and damaged plaster, and the windows, floors, doors and trim were original to the house.  Here's what our room looked like back in 2010:



Honestly, the pictures don't do justice to how yucky the room was.  It was musty and the walls were in a state of disrepair that doesn't show up in these pictures.  The ceilings were only 7 feet tall, too.
We decided to knock out all the plaster in the home.  The background of the picture below is what the room looked like after they tore out the plaster and lathe.  They had already scooped out about half of the mess by the time I took the picture.



 Once that was cleaned up, Nathan installed new windows, rewired the room and insulated.  There was no insulation in those old walls!

After that, he rebuilt the closet.  We spent our spring break hanging drywall in one bedroom.  Yes, it took us the whole week!  Don't worry though, things went faster in the remainder of the house once we had some experience.  The hardest part was finishing the drywall.  Our bedroom was the first room that we did, and while it has some imperfections that bug us occasionally, it turned out pretty well and we learned a lot!  We kept the original floors but hired someone to sand them and refinish them.  The upstairs floors are pine and the downstairs are pecan.



Here's what our room looks like now.  I still have a few pictures to hang, and I need to give the woodwork and doors one more coat of white paint, but it's mostly complete.

I'm always curious where I can buy the things I like when I see photos on Pinterest and blogs.  I'll try to keep you updated on all the details as I add pictures of the house.

As you can see, Nathan vaulted the ceiling so that it's a normal 8 foot ceiling.  That made such a difference in how the room feels!


Wall paint: Shale by Martha Stewart 
(I had them mix this color at Home Depot in a contractor grade paint to keep the costs low.)
Rug: Clearance at Pottery Barn last summer
Brown pillows: Pier 1
Curtains: Bed Bath and Beyond
 Vase/Branches: Pier 1
Black Mirror That Still Needs To Be Hung: Walmart
Silver Candle Holders: Garage sale for $10, but I've seen them at Hobby Lobby


 Eventually, I'd like to get a chair that coordinates better with our bedroom colors, but this one works for now.  It used to be in our living room when we lived in a bigger place.
Iron Wall Hanging: Clearance at Pier 1 a couple years ago
Baskets: Target (These hold up SO well!)
Brown pillow: Walmart
Lamp: Bed Bath and Beyond

 This shelf (Target) used to hold all of my cello and piano music, but it fit perfectly in this space and really helped with clothes storage since our closets in this house are much smaller.




I was thrilled when I found these doors at Home Depot.  They are the same style as the doors original to the house.  While I was glad to get rid of the old, musty parts of this house, I've tried to keep some of that quaint farmhouse feel the house had when we bought it. 

4 comments:

Lisa said...

Leah, it is BEAUTIFUL!! Great job!!

Micah said...

I LOVE the dresser...where did you get it?
Beautiful room!

Jenina Kenessey said...

Beautiful!

Jennifer said...

It looks so good! Love the colours and details! :)