Monday, May 9, 2011

26 May Challenge: Project "Projects" {Boy's Bedroom - Part 2}

Last week I shared some of my plans to get the boy's bedroom updated since we were pulling out the too big bunk beds in the too little room.  I have to say, we didn't get as much accomplished this weekend as I had hoped.  You see, there was this little holiday known as Mother's Day this weekend.  Apparently that gets in the way of painting.  And so does an awful sinus infection.  Along with a fun little shopping trip on Saturday.  And my over-achiever want to get'er all done in 10 minutes un-realistic attitude...

Anyway.... left you last week with this...


I started by piling everything into the middle of the room, removing all of the hardware and outlet covers and completely gutted the inside of the closet {since we are going to reconfigure the use of the space now that we are losing a dresser built into those bunk beds}.


Then I took a moment of silence.  Let a tear run down my cheek.  And said my goodbyes to the striped wall I spent hours upon hours painting, 9 months preggers with my now almost 5 year old baby.


And oh how awful it was painting those stripes.... orange peel texture is the pure pits!


Feel free to also take a look at the incredibly crazy scuffed up condition the walls were in.  It is a bedroom to two boys so it's completely to be expected.... right?

Then, it was time to roll!  I always roll first.  I used Behr's Premium Ultra Paint/Primer in WindSurf.  It's more gray than the blue that was on their wall previously.



And I was hoping this would be a great way to quickly and painlessly say farewell to those stripes.  I actually started on the stripes first, just to get it over with.


One coat in, and they were almost gone.  But not completely.  By the time I got all the way around the room, I decided I wasn't going to wait and was just going to put the second coat on the stripe wall right then and there....


Much better....

Then, just using my incredibly most favorite in the whole world Wooster Angle Paint Brush, I started edging in, totally painters tape free.  Such a time saver!

And my first official Flip Cam video of me actually doing something project related.... cutting in with the Wooster Angle Brush and not taping out the trim.  You know this is going to be exciting stuff!


And now that I have you wondering why you wasted 18 seconds of your life on that video, how about the worlds most boring before and after?

Before:


After:


It's much more effective and dramatic in person.  At least I can tell since we patched all the walls and it has zero marks on it.  That's reason enough to be excited!  And the grayness is much more "big boy" feeling.

That was about all the excitement that went on Saturday....

Sunday morning I had a little Mother's Day project that I was working on for my mother-in-law {more on that tomorrow}, and while I did that, my incredible man began taping out the stripes in the boys room.  That was his lovely act of endearment towards me.  Because I know it's tedious and not the most exciting way for a guy to spend his Sunday...


He said, "The wall is 8 feet honey, let's do four stripes of the light blue color."  I felt instantly paralyzed.  Nope, we have to look at some inspiration pictures to see how many stripes we should have.  So I did just that and guess what, apparently there are a lot of smarties out there, all who decided to do 4 stripes for the same reason he did.  And then I had to say in the most muffled of voices, "OK honey, good idea, you were... ahem... right."

So that's how he measured.  12 inch increments:


And by the time we had to get our shower on, get the kid's dressed and go spend a blessed day with our mom's... he was about this far....


And that's what the room looks like today!

I must figure out what to do to the inside of the closet because I know myself well enough to say that it absolutely won't be white at the end of this project.  And I am still on the hunt for a light fixture.  There are some contenders and ideas, but nothing confirmed yet.  And now I am wondering if I should consider painting the ceiling...  And I am the worst person about starting sentences with the word "And".  My English teacher would have considered that swearing. 

Oooh, and I found some Euro pillows at HomeGoods this weekend for $9.99 each.  I had to snag them up quick for the space, here is a sneak peak:


Tonight, more taping and hopefully some more painting!  Hopefully.....

Anyone else project it up this weekend? 


I decided a little challenge would be fun! This month we are getting all those projects done!  Any project big or small counts!  Wanna join?  Take photos and blog about your awesomeness as you go!  I am hoping to do a giant, "We did it!" celebratory post where we can all link up our project completing success stories at the end of the month!

26 comments:

  1. It looks great! I like that grey color a lot, I have a similar color in my master bathroom and its very soothing, I'm really happy with it. My twin girls are almost 2.5 and we are thinking about going to our toddler beds, can't wait to put a new room together for them!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love the new wall color. It really feels so "grown-up"! I can't wait to see the final reveal!

    If you haven't figured out what to do with the closet yet, I would seriously recommend the elfa line at the Container Store. I don't know if you have one near you, but they can plan your closet for you for free, and if you think their product is too expensive, you can still take the plans and use them with something else. We have elfa in all our closets and I love it because the shelves and closet rods an be rearranged super easily and you can always buy new components if you need them! [Also, I swear I don't work for them, I just love their closets!!]

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am dying to see how this comes out. I am gearing up to work on my little guy's big boy room (sniffle). I was thinking chairrail with a tan on top and navy on the bottom. Now I am thinking I might change it up and do something like this. Hmmm, is it hard to get the stripes done like that?

    ReplyDelete
  4. LOVE it so far Jen! I think you got a lot done this weekend! Painting is no small task with three kiddos and a holiday weekend.

    Can't wait to see more!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I just learned about this homegoods place. I haven't been yet because it's so far south from where I am. But I plan to go one day. Looks good!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lookin' good! I have some lamps I've been working on for a while, 'cause I can't figure out what I want to do with the shades :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Jen! I noticed in the previous post, you had a "Style Tile" of all the design ideas for this room. Do you create these online or with a specific program? I would like to do something similar, and would love your advice! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ohhh I am excited to see the final product!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I would say you made major progress. I am tackling our son's closet and room as well . . . way behind in the progress department!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Jen.
    The new color looks great. I think it looks like you got a lot done this weekend. My personal opinion about painting the ceiling... don't do it. I have painted my kids rooms and is it a pain. They have ceiling paint that goes on pink and dries white. Then you can see where you have painted. I still see spots that look like they could use another coat. Good luck. Can't wait to see the finished room.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lovin' the new color, Jen! Although I loved the stripes too! I cannot magine how many hours that took you guys to measure/tape/paint.

    Can't wait to see more progress & the finished room!

    ReplyDelete
  12. We built a chicken coop out of unlikely materials! No, we aren't total weirdos.... lol! We just got our very first chicks ever and are on a quest to have fresh eggs in our house in a few months!!! Here's our project: http://simplehomeloving.blogspot.com/2011/05/coop-demolish-build-beautify.html

    ReplyDelete
  13. I totally forgot to say- I love your new color too, and I can definitely tell the difference in color between the two pictures :) It had to be hard to paint over the stripes that had taken so many hours... but it is looking great!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Looking good! I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who cries over stripes. I also painted mine about 5 years ago while pregnant. :) Can't wait to see it all finished. I cleaned out the basement and the garage in preperation for moving. Just down to the little things now, like labeling everything! :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Love the new color! I got nothing done this weekend and I'm not even a momma! Unless you count to a 3 yr old boston terrier:)Can't wait to see the room all finished!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I can soooo relate! I too am working on "re-do'ing" our kids' bedroom, and thought I'd make a lot more progress this weekend than I had! Although I am tackling my 1st sewing project ever! (I'm making rag quilts for their beds-it's turning out really cute).

    I've done something completely different with our color scheme. I painted their ceiling red (to match their curtains), walls a neutral Navajo White, and bright white trim. I can't wait to finish and post pics of transformation on: www.heartandhaven.com

    ReplyDelete
  17. looking forward to seeing the progress as it happens! :) lovely colour

    ReplyDelete
  18. We moved to WI 7 months ago & our house has the "orange peel" walls too! It seemed like every house we looked at had them. We've always had flat walls so I'm a little nervous about them. We have quite a few scratches and holes in the walls that I want to patch before painting but how do I do that and have it blend with the rest of the wall??? Any advice?

    ReplyDelete
  19. I sooooo can't wait to see this when it's finished!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. looks fantastic so far Jen! And yes, that Wooster brush is the best thing since sliced bread!!!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I have stripes I want to paint over, but there is a tiny raised area where the tape line was and I'm afraid that I'll be able to feel them. Did you sand anything down? Do you feel this paint/primer is adequate to cover that type of lip? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  22. @Jenn, I am pretty careful when repairing walls with the orange peal, I use my finger to press spackle into the hole and rub over the entire area with my hand to try and even it all out. Hard to explain and it's definitely not necessarily the right way, but it has worked for us. My husbands father does drywall for a living so he fixes any larger areas for us and uses a texture spray.

    @Caryn, there was a very small line on the wall that I didn't sand first, and I don't notice it now that I have two coats of the paint/primer, however, it was pretty minimal to begin with...I have heard that some light sanding might be necessary when painting over stripes...

    xoxo,
    Jen

    ReplyDelete
  23. This is coming together nicely. We're moving at the end of the month so I've been picking up pieces here and there for this and that room, but your project is perfect inspiration for my little guy's room - he's four-years old. Hardwood floors adorn the house too so I'm especially on the look out for area rugs bursting with color for the living room.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Thanks for the info Jen. I'll have to take some before pictures, before I jump into my project.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I love that paint color- the grey one. what is it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi KT!

      The color is Behr's Premium Ultra Paint/Primer in WindSurf.

      xo,
      Jen

      Delete

Thank you so much for taking a moment to join in on the conversation! I read and appreciate each and every comment, however, I will remove any comment that I believe to be inappropriate, malicious, or spam-like. I would love for this comment section to be used as a place to engage in purposeful dialogue, I only ask that everyone remains constructive and considerate.

All comments will be moderated and may take a moment to appear.