Out with the Old

Now that the guest room is mostly complete, we started working on the other room by removing the 80s green carpeting.



Guinness enjoying the carpet one last time.


Grabbing the carpet by one end we just yanked and pulled it from the nails that keep it down around the room.


Under the carpet was the carpet pad which you can see Keith about to rip up here.


Then there was a thin layer of wood subfloor which was nailed to the hardwood.


Yup! Keith chucked everything out the window. It just made things easier.


What I don't understand is why the middle of the floor isn't stained and sealed. Keith said it's because people used to nail china rugs to the floor. I guess people didn't appreciate hardwood as we do now.


Wats all da noise about? We were left with all these nails in the floor so Keith hammered them all down into the floor.

i HEART new stuff!

I finally pulled the trigger and ordered the chandelier for the guest bedroom. Now that the room is mostly complete, I can't wait to change the ceiling fan out for this beauty. Best of all, they were both on SALE!

Chandelier from Overstock

Ultimately, we decided on a shag rug for the room. Keith thinks shag rugs are "cool" and they are less expensive than patterned rugs. I didn't want to get jute because it does have a tendency to leave behind a lot of "dirt" from the jute. The white will really lighten up the room since all the furniture is so dark and will really go with our duvet cover.

Shag rug in white at Overstock

Turning a sofa into a day bed

As you can see from yesterday's post, the seating slopes towards the back of the sofa. That works great as a sofa, but not for a bed. I laid on it to see just how bad it was and went rolling into the side, so it definitely needed some work.

My idea was this. I asked Keith to take two pieces of 2x4 and prop up a piece of plywood. That way the surface would now be level. It didn't take long at all. The plywood was about $10.

Here's another shot of what it looks like.

I put the cushions back on and put a twin sheet over them. It fit perfectly.

The foot board is always in the dark, so I think I might lighten it up by adding a fabric covered whatchamacallit with nail head trim to give it fancier look.

More Guest Room Progress

Finally it's the weekend! I cleaned out the dresser drawers and put them back into the dresser. I cleaned it and polished the wood. I brought some house plants up. I'm hoping they will help clear out the smell of the polyurethane.

We were afraid the placement of the dresser was awkward, but it's not too bad now.

Keith cut up some carpet tiles I had and used them as pads for under the dresser and daybed.

After a lot of maneuvering, Keith and a friend got the newly stained day bed up the stairs. It's not done yet. I have lots of plans for this bed to come.

I don't think I'll get to this any time soon, but the closet still needs work. I painted it the same color as the walls, but I'm thinking about putting some wallpaper in there and add hooks.

Basil was so tired from today's work that he fell asleep like this.

Guestroom Progress

Our progress has been slow these last two weeks. We waited for the floor to fully cure. The weather has been very cold with an occasional warm day, so we waited more than the suggested 3 days.


Today we cleaned the walls and trim one last time with a damp rag. Then I touched up the baseboard with another coat of white paint. Then we moved the dresser into the room.






Then Keith sanded and stained the sofa we got (hand me down) which we plan to use as a daybed.

Sho shiney

After getting the poly treatment

Poly da Floor

The first coat is on. We need 4 coats. It's 2 hours between coats! Boy this project turned out to be a longer project than we thought.


See the difference now?



We used a lambskin brush.



The poly is white and has a glue like consistency.

Stained floor

It's stained! It's finally stained! Look how beautiful. We will have to wait until morning to take another photo.


After


During


Before

Floor Progress

After a one week hiatus, we picked up where we left off and finished going over the floor with 120 grit sand paper.





We wiped the dust off the walls with a damp rag and cleaned up as thoroughly as we could.





Now we are going over the floor with tack cloth. This is an important step.

My boys

Don't pets make a house a home? Tell me about your pets.

Check it out

I went to the Christmas tree shop and look at what they had.







It's my wall pattern.
These organizers are pretty kewl too.

Floor progress

Floor progress with 120 grit sand paper. You can really see the difference in the surface.






Before with 80 grit.






After sanding again with 120 grit.

Guest Room: Crown Moulding

We are working on the crown moulding this morning in the guest room. Tonight we will tackle the floors.





I love the color of this room!






Can't wait to replace the light fixture. Just a few more things on Craigs list and I'll be able to buy it!

Craigs List

I sold my dresser on Craigs list. When the buyers came to pick it up I got all sentimental about it. They sent me a picture and I knew I made the right decision. She's found a good new home.

Floor progress

Here is the sanded floor with 80 grit sand paper. It took 2 days for the dust to settle and then we went back and vacuumed and cleaned again.



I can't wait to see what the finished floor will look like.

Picture frame moulding III

After cutting all the pieces and nailing them up, it was time for spackle and paint.





I use my middle finger to spackle the nail holes and corners.





Put a gob on the end of your finger and push it into the holes and wipe smooth with your finger. You can also use a damp rag.





As it dries, take a break and play with your dogs. Hi boys!





If you need to, sand any excess spackle off. I use a damp rag.





Then apply your paint!





Viola! I love the way it turned out. It's just too bad that most of the furniture is covering the walls.






Here's what we decided for under the windows. I love the way it looks.