The room was covered wall to wall with homemade shelving/bookshelves. They had to be removed to get to the sheetrock that I insisted disappear. I saved every single piece of them and have already used them on numerous projects. No waste here! There was also a lovely gray shag carpet that had to go. For some reason I don't have any photos before the room renovation began. I have these which were taken after the shelving and sheetrock were removed:
The ceiling sheetrock and that oh-so-glamorous ceiling fan came down next. Before removing the carpet I finished off the walls, really I loved the suspense of not knowing what I would find under that carpet! The walls were quite the task, I think it took about 3 weeks to remove all that wallpaper. Armed with a squirt bottle full of alcohol and a chisel, it didn't stand a chance. It then got a fresh coat of white paint, as did the ceiling once the sheetrock came down, and some 1x4 crown molding, also painted white. Finally time to reveal what's under the carpet!
What a mess!! I chiseled off the super vintage carpet pad only to find the entire perimeter of the room was painted a blech brown. The rest was in remarkable shape! That is 100 year old red oak floor boards y'all!
They span the entire length of the room so were installed at the time of construction, otherwise there would be no way to get them in. So cool. Now time to attack the muck paint. Out comes the sander... nope. Wouldn't even touch the stuff. Well I'm no quitter so I grabbed my angle grinder and a metal cup brush and went to town. Two weeks later I have a glorious original floor! I couldn't stain as it is red oak and turns, well, red. After much consideration, I pulled out my handy Minwax finishing paste and gave it a good coat (in sections) and bought a giant buffer pad for my angle grinder. IT IS FABULOUS. Worth all the super hard work.
Here is the room with construction done.
I refinished the furniture in the first pictures for my husband's desk, and a storage cabinet for me:
Oh, and I found this cool industrial light at Home Depot for $25!
We hung it from the original fixture "hole" and it was off center so I just swagged it! Love.
I ended up building my own desk for two reasons: I'm picky and cheap. I used a few pieces of the shelving removed from the room for the top, and the two front legs are actually the staircase spindles from the staircase we had moved (more on that another time). It is cute and mine. This is about the third life for that chair. Haha like I said, cheap. The thing hanging over the desk is a frame from one of the original windows in the house. I kept them ALL. I added chicken wire and a cute grain sack fabric backing, which I also used on the chair cushion.
That's my cozy little work space. I have a piece of trim yet to install under the window, someday. I also want a cute overstuffed chair or daybed for the other side of the room. And curtains, I need curtains. Can't make up my mind, imagine that.
Thanks for reading, I'll post about two other rooms I've conquered real soon!
Love,
Shanna
