Guestroom Before/After

shadytrake · 07-08-2012, 08:15 PM

Hi All,

Here is a before and after of my guestroom project.

One window had some moisture damage from an old window air conditioner. I patched the drywall, repaired the trim, and installed a new apron. The other window was painted shut so I scraped and sanded until I worked it loose. Then I sanded the paint off of the inside side jams so that it would open and close properly.

I cleaned and sanded all of the baseboards. No sense in replacing them at this point because we will eventually refinish the floor. I cleaned and patched all of the imperfections in the old wallboard (house built in 1952 - back then they used wallboard and this stuff is no fun when it is old).

I hand-cut crown moulding and used pre-fab corner pieces from HD. These make a nice detail to an otherwise plain ceiling. After installing all of the crown, I hand-caulked every nail hole and seam. I highly recommend doing this (learned it from Tommy on This Old House) as it makes any crown look like a custom job. I also re-caulked the baseboard seams and the window trim. NOTE: Knee-pads are a life-saver for caulking and cutting in the baseboards. Also, if you paint the wall before the trim, as long as the color is not too dark, you don't have to cut in as much on the crown.

I then primed the entire room with water-based Kilz (best to do this if your room hasn't had a re-paint in many years). The walls then got 2 coats of Valspar in a nice neutral flat and the trim got 2 coats of Valspar in a cream color flat. NOTE: We will not use Valspar paint again. It doesn't cure very well. After one week, I brushed against the wall with my sleeve and it peeled. I know that I applied it correctly...I've never had an issue with paint.

shadytrake · 07-08-2012, 08:18 PM

On to the design.

Hubby and I like to "go Green" whenever it fits with our plan and this room has some nice recycled furniture. I had made the seamless drapes many years ago, so I just had them dry-cleaned to freshen them. They were the jumping off point for the color scheme.

The bed is a heirloom inherited from my great, great grandmother. I had already installed a metal frame and mattress set a long time ago. We just added a memory foam top, a new comforter set, and pillows. Throw pillows from a community yard-sale.

The chair, lamp, and end table were from the same community yard-sale. Hubby very lightly sanded the top of the end table (it was a veneer) and re-stained /sealed it. I scrounged around and found some nice "art" pieces for the table. The painting was also inherited. (not sure which wall for this one yet so it is on the floor).

I found the rug and the pre-fab custom cut blinds at Lowe's. The little black office desk is a Wal-Mart special (just until I can find a yard-sale steal). The overhead fan with light are original to the house and look pretty good with the design so I left them alone. I'll probably replace the glass globe later on.

Project Time: Two Weeks mainly because there were drying periods.
Paint/Primer/Rug/Crown - $175
Memory Foam/Pillows/Comforter Set - $165
Yard-sale finds/desk/blinds - $100
Misc/Supplies - $50

Total Project = $490 ($10 under budget)

**oh'mike** · 07-08-2012, 08:24 PM

Nice room--I especially like the blue horse---unique little item---Mike--

shadytrake · 07-08-2012, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oh'mike

Nice room--I especially like the blue horse---unique little item---Mike--

Thanks! That particular art piece was an anniversary gift from my husband. It is a metal sculpture and I love it. It breaks up the red in the room.