I’d rather not scare with the “before” picture first, so I’ll start with our bed AFTER the remodeling.  I’m sure most of you recall my recent post titled “The Beast”, showing the process by which Greg got a wild hair, took 2 bookshelves, and turned them into a full-wall built-in.  The project which necessitated an overhaul of our entire bedroom, which, I must say, has been entirely worth the pain involved.  It’s just so pretty.

So, after months and months of building and painting, I then refinished our headboard.  It pained me to sand and paint over the oak headboard Greg made right after we got married, but honey oak does not match a pure grey and white bedroom.  It pained me more to sand this thing in an 18 degree garage.  January was brutal for those of us in the midst of home remodeling. I then decided the bed and all that went with it were too SHORT.  I’m short.  That’s enough for one family. So we lifted everything. Greg was very skeptical, but he’s tall, and by Night #1, he loved his new, tall bed.

The before picture, seen in its natural state, which is accurately called, its “all the time” state.

That meant the bedside tables Greg built, which had always been too short, were now REALLY too short.  And I read too much Better Homes & Gardens, so I got the crazy idea we needed mixy-matchy tables, which would coordinate if they were the same color, height, with matching lamps.  Uh-Oh.  Wait.  Aren’t those sconces in my wall?  Yeah. Those had to go.

What to do?  What to do?  I know!  Scour every antique mall within a 50 mile radius, armed with a measuring tape and sense of adventure! Greg wanted drawers, I did not.  Mixy-matchy was working already!  Oh.How.We.Looked.  I found Greg’s first (so the garage was its home for most of the winter), and one day as Grandmommy and I were leaving a mall after a long day of looking, mine was right at the door, covered in lamps and what-nots.  She looked at me and I looked at her, and we just knew. After sanding and painting those grooves, I wish we’d known less, but it’s a solid table.  I paid about $60 for each of them, so I was happy with the price, even if they required elbow grease.  That’s half the fun!  JOKING.  I’m kidding. Refinishing these pieces was not fun, and had my sister not advised me during the minwax polycrylic phase, they’d probably still be sitting in my sewing room.

 

Mine ended up like this. Like I said…so pretty. Sara found the lamps at Home Goods.  That girl has twice the good taste I have.  Actually, she keeps the good taste.  I keep the Kleenex and ointments.

Greg’s nightstand is above.  He has his drawers, although after cleaning out the old nightstands, it’s clear to me we only used them to store dust. Lots and lots of dust. You may recognize those drawer pulls.  I’m in love with this not overly traditional, not overly modern pull (Lowe’s, Amerock, custom order).  I may just use it all over the house.  These pulls will create a constant between rooms, other than dirt and mess.

We had to get all new bedding (duh), which only took months of looking and 2 trips to the store with Grandmommy.  In my defense, my sister said I set some kind of world record for duration of Master Bedroom bedding.  Excuse me, has she met our grandparents? Grandmommy made the pillows for Christmas, and thought I’d put them in the window, but I like them on the bed. The dark grey in the middle is imprinted with the state of Indiana, our name, and the words “Indianapolis, Indiana”.  Most awesome pillow ever…belongs on my bed, clearly.

So that left a big picture above our bed with a brown frame and a brown matte.  Yikes.  Everyone was sure do-it-herself Lori would paint the frame and re-matte it myself, but at some point guys, I really do wear down.  Considering we paid nothing for the print, I decided investing in a decent frame would be OK. As the recession began oh-so-many years ago, Greg came home after Layoff #1 with a confident smile, and this GIGANTIC print in the back of his car. It hung in a conference room, and his boss, knowing he liked it, told him to take it.  After all, the entire office was shutting down, why not let someone enjoy this print?  I’m glad we didn’t know what would lie ahead (2 more companies shutting their doors, along with me leaving my career to care for the girls). I’m happy for the frugality and resilience this print has come to represent to us.  Above our bed it shall stay.

I took it to JoAnn’s, only to discover this picture lives in a matte not available.  Anywhere.  Not even ON THE INTERNET.  GOOD GOD, is that even possible? It’s simply too large.  When the framers and I took it apart, we realized it contained a pieced together matte, covered in brown linen.  And because it was so unusual, they offered to recover the whole thing for $20, just to see if they could do it.  I only had to supply the new white linen. I jumped around my kitchen for a good 10 minutes in celebration.  This could have gotten ugly guys.  Really expensive and really ugly.

With a cathedral ceiling on a 2nd floor, even I agreed the ceiling fan had to stay.  Which is saying something, because I don’t like ceiling fans.  But I really don’t like the price of new ceiling fans.  I’m not going to PAY for a fixture I don’t even want!  I can’t believe those cold lights glared down on me for 7 years.  BEGONE ugly lights!

Ah. Yes. That’s better.  Diffuse, soft light, with a glittery silver surround which picks up the flecks of silvery from the grey lampshades.  Pleasant. I had no idea ceiling fan lights are mostly universal and can be swapped out while leaving the rest of the fan intact.  HOWEVER, the inches of dust which collect on those blades cannot be swapped out without cursing, sweat, and red eyes. Wisdom right here for you guys…totally free…paid for by me and a pair of contacts which had to be ditched.

Opposite of our bed is this wall.  This big, weird wall.  You might be wondering if I ever hung anything on it other than paint swatches?  Years ago, my dresser sat on this wall, along with a mirror, but it was moved eons ago.  So I’ve stared at those patches for an embarrassingly long time.  Apparently I’m good at blocking out ugly.  Greg would tell you the painters tape also sat there for an embarrassingly long time, and in his defense, he is not wrong.

In the end, this wall became one of my favorite parts of the room.  My Grandparents gave me this mirror when I bought my first house.  The girls were each holding balloons in their 2 year old pictures, which was planned, even if I had no real plans as to where to hang them. It only took me 3 years to get them up on a wall together.  Well done Momma!  I bought the art by Sarah Jane Studios titled “Waiting”, never even thinking of the girls’ portraits.  One day as I stared at those wall patches, it all came together.

Maybe it’s the fact that Sara is in one frame, Kelly is in another, and in the middle is a painting of a little girl with my hair color.  Maybe it’s the lone white balloon and her white dress, which seems to indicate hope.  Hopeful waiting.  Maybe it’s just the title, “Waiting”.  Either way, I really, really love Sarah Jane’s work, and I really love this print. She captures the best of what is childhood and makes it feel so real, and yet so abstract at the same time.

If you’re still with me, I wish I could say it’s done.  But come on, what in home remodeling is ever really done?  I’m still staring at my oak dresser and a big, rectangular wall above it.  I’m giving myself the summer to refinish it, and figure out what to put on the wall.  I don’t want anything too focal-pointy, because the bookcase and the print above the bed are really dominant.  I told Greg I was going to paint driftwood and hang it up, and he laughed and laughed.  We’ll call that the back up plan. One more wall.  One more refinishing project.  (We’ll forget the Master Bath no longer matches anything for now.  Let’s shoot for 2014, shall we?). I CAN DO THIS THING.  Are you with me?

A very heartfelt thanks to my sister, Jenny, without whom none of this remodeling would have happened.  Every single color, decision, swatch of fabric, and tint of paint was cleared through her.  She does Interior Design as a hobby for family and friends, and had she not eyeballed my ideas, you’d be throwing up in your mouths right now.  The hodge-podge alone would have hurt you. Another thanks to my cousin Cynthia, who is an artist, and gave the final call on the new matte and frame.  What was an easy call for her was weeks of puzzlement to me!