Kate's room is done...she's so happy. I'd have posted pictures a week ago, but I've been working ten to twelve hour days at the office so haven't done much else but relax when I get home.
The furniture and accessory arrangement is not as I would have done, but it's not my room....
Here are the before pictures, so you can fully appreciate her changes...
I should have pictures of Kate's finished room tomorrow night, I think.
I finished painting her dressers and the new knobs she bought are on the top drawers, but the new handles for the other drawers don't quite fit, we have to figure out what we're going to do.
The first of the bookcases is built, but the shelves aren't in yet...Matt is building the second now.
The headboard has been spraypainted black (it was pink)...the nightstand and lamp are new. Kate found a good deal on the nightstand...a half price, already assembled, floor model.
Most importantly to Kate, her pretty new bedding is on her bed. You'll be able to see it better in tomorrow's pictures, when she's not sprawled out over the top of it.
I must say, her new bedroom suits the twenty year old young woman she has become much more than her old cream and pink little girl's room did.
Kate and I finished painting the walls and trim on Sunday. We didn't change the color of the trim (white) and the finish was still in good shape, so only a few touch ups were needed. Before the walls and trim were the same color; now there is nice contrast between blue and white.
Matthew sanded down the dressers Monday and Tuesday. They were cream with pink flowers on the fronts of the drawers (they are in the first picture of my last post, sitting in my studio blocking my worktable). We assumed the floral detail was a decal resting under a layer of sealer, but they were painted on and took quite a bit of effort to sand away.
Kate and he were supposed to go shopping for supplies on Monday while I was working, but a blizzard kept them housebound. They ventured out yesterday instead to buy new bookcases and paint for the dressers. I was supposed to take the day off to accompany them but my assistant called in sick so I spent the day at the office instead. They didn't look for a new headboard, nightstand, lamp or accessories, Kate is saving that shopping trip for when I'm available...awww...hopefully I'll be able to take a vacation day later this week.
Kate didn't bring home the burnt orange shade I was steering her toward, the orange she selected is brighter than I would like, but it's her room and her money so I didn't say anything. I got the first coat on the dressers last night. I'm going to finish them with a brushstroke finish on all but the tops and the raised fronts of the drawers, which I will paint with a roller for a smooth finish. I'm trying to talk Kate into updating the drawer pulls to something modern but she doesn't want to spend the money. I may end up treating her just so I can have my own way.
It's almost the same story on the nightstand and lamp...the table/lamp combo she is using now is one I picked up at the Goodwill for cheap years ago and won't match the new room, but she's reluctant to spend money on new ones. She's been contemplating other solutions though, I expect she'll buy reasonably priced replacements...I think she's just waiting for something which speaks to her. We'll have to go to the thrift and consignment shops when we go shopping to see if we can find something with some character.
My studio is unusable at the moment...see my houses, way back in the corner?
I'll show you the life-sized project I'm working on instead...
My daughter Kate's Christmas wish list this year was to remodel her bedroom. Her grandparents, aunts and uncles all gave her cash and gift cards to buy supplies; Matthew and I bought her the new bedding she selected and are providing her with guidance and a labor force.
She sorted through her belongings last week, giving away what she had outgrown and paring down her collectibles to a manageable number. Friday we went paint shopping, then yesterday we got her room cleared out and the walls prepped for painting before she left to ring in the new year with some friends. There were about a hundred or so nail and tack holes to spackle and sand, Kate is now a pro.
As she was getting ready to leave for the party I started cutting in the edges and corners so the room would be ready to paint when she gets home today. (I wanted to do it while she was gone so that we wouldn't be tripping over each other trying to work in a small room at the same time.)
After the first stroke of paint she expressed concern that the blue she selected was too bright...when I was finished cutting in I told Matthew I didn't think she was going to like the color, that we might end up back at the paint store for a different shade...but this morning, now that the paint has dried, it looks totally different...I think she'll be happy with the more sedate blue it is now.
After all that work yesterday I rang in the new year the same way Wakefield did...
