Thursday, March 18, 2010

Boys' room remodel

The boys' room is finally done.

Check that. It's been done for a while.

Several weeks, to be exact.

But, I haven't blogged about it. Obviously.

When I do a post about a remodel, I like to include tons and tons of pictures. I think that accurately portrays all of the steps involved--and there are so many steps involved when you are doing home improvement!

But, for some reason, I haven't had a lot of time to upload photos lately. *grin*

I finally did it though....so, finally finally finally: Our boys' finished room!


You may remember what it looked like before....


Very dark, with old outdated brown paneling and a very teeeeeeeny closet..

Panelling ripped off, down to bare studs. Ready for drywall!


Drywall up!


Taped and mudded! (This, in and of itself, is a three-day project!)
Don't mind my pirates, playing 'swords' on the 'plank'.


Sanded.
By the 'Sand Man'.
Better known as Shane. *grin*
And, I still think he looks hot, for the record.


When thinking about how to 'decorate' the boys' room, we came to the
conclusion that we were going to have to do something a bit different.

Starting on wall #1

The boys are, of course, in all different age groups--and they like different things. Ethan, for example, loves Thomas the Train--but Colin would much prefer Transformers or GI Joe to adorn his walls. Cameron would go for CARS. So, rather than going with a "theme" in their room, we decided to just stick with color.

Lots
of it.

Starting on wall #2


The boys got in on the action, and enjoyed their closet painting project!


Behold: their masterpiece!


Daddy, finishing up wall #2


Lots of color--remember?
Starting wall #3....


....and then wall #4!!


Oh, did you know? My carpenter also doubles as an electrician. *grin*


How on earth, you may be wondering, are they going to tie in those four colors?
(whispered:) They don't even look good together.

Stripes, my friend. Stripes.

I have to give Shane major, major props for this one.
These stripes took a lot of time, and a LOT of patience.


Let's just get this right out in the open--I would have never been able to do this.
Not necessarily for lack of skill--but for complete and utter lack of patience.

Oh, yeah...and for complete and utter lack of skill.


First striped wall: done!


And, yes....that means he did more than one striped wall!


(We interrupt this very complex part of the post for
a project Mommy actually could do:
painting the heating vent.
Oh, yes--Ethan also helped.
We're at roughly the same skill level, painting-wise.)


This second wall was even more difficult--so I'm told--than the first wall. Shane had to line the stripes up from the first wall and tape them the entire length of the second wall exactly the same width apart. And, he had to paint them differently: what was red on wall #1 had to be green for wall #2, and vice-versa, for the color blocking effect.

I'm worn out just thinking about that process.


Wall #2: done!


There was much staining and polying (pollying? poly-ing?) of trim.

We decided to go with primed closet doors, rather than wooden ones, so that they would blend in after being painted the wall color. The boys each took their turn with a bit more painting.


After Cameron's smear job paint job, Colin gave it a whirl....


....and then, it was the boss' turn again.


The closet: painted, and shelves and organizers in!


Time to get that opening trimmed out and those closet doors on.


Ha! I had to include this one...me, taking a very minuscule paint brush and doing touch-ups.
Awww...Lola was still baby Peanut in this picture! *sniff*
And before anyone asks...that is my birthmark on the back of my neck, not a hickie.
*Ahem.*


Putting up the door trim....


....and window trim.
Before....


....after.
*sigh*
The prettiest window there ever was.


Installing the light

Now...it was time to build the bunk bed.


Shane built Colin a bed when Cameron was born, and he decided just to simply add to it--add a top bunk to the bottom bed he had already built!


The headboard


(You can see in this picture, it matches Col's bed exactly!)


The new portion of the bed: done!


Now to stain it....


....and install it.


Pretty cool, huh? Though it looks like it is only sitting on top--I can promise you it is attached, and attached very well! (Being the semi-paranoid Mom that I am, I *ahem* made sure of it.)


Shane built and stained a ladder....


....and a guard rail so Col wouldn't fall out.


And now....the end result of all Shane's hard work!


Love love love how this corner turned out!


We surprised the boys with new down comforters and new sheets:
Thomas for Ethan, CARS for Cameron, and Spiderman for Colin.
They were more than thrilled!


The trundle bed still fits under the bottom bunk, and the boys sleep from top to bottom in birth order: Col on top, Cam in the middle, and E Ry on the bottom!
Trundle in....


....trundle out.


It is so incredibly nice to have this project done. Shane, as usual, did such a great job (I heart that man!) The boys--and their Mommy--LOVE this new room!

13 comments:

Kathy said...

Are you kidding me?!?!?!? That looks FANTASTIC! Jed and I were looking through these loving it {and it takes a lot for him to be amazed at something...} So fun for the kids. So fun.
{We have some rooms that need dry walled/painted, can we hire you?!? Or just have you come?! Please? :)}

Carolyn said...

Send that man my way. I am a fanatic for stripes - love them - and so would love a room like that for my boys! Please?! Pretty please? :) So super cool and original!!!! Great job!

Brittany said...

Wow. That trasformation is absolutely incredible! I've painted stripes before and it is NOT easy, especially in an older home where the walls aren't even. I love the colors, the stripes, the beds, all of it. Can Shane come play at my house when he's done playing at yours?.....

Anonymous said...

oh wow! Do you think he'd come to Australia and remodel my boys room? Absolutely amazing. I want him to make me bunk beds and everything. Ha ha. Love it. xo

Theresa said...

Shane did an amazing job!! I'm completely fascinated!! Love the colors too btw!

Mama Amber said...

Oh my gosh that looks AWESOME!

Holly said...

You got a talented man there! That room looks incredible & one that little boys dream of. Fantastic job. :)

Julie said...

Okay, so after all of the harassing and teasing...it was SO worth the wait! Shane did a fantastic job. Really, really nice.

And SURE that's a birthmark in that picture....there's a REASON ya'll have so many kids. Just sayin'.

Anonymous said...

LOVE the stripes! What room hasnt he redone? You should show us Lola's room!

Bethany @ Our 4 Sons Plus 1...Super Cute Girly Girl said...

Whew! That is one wicked corner! Hats off to that handy man of yours, you know, the one who isn't giving you hickies, hee hee!! :)

So awesome!!

Kenzie said...

OH.MY.GOODNESS!! Shane is simply amazing... okay, I will try not to covet your husband, but seriously! AMAZING!! Love you girl and so cool how you are working, room by room, around your house. It is awesome!!

Kara J. said...

Is there room for a girl? That room is AWESOME! Great job!

Amber E. Berkoski said...

The room is amazing and those stripes are fantastic! Give him a pat on the back from all of us. He did GREAT.