I can't believe I started clearing out this room back in November 2009. Then we dropped the ball. Then the room accumulated more junk. And we were pretty much back at square one.
I didn't have the heart to tell them that I hated the first color I picked out- too little boy's room blue. Sunday morning found me at Sherwin-Williams, picking out another color. I settled on Drizzle, in case anyone is interested. It was my first instinct, but I chickened out and went lighter. Lesson learned.
This is just a sneak peak. More to follow soon!
These are the beautiful sand dollar sheets they've had for years, but weren't available just two months ago when I was online shopping. Maybe they only have them for the spring and summer months?
What's the matter with me? I've never had so much trouble decorating before. Bedrooms are possibly the easiest rooms to decorate, too. Why am I being so wishy-washy?
So, there is a bin on top of the tall dresser that has all my favourite stuffed animals from childhood. I want to find a better storage solution for them, but I'm not sure what would be best.
I have two boxes of stuff to give away to specific people, and two boxes for donation. There were three until Jessica went through them. She found more stuff she could use, or knew someone who could. Fantastic!
We talked price, sales and financing. Regularly $2,899, Sale $2,399, with an offer of 0% financing for 24 months. That would make payments $100 per month.
After flipping through those, I've narrowed my choices to Sherwin Williams' Halcyon Green or Drizzle (just above my thumb).
In person last night the Drizzle looked okay, but when I looked at them again in the morning light and in this photograph, I think the Halcyon Green looks better. I was already leaning that way, but I think I'll get a sample pint of each to test, just to be sure.
I pulled out one of the shams to take a picture, and this doesn't accurately show the color (jadestone), either, but I think it is closer to true. I was expecting something a bit more vibrant, this is a soft, subtle, muted color. I searched every retailer I could think of in my price range, and some that were out of my price range, but I still didn't find a substitute. So I'm trying to adjust my plan.
The curtains arrived the next day, on Wednesday. This is what I saw when I opened the box. Way to over package there, JCPenney! Again, the colors are more subtle than expected, but I still really love the print.
On the bright side, the side bedroom hasn't looked this good in ages.
Here's the problem I was running into: many of the remaining boxes in the back bedroom have office supplies in them. Tons of little stuff with no home. So, I started to get the side bedroom organized to make homes for all the office supplies I will be running into. This way I don't just move the debris from one room to the other. Ultimately, I mean. 'Cause that's actually what ended up happening to some of the junk from the side bedroom.
But it is stuff I need to go through also, and I can probably get rid of 75% of it. I saw a box with dried flowers (yuck!) and a box of cards. I'm so sentimental, it is hard for me to throw cards out. But I've spied tons of trinkets that I've never liked, and they've been out of sight for so long now, I don't even remember who gave them to me. They can go with minimal guilt. There has been surprisingly little actual trash. I mean, I am throwing some things out, and I haven't gotten to the paperwork yet. Geeze, there's another whole post. 
Wide open space through the middle of the room.
I can even get to one window now:
But I still have this big pile to deal with:
And the crowded hall, filling fast with things unearthed from the back bedroom that live elsewhere:
Yup. Coal. How did it get there? I have no idea. Why did I have a shoebox of coal? Your guess is as good as any. But there it was. A box of coal. At least now I think I've identified the strange odor we would smell from time to time, mostly in the summer. Time will tell.
What do you think? Could I make it work with yesterday's idea?
The comforter and curtains are of course from JCPenney. The comforter set is on clearance, and only $70 for the king. The curtains (84"length) are $35 per panel x 4 = $140. Unless I can get away with the 72". Then it will be $30 per panel, $120 total. Not sure. Will have to measure. The ceiling is pretty low in that part of the room because it is an enclosed sleeping porch (sad).
There are a couple of other things to consider, too. I don't need-need the curtains, I have a set that will work, at least for now. But I'm in love with the mod circles. And the dressers in that room are painted white, mid-century, curved front, with tapered feet. So, I'm thinking the room should have a mod feel.
Then I remembered these beautiful sand dollar print sheets from the L.L.Bean catalog. They've been in the catalog for years, and I've always wished I had a place for them. Now I might, but guess what? They are discontinued. Figures. I think if I could find something like that, I could have a hint of beach. Add one or two other touches, and that's it. I don't want to overdo it and have it look like one of the Golden Girls' bedrooms!
So, just picture it: sandy color carpet (already there), crisp white trim (only room with painted trim), that gorgeous sea-blue-green bedding, crisp white mod dressers, and those mod circles curtains against slightly lighter sea-blue-green walls.
You may notice that this room is slightly less peach than before, but it was supposed to be a lovely light mushroom color. But our less-than-fab painter, who shall go unnamed, decided he's a one-coat-Joe. So, some day we'll need to paint in here again. The color isn't as deep as I had wanted, and because walls are not perfectly smooth, peach paint shows through where the roller skipped over the concave spots. Idiot.
Also, the this is the only room in the house with painted trim. I'm happy with it, I think it looks nice painted a nice white. Really, it was the only way to go here because both windows were later additions, as well as most of the baseboard, so they weren't chestnut, and it was all already painted, so... I don't feel bad.
Carpet is another only-in-this-room. Some stupid P.O. had glued carpet down to the floor at some point, and while, maybe, maybe the glue may have come up, it would have cost a fortune and been very labor intensive. Besides, only half of the room had hardwood floor, the other half now has new plywood that replaced the rotten sleeping porch floor.
Another someday we'll get the walls painted to match the carpet. It'll look nice with the white trim. The doors themselves were refinished, though, in keeping with the rest of the house.
The closet is reasonably organized...
...do I at least get points for that?
Okay, so, remember that space behind the door I told you to make note of in the before pictures? Well, here is the final result:
That second "cubby" door was built by Bill, and it leads to the plumbing access. That bump out? Well, that is just small space lost in a large room, a small price to pay for much gained elbow room in the bathroom...
Unfortunately, at this juncture, there is nothing reasonable that I can do to fix this. It would cost an arm and a leg to do what I'd really like to do: recreate the roof over this section so that it blends seamlessly with the rest of the house. Oh, well. Maybe if I win the lottery.So this section of roof and ceiling is more problematic than just aesthetically displeasing. It had also been leaking for a very, very long time when I got the house. In fact, before Jeff the electrician had put one tiny hole in the wall, this ceiling came a-tumblin' down.
I wasn't even living at the bungalow yet, but stopped in daily to check on progress. One evening, late, I popped in just to see if Jeff had gotten started yet. As I was looking around the upstairs bathroom, I kept hearing this dripping sound. I followed it to the back bedroom, where a great sheet of drywall from the ceiling had come down from the center, almost like it was on a hinge. I couldn't even comprehend what had happened at first.
As it turns out, my P.O.'s P.O.s had known the roof over this section was bad more than a decade before. My dad and grandfather actually submitted a bid to do the repairs, but when the owners saw the price tag, the balked. Apparently they decided no action was the route to take.
Fast forward to November of 2003. So I see this huge section of drywall hanging onto the ceiling by nothing more than drywall tape at one end, and I hear the sound of dripping water, the carpet is saturated. Then I look up. The insulation is all wet, dripping. And dark. Really dark. Oh my God. Black with mold. Panic. Frantic call to mom, cutting up large trash bags to cover the floor, as if that would protect it. Little did I know, that floor was way beyond saving.
Over the following few weeks, all the rotten and moldy stuff was torn out by Bill, who then replaced the rotten floor with one that is solid and mostly level. It is an old house after all, and while Bill is great, there is only so much one can do in some situations. Bill also tore out all the wet drywall and moldy insulation, swabbed the remaining structure down with Clorox, allowed it to dry, then replaced the insulation and installed blueboard. Many months later the plaster guys gave that blueboard a nice skim coat.
Notice that little door there? Well that leads to a storage cubby under the eaves. The other three eaves are utilized by bedroom closets, but this one is next to the bathroom. It is a pretty cool feature, kids seem to think it is cool, and Oli always insists on following me in there, even though it is a small space.
Take note of that dead space behind the door. When we get to the after pictures, you'll notice a change.
And of course, another giant closet, complete with loose, real linoleum.
We were in the midst of cleaning when these pictures were taken, so the curtains were down for washing and the area rug was rolled up to clean the floor. 
It doesn't really show in these pictures, but the walls are a soft, creamy white, and I have future intentions of painting that bitter-apple-green furniture in an antique black shade. I just love the high contrast between light and dark.
Sir-not-appearing in these photos: the spot where I am currently sitting. The computer table. I doubt I will ever photograph the mess that is the computer table, much less post it on the web for all to see, so just forget about it!
I'd say, aside from the ugly ceiling fan, hideous curtains, and the bad stenciling, this room was in fairly decent shape. Oh, yeah. Except for under the windows. You see that strip of paint off the wall under the left window? Well, that paint has peel off, not off of plaster, as you might expect, but off of plywood. Yes. Plywood. Painted to blend with the rest of the room. Hardly noticeable. Only trouble is, hmm... why is there plywood under the windows? Could it be... a water problem? Ding, ding, ding! That's right! A water problem. Now, P.O.s, why would you address the cause of the water problem, when you can just cover it over? Why go to the added expense? I'll bet you already had that hunk of plywood lying around, too, didn't you? Idiots.
Nice generous closet here, too. This one seems to be a bit bigger than the others, and has a bit more headroom, therefore, Lewis claimed this one for his own.
