Guest Bedroom "Renovation"

We moved in on a Friday.  And that night, my parents were still at the house helping us get organized.  My mom had brought her steam vacuum and had been cleaning up the carpets in the master bedroom, and the second bedroom.  While, shortly after starting, she realized there was really no hope for the second bedroom carpet.

I don't think we had ever asked the previous owners, but my mom had a hunch there was hardwood under the hopeless carpet.  We started in the closet and pried up a corner - success! Hardwood - in incredible shape, for having been hidden under a carpet for who knows how long - I'm guessing somewhere around 40 years.  So, mom and I decided then was as good a time as any to rip it all up.

It was one of the most disgusting things I've ever done.  Dust, cat hair (which I'm allergic too), and there was at least one instance of a finger and/or toenail. Gag.

Once mom and I had taken care of the carpet, B decided he hated the built in shelves in the far corners.  My mom reminded him it was our house now and we could do what we wanted.  So he grabbed a hammer and knocked them down.  Of course, over the next day or two we had the joyous project of ripping down wallpaper, that had probably been on the wall about as long as the carpet had been on the floor.

I have no good tips for ripping down wallpaper.  We tried all the fancy stuff they sell at the store, but I really think nothing helps much.  My fingernails have never hurt as much as they did after that project.  Regardless of the tools you have, you'll end up using your fingers for the small pieces.  And they will hurt.  And you will swear the next house you buy will not have a single sheet of wall paper in it.

After the wallpaper was down, we found that the bottom half of the room was painted a creepy red, with black markings.  Clearly, we needed to paint, ASAP.  So that's what I did.

For the most part, that's the extend of our work in that room.  We've rearranged a bit, and I've been thinking about what to do as far as decorating goes for quite a while.  Hopefully I'll get around to it one of these days...

Anyway, here's a couple shots of our guest bedroom.  It also acts as B's home office when he works from home, currently houses my exercise bike, and until about a week ago, every gift box from Christmas was still spread out on the floor.  Yea. I'm really organized.

Here's a peak at it these days.

That mirror is supposed to go over the dresser.  Someday maybe it will make it.  The dresser (and mirror) was given to us by B's grandparents - along with a tall dresser that's currently in our master bedroom.  They had used money from their wedding to purchase them.  The bed was B's growing up at his parents.  The lamp and crooked lampshade I think I found at Target.  I decided not to make the bed before the pictures, because I'm lazy.  The curtains were leftover from the previous owners, but they matched the walls, so I've found no reason to take them down.

See, not much has changed. Just more junk.

We do have a new light fixture, we just haven't gotten around to having it changed.  But that should probably be soon, since I realized tonight 2 of the 3 bulbs in the current one are blown.  So might as well just change the whole darn thing.  As I said, I'd like to put a little more love into this room, since it is the guest bedroom, and when we have guests stay over that would be where they stay. And it's not exactly *inviting* in its current state.  I like to think once the basement is finished, some of this will make its way down there.

Ah well, one thing at a time, right?