The Waaay Overdue Upstairs Post

Ok. Here goes. I've finally gotten to the point where I can blog about the happenings around the house. We've done a lot. It's been a wild ride. And I can't wait to show you.

I'll start with the paint job. I've mentioned it before, but we had planned on painting the whole house within the first year of living here. Ha!! It took 3. The downstairs only took a few months. That was the easy part since we live in our downstairs, only needing to go upstairs a couple times a week. But after finding out the girls were coming it lit a fire under us to get. it. done. Here's our progress from start to finish. Enjoy.

The guest room when we purchased the house:

See that ugly fan? Nice huh? It's gone now. Shew! Only took me 2 1/2 years to get that done.

 

For a long time it was the guest room and looked like this:

 

I painted the walls a very, very light shade of purple. I chose it from a piece of artwork I planned on using in the room and never hung it up. I guess I should do that. Even though it's the nursery now it will still work. It looks gray most of the day, which I love. Only when it's hit with direct light do you see the purple.

 

This picture was taken while we were in the middle of repainting the doors. Hence why there are no doors to the closet. I need to do a post on that project. It was a doosey.  

 

 

 Moving down the hallway to the office. This room was our catch-all room for ages. Still is in a way. Every house has one of those. At least I pray every house has one. We need a basement. Or a bigger attic. Definitely something to put on the wish list for the next house. Anywho.

Here's what we started with for this room:

 

 Nothing special. The door on the immediate right is no longer. We removed the door to give that wall more room when we re-did the upstairs bath. You can read all about the removal of that, and get a better view of this room HERE.

 

We knew we were replacing the carpet. It was original to the house and smelled weird. I apologize to any guests who had to sleep with it. It was cheap-o, smelled of the previous owner(s) and was just plain gross. I'm so glad it's gone. But in order to replace the carpet, we decided to paint first. So once that was accomplished (in early October) we headed down the road of picking out carpet. We decided to paint first, so we wouldn't get splatters on the new carpet. What can I say? We're messy painters.. or, should I say, our pets are. There's been more than one incident with a curtious kitty and paw prints all over the house. I'll leave that to your imagination. It was just as hilarious as you're invisioning. I cant make this stuff up.

 

Disclaimer: the carpet process was horrendous. We moved, removed, rearranged and scooted all our stuff all over the dang place multiple times. These pictures definately reflect that.

 

Our poor living room got a little crowded...

See, when the carpet was installed, everything that was on the floor had to go. Beds, frames, furniture, filing cabinets, you name it. If it was on the floor, or in something sitting on the floor (including closets) it had to be moved. Horrendous, I tell you. Did I mention this was the week I was put on bed rest? Couldn't do a dang thing but sit back and enjoy the view. It was my personal hell. I may or may not have gotten a stress rash. I'll never tell. ;)

 

This was our upstairs bath during the project. Ugh.

Funny side story: while I was upstairs (before bed rest) and helping John finish up the painting I realized I needed to pee. I was determined to not go downstairs. Being pregnant with twins will make you do almost anything to avoid unnecessary movement.. especially when you have to use the ladies room. I decided to use this bathroom instead of going downstairs. We ended up having to nearly empty the whole dang room just for me to pee. Lesson learned. It's easier to just walk down the dang steps. He was ready to spit nails at me... but then we got a good laugh about it and made up :)

 

Since this project happened the day after I was put on bed rest, I wasn't able to get any pictures of the progress of the carpet going in. Except this one. From the bottom of the stairs.

 

 

 And now, everything is painted, replaced, put back together and finally, FINISHED. What a looong 3 year project. And honestly, the worst part was painting the trim and the doors. Sure the carpet was a nuisance to replace, but in 3 days it was over. And the walls are an afternoon or weekend project. But the trim, oh the trim. 5 coats. 2 of primer and 3 top coat, after sanding. Ugh. So glad it's over.

 

But now, here's the office complete.

 

 

We painted it a pale green (Gratifying Green from Valspar, to be precise) that matched the color of the throw pillows on the bed. Thats a trick for you. If you're looking to repaint, always choose a color from an item you already plan to use in the room. Dont just choose a color from the cards and decorate to the paint. It will drive you bonkers trying to find things that match.

 

I finally have a bookshelf for my craft stuff. Only took 5 years. I've always had my craft stuff crammed in a closet or under a bed. I finally have a place where it's out and I can grab things in a jiffy. This is now one of my favorite places in the house. It still needs a little work. A little organizing, but for the most part, we're ok with our former "junk room". I cant wait to get my sander to that desk and repaint it. The army green just isn't doing it for me. :)

 

Now, the nursery. I love this room. It's my favorite. As a reminder, here it is before:  

 

 

After:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 So there's the finished project. I'll be back to go through the details of the nursery. Most everything in the room is sentimental or a story behind it. I can't wait to share it all with you. Until then, have a great weekend, friends!!