Creating a place of comfort.

The only certainty when doing renovations in a home of 90+ years is that what you are getting yourself into is completely uncertain.

We began this guest room in late October of 2013. We are at the point of  'as complete as can be' this week.  The floors will remain incomplete until the rest of the first level is done as they are cohesive.

This small bedroom began in as bad a state as this photo is in quality.  Cracked plaster hidden beneath layers of decades old wall paper and multiple layers of paint. There was little or no insulation which caused some of the corners to frost in the winter. The ceiling, in spite of the fact that there was no roof line over head, was damaged by water that came in through a crawl space on the second floor. It was a gut job.  The kitchen plumbing, another ongoing problem in this house, was located in a shared wall giving us the opportunity to repair and/or replace that as well. In no short terms, this small room turned out to be a lot of work.

First it was gutted, the plumbing repaired, the bowed ceiling shored up and the electricity replaced.

After all that was done we could insulate. We insulated for both weather and sound. Bedrooms should be mostly quiet don't you think?

Then the drywall went up. Followed by the taping, layers of mud, and finally the sanding. This took a long time partly because it's not only the most tedious but it's the least enjoyed aspect of renovation for my hubby, who just so happens to be the one doing most of the work. It's my job to be patient.

This is followed by a coat of primer and a sprayed on texture. We are not fans of heavy texture but we do add a very light texture to mimic the old plaster walls of the original build. It's the best way we know to keep true to the age and character of our old house. There's that, and our personal opinion that painted drywall looks cheap. We would love to go back to plaster but it is extremely expensive and takes an artistic expertise that is rarely found in this generation. Sometimes you have to make due.

The texture is followed up with another coat of primer and two more coats of the final paint color. I like muted dark colors in bedrooms which my husband insists can make a room look small. Indeed it can but not always. Besides, I'm all about breaking the rules and a small room is always going to be small no matter what color goes on the walls so you may as well pick something you love. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it. It's worked to this point and as skeptical as my husband might be in the beginning, he always is pleasantly surprised at how much he likes the end result.

Last but not least the trim work goes up. We reuse the original trim work wherever we can and struggle to match both design and color where we can't. This is VERY difficult when the color is faded and yellowed by time and the designs have changed over 9 decades. Still, we're very happy with the end result. After a good scrubbing and oiling of the wood we're ready for furniture and decorative features. I must warn you that finishing a room can take as long as renovating it.  A few beloved things that can be lived with for a very long time is my style. That takes time, simple living and good things take time.