In Progress

Well, I made some decisions after my last post and wanted to share some updates.  Since I’m working on 3 rooms at once (which was not the original plan), it’s going to be a bit before they are all 100% finished.  I mentioned a recent trip to Home Goods at the end of my last post.  Here’s what was right inside the door. . .

A chaise lounge with matching chair (behind) – in neutral fabric!  For those of you who have shopped at Home Goods, you know that they tend to have a random collection of stuff.  It’s rare to find matching pieces or pieces in neutral fabrics (check out the bright flowered chair in the top left, for example).  I frequently see things I like, but have to figure in the cost and work of reupholstering it which always makes it not worth it.  Anyway, I jumped on these because they were perfect for the dining/piano room and the price was great for the look.  They had also gotten in several chrome side tables in different shapes and sizes, so I grabbed one of those too.

I had taped up some paint chips in the piano room a couple weeks earlier (not anticipating that I’d be buying furniture for that room soon).  I decided on Behr Atlantic Shoreline (PPU13-4).  We have the walls and ceiling painted (it was a light gray).  The large doorway is already painted from when we did the foyer, but the rest of the moulding and window trim still needs painted Behr Silky White (PPU7-12).  I also spray painted the legs of the new chairs with black lacquer to coordinate with the piano.  The legs were originally slightly different stains with the chair’s legs have a matte, distressed finish.  Small change, but it ties everything together better.  I’m still on the lookout for a chrome or polished nickel chandelier in that room that won’t break the bank (need one for the foyer too, as you can see).

I previously mentioned that I had purchased a quilt for our room and was deciding on a new wall color.  I decided on Behr Silver Setting (PWL-89).

We painted the middle of the tray ceiling with high gloss Behr Silky White.  The lower ceiling is flat Silky White, like the rest of the house.  Obviously, the trim still needs painted (amazing the difference, huh?).  The wall color looks more baby blue than it should, but I think the yellow in the old trim color is causing that.

Here’s the “Before” again, for reference.  Needless to say, it’s BRIGHT in there now.

The last room in progress is The Kid’s room.  A few decisions later, and here’s the updated design board.

The wall color will be Behr Burnished Metal (discontinued Premium Plus Ultra color – UL260-17) with the door wall being a dark blue chalkboard paint.  The quilt is the Landon from Pottery Barn Kids.

I also had to snag the Bulldog pillow because it reminds me of my shadow . . .

I had hoped to make another trip to Ikea in Atlanta, but my parents ended up going after my last post.  I had them pick up a couple more pieces for the outside along with 3 from the Hemnes collection.  They got back late that night, but when I woke up the next morning, the “Ikea Fairy” had left a stack of boxes in our garage overnight!

I had decided on Behr Cracked Pepper (PPU260-1) for the furniture color, so I had them buy the black-brown stained finish since it is already dark.  I laid all the stained pieces around the garage and filled the pre-drilled knob holes with wood putty since I knew I wanted to put pulls on them instead.  Once the putty was dry, I sanded it down and began painting.  FYI, I did not sand the rest of the pieces, just the drawer fronts that I had puttied.  I used oil based paint, so it took 3 days to get them all finished.  It takes 24 hours for each coat to dry, so I could only do one a day.  I only put one coat on the sides that won’t really be seen (probably could have gotten away with none) – 2 coats on all the visible sides.  The long dry time was a pain, but it was worth it for the smooth, extra hard finish.

I assembled the nightstand first.  I should note that the color appears to have a green tint in the pictures, but it doesn’t at all in person.  It’s probably a combination of my phone camera and the old blue color on the wall behind it.  My husband made the lamp for The Kid last year for his birthday based on one we had seen online.

Finding the drawer pulls ended up being a lot harder and more expensive than I expected.  I had an idea of what I wanted and thought it would be fairly inexpensive.  I need 24, but the stores only had a handful in stock.  I bought some at Lowes, I bought some at Home Depot.  The finishes didn’t match.  I went to another Home Depot and they had a a different finish from the first Home Depot.  But, they had enough of them, so I bought them all.  I’ll take the rest back.  They are actually utility pulls, like for window sashes.

They are a little shinier than I wanted, but I like the final look.  In addition to the nightstand, we have the tall 6-drawer chest and the wide 8-drawer dresser.

We’ve already painted the ceiling in his room and I’m planning to start the walls tomorrow.  I hope to get the trim in all 3 rooms painted this weekend.  It will be a relief to get that done and finally see all the painting done.  Next, I’ll start working on his bed which he is really excited about.  It will be painted the same color as the dressers.