The Silver Lining: Spare Bedroom Makeover

BEFORE AND AFTER

My previous roommate had a blind, special needs cat, whom he mostly neglected and kept shut in the bedroom for several months. Unbeknownst to me, said cat had stopped using its litter box, staining the carpets and leaving a terrible odor. When my roommate moved out, I spent a week trying to treat the carpet with enzyme cleaner to no avail. Bottom line: it was GROSS!

Since the cat urine had stained through the carpet, carpet pad, all the way to the subfloor, I had no choice but to replace the flooring. Not exactly within my budget this summer, but the odor was so foul that a classmate for whom I was storing furniture didn't even want to leave her things in the room.

So, I ripped up the carpet and started looking into flooring options, as discussd in my previous post. Before laying new floor, however, I treated the subflooring with more enzyme cleaner, then sealed the entire floor with a shellac base primer sealer.

Fortunately, my parents were planning a visit, and my dad had 150 sq foot of leftover hardwood flooring from a house he'd been remodeling. I thought the room was 12 x 12 (plus closet), so we'd have plenty of flooring to spare. And as long as I was going to replace the floor, it seemed like the most convenient time to refinish the ceiling and walls too. So, within 8 hours of my family arriving from Michigan, my dad had removed the popcorn-textured ceiling, while I pulled up the staples left from the carpet pad. The next morning, I woke up and Dad already removed the trim, and plastered and primed the ceiling. Dad had gotten a bit plastered himself! :)

Meanwhile, Mom and I went to pick up paint, and chose a light periwinkle-tinted gray, called "Silver Lining." I wanted a fairly neutral color, that wouldn't clash or dominate potential roommates' preferences and styles. At the same time, I didn't want white or beige. I've never painted an empty room before, and without having to tape or cover the floor, we were able to paint the walls in record time. The results are clean, cool, soft, and bright. One person said the room felt like being in a tree house!

Our 48-hour makeover plan hit a bump, however, when it turned out my room measurements were short by ~10 sq feet short. Oh no! Fortunately, we were able to find matching wood flooring at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore to make up the difference. For the closet, we picked up Pergo, and used a darker wood border.

 

Finally, with the trim removed, Mom sanded and cleaned all the dirt and paint from previous sloppy jobs. Then, the trim was re-stained and varnished before re-attaching it to the walls.

It is a beautiful new room, and now smells only faintly of hardwood and paint: the silver lining to a situation that literally stunk.

Squeaky Clean and Green!

Today, I came home to a nice, clean home, à la Squeaky Green Cleaning. The Kiddos™ were a bit traumatized; I found them hiding under the bed. But they came out to inspect the work a few minutes after I arrived home, and, as you can see, they are feeling back at home on my homemade  afghan, knitted with love by Grandma Sparks.

"After": Organized Pantry, No more black shelf

This past weekend, I accomplished a number of kitchen related "cures":

• I stocked and organized my pantry, transferring all my food items from the open shelves in my kitchen to the pantry shelves. I grouped food items by grains & cereals, legumes, canned foods, vinegars & oils, and baking-related supplies. I also dedicated a shelf to glass containers (for re-use) and another for cookware. I'm sure I'll re-organize this over time, but it's nice to have a well-stocked kitchen and see all my food in one place!
• I sorted my recyclables (which I'd been collecting all month, since I didn't know where my recycling bin was or when pick-up was!) Since I only have one bin, and need to separate glass/plastic/aluminum from paper, I will have to take out one or the other each week until I can pick up a second bin from the county. I'm impressed that Orange County has free curbside-recycling!
• I hung a picture and moved my makeshift "table" to the wall where the black shelving unit was. Eventually, that might make a nice wall for a kitchen cart, which would provide more counter-space than I current have. For now, it also serves as the meal central for the Kiddos™.
• Finally, it may seem like a small thing, but I printed out the oatmeal poprocks mosaic and pinned to the wall behind the oven. The colors make me really happy, and I'm still trying to consider the best way to incorporate this palette into my home.

"Before" Photos: The other half of the kitchen

In my previous post, I forgot to post photos of the other half of my kitchen, which includes a not-yet-organized dining area.  So far, I've been using this space to collect all the things on my to-do list:

1. Land line phone: I need a cordless phone for the wall, but since I have DSL, I'll also need a filter. Eventually, I can move my red phone and answering machine to my office/living room, but I also need to buy a splitter.
2. Recycling: Turns out that homes don't come with "how-to" manuals, so I'm still trying to figure out where, when and how to take out my recycling. I found an overturned blue recycling bin in my back yard, covered with dirt. I think that might be mine. Until then, I've been sorting my recycling into leftover moving boxes.
3. Veruca (my red bike) has two flat tires: One of the tubes needs to be replaced, so I need to find a good local bike shop. Also, I might want to buy a less expensive bicycle for commuting to/from school. Veruca prefers to live indoors and I'm not confident about locking her up on campus.
4. Kitchen table: As is evident from the photo, I currently have a makeshift table, which I rarely use for dining. I'd been holding off on looking for a table and chairs until I knew my roommate situation. Now, it's time to start looking.
5. Plants: At least half of my plants didn't survive the move. The other half didn't survive the kitties. Cricket and Oliver made it clear that they don't mind houseplants -- in fact, they love digging in the dirt and chewing the flower petals! I need to find a way for all living things to co-habitate under one roof.

Cricket & Oliver Redecorate

The morning of our move, I crated the kiddos while I went to pick up the truck. When I returned, I found they had managed to pull every sheet or rug within reaching distance inside their crate. I put a fuzzy green sweater just outside the door and watched them work their magic: Going, going, gone!

Packing

You can see that Oliver has been very helpful in preparing for the big move.

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