Bedroom / Process
We were used to living in one bedroom apartments, but we weren’t anticipating living in a one bedroom house. [See the design page for details on how we’ll transform the layout from a one bedroom to a three bedroom.] The “master” bedroom is not exactly spacious, but it works for us. Before moving in, we ripped up the green carpet and painted, and then in July of 2008 we tore everything out [and slept in our living room for a few months!]. Check out the transformation below!
July 2008
Let the demo begin!
As we started tearing apart the closet, we found this lovely vintage wall paper. Perhaps the closet was once a second bedroom(!?) or maybe a nursery of some sort?
Fortunately, the removal of the big picture window created a perfect opportunity to throw debris directly in the truck.
Under the lath and plaster we discovered ship lap wood siding. This led us to believe that the lath and plaster was not original to the house, or at least to this room. From what we can tell, there was actually a layer of wallpaper over the wood. We’ve also discovered other areas of the home where wallpaper was applied directly to wood siding.
The demo from just the closet.
This view is from inside the closet looking up into the attic space.
Gutted closet. The old walk-in closet will become the new bathroom so we needed to adjust the framing.
This is a view looking back to where our headboard used to be (the stair to the basement can be seen through the framing on the left). We’re curious about what looks like an old window location on the headboard wall.
August 2008
With demo complete, it was time to finish framing and get some drywall up.
Before drywall installation could begin, we added new outlets and switches.
The first sheet of drywall with holes cut out for the recessed can lights.
We took advantage of the open framing between the bedroom and what would be the future bathroom to get our new tub in. It’s a Kohler tea-for-two model that we scored off Craigslist.
We added insulation to the exterior wall as well as the interior walls to help with sound attenuation. The insulation is made from recycled denim and is much easier on the hands and lungs to install than fiberglass batt.
As part of our sliding door concept, we needed to move and enlarge the opening to the bedroom. We also centered the new opening on the new window, as seen here.
Installation of the new window…Kyle is adjusting the rough opening for the new french casement window.
After installing the window, Kyle applied sticky flashing to keep any moisture from penetrating the wall. You can also see the original wood siding where Kyle tore off the metal siding to install the window.
The new window is fir with a dark brown metal cladding on the outside. To save money on drywall, we opted not to cover the area to the right of this photo, which would eventually be covered by the new wardrobe.
For the door and window trim details in this room, we chose to do wood casing with a metal reveal around the edge that the drywall butts up to. The metal gets painted to match the walls.
Poor Bailey…he usually sleeps in the bedroom and seems to be sad/confused about the current state of things.
September 2008
As we entered September, we started to see the light at the end of the tunnel on the bedroom…
I was out of town the weekend Kyle refinished the bedroom floors, so we don’t have any good action shots there, but you can see the finished product in this photo. He used a product called OSMO that is far less toxic than typical wood floor finishes. The bedside lights are from the Tolomeo line from Artemide. They typically come with a metal shade but we really liked the softness of the paper/canvas texture for our bedroom.
We ended up covering the wall behind the wardrobe with leftover scraps of plywood and OSB to give the wall some rigidity.
We purchased three PAX systems from IKEA. Bailey took a liking to the empty wardrobes. Perhaps he thought this would be his new sleeping area.
We had hoped to find a wardrobe combination from IKEA that fit our space perfectly, but after we got everything into place we didn’t mind the reveal created at the sides and top.
The new ceiling fan and light combo is from The Modern Fan Company. We opted to go with maple blades to add a little more warmth to the space. The light and fan (with 3 different speeds) can be controlled from a wall mounted switch or from a remote control(!) that we keep near the bed.
Unlike the dressers we owned in the past, these built in drawers are just the right size and depth and extend out far enough to see what’s in the back.
The pants hanger holds up to 18 pairs of pants (more if you get creative) and slides out (as shown) so you don’t forget what’s in the back.
We can fit most of our shoes on this pull out rack and store out of season or work shoes in the basement or mudroom.
The fully stocked wardrobe. It is, for the most part, equally divide between the two of us. The empty shelf in the middle will eventually be overtaken by bags, purses, and folded dresses (someday we’ll have hanging room for dresses in the basement). The upper shelves are a great space for sweaters and other out of season items. The shelf below the hanging rods serves as a useful space to set small items.
