Saturday, January 9, 2010

A big white 690 square foot room...

What to do?

background info on this oversized room...
My mother has lived in the same house for 21 1/2 years...we moved in on my 11th birthday (it's okay...I'm not still bitter:) When we moved in the "rec room" was covered in wall paper. One wall even had a full bar scene...I'm talking table with drinkers and everything...not so appropriate for a family with 7 kids. Down came all the wall paper and up went the "creamy white" paint. And the floors...well...did you read the 7 kid part...blue "indoor/outdoor" carpet (or if you are LDS...blue church building carpet...seriously) that was glued directly to the floor...awesome! Oh...and one of the corners was turned into a bedroom...so it became a 690 square foot room minus a small bedroom.

Flash forward to 2010...for the first time...my mother and step-father are empty nesters...all the kids and grandkids have finally moved out and they are all alone is this large home. My older sister and I decided that during my trip home it was time to start the makeover:

Here is the start of the
rec room turned family room
transformation...

Want to see it?
(the back stairs)

I wish you could see the walls...so filthy...

a note on the furniture...this room has seen more couches then one could count...whatever was trashed down stairs was moved up here...

When my youngest brother finally moved out in the fall, my mom had him carry out all the big furniture (couch, bookcases, etc) and the room was left looking like this...
(no...this is not a gym:) and all the sweet plastic and metal chairs were brought in from the garage over Christmas when the whole fam wanted to play the Wii.

try not to be jealous!

Okay...this room has a LONG way to go...so let's get started!

Here are the "rec room" conquerers!
(my sis, mom and me)


Step one: PAINT

We primed and painted every square inch of the walls and ceilings...ugh!
it wasn't just fun, but scary as well...

Do you see how far up I am?
I DID NOT look down...my tummy hurt!

The following pictures do not fully demonstrate the scariness of the next ladder position.
(all for that little strip)

This was going to be my "safety net"
awesome!

a few notes:
I can't believe I am putting up a butt shot.
These are NOT my paint pants...I blame my mom for these sweet pink pants.
yes, I am laughing hysterically so I don't cry as I hit my head on the ceiling trying to cut in that last spot...

There is nothing better then a fresh coat of paint. I wish you could fully appreciate how shocking color on these walls is to all of us kids...it's crazy...


We wanted to add a little fun to this room...warm it up and make it a "family room"

We painted the 30 foot wall with a flat sheen
added some tape...

Painted it down (directions found here)

painted a semi-gloss sheen on every other stripe...
and pulled off the tape (immediately)


ohhhh...we LOVE it!

What else will we be doing to this room?
-taking down those sweet lights and putting in can lighting
-ripping out those awesome baseboards for some taller ones
-new blinds and window treatments
-new carpet
-the brown doors will be painted white
-new couch (or A couch if you consider there currently isn't one)
-new tv stand (purchased but needs to be set up)
-some bookcases to separate the tiny area from the larger
-a great big wall of family photos, etc on the striped wall with a vinyl saying of course.

Of course, my mom being a good budgeter and all...most of this will slowly be happening over the next year or so. But that is just fine with me. The biggest task...painting...is done...and we can get a few more minor things done before I leave at the end of the week. I did tell my mom that I would like SOME progress done before my next trip up here in the fall.
(That's another reminder mom:)

I'm hoping to continue to update with pictures over the next few months...I'm crossing my fingers, but not holding my breath...or maybe there will be nothing until I'm back in November:) You never can know for sure!

I'm linking to:

and
and
and

24 comments:

Martha said...

Awesome ! What a sweet thing you did for your mother!

Treasia Stepp said...

Love the paint job. Can't wait to see the room finished.

Kathryn said...

Boy, that pic of you on the ladder on the stairs does look terrifying, but I love how the striped paint look came out.

Maryann @ Domestically-Speaking said...

I was getting nervous looking at those ladder shots. I need to paint my staircase and it scares me. I love the paint job though.. you guys did a great job. Can't wait to see the end results. I'd love you to link up your paint job to my Power of Paint party on Wednesday.

Anonymous said...

hahha!

1) you are brave, i HATE ladders, probably because my dad fell off one like that and broke his ribs when i was younger

2) I'm jealous. I LOVE painting and decorating (although if you can tell the baby's room is the only effort I put into our apartment. The green carpet and disgusting linoleum floor that won't come clean no matter how much i scrub it defeated me :'( )

Erin said...

the stripes are so fun! i can't wait to see the room complete!

Roeshel said...

Great job on the painting! You are one brave woman! How scary! I love the stripes (obviously since I just painted stripes too!). I can't wait to see how it all comes together. :)

Thanks for linking to the Show & Tell - I love seeing your projects!

Roeshel

Unguren said...

That is awesome. I haven't been to your mom's house in a long long time.

My mom is always saying she wants her house redone...she just doesn't want to do it, or have to pay for it.

Amy@TheLemonCottage said...

I laughed throughout your whole post! :)
The walls are fantastic!
Good job, can't wait to see the rest.
~Amy

Heidi said...

wow, that looked scarey! (especially the one on the stairs). The paint job turned out beautiful!

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

That looks AWESOME!!!

Jennifer Juniper said...

Holy cow, girl! Those ladder positions made me cringe!!! But then I saw the stripes and everything was okay. Love them!

Pam @ bibbidi-bobbidi-beautiful said...

Hey Mama! Thanks for stopping by my blog! Wow- that paint makes such a huge difference and I love the striped treatment! I can totally picture the completed room in my head. Great job!

Holly said...

What a big job! Love the striped effect.
You were very brave; I got kind of sick just seeing the photos of you standing on the ladder that high!

Ashleigh said...

Great job! Nice friends!

Crystal said...

I love the paint and wow you are very brave!

-Crystal

Heather at Happy Chippy Junk said...

One word KSL.com I love buying used because if it gets hurt...no worries!!

Pat Harris said...

I have a stairway to paint so I watched closely how you painted your mom's. Don't think I can do that. lol. Terrifying.

Thanks for visiting junkblossoms. Hope you'll visit again soon. Pat.

Anonymous said...

Awesome job on the paint! I like that you did stripes - nice way to break up the long wall. You are also VERY brave! There's no way I would have gotten on that ladder in a couple of those spots. OMG! :-)

Charity said...

I love this and I love that you chose such wide stripes. I wish I had somewhere to do this, maybe when we redo the bathroom. Thanks for sharing.
Cha Cha

Jamie Bailey said...

I love the color and the stripes. It looks great. What a fun thing to do with your mom and sisters! Oh, and there is no way I would be getting on that ladder. You are brave.

susan said...

I have never had the nerve to try stripes. Your mom is very lucky! Can'at wait to see the rest!

Kirsty said...

It's starting to look so great! I laughed at your risky painting! I have a very similar story from the first house we bought! So freaky painting on stairs! Good job ladies!

Jessi | Minnesota Mrs. said...

LOVE the paint treatment. Trying to think how I can do this now......

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