Attic Update #5: Bunk Nook = complete!

I(we) checked another item off the attic list this weekend!

The inside of the bunk nook is finished.  My arms are still burning & neck is still sore from caulking & painting all weekend, but it's so cute & cozy, & it was so worth it!

Friday night & Saturday were spent nailing up all of the pine planking.  It was a little tedious, but dad & I had a good system going with me cutting & him measuring & nailing the planks up.

On Sunday morning I dug out my trusty tube of fast-drying, paintable caulk & got to work filling in all of the nail holes, gaps, & knotholes.

I finally picked all of the caulk out from under my fingernails today.

Then, my trusty helper worked ahead of me painting all of the seams.  He lasted about 15 minutes, but that's ok...he's 4.  He told me that grandpa is a builder, because he builds all of the time, & me, grandma, & him are the painters...but someday he wants to be a builder like grandpa.  :)

On the left is pre-paint & on the right after one coat of primer/paint in one.

After two coats of paint & looking fine!  (That gap in the top right bothers me...I'll have to get the caulk out again to fill that in.)  The header in the top right will be trimmed out after we finish the sheetrock in the rest of the attic.  I think that crisp white paneling is probably one of my most favorite things...in the entire world.

He's 4 going on 18, I swear.  He grabbed the switch plate & hung it back up without me even asking.  He's an old pro at this painting thing.  Such a sweetie.

Looks pretty good until you pan out & see the chaos surrounding the bunk!  Ha!

I couldn't resist throwing some random bedding in there this morning...just to see what it could look like in a few months when we're hopefully at the end of the remodel.

I think it'll be magical for night-time storytelling.  I can't wait!

Random side note...just so I can look back & remember...a few months ago we jokingly told Grady this (the bunk) was going to be his new room.  Yesterday he said to me, "But mom...where is my closet going to be?".  Hehe.

Flag Football

This guy started flag football last weekend.  The first day there were some tears due to a competitive game of "sharks & minnows" tag.  This past weekend though, he was all smiles & has woken up each morning since asking if it's "football flag" day.  :)

Eli is one of the volunteer coaches - he's so good at it.  He really found his calling when he chose to coach.  It doesn't matter the age, 4 year olds or seniors in college, he just connects with them.

That's my guy in the red Husker shirt & black shorts.  He got a late start & still beat the other kids.  He's fast.

Good hands, kiddo!

I'm ok with this flag football stuff...although I don't know how I'm going to handle it in a couple of years when he starts tackling...or being tackled.  Biting my fingernails already!!!

Attic Update 4: The Bunk

The attic insulation is finally done.  It's been a journey...that's for sure!

Before we start hanging drywall, there are a few smaller jobs we're planning on tackling.  One of those smaller jobs is the built-in bunk.  We've got it all framed out & wired for a reading light already.  The last thing we need to do to finish it is to nail up pine planking & paint it.  The only problem with that is that the roof inside the nook is slightly uneven.  (See how that black tape line slightly curves up on the right?  The ceiling is maybe a half of an inch low in the middle of the bunk, which would make the paneling wonky where the ceiling meets the wall...as in, the line between the paneling would be crooked...not good.)  Thus, we have to level things out before we install the planks.

That's what dad's working on now!  (Excuse the grainy iphone pic...it's all I had on me!)

Hopefully by this weekend we'll be ready to start nailing up those planks!  :)

I'm envisioning something like this: (A twin mattress will fit on the platform.)

Labor Day Impromptu Photoshoot

Last weekend, between working on the attic, attending my grandpa's 95th birthday party, & driving 2 hours south to visit one of my BFF's who was visiting from Phoenix, Grady & I played outside.  A few minutes into our tree climbing sesh, on a whim I decided to run inside & grab my camera.  I'm SO glad I did.  I got some of my favorite photos of him...ever.

sweet:

silly:

smoldering? (hahaha):

Gosh...I love this kid.  He's growing up too fast...

Attic Update - allllllmost ready to rock {sheetrock that is}

After taking much of the summer off from the attic project, we're back at it!

Dad & I have been working on finishing up the foam board insulation (1 small piece left), & making sure we have all of our "nailers" in place so we have something to screw the sheetrock into.  It's exciting stuff!

We also purchased all of the plank paneling we'll need for the end walls & bunk nook.  (Can't wait!)

View from the top of the stairs looking toward the bedroom.  Office area will be on the right of the stairs, bunk on the left, with French doors leading into the bedroom and closets on either side.  (Ignore the tools scattered around!)

View from inside the bedroom toward the stairs...we're going to leave the chimney exposed.

This corner will be my office...

and this is the space that we'll build in a twin bed with the walls & ceiling in white planks.  (Grady says it's his room & that he'll use his old bedroom just for naps...haha!)

Oooh!  And the most exciting development...dad is almost done rebuilding the French doors...you know, made from my cousins, Keith & Megan's old windows!  He just put the glass back in & they're just about ready to paint!  I'll post more about how he refurbished them once they're painted & up!  (PS, I would have loved to keep the old blue paint, but we would have had to match the paint & the distressing on the new bottom panel & it just wouldn't have been possible.  My dad ran the whole window frame through the planer to get a nice, smooth surface to prime & paint.)

Next on the list:
Put in that last new window
Get sheetrock up (ceiling first)
Work on painting/staining the stairs
Nail the planks up in the bunk

Sometime later this fall/winter:
Sand, prime, paint ceiling & walls
Hang light fixtures
Finish floors
Hang French doors
Trim out everything
Build storage access doors
Paint & put up new stair rails
Closet systems

After taking whole the summer off, I'm crossing my fingers that we can finish, or get close to finishing by Christmas.  Wish me (us) luck!!!

Basement Guest Room Remodel

I just realized that I've never really posted anything about our basement (other than our bathroom remodel a year & a half ago).  That's probably because A. my brother lives down there & I normally don't invade his space, B. most of the work was done before I created this blog, and C. we haven't really touched the space at all since then.

A couple of weeks ago, one of our college friends & her husband were planning on crashing at our house for a wedding in town.  I hadn't done a project in a while, & thought it'd be fun to work on the guest room.  The tiny guest room.  The one that we hadn't quite got around to finishing 4 years ago when we gutted the basement.  Oh, & I only left myself a week to get it done.  Pro. cras. tin. a. tion.

This was the mood board I came up with for the room...rustic/cottagy, in charcoal, coral, & light blue.

Here's a quick layout of the basement so you can get your bearings - & see how small the room really is - 9x12 - only enough room for a full-sized bed - cozy!  (The guest room is highlighted in blue.)

This is what our entire basement looked like when we moved in.  In all of its paneled, sagging ceiling, no flooring, exposed pipe glory.  Can you believe the little old lady who owned the house actually had people paying to live down here?  Yikes.  Needless to say, my brother was pretty skeptical about living down there at first.  Ha!

We tore out everything down to the block walls.  There was NO insulation behind that paneling...brr!  I bet it was freezing in the Minnesota winters.  Below is the "naked" guest room - & my brother & dad working hard at demo.

We framed up everything, insulated it, & hung new drywall. It's slowly getting better!

We painted it a deep charcoal gray, added recessed lighting & bead board paneling in the bump-up by the windows, laid carpet, & hung crown at the ceiling line.

Then we let it sit like that for 4 years.  Without the windows trimmed out, no return vent, & three pieces of crown lying on the floor waiting to be hung up.  Embarrassing.  It seems like the little things are the hardest to complete sometimes.  :)

On the list before our guests arrived:
Trim out windows, caulk, & paint trim white.
Hang remaining crown.
New return air vent.
Window treatments.
Build a headboard of some sort (pallets?) & purchase a frame.
Create some fun art.
Purchase &/or make bedding.
Move in furniture & accessorize.

And just because I can't wait to share it - here's a sneak peek of the whitewashed pallet headboard I made...all by myself...the night before & day of our guests arrival.  Nothing like the last minute! :)

Stay tuned for the full room reveal later this week!

Ikat Entry Way {finished!}

Last month (how has it been that long?!) I posted a picture of our entry way.  At that time I had only gotten one wall done, & was just about to leave on vacation.  Almost a month later, I FINALLY finished it!

I didn't really have a plan or pattern.  I just bought a quart of yellow paint, roughly measured out a couple of lines (so I could keep the pattern semi level), & started slapping the paint on the wall with a 1.5" angled brush.  I started with the zig zag on the bottom & worked up from there creating a diamond pattern.

Once I got the pattern painted, I put a fresh coat of paint on all of the trim.  It needed it - badly.  It's been on my list literally for YEARS...so it felt good to get it done!  The previous owners had painted it "white", but as you can see in the picture below, it had pink undertones which I'm not a fan of, at all.  The bottom is freshly painting with BM's "Simply White".  It's a night & day difference.

I still need to paint the inside of the front door (yellow? turquoise? slate blue?).

I'm really loving the semi crazy, unexpected, bright pattern in that little entry way.  It's such a cheery way for guests to enter the house!