In case you missed it, check out the before pictures of the room here.
After a few (ahem.. six) months our bedroom renovation is finally finished! Well, pretty much. You will notice there are a few trim boards stacked on top of the closets and a few minor touchups here and there, but for the most part, it is complete!
Closets!
The most obvious functional improvement of the bedroom renovation was the addition of this Ikea Pax Wardrobe System. I decided on two, three-door systems placed side by side. We do not have an ikea anywhere near us, but these were available to be shipped directly to us. There are a variety of styles, doors, and customization options to choose from. I am really pleased with how these turned out. This is a decision I would for sure make again. Of course, these wardrobes are securely anchored to the wall. Because our floors are not particularly level, we had to block these up beyond the adjustable feet they come with. However, it is easily finished with a simple piece of molding at the bottom.
This house was originally constructed prior to 1900 (the exact date is unknown) and is without a single true closet. The amount of well-organized closet space these simple wardrobes adds to our home is incredibly exciting!
Flooring
These floorboards were purchased before we moved into our home and are the same wood floors we installed throughout the home. They are locally milled and kiln dried tamarack boards in varying widths. Handy Husband installed them as well as sanded and finished them. Throughout the house, we went with a product called waterlox to finish our hardwood floors. Waterlox is a mixture of tung oil and resin. It is made up primarily of oil pressed from a nut. It requires several coats that are allowed to completely dry in between application, and then an additional short period of time to cure. After living in the rest of our house for two years, I can say I am very happy with this choice to finish the floors. It is durable enough for our family’s daily lives, easy to repair in case of an accident, and very easy to clean using a norwex microfiber mop and water.
Ceiling
The joists running across the ceiling are the framing put in when this room was constructed. They run parallel to the floor, and at an angle to the pitch of the rafters creating the triangular shape that holds the roof up.
The old ceiling tiles were attached to these boards. We added ceiling boards, attaching them above the joists rather than below to help make the ceiling seem a little higher. The joists are solid lumber cut with an old circular saw. I lightly sanded them to clean off years of cobwebs and grime and highlight the unique circular saw marks.
The pine boards we used for the ceiling were purchased from a local lumber yard. They are seconds of a lumber product manufactured for a big construction store. These boards do not meet the quality standards of the intended products. As such, they were available for purchase at a reduced price. Some boards are warped, have knot holes, or other problems. They were perfect for our project because they only added character. The boards are tongue and groove and so fit tightly together to create a ceiling.
I whitewashed the boards for a clean white look that still allowed the natural wood grain to show through. The boards are nailed to the top of the joists.
The ends of the room lacked the cool old lumber used for the framing. Handy Husband used an old corral board in the barn, by ripping it into two thin boards to finish off each end of the room.
Walls
Two of the walls still contained the old siding. We removed all the old paneling, plywood, and cleaned everything up. Then we added drywall and painted everything green. Handy Husband then trimmed out the windows and doors with the same pine boards we used on the ceiling.
What a dramatic transformation from the ugly room we purchased!
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