Wow, it has been too long my friends! I keep telling myself that I will get back to this blog but, alas, life has not worked out that way. As I begin to toss around even the early thoughts of a project in our home, I imagine its manifestation as a blog post because, honestly, writing and preparing the visuals for them have become very helpful to my own design and decision making process. But then I'm pulled back into my current reality of fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants design decisions as I attempt to keep up with our painter and handyman.
While things may be moving a lot more quickly than I am used to with hired help, it is nice to see the interior of this house changing so fast. It really is beginning to feel like home - a reassuring feeling as our newest addition's due date draws near.
And, speaking of our new addition, we have been busy working on the new nursery. Because our next will be another girl, we'll be re-using much of the same items in this room as we used for Ella's room (wow, how little she was). However, there are also many things that traveled with Ella to her new, big girl room - the curtains, her rocker, and many of her colorful possessions - opening the door for a bit more of a neutral take on the nursery this time.
So, here's where we started. The ABC room, as it was formerly called, was covered in wallpaper (complete with border). We stripped the wallpaper but all attempts to remove the paper backing and glue from the walls failed. It was all so old that it would have taken our painter days to remove it down to the bare plaster. He opted to use a special sealer over the paper backing and glue, after giving the walls a really good sanding, in order to prevent moisture from causing it to bubble. He then skim coated the entire room, sanded smooth, and primed. The walls in this room look brand new!
And, speaking of our new addition, we have been busy working on the new nursery. Because our next will be another girl, we'll be re-using much of the same items in this room as we used for Ella's room (wow, how little she was). However, there are also many things that traveled with Ella to her new, big girl room - the curtains, her rocker, and many of her colorful possessions - opening the door for a bit more of a neutral take on the nursery this time.
So, here's where we started. The ABC room, as it was formerly called, was covered in wallpaper (complete with border). We stripped the wallpaper but all attempts to remove the paper backing and glue from the walls failed. It was all so old that it would have taken our painter days to remove it down to the bare plaster. He opted to use a special sealer over the paper backing and glue, after giving the walls a really good sanding, in order to prevent moisture from causing it to bubble. He then skim coated the entire room, sanded smooth, and primed. The walls in this room look brand new!
Here's the room post-skim coat.
And here's what it looks like now. YES, it's pink!
We've been working really hard to keep the arrival of the new baby a family event and include Ella in as much of it as possible. Sometimes that includes answering tough questions - "Momma, how did baby Jo start growing in your belly?" More often, it has meant including her in doctor appointments, asking for her help to unpack baby clothing and blankets, and involving her in the construction of baby equipment and even the nursery itself. As such, she decided that, because the baby was a girl, the room should be pink. Clearly, despite my personal de-emphasis of all such silly gender stereotypes, the world outside our door has shown its considerable influence. And unfortunately, despite my attempt to pick a very pale shade of pink, the actual color turned out to be a bit more saturated than I would have preferred. Eventually, I'll re-paint the room myself, but for now we're going with it and I'm trying to get used to having a pink room in my house.
There's still a lot to be done in this room and I'm working on how to pull it all together. More soon!
