The Front Bedroom (aka the Temporary TV Room)

When we decided that we were going to make the house livable for reconstruction, we agreed on a list of things we needed in order to get by:

• a functioning bathroom,
• a bedroom,
• a functioning laundry system,
• a place to unwind after long days, and
• a way to feed ourselves without going out every day.

We have successfully created the first two.  The third is technically already in place, since the previous owners left their washer and dryer.  We just cleaned them and made sure they worked (and were safe to use).  The washing machine is in the basement for now while the dryer resides in the first-floor laundry room, but that will change once we shore up the floors.  Since we've already been working on the second floor and only had one unfinished room, it seemed logical to move on to the next item on the list.

This is what the room looked like before we got our hands on it.

The whole room as seen from the southeast corner.

 

The window makes me sad.  A child obviously occupied this room.  Said child used dry erase markers to draw on the window.  By itself, this fact is not sad; however, coupled with the fact that the coloring took place after the window had been cracked, as evidenced by the marker lines tracing along the cracks ... It just breaks my heart.

The first thing I did was to clean the window (way back on 2018-02-10).  Meanwhile, the hubs removed the baseboards so we could get the rest of the carpet bits removed.  Then it was time to prime (2018-03-17).  Say "goodbye," Mr. Lion!

Yes, I ended up wearing a fair amount of the primer.  This was the first time I did the ceiling.  (The hubs has handled that aspect in the earlier tasks.)  Turns out that standing under the roller is not a great idea.  Also, for those who wonder, oil-based primer does not simply wash off the skin as does latex primer and paint.  You either need a solvent (no thank you), or you have to wait for it to wear off over time.  I was speckled for a while.  Not like I didn't already have more than my fair share of spots. (;

Also of note, since we were out of ceiling paint, I had to get more, but this time I splurged on the color-changing kind.  Totally worth the extra money!  It made it so much easier when I was putting on the second coat to see where I'd actually painted!

And then the hubs primed the floor.

Next up was the paint (2018-03-18).  After the success with the paint in the landing, I decided to go for another Oops can.  This time, the hubs wasn't completely sold when I opened the can, but since he'd agreed to try out anything I picked (based on the safety-net assumption that we'll need to repaint after we level the downstairs), he let me get to work.  Once it was on the walls, he changed his tune.  We may need to replicate this one.  It's beautimous!

Insider tip: make sure the primer is dry before walking on it.  Good thing we're carpeting. (;