OK, first of all, THANK YOU SO MUCH for all of your pillow recommendations. I thought maybe five or six people would tell me about their awesome pillow, but apparently a lot of you really love your pillows! Now I need to finish reading all of the suggestions, take notes, and then narrow down my search to…one pillow. I’ll keep you updated on PillowQuest, because I know that’s about as exciting as my blog gets.
So anyway, speaking of pillows, I’ve finally started working on my bedroom. It’s a really nice, big room (about 300 square feet!) with great light and a nice view of the garden. It doesn’t need a ton of work, but it’s been so easy to put off getting going with it.
At first glance, it looks like I just need to clean up and put stuff away and hang things on the wall, right? What doesn’t come through in photos is that the paint is in terrible shape. I think it’s been a very long time since the whole room was painted at once, because it’s a patchwork of numerous shades of white that have been slapped on in sections over the years. There’s old water damage to the ceiling that was never addressed (the leak was repaired, though, fortunately), and it just looks cruddy and sad.
See what I mean? It’s nothing that can’t be easily repaired, of course. By the way, if you’re thinking about using duct tape to cover your windows with plastic, PLEASE DON’T DO THAT. Ugh.
Side note: Apparently THE ENTIRE HOUSE was originally painted late-night-at-the-morgue green. I’ll pass, thanks!
But let me back up a little. Remember the Curtains of Sadness that were hanging in my dining room when I moved in? Brown polyester, the textile of sorrow. Well, there was a matching set in the bedroom. On one window, at least. The other window just had a set of rickety metal mini blinds. I can’t believe I slept mere feet away from these things for so long? So they’re folded up in the basement now, along the set from the dining room.
This is the other window. It’s big, it’s beautiful, and this is a terrible photo. Also, I considered moving the neon bench in here, but I’m not feeling it—so it’s staying in my office. And yes, that’s the rug that’s in my office that used to be in my old bedroom. I need to stop moving stuff around. That rug is too small for in here, anyway.
Here we go! Yay!
28 Comments
How do you deal with the wall? Do you have to strip paint before repainting?
For peeling paint, I scrape off anything that’s loose, patch/smooth with joint compound, sand, prime, and paint. For cracked plaster, I dig out the area around the crack, patch with fiberglass tape and joint compound, skim coat, sand, prime, and paint.
Okay, that’s really helpful. Have you ever done a tutorial post on this? Or is it as straightforward as that?
No, I don’t really do tutorial posts! I’m not good at it, and unless you have someone else to take photos or video, it’s kind of impossible to do it effectively. There are tons of resources out there, though! Check This Old House and YouTube for plaster repair. (Drywall repair is a whole other thing that I have next to no experience with.)
BTW, Daniel recently did a great post on skim-coating:
http://manhattan-nest.com/2017/05/04/how-to-skim-coat-walls-with-the-best-of-them/
And another one on plaster repair:
http://manhattan-nest.com/2017/05/02/den-renovation-plaster-repair-insulation-drywall/
I love your windows. Are they metal? What wall color will you use? I suddenly feel that our walls are too beige and would like a a brighter white. Maybe I’ll go with Simply White, which is the same as the woodwork and a shade lighter than Moonlight White. Wish you were here to advise (and to paint!!).
Yes, they’re steel casement windows! Very pretty. I’ve been using Valspar Paramount White all over the house. It’s similar to Moonlight White, but slightly more green. I don’t think you’d like it in your house! Try a swatch of Valspar Swiss Coffee and see what you think. It’s definitely brighter than Moonlight White, but still nice and warm and creamy. xoxo
My local Ace Hardware carries Valspar and Clarke and Kensington paints. They didn’t have the Swiss Coffee in the Valspar base, but they did have it in the C and K base. It’s a beautiful color and I like the C and K base. I have half of my living/dining room painted. Now I need to get the motivation to get the other side painted.
Hi Tricia, the Valspar line carried by Ace is completely different from the one at Lowe’s—I should make sure to specify that in my posts. Many paint makers have a color called “Swiss Coffee,” and it can vary wildly! I can only vouch for Lowe’s/Valspar Swiss Coffee. If you’re not able to buy paint at Lowe’s, I’d suggest taking a chip to have it matched. (Of course, if you love the shade you bought, that’s great!)
Thank you!!!
Anna is the shade you have on that one window from Ikea? The new ones they somewhat recently came out with?
No, that’s one of the old, long-discontinued ENJE shades with the pull chain. Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of the replacements. I buy solar shades from BlindsMax now.
You really are the dream tenant. But since you always paint your rentals, I wonder, is it the norm in the US for landlords not to do painting etc? Or for previous tenants not to have to leave it freshly painted when they move out? Or do you just take it on so it can be just how you like it? Either way, it’s always massively improved by your expert hand!
It’s different everywhere, Jemma! Cities have their own laws regarding landlord/tenant rights. In NYC, for example, landlords are required to reprint apartments not only between tenants, but every three years no matter what—even if the apartment is still occupied by the same tenant. In New Mexico, as far as I know, so such law exists—and it seems to be pretty much unheard of unless the property has just been renovated. In my apartments in New York (well, at least the four I rented after starting this blog), I painted two of them because they’d both been painted a horrible shade of off-white I like to call “warm mayonnaise.” The other two were painted a bright white, and I did not repaint.
Your blog always makes me feel like an underachiever Anna! I’ve been putting off the repainting of my cottage for years now. Years! At least three. I’ve been living here for fourteen years and a half and always repainted and changed colors to the walls, restyled the rooms etc. The last three years were so uninspiring that I’ve left everything to drift apart, and now I have a ton of work to do! I don’t even know where to start! How do yo set priorities?
I really don’t set priorities, to be honest. I just do what I can when I have time to do it. I wish I had some advice, but the truth is that I always feel like I’m behind and moving so slowly.
Well, do what you can when you have time to do it, it’s actually good advice.
Tell me about your step ladder! It’s positively sexy! So nice and sturdy (and tall? I can’t really tell how tall it actually is).
Hi Amy, it’s this ladder:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Gorilla-Ladders-3-Step-Steel-Ladder-with-250-lb-Load-Capacity-Type-I-Duty-Rating-GLS-3HD/206342150
I always love to see you take on something (you and Daniel are both so detail oriented, and I am the kind of person who really appreciates “oh! your wall patch is so smooth!”). The best part is that when it’s done you’ll have a room that feels great to you, that you’ll love to be in. And since I am pro-Anna, I feel good about that.
a gorgeous bedroom will further enable you to sleep in!
one more rec: mypillow (https://www.mypillow.com/)
Several people recommended these pillows, but I would never buy from company like that. Horrible. FYI:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/01/03/customers-pro-trump-pillows-are-a-nightmare
cancel that recommendation. thank you for the info.
here’s mine, the bioSense side sleeper. (be prepared to drool.)
http://www.brookstone.com/pd/biosense-select-shoulder-sleep-pillow-with-medium-support/316678p.html
If anyone could make late-night-at-the-morgue green work though, it’d be you. Can’t wait to see the finished product!
I too am curious about your step-ladder. I’m on the hunt for a decent step-ladder to live in my recently redone closet. So far my options seem to be semi-ok looking but heavy as all get out, or hideously utilitarian (black rubber and silver aluminum).
It’s just a basic step ladder from Home Depot! I’ve never really given it much thought, but I guess it’s a good stepladder, haha.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Gorilla-Ladders-3-Step-Steel-Ladder-with-250-lb-Load-Capacity-Type-I-Duty-Rating-GLS-3HD/206342150
I’m not sure if I missed a post, but is this a different bedroom from where you had your bed under the window and it was quite narrow?
Hi Michelle, yes, this is a different bedroom in a different house in a different city. 😉 I moved about a year ago:
http://www.doorsixteen.com/2016/07/18/surprise-i-moved-again/