ONE STEP CLOSER

All the sheet rock, taping, and texture is done. We are now ready to install the flooring. Tomorrow we will start that . Today we started unloading the pod and putting some of it into the storage. All I can say is.....this is not fun!! It is hot out, we had a storm last night and may have another tonight so, it is humid. Need I say more????? We are not that far from the Texas coast and they are bracing for Alex. Be he hurricane or tropical storm he will surely have some heavy winds and rain
That's the update for now, pardon me but I'm off to take a nap!!!

We're Making Progress....

We have got part of the Sheetrock in and tomorrow they will begin to tape and float all the seams. The three sections you see above are on the wall on the back of the room. This is where the garage doors used to be. The center area is where the cabinets will go with the TV on the top. Each of the sections on either side will be closets where I will keep all my fabric, paint and supplies.

This is the wall from the opposite side of the room. In this picture you can see part of the windows and where the entrance to the room is from the backside. In that opening will be a old fashioned looking screen door. That will help keep the dog from getting out when the back door is opened.

Saturday we went tile shopping again and I found the tile for the floor. I have seen a lot of pretty tile while I was out shopping but they just didn't fit into my budget. The one I found is pretty and affordable, so I am happy. We are getting closer each day . So stay tuned!!

Music, Music, Music.......

I have started to paper the inside of the computer armoire. It is still a work in progress but I thought that I would share some of the parts that are partially completed.

I am using music books that I purchased on e-bay. It does require quite a few books, but it is also a very large area to cover. I am using liquid starch to apply it to the walls of the armoire. You can buy it at most grocery stores if you look for it.

I saw how to do it on Tracey's blog http://acottageindustry.typepad.com/. She did a mini tutorial about it. I used a small plastic bucket into which I put a small amount of starch. Use enough that you can dip the music pages in and wet them completely. I did find, however, that too much starch makes the paper very soggy and it tears even more easily. You need to squeegee out the excessive starch before placing it on the wall. Use your hand to do this.






I found it easier to smooth the paper out with my wallpapering brush . It does wrinkle fairly easily but can be smoothed out GENTLY. Otherwise it tears if you are too rough. I also wore rubber gloves as it is very sticky, more than with wallpaper paste.

I bought some paper napkins at Home Goods and cut out the butterflies from the napkin to add randomly to the area. One thing I like to do is cut off some of the margins of the paper with a paper cutter as I don't like the wide plain white margins. I have decoupaged some other things by tearing the pages and just applying it randomly instead of in sheets. It just depends on what you prefer. You'd be amazed at how stiff and smooth that it dries. I still have about half of the inside left to complete because of all the little shelving areas it has. So I'll share again when I'm done. If you need visuals of it go to Tracey's blog and look for the tutorial, it helped me a lot.

Windows And Doors Day 1

Today they are putting in the French Doors. It is amazing how light it makes the room inside.Of course, as you can see , it is not finished being installed but I am so excited I just had to share the very first look at it! Don't know if they will get to the windows today or will have to wait until Monday.

Decisions, Decisions.........

We are moving right along with the room. So far we've got part of the framing in, at least along the long wall where the TV will sit. That is where the garage doors used to be. They have the headers in for the doors and the windows and most of the electrical work has been done. Tomorrow they are planning to put in the french door and the windows. They go on the side walls that look out on each of the little yards that I have. My house is T shaped. The garage is the lower part of the T. That explains why I have two yards. Each one has a small garden and the windows will look out to each of them.

Today, when there were not any workers here Jen and I headed out to Lowe's to get the outdoor fixture to put outside the French door. All the others I have are matching so I wanted this one to match, also. I also got the ceiling fan and the hardware for the door. For my retirement and my birthday I got a couple of gift cards so I used them and it made the bill less of a hit to my budget. We, also, looked at tile for the floor. As you can see from the picture above this is the palette that I am going to use. The fabric was what I used in my bedroom in the last house and I had the walls one of the pinks in the roses. I have a lot of it as I made a king size duvet cover out of it. I want to outline quilt around the design for several large pillows and some valances. Can't decide if I want other curtains or not yet. I want to go more neutral for the room so I got some cream and brown paint samples, kind of on the khaki side as there is some green in the khaki in the leaves. I don't know how well the colors will show up in the photo. I want to see all the samples in the room tomorrow after they put in the windows so I can see if they still coordinate in the light of the room.

I brought home several tile samples to look at too. I to be thrifty on my flooring choice as it is not included in the price of the room. I'll post again when they get the windows in.

We're Off and Running!!!

The day I've been waiting for has finally arrived!! WE STARTED THE NEW ROOM!!
Thursday was the first day of our new adventure. The guys showed up about 8:30 am and immediately started dismantling the garage doors. I, in the mean time, placed an ad on Craig's List to sell them and by 6:00pm that same day they were sold and cash in hand! They next started to rough- in the openings and by 8:00 pm they had the tar paper and siding on the outside. (They had to close it up before they went home for the night.) They temporarily put the door in, locked it and fell into their truck, exhausted!

Friday I had to work so I didn't get to see much of what they did but they roughed-in the storage area that is at the very back or front depending which way you come into the room. Originally the storage area was going to be built just outside the original garage under the carport but the concrete pad was going to be 1600.00 and that was above the budget so we had to take some of the space out of the room. I think it will be OK and not affect the design too much.

I originally planned to put a fake fireplace in the room with the TV in the firebox but, that too, had to be cut b/o the budget. I did find two used bathroom cabinets at a garage sale for $30.00. I will put them together put a top over the two and put the TV on it. Also, I bought two old house screens that will go above to form doors. The screens have wooden frames and chippy white paint. I think that they will look great when it is put together. On each side of the cabinets will be a closet that will house a lot of my craft supplies and such. They will have some unusual doors that I will share with you at the time they are completed.

That is the latest update. Soon I'll share some of the other details of the room as we go along.
Luckily I will be home all next week to watch the progress. I'm really excited to see every detail.