One Room Challenge: Week 6!

Janelle Payne
Nov 1, 2022
3 min read

Updated: Nov 8, 2022

Although I am not finished by any means, this week I did a lot of finish work. All of those small tasks that take up time and personally I do not enjoy! Let's dive right in....

Paint

This past week I finally was able to get paint on the walls! The entire back wall that surrounds the slider and windows was solid wood. When the repairs were being done we had to rebuild parts of the wood posts between the slider and windows which made it very noticeable. Also the original stain was super dark and the amount of effort and dust it would have caused to get it down to the original wood would have been way to much for me to mentally handle! So to paint everything the same color as the walls in order to blend all the mismatched wood tones together was the only option I had. I used the same color that we have on all of the walls throughout our house, Sherwin Williams Softer Tan. Super happy with this decision.

I also finished putting up all of the green board on the adjacent fireplace wall and only mudded the seams in order to paint that the same color. I needed to just have a solid base in this area since I will be making this an accent wall, so stay tuned for that!

Baseboards

Now that the walls are painted, I started replacing the few baseboards that needed to be put back. I reused the same ones that were removed to save money and since they match what is in the rest of ourhouse. Finish work (caulk and paint) will be done towards the end but at least I have them all cut and in place!

Built-Ins

Last week I built the main frame of one of my bookcase shelves and base cabinets. This past week I built the second identical one for the opposite side of the room and started on the finish work. I added all of the face framing using 1x2 pine. Next I wood glued and brad nailed them to the shelving units and then wood filled all the nail holes and seams. Once that dried I sanded everything down with 220 grit and then primed it all with Zinsser 1-2-3.

Next I made the countertops that the shelving sits on. I was able to reuse the wood from the shelves I made for this room originally. I cut them down to 5ft and since they were not quite the depth I needed I pocket holed two together to make it work. I used a belt sander to get the old dark stain off and I will plan to stain them the same as the beams that are in the room.

The last big decision is still the exact color I want my built ins! I almost just picked a color on a whim but I stopped myself so that I don't rush into anything and regret it!

Arches

Drywall is quite the process and I cannot say that I like it. Over the past week I have put multiple coats of mud and waiting for them to dry in between and sanding them down everytime as well. Talk about a mess! I ended up keeping the little lip at the top on either side of the arch openings because unexpectedly I liked how it gave it a different look rather then just being a perfect circle. The thresholds still need to be done for this area to look complete but so far I love them.

Miscellaneous

Small decorations have been arriving, like my green velvet curtains. I am waiting on a longer rod to span the entire wall so once that arrives tomorrow it will be complete over there!
I started the build for the desk, barely! I have only made the two side legs and I will be working on completing this by next week. I have some cool ideas in mind for this build so be sure to check in!
Stair risers are cut to size but they need to just be installed and painted.
I finally wired my chandelier! I can't wait to get the sconces up once the book shelves are done being painted.
I have been on the hunt for old books and vintage décor for the shelves. I have collected a few really cool items and am hoping to scour my parents and aunts house to collect meaningful items.