We Can Finish Room Makeovers, We Promise

Sage’s kitchen. Sage’s dining room. Naomi’s bedroom. Naomi’s garage. We couldn’t blame you if you’re starting to wonder if we’re capable of finishing a room makeover. We’re starting to wonder it ourselves. So in the midst of the projects-in-which-we’re-making-progress-but-it-still-feels-like-they’ll-never-end, we thought we’d reflect back on some room makeovers we actually finished. You know, in case you need your faith in us restored, or you just want to look at some pretty pictures for a change of pace.

In case you missed them (or they feel like a long-ago dream), here are a few of our favorite room transformation projects from bygone days!

Sage’s guest room

The main floor of my house might be in shambles, but at least I still have my beautiful guest room to retreat to when the kitchen gets too overwhelming/Sam is talking in his sleep. We made over this room in just a few weeks in preparation for Sam’s sister moving in with us for awhile, since we thought she might run for the hills if we told her she had to sleep in here:

Yes, that *is* floral contact paper on the walls:

With the help of a lot of white paint, some colorful accessorizing (mostly scavenged from elsewhere in the house), a fresh coat of paint on the dresser, and one giant map, we managed to transform this very blue-meets-orange-wood-paneling attic bedroom into a light and airy oasis:

It’s hard to believe that was over a year ago. Man, we’ve really been working on this kitchen forever….

Sage’s living room

Another of my favorite room makeovers we tackled in pretty much the opposite way, which is to work on it slowly over time: the living room. When we first saw the house it looked like this:

We took the first big step by painting it literally the day we moved in, we added a gallery wall (as all self-respecting homes must have), we added the most amazing thrifted chair and then another amazing thrifted chair, we swapped out the rug and I sewed colorful pillows, and then I built a coffee table. After over a year of slow progress and tweaks, the living room reached its current “finished” state:

I say “finished” because of course it is subject to more changes. For instance, I want to add sconces on either side of the mirror above the couch to balance things visually and add some more light for reading (though the bench in the dining room is my new favorite place to read).

So at least over the last 11 months when everything has been covered in dust/broken tile/more dust/thinset/grout/more dust from the kitchen renovation, I have had some places to retreat to and remember it’s not all a disaster zone.

Naomi’s Dressing Room/Office

Brad and I made a deal when we bought this house and saw that there was just one small closet in the master bedroom: he gets to use this closet and I get a whole other room as my office/dressing room/craft room.   While it is hard to count any of the rooms in my house as really “finished,” this one is definitely in a nice, steady state.

When I first saw this room, it was pretty striking.  Mainly because it was very very bright green.  Here is the listing photo:

And here is the cell phone shot I took the day we bought the house:

I embarked on an exhaustive search for a different green, one that was still pretty bold but not so I-can-film-a-movie-in-here-green-screen.

And landed on a strong teal that plays well with my yellow doors and lets me enjoy a fun, jewel-tone vibe.

This wasn’t a belabored room makeover, but I did paint the doors and hardware, get art on the walls, bring in a vibrant vintage rug I found at Brimfield, and fill it with furniture, including fixing up an old set of drawers and making over a cabinet for added storage.

I’d like to do more, of course – in particular, I have been keeping my eyes out for a stylish filing cabinet because keeping your important paperwork in a box is only cute when you are in your 20s – but the room is definitely working for me the way it is for now.

Naomi’s Living Room

Another room in a similar state – done for now – is the living room.  This started pretty sad and dreary, with gray-beige walls, clouded retro windows, smelly forest-green carpet, and a cave-like atmosphere.  Here it is in the listing photo and when we moved in:

We did a lot in our initial renovation, including new bamboo floors, taking down some of the built-ins and walls for a more open floor-plan, new windows and trim, and demoing the front covered porch to let more light into the space.

The decorating was, of course, more fun.  We got our dream lamp and dream couch (which we covered with bright pillows) and hung a gallery wall.

Brad’s parents also gave us an awesome teak bookself, which I decorated with a lot of our favorite things and Brad’s Zuni statue collection.

I got to keep the award-winning cactus table that Sage and I made, which I think works pretty well in the space.  I also made a table to run along our big window to give me more room for plants, and finally got around to painting the window sashes (which I stupidly got in plain wood during our renovation).

A recurring theme here is that I definitely have more that I want to do. But, man, looking back on those befores – I have to say I am pretty happy with the way it is now!

While we continue to chip away at projects that seem like they will never end, we take solace knowing that we can retreat into rooms that are pretty and not construction zones.  Hopefully, this  has also been a break for you, and you can trust that we will get there in the end!