Office Redo Inspired By a Temper and a Painting

I admit I can have a bit of a temper.  A lot of time this flare up of my temper is after a time frame of pent up frustrations.  The smallest frustration at a certain point can cause my temper to surface.  In response to this I sometimes sulk or yell.  Every once in a while, I use my temper for good and not evil.  My Office Redo is one of those cases.

I was in a temper at my boyfriend at the time and was walking by my "office", which at the time was nothing but a room with junk and bad carpet (disgusting really).  So, for some unknown reason, I found a razor blade in the garage and proceeded to rip the carpet out.  I spent hours moving furniture into the bedroom, rolling up carpet and avoiding assistance to carry the garbage carpet down the stairs.  Once I was finished...I had no idea what to do with the room.  While the offensive and smelly carpet was gone, I had nothing to replace it.

Evidence #1 - Mid carpet removal and I started taking pictures of the disaster.

Evidence #2 - Junk, junk and more junk as well as a whole lot of white.

Evidence #3 - The adornment above the closet was the leftover plastic from the ceiling redo...several years earlier.

In speaking with my ever helpful mother, she told me she had purchased some laminate flooring she was no longer going to use.  And, things started to click.  The baseboards would come out and be replaced.  I am a firm believer that is the fastest and easiest face lift to a room.  The walls needed painting and the room needed a big purge session. 

I have a painting that used to be in my grandmother's office that has always held my attention.  It reminds me of one of my favorite poets, Robert Frost, and his poem The Road Not Taken.  So, this would be my inspiration piece for the room and I would draw warmth and browns from the piece.

My inspiration piece.

The color for the walls I chose is called Tender Twig.  I loved the color, but I may have loved the name more!  All the walls were painted and the flooring was going in.  Please note in the picture the underlay is actually upside down.  This is a big no-no as this can create shifting of the flooring later on as I found out.

Do not lay your underlay upside down.

Clean, white baseboards were put in using a circular saw and a family friend.  New door base was also added to give the feel of luxury.

Lowes actually has door moulding kits that are pretty cheap.  Next I need to dress up other areas of the room.  I went to TJ Maxx, Burlington and Ross and located some wicker baskets for closet storage.  I also located some unique and a little "mismatchy" items to place above the closet.  I am not a big fan of using fake plants, because I don't want to dust them.

I chose some items a little outside and inside the scheme of the room's decor.

Closet reorganization.

Keeping the existing shelving, I painted a fresh coat of paint.  I also removed the clunky doors and added artistic linens using linens from Anna's Linens in two colors and a curtain rod.  Some tie backs were used to swag the space and offer an open feel.

The desk area was also cleaned up and adorned with a rich piece of art.  I love the look and feel of maps as they remind me of history and travel.  I also added a bit of differing texture in the room using a shag style rug that is still low key enough it works well.  I also like working on the computer without shoes, because of the rug.

This shot was mid clean up.  I also donated the Nintendo video games and am still in trouble with my brother.

I cleaned up a work space that is a scrap booking table.  This is great for storage.  It is also on wheels and can open up even further.  I may still dress the window.  I just have not been able to commit to a linen yet.  I am thinking some solid to contrast the linens used on the closet.

Finally, I added personal items to the room.  This includes some caricature drawings.  I love the personality and unexpected that they add to the room.

Moral of the story: every once in a while your temper may be a good thing?  Not sure if those are words to live by as this type of project start and finish is not always the result nor is it guaranteed.  I enjoy the space and love the touches that exist every once in a while that almost do not appear to belong.

This particular room was done a few years ago and is under review for some more updates.  I think the chaise may be replaced with a futon lounger so the room may double as a guest room.  But, then again, I may change my mind a couple more times.  And, that is just fine.

Get Rid of Carpet That Makes You Angry: The Story of My Laminate Wood

When I first purchased my house, I had decided the carpet had to go.  It is a grey carpet that has seen its fill of days in this house.  Stains would not come out...carpet shampooing barely made a dent...and it just did not fit my want for the house.  However, I was gun-shy in making a big purchase decision.  This is not one of those easy house items that can be redone again and again without a big punch to the wallet.

Moving forward to 2012, 7 years later, and the carpet is still here.  Talk about not making a decision!  Well, 2012 is the year I go for it.  I follow my gut, I have confidence in my decisions and my thoughts need to turn into action. 

Actually, as great as that sounds, what really happened was one of my lovely old lady cats decided that a corner of my dining room was her litter box.  I shampooed.  I used vinegar.  I used spray that was supposed to dissuade pets from that area.  Nothing was working.  I thought about taking that section out.  Then came the epiphany mentioned earlier.  It is my house and it is time to take it back from the carpet I loathed!

My Uncle, the carpet and the cat that caused this whole thing to come to fruition.

Gross carpet that was pulled from my house.

I decided laminate wood flooring was what I wanted.  I was not going to invest in real wood flooring as that expense did not match the value of the house itself.  Plus, I read articles on laminate wood being more durable and of course cheaper.  I decided on Brazilian Cherry and found it at Home Depot for .99 a square foot.  Perfect!  I would ask my uncle to help me with the flooring!  No more thinking about it...time to believe in my decisions and put it to action!

Brazilian Cherry laminate Flooring for my flooring.

To help matters, when I went to purchase the flooring a team member at Home Depot told me he had the same flooring in his wreck room and loved it.  That sounded good and durable to me.  I purchased enough to redo my small dining room.  That along with a flooring starter kit and a $25 underlay, I was set.

My dining room with carpeting.  Those who came to play that day have been hidden with stars.  Because?  It seems like the right idea?  I have no idea.

All the furniture was moved into the living room and chaos was underway.

A good test to determine if maybe you should purge:  move one small room worth of furniture into another room.  That is a lot of stuff!

The coumpound saw was borrowed from my grandmother and the flooring project was underway.  Keep in mind, you NEED to make sure the underlay is laid with the proper side up.  Those labels are no joke.  If you do it wrong your wood flooring will eventually move.  Not that my handy Uncle would do that, but turns out my ex-boyfriend did in the office upstairs (future blog).

One day later and the flooring was done.  This is not a how-to on laying flooring.  I have no idea.  This is a how-to make a decision and make it happen.  A how-to on following and believing in your gut.  Now that the flooring was done, I also decided to re-arrange.  Finally, I also decided that replacing the baseboard was a good move.  I truly believe replacing baseboards in a house is like a cheap facelift.  It makes a HUGE difference!

Dining Room with Brazilian Cherrylaminate wood flooring.

Once this is started how could I leave the carpet in my downstairs at all.  That's right...the carpet was ripped out of the living room and thoughts towards the stairs were culminating.

Be prepared for a little inconvenience.

There is a lot of inconvenience with this process.  But again, I decided to go for it.  Pull out the carpet and pull out the baseboards.  Also, by losing the big TV in the living room (see previous blog) I would have room to rework the living room.

Living and Dining Room Pre-Laminate flooring and replanning of funiture placement.

Living and Dining Room after the Laminante flooring and furniture placement.  The drapes still need work in this picture.  No worries, they come out great!

I wanted to open up the space to include everyone in conversation and reach a more elegant and beautiful space.  The drapes still needed to be ironed and swagged, but time was short prior to hosting a birthday party for my friend.

The staircase is another story all its own as well.  That will be saved for another blog.  I love my wood flooring.  It is very rich and durable.  I love that I went with my decision and find that I smile when I walk in my house when I look at it.  I also went ahead and asked my uncle to complete the small hallway upstairs, as well.  New flooring, new baseboards and new furniture placement changed the enitre efficiency and beauty of my house.

I have kept a spreadsheet going identifying my spend as it happens.  The laminate flooring, underlay, baseboards, kit, wood glue, and labor (some cash and feeding, etc) came to about $1000 with $690 being allocated to supplies.

Well worth it, I think.  No, let me restate that.  Well worth it, I know.