The Big Reveal

When Tricia moved out a few months ago, we split up the bunk beds and put the boys back in their own rooms.  Cameron's room looked pretty good, but Bryant's was a hodge podge collection of stuff and pretty bare.  So, I got the genius idea to redo his room.  The only way I could get away with my plan was to call it his birthday gift for the year and find some way to cover the cost of the makeover.

We had this awesome shelf that I paid a pretty penny for at Hobby Lobby about a year ago.  That was the inspiration for the room.  I wanted something that was a little more grown up that could grow with him.  I found this awesome metal bed at JCPenney for $250 in keeping with the style of the shelf.  I knew that if I sold the bunk beds, I could pay for the new bed and I could just let Cameron rough it for a while.  But, I didn't have to, because I sold the bunk beds for $400, bought the metal bed for $250 + $100 for a full size mattress, and had $50 left to spare.  Miraculously, I found the perfect bed for Cameron on KSL for $100, that came with 2 twin mattresses.  Since we already had a twin mattress, I sold the two that came with the bed for $30 each and ended up with $10 extra.  Basically the beds/mattress were an even trade + the extra $10.  Genius.

Now the actual spending begins.  I promised him I would paint the walls so it cost me $35 for paint.  I realize that I am boring and picked another shade of beige, but I actually love it.  I purchased his bedding at Overstock.com for $60.  The curtains were a little more expensive... 2 panels from Target + the rod = $80.  I spent $60 on picture frames from Target (I know-- ridiculous.  But I wanted a certain style and I didn't want to look everywhere when the ones I found were perfect!).  I bought this amazing solid wood dresser on KSL.com for $150.  I purchased spray paint, black tea and polyurethane for about $25 for refinishing.  Total cost= $410.  Wow.  I haven't added it all up until now.  Yikes!  But, I sold our giant "love sac" for $100, his old curtain rod for $10, an old bedding set for $30, and a desk we weren't using for $40.  That brings the total down to $230.  Ok.  That's definitely way more than I would spend on a typical birthday gift for my child, but it was a bedroom makeover (mostly for me) and a birthday gift in one.  I think $230 is pretty darned good!

 When I picked up the dresser, it was had an orangey, glossy finish.  Not good.  The big plan in my head was to do an oxidization treatment I found online to make it look like reclaimed wood.  You can find the tutorial here. The process is crazy and involves a ton of time and labor, but the end result is so worth it.

 First, I purchased some steal wool from Home Depot.  I ripped it up into little pieces, put it in a glass mason jar and filled the jar with vinegar.  I let the mixture brew for almost a week, shaking it occasionally.  Meanwhile, I removed the hardware and spray painted it in a satin nickel finish.  Once that dried, I sprayed it with "oiled bronze."  After it was dry, I took a little sandpaper to the hardware and GENTLY rubbed off a bit of the oiled bronze paint to make it look a bit old.  I borrowed a sander (Thanks, Amber!) and got to work sanding the dresser down to get rid of the old finish.  I wiped it off and took the hammer to it, scratching and denting it to give it a little more character.  Then, I brewed a pot of strong black tea and painted two coats of tea on the dresser.  After the tea dried and the steel wool/vinegar mixture was ready, I painted that on the dresser, as well.  Immediately, the color turned a dark gray.  After it had dried again, I sanded down the dresser again, almost completely, to reveal this beautiful, aged wood.  I gave it two coats of a clear satin polyurethane, replaced the hardware, and, voila!

 It was kind of a pain, but I LOVE the result!  I think I will add a coat of clear wax, just to add a little smoothness to the finish and make it a little more durable.  But, for now, it's done.

It was a busy week of remodeling, but I love how the room turned out and I have one super happy almost 8 year old.

Since I was taking pictures of bedrooms, I thought I would include the rest...

 This is Cameron's "new" room.  This is the bed I purchased for $100 on KSL.com.  It is originally from Pottery Barn and it super sturdy and cute.  Eventually I plan on refinishing it.  But for now, it'll do.

 The boys got these really cool night lights for Christmas so we had to put those up.

 Cameron's walls are pretty bare.  I had this canvas in my closet that I bought a while ago for another project that didn't work out.  So I pulled it out, painted it and had Breanna cut me a big vinyl letter C.  It's not professional, but I think it turned out pretty good. Right now it's pretty lonely on the wall by itself, but hopefully in the future we'll solve that problem.

 We keep most of the toys in Cameron's room now since he's really the only one that plays with them.  I moved the curtains from Bryant's room into Cameron's room and gave the old ones to Monica. 

 Now for my room...

 This is the gorgeous king size bed we purchased a little over a year ago.  It is so nice to have bedroom furniture!  Again-- another pretty neutral room, but I need my bedroom to be as calm and soothing as it can be.

 Originally, we purchased the bed and dresser, and planned to get some nightstands later.  When we went to purchase the ones we loved, we found out they had been discontinued and we couldn't find them anywhere :(.  One day, I was browsing a thrift store in Holladay and came across this little gem for $20.  It had a cherry finish but I wanted it white, so I took it home, roughed it up and painted it white.  I loved the original hardware, so I cleaned it off and put it back on.

 This is our beautiful dresser.  Love it.

 I stole the mirror off my wall to put in Bryant's room, so now I have a big empty wall and nothing to fill it with.  Someday.

 And, here's my laundry shelf :)

This is Hallie's room.  It never looks like this.  Usually the floor is covered in clothing, toys, trash, papers, tape, scissors, legos, etc.  The walls are covered in art work, notes and pictures.  I had to vacuum today so I decided to clean it up.  Don't you worry... the drawers are a mess and her closet is full of junk.  But, hey-- I got my pictures.  And it's a good thing, too, cause it's not going to look like this again for a long, long time.

 We bought her cute furniture a few years ago at RC Willey.  It was a floor model so we got it at a GREAT discount.  It used to be clean and beautiful, but it's been colored on and banged up, and it's looking pretty sad these days (you can't see it in the pictures).

 Her cute bedding is from Home Goods.  I love these colors together and I think they totally represent my little girl's crazy, fun, creative personality.

 This is another creation from Breanna.  I love this piece, even though Hallie rarely wears bows anymore.

 And that's it for Hallie's room.  Oh, yeah...

 It wouldn't be complete without a picture of her door, which changes on a daily basis.

The office...

 This fantastic space is my sanctuary.  I love this room.  I prefer to spend most of my time in this room.  I love the dark gray/green/blue walls.  I love my pictures.  I love my beachy souvenirs.  I love the big, comfy chair.  I love my huge computer screen.  This is where the magic happens.  This is my editing, reading, relaxing and surfing room.  This is the closest thing I have to my one true love-- the ocean. 

 Almost everything displayed in this room means something to me.  I love the Jesus cross stitch on the top shelf and the inside joke that goes along with it.  The sea shells in the glass jar were collected on our vacation to Oceanside.  The photos were taken at the beach.

We all hunted for the white rocks at the beach so I could do a "Brother of Jared" FHE.  I love the pictures of my kids at the beach.  And the puzzle of my sister and I was a gift to my late Grandma June when we were little.

 Our wedding photos are displayed in this room, along with my favorite lamp.

 And, my friendly little crabs.

 Hopefully, someday soon, this pretty painting will hang on the wall in the big empty space above the computer.

Well, that's that.  Hope you all enjoyed my decorating fun.