Oh my god, people. This took a lot longer than I thought, but the wainscoting and molding in the bedroom is finally done!! I was hoping to clean up the room and add a few pretty things to the room before showing you the finished wainscoting and trim, but I didn’t finish the trim until 11pm last night and just couldn’t do any more work. So the cleanup work had to wait.
But I’m so happy with the result. First let me remind you what it looked like before I started priming, painting and installing the trim. This was right after I sanded the strips on the bottom of the walls to make them smooth enough that the taped lines of the strips on the bottom of the walls couldn’t show through.
And now with the new wainscoting and trim it finally looks like this. I need to add the outlet covers. And remember, I didn’t go to much trouble to get the upper walls perfect as they have the grasscloth wallpaper that will cover up any little imperfections and the taped lines of the previously painted strip walls.
This wall was an absolute mess, with a combination of the black of where the closet used to be, the stripes from the previous home gym walls, and the new drywall from the door installation.
And even after I started installing the wainscoting, I still had to smooth out a few very wavy areas in the wall.
And now it looks like this. The wainscoting and crown are done and now it’s ready for wallpaper.
It’s hard to decide which wall had the biggest mess, because they were all pretty much a mess. They were all proof that things have to get much worse before they can get better.
But patience and perseverance pay off. None of the walls are perfect, but they are good enough that I can live with them. And as a perfectionist with a very critical eye who can always spot mistakes, that says a lot.
And of course, as I was taking these pictures, I realized that I had forgotten to sand and paint the area on the ceiling in the foyer where I had to touch up the drywall after I moved the ceiling light. *Sigh* There’s always something I seem to miss. That’s why I need to take care of this before I start laying the carpet, bedside tables, etc.
And finally, let’s not forget the mess this wall made. This is the wall where the closet used to be.
To help you get your bearings, let me remind you what it looked like when this room was our home gym. You can see that the black walls were leftovers from the black closet in our home gym. There were two full-length mirrors in this closet area, which is why you see a window to the left of the dresser. It’s just a reflection in the mirror on the opposite wall…
And now that the cabinet is gone, the walls are repaired, the wainscoting and moldings are in place. And since the entire door was removed to open this room to the foyer, it looks like this…
I don’t have a picture of this exact view from when the home gym was actually completed, but I do have one from when the home gym was still under construction. I can’t handle the difference in this perspective from then to now. This area used to feel as closed off as a tunnel.
Now look how open it looks. What a difference removing a few walls can make!
As you can see above, I still need to cut out the entrance to the attic, but that will be a pretty easy project.
I also need to add some trim right in front of the door to cover the cut edges of the flooring. I’m not sure if a quarter round strip is big enough for this, but I’ll think of something.
So there are still a few small details to take care of – access to the attic, the trim in front of the door, sanding and painting that spot on the foyer ceiling, and installing the outlet covers. But at least I can breathe a sigh of relief that the big project is finished.
And I even agree with how that one corner turned out. It is the biggest problem area in the room as this corner is visibly uneven. You don’t even need a level to see that this corner is high. It’s obvious just by looking at it. But once the curtains are in place it will look just fine.
I’m also considering whether I need to give the window trim, door trim, and bathroom door a new coat of paint. I was hoping I could get away with cleaning it, but that white color yellows over time. It’s very light, but I can see it. I have no idea why it turns yellow. Since I’m using latex paint, I don’t expect it to yellow. But every time I touch up the areas where I used this paint (Behr Premium Plus in Polar Bear color), the old paint is slightly yellowed, so each new color looks brighter.
Anyway, I’m just thrilled to have completed this big project. I’m not sure when I’ll put up the grasscloth wallpaper. I’m trying not to rush it since you want to let the paint fully cure before applying the wallpaper, but I’m a little anxious and excited to finish it. We’ll see how long my self-control lasts.
I have a lot of other projects to focus on right now like cleaning up the room, putting some things away, making the headboard, etc.
But of course the first thing I have to do is tackle this pile that I’ve been piling up over the last few weeks. Getting rid of this pile and cleaning the floors should keep me busy for at least a few hours today.
