Guestroom Makeover: Popcorn Removal

Who invented popcorn ceiling?  I would love to find out so I can give them a piece of my mind (hehe).  I mean what were they thinking?!?!  Sorry if you like popcorn ceilings but personally I'm not a fan.  They look fine when they're knew but once you get water damage and need to repair them it is almost impossible to patch them to match the rest of the ceiling.  

The guestroom Elizabeth and I are currently making over for a client has a popcorn ceiling and one of his requests was for us to remove it.  So the first thing we did was go to Pinterest and see if we should even attempt to tackle this project ourselves or if we needed to hire it out.  After reading some pretty informative blogs and talking to John from Color o Coat Painting  we decided to do this project ourselves.  I know, I know - you're probably thinking we're crazy.  And you're right we are a little crazy!  But we figured we wanted to at least try this once.  That said I don't think we'll ever do this again.  Our backs and arms are killing us!

Here's what the ceiling looked like when we started.  Flash back to the 80s...right?  Removing popcorn ceiling is messy!  So cover the floors with tarps and cover the light fixtures.  A lot of blogs suggest covering the walls too but since we are going to paint those we decided not to cover them.   Also the homeowner is going to install hardwood floors in this room so we weren't worried if some of the ceiling got on the carpet.  

Once everything is covered spray the ceiling with hot water.  You don't want to soak it but be  generous.  The main thing is you don't want  water to seep through the popcorn ceiling onto the drywall and damage it.  I suggest testing out a small piece of the ceiling first.  That way you'll get a feel for how much water to spray on it.  Let the water sit for a couple of minutes and then start scrapping the popcorn off with a putty knife.   

We were shocked by how easily the popcorn came off the ceiling.  It only took us 3 hours to remove all of the popcorn from the ceiling.  Also we got really luck with the condition of the drywall.  It had been patched and sanded before the popcorn was sprayed on it.  I've heard horror stories of drywall not being patched or sanded which means you'll have to do a lot more work.  We were so lucky!  A couple of spots still need to be mudded but not much.  


This weekend we are planning to finish the ceiling.  We are going to sand the mudded areas and prime the ceiling.  Then it will be ready for crown molding and paint!

Have you ever attempted to remove popcorn ceiling?  

Silhouette Cameo: Valentine's Wreath

Morning! How is everyone's day? 

Last night I attended Dance 101's Dancer's Stretch class.  This week (Jan 28 - Feb 2) they are doing free classes for all their beginner level classes.  It's a great way to try new classes without spending a ton of money!  We all agreed the stretching class was enjoyable and something we need to do more often.  Our group of girls were probably the least flexible in the entire class (no offense ladies)!  People were doing splits and wrapping their legs above their heads - I'm not quite there yet!  If you live in the Atlanta/Emory area, I highly recommend you try out a class this week!

January is almost over which means Valentine's is right around the corner!  To spruce up my apartment with some festive decorations, I made this "Be Mine" banner on our Silhouette Cameo. 

I used my coffee filter wreath as the base and then strung the banner across it.  Plus I added a few random hearts.  

This project didn't take long to create, but I love the look!

Do you decorate for all holidays throughout the year? 

Now that Julia and I have our Silhouette Cameo, making personalized banners is so simple!  It literally takes minutes to create and then print, plus you get a free shape each Tuesday and they're usually season apropriate.  If you're thinking about buying a Cameo, do it!

Aubusson Blue Dresser Makeover

We finally completed our first furniture makeover using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint!!! I know, I know....we're a little behind.  Chalk paint has been around for quite a while but we've never had a good reason to use it.  Plus it's kinda expensive so we've been waiting for the perfect project!  

Right now, we are helping our parents make over their basement and two pieces are in need of some TLC.  The dresser below and another dresser.  The one below is located in the poker area and the other dresser is located in the family room and has the tv on top of it.  So we decided these two pieces would look good if we painted them the same color which justified the cost of the chalk paint.  If you've never used chalk paint before...it's great!  No prep is needed and a quart of paint covers several pieces of furniture. 

Here is the piece before:

One of the first things we did was remove the drawer pulls and fill in the screw holes on the doors.    We didn't have to fill in the holes on the drawers since our new pulls would use the same hole.

 

Next we taped off the inside of the cabinet.  We decided not to paint this part.

Then we started painting!!  We used Aubusson Blue ASCP for this makeover.

The piece needed two coats of paint and used about half the quart of ASCP.  Actually it probably used less paint - before we started painting I accidentally knocked over the full quart of paint.  We tried to save most of it but some of it ended up in the trash :(

*No dogs were harmed in this makeover.  

We used Annie Sloan Soft Clear Wax next. Wipe this stuff all over the entire piece - this can get a little messy!

Once the was is dry sand the edges of the piece (if you want a distressed look).  To give it a natural distressed look only sand the corners and edges.

Now you're ready for another coat of wax.  This time use the dark wax.  Wipe this stuff all over the piece.  If you make a section too dark use the clear wax to remove some of the dark wax (it kind of acts like an eraser). 

For the drawer pulls we decided to reuse some old gold ones we had.  We just spray painted them with Rust-oleum Oil Rubbed Bronze to give them an updated look.  Once they're dry attach them to your dresser!

You're all done!!

We are so happy with how the piece turned out!! It's a great addition to the basement!

 

Since this was our first time using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint we thought we would let you know what we thought of it.  I liked it but I'm not 100% sold on it yet.  I still don't think I can justify the added cost of ASCP.  It's about twice as much as regular paint and it didn't save me that much time.  With that said though I still want to experiment ASCP - who knows maybe I'm not using right.  I mean...everyone else loves it so I feel like it deserves a second chance :)

High Five for Friday

This might have happened at book club last night!

 

**  Keep in mind there were 11 of us, but I guess we shouldn't count the pregnant one...hmmm!  **

 

 

What we've been reading lately:

 

1.  Hidden Wives

 

 

2.  The Book Thief

 

 

 

3.  You Better Not Cry

 

 

 

4.  Silver Linings Playbook - February's Book Club book




5.  Beautiful Creatures - on our list of books to read

 

 
Happy Friday!
Atlanta is freezing cold today (30 degrees), so we'll be in hibernation mode - brr!  We probably should make a trip to the grocery store to stock up on milk & bread ;)
 

 

 

 

Guestroom Makeover: The Inspiration

Julia and I are making over a family friend's guestroom, we mentioned it here last week.  Now that you have an idea of the space, we wanted to share with you our inspiration!

The overall theme/style of the guestroom is Cape Cod B&B with a contemporary twist.  Does that make sense?!?!?  Basically we want blue & gray tones with pops of white and a collection of furniture that doesn't match but goes together.

Inspiration:

The overall feel and color of the room.

Blues & grays with white bedding.  We also really like the picture mural.

We are doing an iron bed (headboard and footboard).

The walls will be painted a blue or beige and the ceiling will be painted a shade lighter.  We have also thought about possibly painting the reading nook a different color than the other walls, but we're not 100% decided.

There is an off-centered window on the wall where the bed is going.  These are some ideas on how to disguise it.  We think the best solution is a large cornice board that spreads the width of the bed with curtains hanging from it.  This way you won't know where the window starts or ends.

The reading nook will get two chairs and a side table. 

We really like the contemporary lines of these chairs.

The owner is installing hardwood floors in the guestroom, so we will need an area rug.  We are torn between doing a plain beige rug or doing a patterned blue rug.

Here are some fabric ideas.

We need two nightstands and we want them to go together but not necessarily match. 

Can you get an idea of where we're going with this room?

This weekend we will be doing some shopping at Ikea, Pottery Barn Outlet, and Ballard Backroom.  We really need to find a blue quilt so we know what shade of blue to do in the room.