White Washing the Beams

There were a couple of reasons we decided to keep the beams exposed for the media room...

   -It would be too closed-in/low if we sheetrocked the ceiling at the height of the beams.

   -If we enclosed the beams in sheetrock it would look too modern for our taste & the style of the rest of the house.

The only problem was that in addition to the original 1700's beams, there were some newer boards that had been added through the years.  You could clearly see the difference between the hand-hewn beams and the new ones.  

You can see the new beams tucked
behind some of the old beams.

To make them blend together better, we decided to do a white wash on them.  I think this will also make the room feel higher than if we kept them dark.

I mixed roughly two parts of water with one part paint and got to work.  I had to get used to the drippiness of the paint, but once I got started it went fairly quickly (for having to do all four sides of each beam!)

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

An added bonus is that the roman numerals on the hand-hewn beams now really pop!

You may also have noticed that Mike got a coat of primer on the rest of the room.

Next up is adding some color!

Hallway Progress

The second floor hallway had been on hold while we waited for the media room to get further along, and we could do the second & third floor hallway spackling all at once.

So, this past weekend every free minute that wasn't spent at the kids' sporting events, we worked to make some progress!

First, we decided that the top section of wall near the bathroom door was cracked beyond repair.  So, we needed to rip down the old plaster...

And then Mike installed new sheetrock... and spackled the nail holes & seams.















 The little pieces above the door frames of bathroom and our master bedroom hallway needed to be replaced too...

We're also working on that cracked ceiling!


Meanwhile, up in the media room, there were little dots from the spray insulation covering the beams, which needed to be scraped clean before I can white wash them.  I used a wire brush and a sanding block.

 

The top is the "Before Scraping" the bottom is "After"- so much better!

The upstairs is incredibly dusty right now, but I'm feeling good about it. 

We're almost finished with the first coat of spackle (it's going to take three coats- ugh!)  Here's a sneak peak...

Hidden Wires

When we did the plumbing fixes that necessitated taking down a portion of the family room ceiling, we discovered a clever fix that the previous owners made to hide electrical wires.

See the wires that come through the beam, edge into the family room and then snake upstairs...

For reference of where it is in the room, that's the new corner cabinet on the left.

Close up

Here's the sneaky solution they came up with to cover it up...
A triangular wooden cover, worn to match the original beams that are in the room!

You can see one of the REAL triangular support pieces
in the photo above.

Our fake one fits right in!  

Project #1- The Family Room

We needed for just one room to be finished, so we'd have a place to relax- and not feel anxious being surrounded by more projects.

This room was a no-brainer, since all it really needed was painting. 

Here's the BEFORE shot:

We were very fortunate to have Mom & Dad staying with us through the move.  They got all three coats of wall paint, plus all the moulding painting done while we were at work that week! 

Here's the AFTER:

Eventually, some of the more formal furniture (piano, secretary) may move into a formal living room- but that space is currently the dining room... 

So, for now, I'm very happy with this room.  It feels warm & comfortable.  Just a few odds & ends to finish up:  paint the radiators, finish hanging pictures, get new fireplace tools.

I'm already getting excited about decorating for Christmas in here!

In Progress:

Grounding the "floating beam"

There was this odd (sheet-rocked) box going around the top of the fireplace.  Since it was painted the same color as the walls, it looked like the center beam was just floating.

I figured the best way to ground it was to paint it brown, so that it looks like the beams that go around the perimeter of the room.

Decorative Details: