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Home β€Ί Our houses β€Ί The Craftsman

The 2nd floor “Before” photos

April 7, 2016by Christina
So yesterday I showed you the first floor of our new house. Β This morning I’m showing you most of the second floor. Β It’s a quirky floor, and we’re using it in a unique way. Also as mentioned yesterday, after just watching so many rounds of the One Room Challenge, this time I’m joining in. Β I’m […]

So yesterday I showed you the first floor of our new house. Β This morning I’m showing you most of the second floor. Β It’s a quirky floor, and we’re using it in a unique way.

Also as mentioned yesterday, after just watching so many rounds of the One Room Challenge, this time I’m joining in. Β I’m going to attempt a makeover (however temporary) of the space over the next 5 weeks. Β So these are the official “Before” photos.

When you come up the main staircase, there’s a landing with doors to a bathroom and a bedroom. Β Then you enter into a big, open second living room.

bedroom2

The main stairs are on the right and the back staircase is the open door on the left. Β The giant stuffed bunny is the dog’s and I forgot to remove her from the shot. ?

The bedrooms in the house are fairly small, especially compared to the size of the house, and the master bedroom is in the basement (which you haven’t seen yet). Β So the day we moved in, weΒ just plopped our air bed in the upstairs living room until we figured out which bedroom we would use.

bedroom

Well, we kinda like it here, so we’ve claimed the big open space as our bedroom. Β After sleeping on an air bed for three weeks, my back was VERY happy to have a real bed and real mattress again as of this Sunday. Β And we picked up some $5 stools from IKEA so we wouldn’t have to use moving boxes as nightstands anymore.

We would eventually like to add walls to make this an official bedroom, but for now, even when we have guests, we can just close both doors at the tops of the stairs and we have privacy.

bedroom 4

The doorway in the corner is to one of the bedrooms and we’re using thatΒ as a library.

And now the quirkiest part of the second floor:

bedroom3

In the 1950s, the house was turned into a duplex. Β The previous owners turned it back into a single family, but never took out the little kitchen upstairs.

Obviously, we are going to take that out…eventually. Β So far, we’re thinking we will want to extend that partial little wall all the way and enclose the whole thing, then we’ll turn the kitchen into our open closet/dressing/sitting area. Β But again, we don’t own the house yet, so we can’t make any changes like that.

I’m dying to pull up theΒ tealΒ carpet and layers of laminate floors that are underneath it, but I’ll have to be patient.

There is another bedroom in the far right corner, and the door next to it leads to the attic. Β Which is amazingly huge, and unfinished. Β So many plans for it.

But one of the nicest features of our giant “master bedroom” is the private deck:

bedroom deck1

bedroom deck

FYI: those photos were not enhanced at all, the grass is just that green and beautiful. Β We love it here.

There is so much to do (and so much we can’t do yet) that I’m not even sure what my full plans are for the next 5 weeks of the One Room Challenge. Β Here is what I do have planned so far though:

  • Fill in the grooves of the wall panelingΒ so they don’t look like panels
  • Paint the ceiling tiles
  • Paint the walls
  • Hack the IKEA bed so it doesn’t look so…IKEA
  • Replace yellow mini blinds with shades
  • Hang functional curtains (a tricky task for bay windows)
  • Figure out more functional storage for our clothes
  • Make the kitchen less noticeable
  • Decorate (duvet cover, pillows, art, etc…)

And if we can get all that done, I’d love to get a little seating area on the deck too.

The plan for the challenge is to post an update every Thursday on our progress. We’ll see how much of that we can actually accomplish in 5 weeks! ?

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Tags: one room challenge

A Big Craftsman

How to fill in the grooves of wall paneling

About Christina

I'm a full-time web developer with a dog sitting business, home renovations, and a blog on the side.

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  1. Abbe PB

    OH MY GOODNESS. I totally missed that you had moved! I don’t think I got the emails about new posts πŸ™ Or I missed them (silly newborn sleep brain). I love Craftsmans, I’m excited to hear more about your new adventures! (And wondering if you’re anywhere near me now, haha…)

    Reply
    • Christina

      Somehow, I had the emails turned off! No idea what happened there. πŸ™

      No, we’re farther from you and your wonderful state now…back to the MidWest!

    • Abbe PB

      That’s what I had figured πŸ™‚ Very exciting nonetheless, very much looking forward to your new projects!

  2. Sam | Away She Went

    What an interesting space! I’m so excited to see how it turns out! BTW, your dog is adorable!

    Reply
    • Christina

      πŸ˜€ Interesting is a good word for it. And thank you!

  3. Alana Wylie

    You know, I might keep some aspects of that kitchen…like a plumbed sink. It is so handy. Of course, it could also–eventually–be the start of a master ensuite. Oh and I’d love to be able to make coffee right in my room in the morning–or tea in the evening! Mean-time, some pax wardrobes right in front of the counters would hide it effectively. Excited you are doing the ORC!

    Reply
    • Christina

      As soon as we saw the house online, I started saving images of ensuite coffee bars on Pinterest. πŸ˜€ We also considered moving the washer and dryer up here, that would be so handy.

  4. Anita

    Hi! Looks like you guys are having fun in your new place.
    I would totally make that kitchen up there an art studio/coffee bar. Most art studios need sinks for all kinds of things and I know you’d know how to turn those cabinets into cool storage space.
    What I wouldn’t give for something like that upstairs in our bedroom. Or even just a master bathroom. Creaky floors and sharing a bathroom with the guests can be problematic… but I digress.
    I love that you just plopped down the bed and said “let’s just make this ALL our bedroom.” I would have done the same thing. πŸ™‚
    Looking forward to your future posts.

    Reply
    • Christina

      So THAT’S why your guest had nightmares over the creaky floors. πŸ™‚

  5. [email protected]

    I didn’t get in my inbox the previous post and had no idea you had moved, but the space there looks like it has great potential. It’ll be fun following the transformations you’r egoing to make.

    Reply
    • Christina

      Yes, the emails got all mixed up. πŸ™ This is why I’ve been so behind in reading blogs for a few months too.

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