The Blueberry Room

Also known as the "Cat Pee" room. When we first moved into the house, this room had been quarantined due to the disgusting smell trapped in the carpet and padding on the floor. It was something we had mentioned to the property manager before signing the lease, however they could not promise WHEN the carpet would be removed. Only that they would eventually take care of it. So I busied myself with unpacking the rest of the house and also the little painting project that I dove into downstairs in the living room. Here's the room and all of it's bright, blueberry colored glory:

Bright, isn't it? I can tell you that the walls look 100% better in these pictures than they did in person. The blue was streaky in places, it had runs, and there were a lot of stray brush strokes on the white trim. I am told that this room had been the haven of two little boys. I'm sure that they enjoyed the superhero blue. However, I intended for this room to be our little girls. It is slightly larger than the other room, and the closet has a little more space. The closet also isn't hidden behind the door making it slightly awkward to access anything inside. 

The first thing I did was rip up that nasty carpet and padding. I also had to pry up thousands of staples and the tack strip that surrounded the perimeter of the room. Not an easy feat considering the tack strip was old and brittle. Beneath the carpet, I discovered the original hardwood floor found throughout the rest of the upstairs. It certainly is a little worse for the wear considering it had years of cat pee absorbed to the carpet and padding. I mixed a solution of white vinegar, baking soda, dish soap, and hot water to clean and disinfect the floor. It did wonders for the smell, and even lightened a few of the dark stains on the wood. The areas that had suffered the most from the cat pee did not fare so well, though. The varnish lifted and flaked right off of the wood in these areas. Thankfully, this part would be covered by my daughter's bed and eventually a rug. 

We chose a light color for the walls, and so the next step was to prime over the blue. It took three coats of primer, and the blue was still slightly visible. We chose Glidden's "Barely Blush", a feminine, soft pink in a satin formula that also contained a primer and paint duo. After two coats, we had excellent coverage, and the blue was no longer visible on the wall. I used a detail brush and the primer on the trim to correct any discoloration and errant blue brush strokes. 

You'll notice in the photos above that the closet sported some hideous brown sliding doors. These doors weren't even anchored to a track at the bottom, and swung freely back and forth; a real safety hazard for a four year old. I removed the doors, gazed into the dingy, brown paneled closet, and realized that carrying the wall color into the closet would do wonders for the space. So I broke out the primer once again. After another three coats of primer and two coats of paint, the closet looked completely transformed. 

To solve the dilemma of the closet doors being removed, I chose to hang  a set of curtains to give a soft, luxe feel to the space. It really breaks up the hard edges of the room. I started moving her furniture in piece by piece until I ran out of daylight. Here's what her room looks like now that I have finished moving everything in:

Our daughter's full size bed took up a majority of the space in the room, but I tried to maximize the storage as best as possible in order to fit everything (and more) into her room. In the closet, I placed her bookshelf and used the bottom half to store her non-hanging clothes in fabric bins I scored from Target. They were a steal at $6 each on clearance. I originally bought three of them, however only two fit onto the shelf below. The other is tucked out of sight on the upper shelf of the closet. The bookshelf also houses her DVD/VHS collection, and will soon be home to a craigslist find TV. I positioned her oversized, stuffed horse at the foot of the bed so she could have a place to sit and watch a movie or two. The wicker basket provides extra seating, and also hides away extra blankets and sheets for her bed. Our linen closet in the hallway (next to this room), is also limited on space, so I found this to be the best and easiest solution. 

So there you have it. The "blueberry room" has been transformed into a haven fit for a princess. It's another testimony to the power of paint! It wasn't an easy job, but I think the payoff made all of my hard work worth it. Our daughter loves her room, and I couldn't be happier with the result. My favorite part? Definitely the closet. The curtain "doors" were a stroke of genius, and totally hide all of that closet clutter in a glamorous way. It also gives height to the room, and makes it look slightly bigger than it really is. It also secretly fixes the uneven lines of the closet trim and ceiling. Something that the contrast between the white trim and blue wall color really highlighted. What do you think? Would you call this overhaul a success? Have you considered ditching your closet doors for a fabric curtain instead? We'd love to hear your thoughts on it!