Spectacular Stripes

I have had some big projects on my to do list. One of the biggest has been tackling our bedroom. For some reason, this has been the slowest room to come together. I reupholstered the seat,  Ken and I built the bed last year, added a floating bedside shelf a few months ago, and then I made a jewelry holder but it still looked unfinished.

Ken pulled the old carpet up awhile ago. It was old and in desperate need of replacing but carpet isn't in the budget at this point. I decided to take a stab at painting the sub-flooring. I'm very pleased with how it came out. Nope, it's not perfect but it's so much nicer than what was there before. 

I am so fortunate to have a husband who didn't grumble (much) about being displaced while the room was in progress. We spent a week and a half in our living room "bedroom". 

Here's how I did it and the materials I used--

BEFORE

Needed:

Patience-lots of drying time involved

Vacuum/broom

Floor filler

Spatula tool for spreading filler

Pliers or screw driver to remove staples

Sander

Primer

Paint and associated supplies

Painters tape

Polyurethane 

Steps:

• Remove carpet (I recommend using a mask as there is usually lots of old dust and ickiness involved)

 

• Use pliers or a screwdriver to remove and staples. 
• Use pry bar or screwdriver to pop up and remove carpet tack boards around the edge of room
• Vacuum or sweep up any dust or debris. 
• Use spatula with filler to fill any cracks or screw holes. 

• Once filler is dry, put your mask back on and sand floor so surfaces are level and smooth. I used a belt sander and leveled out the filler but didn't do the best job making the floor completely smooth. 
• Vacuum up all the dust again, it will be EVERYWHERE! Use damp cloth or tack cloth to wipe down floor gently. 
• Apply primer to entire floor. I used latex because that's what I had on hand. 

• After primer is dried, apply you paint. I painted the entire floor white (Linen) first. 

• Once dry, I taped off the stripes and filled them in with colors to coordinate with the walls and ceiling. I discovered the hard way that it's best to use super low tack tape, the stuff for newly painted surfaces or it will pull up the base coat.

• Again wait for paint to dry and then apply polyurethane finish following the directions on the can. Home Depot only carried oil-based type so that's what I used but I stopped by Lowe's this weekend and they have an odorless water based version. I would try this if you can find it because our house smelled like varnish for a week. 

I updated our bedding with plain solid bedding and hung up some simple white curtains to offset the busy pattern on the floor. I have a couple more things to finish up for the room but feel like it finally has a cohesive feel. Okay, yes I should have ironed the bedding and curtains but I only use the iron if I'm desperate.

 

I'm aiming for a beachy getaway feel? What do you think?