Last year was all about the befores….
…and the afters.
I decorated one room three different ways.
Totally fun.
I decorated a gatehouse.
Totally worth it.
And each time…..I would finish the project and post it on the blog with a before picture taken in terrible light with a bunch of nonsense sitting around and then post a sparkly, shiny after picture with everything in its place.
But now….I’m thinking…..
……befores and afters are so 2013.
Seriously.
I mean….aren’t there times when you want to know how it was done and what I was thinking…..and sometimes what was I thinking?
Me too.
So welcome to 2014…..
……the year of the “durings”.
Welcome to one of the upstairs bedrooms of the farmhouse.
A room that has never been seen on the light of day on the blog before…..
…..with good reason.
Here’s the before…..before.
This was taken on the day we started the construction on the downstairs.
Here’s another view with the beautiful ship wallpaper border.
At least I think it was ship wallpaper border.
It didn’t really last long enough to really be remembered.
Ditto for the matching blue shag carpet.
Here’s the same room after I painted the walls.
The color is Macadamia. The carpet is Home Depo special. The weight bench is 2011 garage sale.
I had big plans….and then I just could not wrap my head around that color.
It never seemed to fit and the carpet was not a good choice for dogs and teenage boys with extra stinky socks.
So we pulled up the carpet and painted the wood floors and then painted the walls white……
….and now here’s the room from the same angle.
A little rough right now.
I know.
This is a perfect example of a during.
We are just getting started.
Here’s some of the plans for the finished room.
1. I ordered the wall map from here.
2. We are installing an industrial cage light for the ceiling.
3. I think I’m going with an aluminum accent table beside the bed. I have to get the chair in the corner first to see how much space I have….but this is kind of what I’m thinking.
I wanted to show you this before of the before again….because the wall with the lace curtain on it is where we built the closets.
The house was built before closets.
Back when everyone had an armoire.
So this room had four walls without a closet…..
….until now.
This is the exact same angle of the room with the two closets built-in.
4. The doors need hardware. I’m thinking industrial shape that’s nickel plated…..something like this.
Then we won’t need a random rock to hold the door closed.
5. The doors need to be painted a light gray.
6. I’m painting a sign over the bookcase with the first 72 digits of Pi.
Here’s the front view of the wall with the built-in closets.
7. I’m making a simple painted canvas valance for the windows.
8. This desk came from the junktique store and I’m painting it white and adding new hardware.
9. I’m having a chair and ottoman upholstered (that I bought at auction for $40) and it will be tucked back in this corner.
10. The bulletin boards are from Wal-Mart and I taped off the number signs and spray painted them.
11. I’m painting a periodic table sign over the bookcases.
12. The bed will have finials on the four posts and a white duvet cover on the bed with gray bedding and I’m ordering this rug from Ballard Designs for the floor.
Whew.
At least I think this is all what I’m doing.
Maybe.
Probably.
I’m pretty sure.
Stay tuned…..because this is the year of “durings”…..
…..and it’s only January. 🙂
PS In the interest of full disclosure….I work for Lamps Plus and they provided me with the light for the room…..but I totally, totally love it. 🙂
What a fabulous beginning...no before...no...you are so right...DURING!!!!! I do believe this room is going to be spectacularly WORLDLY!!!! I adore the world map as a focal and your plans for everything sound sensational...oh how I LOVE the industrial lighting you have picked out! 2014 will be a very interesting year...looking very much forward to the ride! Hugs...
Oh WOW! Kari Anne you never cease to amaze me with a couple of cans of paint and the willingness to give it a go. That before and after and before and after again are, to use your trade mark line, "rock star!" I can't wait to see the ultimate after! And I could get lost in that map for hours! Have a beautiful day!
How VERY SMART of you!! You took pictures of the before and now you'll have a record. I love what you're doing for the boys room. It looks clean and crisp yet boyish and masculine. Don't think they'll outgrow it any time soon. I wish I would have room pictures of our house - there was duck wallpaper on the walls in the family room and strawberries all over the kitchen. Huge mauve cabbage roses were on many walls in the bedroom and hallway. I know what you're thinking - why in God's name did they purchase it????? It had good bones and now we are taking it several (many) steps further and giving it our stamp. I'm anxious to keep looking over your shoulder at your during.
Wow - it looks absolutely fabulous!! Genius idea on the bulletin boards...what a fun way to customize! I've got work to do all over my house but it's nice to come here and be inspired!
I love the during pics! Please do more 'During" posts of your projects! :)
Yay! Now I don't have to have any more inferiority complexes about your perfectly decorated house. (Although I have gotten quite a lot of mileage from that post I wrote of my dirty house in reaction to your "finished" one.)I just get to see the play by play of how you do it. Which is all I really wanted in the first place. You lovely thing, I can't wait to see all your ideas play out. The math corkboard thing is PURE GENIOUS! I need to make a pretty periodic table for my sweet 14 year old scientist. She'd love that. Have a great day sweet lady. isure enjoy you. The Other Marian
I have a dear friend who, like you, is a genius at pulling a home together on a budget. Unfortunately she and I now live several states apart. Anyway, when I was grousing to her one time about my outdated home and ugly kitchen and yadda yadda yadda, her comment to me was that a room I disliked was really a gift because I could change it up any way I wanted to. She's right. Sometimes I think there is too much HGTV-viewing today and people want to move into a perfectly decorated home, but for most of us, that isn't realistic, and it leads to discontentment. I've had to work really hard on praying for contentment and being patient as we s-l-o-w-l-y make improvements ... but ... while cosmetically my house hasn't been what I would hope for, it HAS kept us warm and dry and safe for 12 years now. And slowly, it's getting prettier.
Thanks for sharing these "during" photos!! It's so easy to forget that everyone else has a "during" that is full of chaos and imperfections.
I am loving the direction of this room! I will have to show the pictures to my boys to give them some ideas since we love maps so much in our house! I love how you are explaining your plans for the room. 2014 is going to be a great year! -Shelley
LOVE seeing the process! LOVE the map, and the cork boards, and the lighting...Makes me wish I had a boy to decorate for! Life to the full! Melisa
Honestly? To me, the "durings" are every bit as fun and sometimes MORE revealing than the "afters". Just saying... rock on! xo Heidi
Dad gum you. I just spent the last 5 minutes trying to remember the first 4 numbers of Pi. Toooooooooooo long ago. 2.145???? I will do better with the periodic table. LOL
I love this! Durings. I mean, in my home every room is a constant during! That is why I blog about food!! Mind you I am not talking full on reno's, but every few months I tend to change things up. Even if it is just furniture placement or a new color scheme by adding in some new fabrics. It is great to see how things evolve.
Yes, we benefit more from the during. It helps us see your vision in little pieces which makes it easier to break our own projects into doable parts. Then things don't seem so overwhelming. Thank you! Thank yiu also for the post about your first blogger's conference. You are a rock star more so because you don't try to act like a rock star! Thanks for being so real. I met you at the Chapel Market, and you were more interested in talking to me than worrying about my purchase. I really like that. I bought some of your chandelier chrystals and they are as sparkly as your personality. If any of you readers get a chance to meet Kari, please take the time to do it. She is a joy.
I love a good "during"! Who's room is it...one of your sons? It's important for you to show your rooms in progress...otherwise, we might just think you twitched your nose ...and voila! ;)
Looks to me like you are on your way to a GREAT looking room.
Love the fresh white paint and floors! I clicked on the rug choice- I love using indoor/outdoor rugs too. Lower price, wear well, and look great:) Thanks for the during photos- looking forward to the finished room.
I love seeing the "during" Karianne! I can see how your thought process has worked from the before...and now I'm looking forward to the after! The room is going to look great!
Thank you for sharing your process too. :) Love your work and look forward to each and every post!
Wow, Karianne, you have done it again, and the room isn't even finished! So excited about your plans and can't wait to see the finished product!! I love it all.
I follow but don't often comment... 1. I am completely with you on this. I love some good before and afters..but I like realistic ones. I am so not a fan of the pics where the girl has her hair in a pony tail, terrible light and she looks like she just lost her dog, then the after is a well taken photo with beautiful hair and great makeup. Sure, it's dramatic, but its so far from reality. So thank you!!! 2. I LOVE that map wall, as in.. I NEED to do one for my kiddos. White walls with that brilliant pop of color is really breathtaking. Looking forward to the "afters".
I love seeing "durings" and hearing the thought process between points a and b! I love the direction this room is heading...so fresh and fun! :)
I love it! Although, I'd be tempted to leave the desk as is to balance the color saturation of the map. But then... I'm one of those unpainted wood people, ha! :-)
I love the beginning of the transformation--it will be stunning, as usual. XOXO
I love watching the durings!!! It will be "over the top" wonderful, I'm sure!~~Angela
AWESOME, as usual Karianne! My boys never wanted to give up there gym equipment and its so darn ugly right in the middle of a wonderful room makeover! I open my extra room right now and I want to run..... I know there is hope and I appreciate your inspiration I just have to keep on keeping on! :-)
Well I am just loving the direction you are taking on this. One thing that I've learned from being a new home owner is particularly what I will do different in our next house - I think I would love to try my hand at white walls. I'm working on my downstairs bathroom so plan to paint in there white to see how I work with it! :) I cannot wait to see this room completed!
Happy Monday, Karianne. Fun to see how you're pulling the room together "as you go". I like the idea of "durings' although I must admit I also like "before" photos to see how the room initially presented. I absolutely love the world map too. It's a gorgeous focal point. Enjoy your day, Lisa
Karianne, I think I've mentioned before that our house is a 200 year old stage stop. You're right, no closets back then. They only had one good suit and some workclothes. Also no on off switches, just a light bulb hanging with a string....Ahh lots of remodeling over the years here. Wouldnt trade it for anything! I love your post and all your brain-storming! The other Marilyn monroe ha~
Ok, you DO realize that I have a whole Pinterest board entitled "Love Maps?" Sigh. I've considered just collecting old maps and papering a room with them. The mural, though? For a boy's room? GENIUS. :) I can't wait to see how it turns out! Periodic updates? Pretty-please? Happy Monday!
You're so smart. The thing I like about you is that you continue to work it..well done girl! I was noticing the "painted floor". I have lived in my house for 7 years and the upstairs floors were never finished after we promptly pulled the carpet out when we moved in. I was thinking of painting them. Did you do it? Can you do a tutorial on how that worked? Thanks! Love the during idea! Ashley Rane Sparks
I'm trying to think of something witty to say about the wallpaper border, but I got nothing this morning. Hope you rock the boat in that room.
Thanks for the "Before" and "During." Love the maps and the new closets. Pi and the Periodic Table are going to be lovely touch. I hope you show us another "During" along the way. Happy Monday!
My dear as always you have pulled off the spectacular !! I adore those painted floors and the simplicity of the room. The map is gorgeous !! Any young man would love to live in that room. I just got back from the "home sale" at Ross. I found two beautiful blue and white vases at $4.99 and a huge basket for $10.00. I am so excited to get the placed in our home. I'm curious if either one of your girls have shown an interest and talent in the design work that you so excel at !!! Blessings to you and your family. Betsy
I love all of your plans and look forward to the during and after results.
Hi KariAnne, thanks for the wonderful perspective! You are definitely Meant to be doing what you are doing! Thank you!
Rock on! Love the room.
It is going to be a-maz-ing. LOVE the map!
What a wonderful during! I love this look and how you made a few changes to make for a modern room. The map behind the headboard is just fab. It's definitely my favorite element. Although I do like the idea of industrial lighting.... I just like it all! Looking forward to seeing the after. =)
I am so happy you're going to be showing us "durings" this year. Love all the plans that you have for this room and am looking forward to the "after".
I feel much better seeing an uncompleted room in your house. :) I have so many areas that I can't make decisions on and then I look at your place and think, "Oh, if only I could get inspiration like Karianne..." I like your idea of "Durings". Looking forward to seeing the room as it progresses.
Probably one of my favorite posts EVER. I am a visual learner and I need to see the "durings". I process the finished product with much better clarity if I know what happened along the way. Especially if the "along the way" didn't happen in a 24 hour period... which it rarely does but you wouldn't know the way most DIYs are posted :) Thank you for an authentic post. My soul craves authenticity and you hit the nail on the head. My husband also teaches engineering and calculus based physics to High School students (yes, he has a one of a kind, four year, engineering curriculum for High School students - he has a masters and PhD in Mechanical Eng from Duke University) and he would LOVE the math/science details in that room. I'm not going to show it to him because he might want his classroom decorated like that! HA! Thanks Kari Anne! Totally love this new approach!
Love it! Especially random rock, I love random rock, tee hee. Also Pi what a cute idea, my girls and I tell each other we love each other Pi, all the time. I may just steal ahem commandeer this idea in some way. :)
Love a good during!!!! (: Hope your year is off to a fabulous start!!!!
I for one am so glad about the during! I had literally just thought to myself the day before this post...Why don't bloggers ever show the work in progress? I hate getting on a blog that is constantly putting you off for the afters! I lose interest and move on to other bloggers. Sometimes I will just never go back to that blog. You must have been really inspired Kari Anne! I love to see a work in progress and I must not be the only one. I will be a more faithful follower because NOW I am so excited to see how it all evolves. I love your blog and your stories. Thank you!
I love it already! You have such fabulous ideas, KariAnne.
We did the same thing in my sons' room and I love it. Looks like the exact wallpaper in 8 panels but it is not dry erase, which is a really cool feature. Price was right though...about $68 at toys r us online. We hung it on a slanted ceiling. https://pinterest.com/pin/144889312985268444/
Lots of great ideas in this room. But I wonder if your kids want their bedroom--their sanctuary--to have constant reminders of school All Over Their Room. When I came home from school as a child and when I woke up in the mornings, the last thing I wanted to think of or be reminded of was school. Now if this were a designated homework space or a room for home schooling, that would be different. Then it would be a Get Down To Business Room as opposed to a Time For Rest or Play room. Just my thoughts.
Isn't it so true that we all live in the midst of "durings." I can tell this is going to look amazing!