Bedroom 2 Update (with lots of pointless pictures)

It's incredible to me how long a little thing like a closet can take. It sounds like removing an old closet system, replacing the closet door, putting up new shelving, and painting everything should be pretty simple to accomplish lickety split, doesn't it? But there's this little thing called Life that has a say in where our time goes, too, and I need to step back and look at the big picture... and be thankful for all we've gotten done! I can be so driven inside my head. I really need to (prayerfully!) rein myself in to keep balance.



I made a little goal for myself to have everything in this room, except for the overhead lighting, done by Mother's Day. Is it going to happen? The verdict isn't in on that one, yet. Goodness knows I gave it my all today :) And Sam is upstairs working on more baseboards at this very moment. We're going to be cutting it close on that self-inflicted deadline... it's a maybe. The doors may not get painted by then, for instance, but I think we may be able to get the rest done if we really push it.

"If we really push it", I said. What was that about balance, again?

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Okay, so I wrote that first part a little while ago. I realized I had just about nothing in the way of photos for you, so I went up and took a few. I should warn you that I'm feeling very stream-of-consciousness-chatty-like, so if you've ever wondered what Sam and my friends have to put up with in the real life world when I'm all hyped up on Coke Zero, wonder no more ;)



Here's where we stand with the closet. Hmmm... sorry, I did a quick edit of the photos, but this guy is still a little green. I went crazy working in here today - painting the second coat on the walls, priming, and painting a first coat on the trim. I'm not sure if you can tell from the photos, but it is not a large closet. And I am not a small woman. It was a bit challenging at times. I also got a coat of primer on one of the two shelves and a coat of paint on both of them.



As you can see, the lowest shelf supports are actually quite low. My idea was to have baby clothes hanging on a rod beneath the top shelf, but no clothes hanging below the second one. I wanted the second shelf to be low enough to leave room to put baskets or tote bins on it without the upper clothes getting in the way. So, that's why the supports for the lower shelf are so very, very low.



This photo might show the placement better. This reminds me - was it you, Chelsea? or Rebecca? (nope... I checked! It was Renae) - someone asked how we paint our baseboard with that shaggy carpet around. Nothing fancy, we just use extra wide painter's tape.



Like, this wide.



And we try to get the edge of the tape a little bit under the baseboards. Sam got these closet baseboards so snug, I had to use a flathead screwdriver a few times to sort of gently encourage the tape into place.




By getting under the baseboard, the tape keeps all of the carpet out of the way. When we first begin placing it, we sort of leave 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch folded up onto the baseboard. That extra part is the part we shove beneath. Make sense? Hope so.



Here's the basecap Sam just put on. It's on the wall beneath the window. I wonder how much of the trim he'll be able to get up tonight? The wall with the closet door on it doesn't have any baseboards or basecap, yet. That register cover is getting switched out, by the way. We're thinking maybe next month (?). The beige outlets might get changed out for white ones this weekend.



You all have seen these nifty Handy Pail things, right? There in the red? They're just what they say they are... handy... pails. They have these great little plastic liners that make clean up super fast, and the handle on the pail is very kind to your wrist when you're cutting in or brush painting for long stretches of time. I first saw them at Sherwin Williams, but since then I've seen them at the big box stores, too. Both of 'em. Orange and blue. Somewhere along the line, I think it was in an old MS "Living", I learned about wrapping brushes and rollers in plastic wrap to keep them fresh between coats. I wouldn't leave them like that for days and days, but for the 4 hours that you're waiting between coats, it's a great way to avoid cleaning up several times a day. I hate not having a brush dry when I need it, and this way my brush is always ready for the next coat.

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I just checked on Sam's progress. He's working on the baseboards for the walls by the closet door now. A check mark on this room would make a fantastic Mother's Day gift! Woo hoo!



Peace out, homies :)