More Concrete Floors

Cami's is finally back in her room and I wanted to show you her concrete floors. I showed the step by step process of how to rip out the carpet and paint concrete floors in this earlier post and in this post about my family room floors.

I was inspired by this Natalie's Beach House in the City blog post about stripes.  If you haven't checked out her blog yet you are in for a treat.  Her house is gorgeous and she and her husband are not afraid to tackle big DIY projects.

Cami's carpet looked like this.  It was ten years old.

YUCK!

It was stained and spotted.

It had runs and pulls that just got bigger.

The floor prep work (the hard part) consisted of ripping out the old carpet, grinding the floor with a concrete grinder to remove the carpet glue, dry wall texture, paint, and Sharpie marker that the builder had hid under the carpet. Next came the tedious task of cleaning up the concrete dust.  I taped off all the doors to the room and it still managed to escape into the rest of the house. 

The painting part is easy.  I used the same Benjamin Moore Porch and Floor Paint as my family room and living room floors.  I had the paint store mix the color to match the trim in the room.  It's a Frazee color, White Shadow.  I tried to use the same color as the family room, but it looked yellow next to the intensity of the blue?  Three coats of White Shadow later and It was ready for some stripes.

The stripes go in the same direction as the grout line of the tile floor outside Cami's room.

I painted the stripes on the diagonal to make the small room look bigger. 

 I used my favorite painter's tape, Frog Tape.

The stripes are 18" wide and 36" apart.  They continue all the way into the closet.
I mixed the White Shadow base with some paint tints.  It's kind of a beige gray.  It will go with any color when Cami gets tired of the blue walls and wants a change.

Two coats for the stripes and almost done.

Clean up the tape and time for the sealer.

Three coats of polyurethane and then it needed time to cure.
 It's dry to the touch in a couple of hours but not move in ready.

In the mean time I installed some Billy Bookcases from Ikea.  I walked around in my socks and had my husband help me lift the bookcases into place after I finished building them so the floor wouldn't get scratched. I secured the bookcases to the wall with brackets for safety and hung Cami's bulletin board on the wall between the bookcases.
I painted an old black table white and it will fit perfectly in the center of this unit to create a work space for homework and art projects.

Can you see the bottom of the new light fixture in this picture below?  I'll show you the light in a later post.

Next I added some horse wall art to the opposite wall. 

To see that project go here.

Thanks for checking it out!

I'm linking this the Remodelaholic.

Sophisticated Decor For A Horse Loving Girl

Cami's room makeover is in full swing.  The walls are painted and the concrete floors are done. I haven't moved her back in yet because I need the give the floor some time to cure. 

She has been sleeping in the living room for the past 3 weeks. Not ideal, but we don't have a guest room for her to sleep in so there wasn't another option. The makeover has oozed all over the rest of the house, but it's almost done.

While waiting for the floor to cure, I've been working on some other projects for the room.  Cami has requested a horse theme.  I thought about painting a mural, but she's a pre-teen and I'm not sure she would out grow it by next year?    Here is my solution.  I found this add in one of my magazines.  I liked the bold color and the crisp white together.  No plaid, no over the top horse decor, just classic with a modern update.  Check out the painted herringbone floor, love!

I painted the room Benjamin Moore Poolside Blue.  I found a bamboo chair on Craigs List and re-did it for her room.  I also found a dresser and painted it. 

Here is my latest project.

My incredibly stylish friend Wendy over at Simply Brookes posted about white lacquer antlers .  Here is a picture she took at Z Gallery from her blog . 

See the white horse head?
This is the direction I'm going.

I have had these Breyer Horses since I was a kid.  My mom saved them and gave them to my my girls years ago when they were little.  They have been well "loved" and played with a ton.  My girls have grown out of them and don't play with them much these days.  They're in a box stored under the bed. 

Being a saver (hoarder) has it's advantages.

 

I started with horses I already had (free is good) and purchased 1" Flush Mount Hangers and a can of Heirloom White spray paint.



I mounted the brackets (prongs facing down) on the back of the five horses (just screwed them into the plastic horse, sorry horsey) and spray painted them white.



I mounted the matching bracket on the wall (prongs facing up).
These will be over Cami's bed.
Make sure if you hang things above a bed that they are very secure.
We live in San Diego, earthquake country.



  My first idea was to cut the horse down the mid-line and then mount it to the wall, but this way is an easier solution.  Here is the first horse mounted on the wall. I like the three dimensional look and the shadow the horse creates on the wall.



The flush mounts make it very easy to attach. 
The horse side of the bracket just slides onto the wall side of the bracket.



Me Like!



More importantly,
Cami likes it!
(It's her room, not mine)

Here is a mirror I found on clearance at Home Goods. 
(Me trying to be the artsy photographer)

I still have more to do, but it's coming along.
Giddy Up!

Thanks for checking it out.

What's For Lunch?

Things are a little crazy in my house these days. 

Volleyball Middle School Championships.

We won!  Go Rancho!

Cami's bedroom is scattered all over the house.

(Things HGTV never shows during the makeover)

Roscoe walked through the concrete floor paint.

I see you Roscoe.

A landscape plan for a client near completion.

Chalk festival at Cami's school, soccer starting up again, dentist appointment......

You know, you live it too, 

daily family chaos.

A perfect excuse to do drive through and eat whatever I can cram down my pie hole.   

(With paint brush in hand of course)

But wait, stop!  It only takes about five minutes to whip up a healthy lunch. 

Really, this one is that quick.

Cut some cucumbers and some tomatoes.

 Warm up a corn tortilla or two. 

(I was out of my Trader Joe's Brown Rice Tortillas.)

 Mash some avocado on them.

 Add the cucumbers, tomatoes, salt, pepper and a sprinkle of garlic powder.

 Eat, yum, clean up dog paint prints before they dry.

Five minutes, I swear.

To see some really yummy lunch check out my friend Heather's groumet lunch here.

What did you have for lunch today?

 

Thanks for checking it out.

Bamboo Chair

I bought this chair and ottoman for $30 on Craig's List using my iPhone App. Craigs Pro.

It's going in my daughter Cami's room.  Cami's room is going through a huge makeover.  I already bought a dresser on Craig's List and painted it.  This is the second project on my to-do list for the makeover.

Cami wasn't too enthusiastic when I brought this home for her.   My husband asked, "why is that disgusting thing in our house?"  Casey said, "it's ugly but I know you will make it look good mom."

It just needs some TLC.

and a little imagination.

I started by recovering the chair and ottoman cushion with some left over fabric I had from a Halloween costume project.  I think I picked up the fabric for around $3 on a remnant table.  I only used a really small piece of it to make a witch costume for Cami a few years back.  It's part of the heart detail.

Bye Bye 80's fabric.

How did we survive before there were staple guns?

Still not there yet but I like the progress.

Time for a good cleaning with some warm soapy water and an old tooth brush.

I let it completely dry out in the sun and then I spray painted it white.

Hey Cami, can I find a different chair for you? 
I think I like this in my family room? 

She said "No Way," she LIKES it now!

Here it is in her freshly painted room. 
I painted it Benjamin Moore Poolside Blue, Cami's pick.
 She has some very strong opinions about what she likes.

The little ottoman has a circle detail that will be repeated in the space. 

The carpet is the next to go. 

Roscoe gives it the bark of approval too.

Thanks for checking it out!