Adding Board and Batten to the Master Bedroom

It's been a while since I had a chance to update on my new home projects. In November, we bought our first home in Chicago. It is a gorgeous duplex (which in Chicago means it is two floors, but everywhere else in the country it means there are only two units. We're in Chicago, so we'll use that definition.) that was built in the early 1900s. It amazing original details, including wood floors and stained woodwork. 

The condo was last updated around 15 years ago, but the updates did not hold true to the old details of the building. I have been working to correct this.

My first major project was the master bedroom. It is a sizeable room with absolutely no character at all. While the rest of the home has beautiful woodwork, this room didn't have any casings or even real baseboards. My plan was to add board and batten two-thirds of the way up the wall and paint the top. 

The first step was to remove the old faux baseboards, which was a pain. They weren't installed correctly so it took a lot of ripping to get them out. Luckily I was planning on covering up those sections of the wall, so there wasn't too much patching. Next, I prepped and painted the walls white. 

Once everything was painted, I started on the board and casing install. I used furring strips to save on costs, but I still needed a lot of them. I don't have a nail gun, so I mostly used liquid nails (which is my best friend) and an occasional nail when the wall or the board wasn't completely flat. We don't own a power saw, so everything was done with our hand miter saw. It was taxing, but it does make everything feel even more impressive when you look at all of the wood that you cut yourself! Then I caulked all of the edges so there were no gaps. There were a lot of gaps to hide... 

A layer of primer and two coats of paint later on the boards, and the room was nearly complete. I choose a deep blue on the top of the boards to bring some color into the room. I've rented long enough, and don't want any more all white rooms. We also installed a new ceiling light, light switch, curtains, hung the TV on the wall, and moved a "built-in" from the first floor into the master.

After about two months of working on weekends and the occasional weeknight when I was home early enough, the room is complete. A big project, but the room no longer feels like a basement. Now it feels like a luxurious master bedroom. 

If you'd like to see some of the other DIY projects from this room, check out the dresser, nightstands, headboard, and comforter on my blog.

New Armchair! Tales in Reupholstery.

I took my first stab at learning to reupholster a few months ago. I found this armchair on Craigslist for $20, but it was in need of new fabric. It was covered in cat hair and the left arm was completely shredded through to the wood by that cat, but the bones were good and the cushions solid.

I found a beautiful white and yellow fabric that I am hoping will hide all of my dog's hair (which shows up on everything under the sun).  It took about two evenings to rip all of the fabric off and another day to sew all of the new cushions.

I am planning on sewing a new back cushion at some point, but I keep putting that project off for no reason at all. And it looks like someone really approves of the new chair!

Dresser Update

You've seen my hand-me-down dresser on the blog before.  I painted it a few years ago so I could have a full matching set of bedroom furniture.  Well now that I have replaced most of the old set, the only piece that doesn't match is the dresser.  The piece is great, it just doesn't match.  So I went about stripping it.  I didn't think that I'd be able to do it while living in an apartment.  Sanding it with a power sander is out of the question.  It just kicks up too much sawdust and it gets all over everything.  In addition to inhaling all that stuff.  Next option is stripping it with a chemical stripper.  Also out of the question because of the enclosed space and dog, or so I thought.  I found a product while looking around online called Citristrip.  It promises to strip off layers of paint without the bad smell, the toxic fumes, etc.  I went to Home Depot and picked up a bottle of it, a pail, and a plastic scraper.  I already had drop cloths and sponges to use. 

The product is really easy to use.  You just wipe a thick coat on and leave it.  As you can see from the photos, the product bubbles as it removes your layers of paint.  My dresser had a few layers of polyurethane, paint, and then the original covering on it (I'm not sure what it was).

The package says to leave it on for 20 minutes to 24 hours.  I covered my piece and by the time I was finished covering, the first area I worked on was ready to be stripped.  I didn't have to use any force, just push the product off the surface. 

There was still a bit of reside left from the original finish that didn't come off, so I put another layer on those spots.  

This second layer got most of the rest off.  I'll sand the little bits that are left and it will be ready for my new stain!  

I can't believe how easy this product was.  And completely safe to use in an apartment, around pets, and it doesn't hurt you if you get it on your skin!  

DIY: Sewing a Swimsuit

I am a crazy person.  I thought sewing a swim suit would be a good idea since I cannot find suits that fit by body.  I am a "well-endowed" person so I need a piece that fully covers and supports.  So no triangle tops or regular halter ones.  I had one from Victoria's Secret a few years ago that had the support, but it was about an inch too short to fully cover what needs to be covered.  

 

I found a pattern online at Burda, and it was also the first Burda pattern I've ever bought.  It's this bustier top, Burda #127.  I designed the bottom, using another swim suit as a pattern. 

Sewing something that has to fit perfectly to your body is not an easy task.  I bought swimsuit jersey fabric and lining, and used an old bra for support.  You can buy the underwire and support pieces online, but it is a lot cheaper to just use an old one.  I cut out my pieces, sewed them all together, then ran into a problem where the lining kept rolling to the outside and I couldn't get the lining to stay on the inside.  I finally was able to figure out that since the lining had more stretch than the outside, it was pulling.  So I recut it to be a bit smaller, and that fixed the problem completely. 

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I'm not one hundred percent happy with the suit, but it fits better than anything I've had before.  I even had enough extra fabric to make two bottoms, a regular one and a high waisted one.   

If I could do it again, I'd size up the pattern even more than I did so it would cover more.  I'd also like to figure out how to make the straps stronger.

This picture is from last summer... don't worry, I'm not swimming in March.

Rustic Curtains

These curtains are probably be biggest splurge in designing our bedroom.  I saw them and immediately knew that they would be perfect and my husband would love them (he usually doesn't care about any of my crazy decorating ideas).  And I was able to add another rustic element to the room.

I folded the fabric down the middle and cut a straight line.  Hemmed the sides and bottom, and sewed a casing in the top to slide the curtain rod through.  I know the rules say that you should buy twice the length of your window in fabric, but I couldn't spend that much on new curtains.  So these curtains lay flat when they are closed, but no one is looking at them at night.  

DIY Avengers Masks

I love when I get strange sewing requests from people.  Usually the requests I get are pretty normal, like will you fix a seam for me.  Not this time though!  I got a request through work to make a set of Avengers masks for a skit to perform in front of children. 

I had to find a way to make the masks recognizable while not completely covering the actors' faces.  I ended up using pieces of craft felt in different colors and different layers for effect.  It was all hand sewn, though it probably could have been sewn on a machine.  I was doing it at work, so I didn't have access to one. 

I also made a Captain America shield (it was for a synagogue, hence the different star in the middle), and a helmet out of cardstock for Thor. 

With a few other costume pieces, the skit went off smashingly.  Yes... I went there... Smash.