Shhhh....Don't Tell Jared it's Not a Man Room

November 8, 2008

I must be proud of this room re-do, because it took me about forty-million minutes to upload one zillion pictures that only three people in the universe will be interested in seeing--my mom, my dad, and my sister.

So here you go family!

This is a picture of what our den looked like when we saw the house for the very first time. I was like, "Yikes. That La-Z-Boy looks just like the crack of my ass." The real estate agent was all, "Sure does." **Joolee--that was for you**

This room obviously belonged to a man. As it turns out, a man who did a remarkable job masking the deathly odor of cat urine for our walk through. One trip to the dump, three cans of shellac, and one new floor later, the smell is entirely gone.

So those were the before pictures, and these are the afters. Please please please don't tell Jared that it's not a man room. He thinks the walls are blue. I think he's color blind.

If you squint really hard and cock your head to just the right angle, you can see our new floors. They're dark, wide, wood laminate, and I think they look like a million bucks--not the $1.99 per square foot that we paid.

That's my Grandma's desk sporting a new coat of light green paint that was leftover from our kitchen walls. And get this, that's the kitchen chair I grew up throwing tantrums in. Amazing what a $3 can of barn red spray paint'll do, huh?

Oh, and I usually shy away from the cutesy effect with all my might, but I found these buttons in my Grandma's sewing table and really wanted to showcase them. Next thing you know, I'll be snapping pictures of baby cats and tacking them up all over my bathroom. Cute is a slippery slope, my friends--a very slippery slope.

So--I really like the way the curtains turned out. From a distance, they're a greenish/creamish kind of color, but up close they have this cute little swirly pattern that will probably be out of style by the spring. And dude, I totally made those curtains. Feel free to leave excessive, gushing compliments in the comment section.

Here's the rocking chair pad I talked about a few posts ago. I ordered an extra yard of fabric and made the removable foot-rest cover to match. Again, please go heavy on the compliments. And see those flowers? Sometimes Jared's not so bad after all!

I ordered these watercolors from this Etsy shop. This one is the cherry tree, and the $2 WalMart frame really isn't worthy of showcasing it. I get zillions of compliments on these prints, and whenever I do, I say "Thanks, I painted those myself." Then I turn in the other direction and whisper, "I'm such a freaking liar!"

This is the apple tree print. I wasn't lying--those frames really do blow goat.

As you can see, we're running a little low in the furniture department. Eventually I'll put an overstuffed reading chair in that corner, even though I don't read. But in the mean time I've gone with the road bike on a stationary stand. It makes me look hardcore, even though I'm nothing more than a lazy-ass in disguise. And, in true Amy fashion, the exercise equipment is set up right next to a print of a giant chocolate cake.

I like to use that closet door to showcase James's latest piece of artwork--as long as it matches the rooms and isn't totally ugly. See? I really am an excellent mother.

Here is a close up of James's latest creation. It's entitled "Scary Monster Eating a Scary Flower," and according to the artist it depicts a scary monster eating a scary flower.

Here is my cake picture. I bought it at TJ Maxx for $24.99 and consider it my 'big splurge' for the room. I'm totally classy like that.

And here is a picture of our new light fixture. I know it doesn't look like anything fancy, but when you weigh it against the 1964 replica-of-a-breast light that we used to have, it's really very nice.

See?

Hope you like it, Mom! And thanks for painting the trim, Dad! I love you guys!