room refresh (by amie).

Last year I began to dream of repainting my room. It already needed a fresh coat of paint and so I decided to go headed and paint it a different color than light gray.

One day Mom and I were looking through Homebody, by Joanna Gaines, for inspiration for our house. We saw this adorable home with rooms painted a dark navy. I was instantly obsessed, and after much thought I decided it could look amazing in my room, especially with all my natural light.

So I was ready to paint!

Little did I know it would take forever to actually get started on this big project. Dad pronounced that he didn’t  even want to be in the house while I took EVERYTHING out of my room and painted. So sweet Grandpa said he’d happily help me.

I was so excited because 1: I’d never picked my own room color before (when I was little, Mom and Dad didn’t trust me to pick a color, haha), and 2: I’ve always wanted to learn how to paint. So I was glad I could finally learn.

It took lots of babysitting jobs to save up money to buy my Nugget couch, bookcase, new bedding and throw pillows, and hooks for my coats and backpack. But it was worth all the wait and money. Dad and Mom bought the paint for me and a few extra knick-knacks to make my room look complete.

Below is a picture of what my room looked like before it was painted.

 

When Dad went to Israel for a week, I began to take everything out of my room. Since I’m very much a maximalist, it took awhile.

My sweet brothers and Mom sacrificed their bedrooms as temporary storage. It took about two days to move all my knick-knacks and plants out.

McKensie came over to teach me how to tape a room before painting, and we spent an evening taping and chatting together. It was a huge help — thanks, McKensie!

 

After months of waiting, we began! At the last moment, I was terrified I had made a big mistake since navy blue is a bold color. But the instant I rolled out the paint onto the wall, I fell in love with it.

 

It was a two-day process to put two coats of paint on the walls and let it dry.

 

The next morning I eagerly took off the tape. (I couldn’t even wait to get out of my pj’s!) Then came the task of moving everything back into my room.

Numerous times, Grandpa was called to come help hang curtain rods and shelves, and finally I promised his work was finished. But sure enough, a couple of hours later I texted him to please come help me hang up hooks I’d just bought from World Market.

I truly couldn’t have done this project without him!

 

After being unsettled for days, what with the house full of my stuff and all my furniture pushed to the middle of my room, it felt amazing to move back in.  In fact, the whole family was happy! I worked nonstop until everything was back in its spot because I just couldn’t wait one more day.

And when everything was finished, I would just wander back into my room again and again, admiring how all my hard work paid off. The color is stunning and I’ve never regretted my choice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love old pieces and I think they make a home so much cozier, so my Dad helped me hang up this shadow box my grandma gave me.

 

I found this basket shelf on sale at Hobby Lobby. Isn’t it so cute?

 

My biggest purchase, next to the Nugget, was a new bookshelf. I needed it after I got tired of finding artful ways to cram my growing collection of books into my old shelf. But I think that’s a good problem to have!

It was bittersweet buying a new bookshelf because the one I used before was Mom’s when she was a girl. Thankfully now it’s in the hallway, so I still get to enjoy it.

Sadly, I have to do math all summer long because I have to finish my book before next school year, but Mom made it worth it because she let me pick out a colorful basket from Whole Foods (on the top shelf) to keep my math books in.

 

 

This project was an amazing life skill because I now love to help repaint rooms in our home, and when I have a house of my own I’ll be glad to know how to paint! Plus, Mom counted it as a school project so that was great. 😉

I’m am so thankful for my room and the space to make it into a cozy haven where people want to come hang out.

We joke that my bedroom is the second living room. I’ll walk in and someone is reading a book on my Nugget, or Dad and Gabe are playing chess on my floor. It’s also the perfect place for me to do my art projects or snuggle up with a book or hangout with friends.

It makes me so happy!