You spin me right Round Room, right round

After almost two months of walking by the paint swatches I had tested on the walls, I finally buckled down this past weekend and (nearly) finished the Round Room. We will come up with a better name for it at some point but for now, we'll stick with it. 

This room was beat up. There were scuff marks and weird discolorations all over. It was pretty overwhelming considering the entire room is approximately 10x10. We're honestly not sure how this room was utilized by the previous owners but it seems to have been used a lot. Please don't judge the fact that we lived with it in this state for 4 months before painting; neither of us wanted to do anything twice. 

    

I painted this room using a Sherwin Williams paint that I picked up from a mom2mom sale on Facebook for a whopping $5. It wasn't a full gallon but there was plenty to paint this size room and there is plenty left. It was very close to the color I had wanted so considering I saved about $40, I went for it. As I said above, I would consider this room nearly finished because it still needs a quick coat of white on the trim and ceiling! I didn't do that this time because I wanted it to feel settled after the weekend.

   

These are opposite angles of the same windowed wall but you can still see how much brighter the whole room looks with a cooler color. Not to mention the new windows that we had installed. WOW. What a difference a whole new house of windows makes. The old ones were 100 year old original, single pane wooden windows. They had been painted over quite a few times and they were impossible to get clean. Out with the old and in with the shiny, bright and new!!

   

The view from this room to the living room is also much nicer now. The coolness in this space and the warmer tones in the living room play well together. There are some elements that we crossed over (dark wood, modern but soft art, and patterned rugs) so that the adjoining rooms wouldn't look bizarre when pictured or viewed together. I think we accomplished the general mission! 

This is one of my favorite walls in the house. I am a sucker for succulents (pun intended) and though I am pretty decent at keeping them alive, I opted for some artificial pieces for this wall. I think the geometric shapes of the planters and the softness of the print tie in very well together. There is also a small glass urn terrarium that I put together a while back sitting on the buffet - I'll post how I did that another time. 

This is my favorite room so far. It ties in nicely with our Dining Room and when the "den" and kitchen are completed (hopefully soon) there will be a very nice flow throughout the main floor of the house! 

Making it all fit

Now that we have lived here for more than a year the basement has undergone some renovation, reorganization and most recently we've changed it's function.

When we first moved in we used the basement as an office of sorts. Rob's computer was down there as was my crafting desk, so we used the space to work on projects and hang out while the other was working. It wasn't decorated, there was barely any furniture and it felt like a dark basement. It was a waste of much needed space in our small home. 

Over the summer we decided that we wanted to have some part of the house, other than our bedroom, that was carpeted. We figured with a baby on the way we should have some space to put toys and let a babe romp around without fear of falling on the hardwood or marble flooring. The basement seemed like the best option since it would mean that we wouldn't have to cover any of the original wood floors. Plus the existing basement carpet was horrendous so it was the perfect choice. Below is a picture from when the laundry room flooded, yet another reason to rid the basement of it's old floor covering. 

The original carpet in the basement was directly on the cement floor so it was hard as a rock. We called Empire and it was a simple process that was started and finished in two days. We chose a very neutral color but added padding and a deeper plush to the carpet itself; much more acceptable for a baby to crawl all over and the change made the basement feel more like a part of the house. 

   

You can see in the picture on the left above that we left the original carpet 

on the stairs because we plan on refinishing with a rustic wooden stairway. 

Once the carpet was installed, we needed a place to put the furniture that had been in the den because that room would now be the nursery. This is when we had to do some problem solving, without getting rid of any furniture we had to add a whole new room to our house. 

Rob's desk moved up into the nook in our bedroom where the dogs beds used to be. Moving his desk created space in the basement for the futon and one of the black side tables that was formerly in the den. We also took the tv and buffet from the living room and moved it one floor straight down. Now we have a living room on the main floor and a family room in the basement. The black cubicle unit is now part of an entertainment unit in our bedroom and the only piece we retired was the red chair... it had seen better days. 

The transition happened little by little but now it seems like this is the way our house should have been set up all along. We stretched the little bit of space we have as far as it will go and we are very happy with the way it feels now! 

Guest Contributor: Andrea Carlson of SCC Kitchen Bath and Home, Minneapolis

Fun Additions For Your Home

The decision to add another room to your home is a difficult one. It usually involves a significant amount of work and planning but can add useful living space to your home. Not only that, but it can add value to your home. It’s important that you have a good idea of what room you would like to add to your home and to be sure it doesn’t look like an afterthought. So here is a list of room addition ideas that will look great on your home.

A Hanging Porch

A hanging porch will look natural on almost any home. It is also a relatively simple addition because it does not involve building an entire new four-walled room. This is obviously a seasonal room and will not have a significant increase on the value of your home.

Room On Top of the Garage

While this could really be any room it is usually made into an additional bedroom. This is a great place to have a guest room or an additional media room. This can be rather costly as heating/cooling this room will be an additional concern. However because this is a costly and difficult addition it will add value to your home.

Sun Room

Sun rooms or sun porches are, much like porches, easier and less expensive then adding a new full room. Unlike porches they can be used all year round. These do not add the same value to the home as a four walled room because they do not provide the function of a bedroom or other living area. These are not a real substitution to a full on room addition but do provide a unique space to your home.

Media Room

If you’re adding new room to your house, you no doubt you have thought of adding a media room.  This provides an additional gathering room for guests and family members. Adding a home theater or media room will add value to your home as it is a four-walled room with temperature control and electricity. Not to mention that it could also be used as an additional bedroom in the future.

About the Author

Andrea Carlson works with SCC Kitchen Bath & Home, a Minneapolis-based remodeling company.