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photo shoot

Posted on March 2, 2009February 8, 2014 by thirdstoryies

Update 2/6/2012 – welcome YHL readers!  Sources for items in these photos and additional information on the room can be found here.  Thanks for visiting!

This weekend, among other projects, I decided to tackle a contest entry that we’ve been meaning to do for awhile. This particular project category is a bedroom makeover, and since it’s for an old house publication, and this is certainly an old house (134 years and counting), we thought it might fit the bill. This room has a lot of the components that they are looking for – a pretty incredible “before” story (think pigeon droppings…and well, the pigeon remains too…as well as a rotted floor, masonry walls with joints you could see daylight through, plywood in lieu of windows and a decrepit winding stair about two feet wide as the only access. Not only did we clean up, restore and replace the few features the attic had going for it, we took the modern day requirements for making the house livable (like a zoned furnace, hidden ductwork, and new plumbing) and created an enormous amount of custom built-ins to accommodate and disguise them. We reused material that we salvaged from the one existing wall, and we relocated an extra mantel from the kitchen down below. The entire front mansard roof was rebuilt on the inside and the outside, creating the great dormer window, sloped front wall, and activity ledge in the room that gives the space its character. Throw in a custom mural, some hand painted and glazed tiles, a plethora of colorful books and a kid that is always making her own personal mark on the space, and we think it’s a great bedroom – prizes or no prizes.

But prizes are fun, so we spent the weekend cleaning, touching up caulk and paint and removing a lot of the “extra” stuff in the room so that we could photograph the space to its best advantage. This is the first go-around on the pictures. I’m going to shoot some more with the morning northern light tomorrow, and we’ll work on the light levels a bit more in photoshop. But as a test run, these aren’t too bad. Now we just need to figure out how to narrow it down to only four, plus a 1400 word essay on the project. I can handle the writing part – this room has a great story to tell – but the photo picking is tricky. E and I had a great time today staging them though, and I personally like the ones with her in them the best. Feel free to leave your comments and suggestions below.

If you haven’t seen the entire project from start to finish you can find the photos of this room and the rest of the house by clicking on the category “rehab slide shows” on the right. I’m putting a few before shots below as the cliff notes version.





The wall that now has the wardrobes and window seat.


The new mansard roof / sloped wall in the room.


Wardrobe installation.


Salvaged pine boards are installed on the back of the sloped wall.


Final woodwork is complete and ready for paint.


Beadboard and decorative beam covers are installed at the ceiling and painting is complete.


Wardrobe painting in progress.


New flooring goes down.

27 thoughts on “photo shoot”

  1. Kaitlyn says:
    February 2, 2012 at 7:53 pm

    those built in wardrobes are the bomb! ;p My favorite part has to be the lighting though, very modern for this kind of room– and a nice surprise.

    Reply
  2. Kyla says:
    February 2, 2012 at 8:11 pm

    Hi! I just saw your remodel on YHL! Great work! I have to ask – wherever did you find the tiles in the fireplace from le petit prince?? I am IN LOVE!

    Reply
  3. Valtastic says:
    February 2, 2012 at 8:30 pm

    I just saw this through YHL too and also love the Little Prince tiles… where’d you get them?? 🙂

    Reply
  4. Sara says:
    February 2, 2012 at 9:04 pm

    Absolutely Beautiful! I saw your feature on YHL and needed to see more! Awesome job!

    Reply
  5. Lynn says:
    February 2, 2012 at 9:16 pm

    Popping over from YHL as well. I love this renovation to pieces. I was wondering if on the one bookshelf wall with the map at the bottom, did you hand paint those swirly flowers or are they vinyl appliques?

    My best, Lynn

    Reply
  6. Gwenalyn says:
    February 2, 2012 at 10:05 pm

    Also stopping in from YHL – what a beautiful room. I love the window area! I wish I had that room when I was a kid, heck, I wish I had one like it now! 🙂

    Reply
  7. second floor dweller says:
    February 2, 2012 at 10:10 pm

    Welcome all! Glad you are enjoying the room!

    Kaitlyn – I love the lighting too – and the fact that they are adjustable.

    Kyla – thanks! I actually painted those tiles while I was pregnant (and before I knew if I was having a girl or a boy). I have always loved that book, and I felt like it was appropriate for a room that would be full of books and so near to the stars.

    Lynn – I painted those flowers on the short knee wall – the inspiration came from a card I received in the mail from a friend. (I painted those after E was born – in fact, I used to paint while she was napping in there!) Somewhere I have a photo of her catching me in the act while she was supposed to be sleeping. 🙂

    Reply
  8. Green In OC says:
    February 2, 2012 at 10:32 pm

    WOW!

    Reply
  9. Syndi of Beachnut Lane says:
    February 2, 2012 at 11:25 pm

    This is such an impressive project. You guys are so talented! I love the handpainted tiles and wall. Found you through YHL.

    Reply
  10. Adrienne says:
    February 2, 2012 at 11:28 pm

    Holy Monkey…AND you paint? wow, what a lucky little girl

    Reply
  11. Emily and Matt McLaren says:
    February 3, 2012 at 12:13 am

    I love love the paint color on the ceiling. Do you mind sharing the color? What a beautiful space for your sweet little girl.

    Reply
  12. Ms.JayQue says:
    February 3, 2012 at 12:30 am

    I’m loving this room especially the built-ins, the ledge and the window seat….especially the window seat. good job!

    Reply
  13. Lori @ Lighten Up! says:
    February 3, 2012 at 12:47 am

    Absolutely gorgeous. I am impressed by your eye for seeing the potential in such a space!

    Reply
  14. Laura Kurz says:
    February 3, 2012 at 1:42 am

    Saw this on YHL and love love love it. Can I ask where you got the bed from? Thanks!!

    Reply
  15. Mrs. Hipp says:
    February 3, 2012 at 1:53 am

    Found you through YHL and was excited to see someone else with a mansard home in St. Louis! Yay! Beautiful work on this room. Can’t wait to look at your other posts now.

    Reply
  16. second floor dweller says:
    February 3, 2012 at 1:58 am

    Emily and Matt – Paint color – that’s a tough one – it’s been awhile. I know it’s from Benjamin Moore, and I think I may have it in a file somewhere. I’ll check. I’ll tell you this – it was painted twice – and not by me. My husband wasn’t very excited about painting that second blue – but the first one was too blue.

    Laura – the bed is from Charles P.Rogers – it was a gift to E from my parents. We got just the headboard – not the entire bed.

    Reply
  17. Victorianinbloom says:
    February 3, 2012 at 4:15 am

    Hi there, can you tell me where the closet and drawer hardware is from? It’s fantastic!

    Reply
    1. second floor dweller says:
      February 3, 2012 at 4:52 am

      Ikea! They don’t have a lot of sizes though. Haefle has more options and they are solid, but more expensive.

      Reply
  18. Silke says:
    February 3, 2012 at 7:26 am

    I am also stopping in from YHL and am absolutely in love with this room !!! You guys have done a terrific job, I can’t believe you painted the little prince on the tiles yourself, what an amazing talent !
    Greetings from Belgium,
    Silke

    Reply
  19. Elizabeth says:
    February 3, 2012 at 11:52 am

    this is so very beautiful — i see renos all the time, but you made the space look SO clean and SO gorgeous that I can hardly even connect it to the “before” — you clearly have a great vision and talent! Well done!!

    Reply
  20. Giao says:
    February 3, 2012 at 5:41 pm

    I am stopping in from Young House Love and think the remodel of your attic is so lovely! May I ask where you purchased the colorful cube-like maze toy sitting on the window seat? I love the splash of color from your mini spectrum mobile.

    Reply
  21. Meghan@RatnamResidence says:
    February 3, 2012 at 7:39 pm

    Found you through YHL’s reader redesign…

    Love your remodel! We have an attic that is super-huge that we have big plans for in the future. You’ve given me some great ideas! LOVE the small nooks and crannies that create book shelves and drawers and LOVE the flower detail under the sill…adroable! Bravo! LOVE the final product!

    Reply
  22. becky v says:
    February 4, 2012 at 1:46 am

    Over from YHL, congrats on the feature! You have quite an amazing room to share. I’m from STL and was thrilled to see your cute reno in progress. Visit me at http://www.preparingforpeanut.com!

    Reply
  23. evanwick says:
    February 4, 2012 at 4:25 pm

    What a beautiful room. I really like the attention to detail from the built ins to the flowers….You should be so proud!!

    Reply
  24. Stephanie says:
    February 6, 2012 at 12:20 pm

    This is so amazing. Can you please share where you got those little hanging lights? They’re beautiful.

    Reply
  25. second floor dweller says:
    February 6, 2012 at 3:49 pm

    All – thanks for the questions. See update above with link to post on sources. Hope that helps!

    Reply
  26. Mrs Limestone says:
    August 21, 2014 at 12:26 pm

    What an amazing transformation! Love it.
    Mrs Limestone recently posted…Must Have: Kraft Paper 3 WaysMy Profile

    Reply

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