If The Walls Of This Old House Could Tell A Story…The Master Bedroom

Four weeks ago, I began sharing the most wonderful junkin’ project of my life thus far.   The renovation/ transformation of a 108 year old house that my Cowboy grew up in, and now owns. 

The house was in a nasty state of disrepair inside and out, and in desperate need of some attention.   I spent a little time chatting up my Cowboy, talking him into Tootsifying the old place a little bit…okay…who am I trying to kid here…Tootsifying the place a LOT.  He finally agreed…and we got started.
   
The Cowboy is an avid hunter, and always wanted to have a place to crash during hunting season.  He tends to hunt in Minburn county,  (where the old house is located) and having an option to stay would be wonderful, as we live in another town about an hour away.

The old lady is getting a renovation, cleaning and total make over.  She is going from a ruin…to a cowboy/hunting/rustic hideaway. 

The transformation has been fun - fun - fun!!!

Since I shared the small bedroom last week, I am going to share the master bedroom today.
 
Lets get started! 

THIS nasty mess is the master bedroom!   The wallpaper is faded and falling off…the plaster is crumbling and it needs a LOT of work.   The kind of work that we do NOT have the time to do right this minute as hunting season is almost here.   I need to come up with a way to make this room suitable to sleep in…and I need to do it fast!   My Cowboy is certainly lucky that his Tootsie has a very good imagination…and a pile of energy.

I contemplated this room while I cleaned out the clutter and garbage on the floors….

I had a lot to do in this room, so I brought in the “troops” to help!   My two oldest kids were happy to help me clean out the room and pull off some of the hanging wallpaper.   In all honesty, they were absolutely delighted to pull OFF the wallpaper…They are normally not supposed to be touching the walls of any house…so demolition type activity is a real treat for them!  lol

Since we are planning to do some serious work on these two walls…but not this month, due to time restrictions, I decided to seal in some of the ICK with a nice thick coat of paint.  I was happy to use up the last of the old red paint that I had kicking around, so that part of the project was free…!  YAY!    I then painted the baseboards, and the other two walls with the plateau gray that I painted the walls of the small bedroom with.
  
Once the walls were dry…

I grabbed some of these…

….and attached them to the walls like this.

I put up several across the top and the bottom of the red walls.

I then cut some copper pipe.

I just know you are wondering what the heck I am doing…so I will just get to the point.

I had several sets of sheer curtains left over from my old house.  They are in a taupe color and right now I am hnot using them.  They are taking up valuable storage space in my house, and I just knew I could make them work in this room.
 
Lucky for me, the Cowboy had replaced all the plumbing in the house the week before, while I was working on the small bedroom,  and he had a nice pile of copper pipe sitting in the back yard on the scrap pile.  I needed some nice strong curtain rods, in a nice long length…and that copper pipe was just screaming my name!

I headed out to the pile…and brought a bunch of those lengths of copper pipe into the house.   I cut it, and pieced it together with pipe collars that we picked up at the hardware store, and made myself a custom curtain rod!
  
I threaded the sheer curtains tightly onto the copper pipe that I cut, both top and bottom.

I then set the top rod of the curtain on TOP of the L brackets that I set up earlier.   The nut and bolt are there to hold the rod from rolling off the bracket.  I then put the bottom rod UNDER the bracket…the nut and bolt are pointing downward to hold the rod in.

The bottom will look like this!

This is what the two walls that we will not have time to repair completely look like now!

The curtains cover the red paint that seals the walls…and it softens the room nicely!

I then added some nice cream colored bed sheet curtains the same way that I did in the small bedroom…and was good to go!
 
Walls, ceiling and trims are all done in Plateau Gray…and the floor got the rosy color that we like to call a happy accident…as we ended up with a custom color…and the room is ready for furniture!
  
My Cowboy was away at work for two weeks, while I was playing in this room among other things.

When he got home, I took him on a little tour of his old home…

He was certainly surprised to see the changes I made to this room…he loves the curtained walls!   He even commented that maybe we should just leave them up for good!

So?   How did I do?   Do YOU think this quick fix will make this room comfortable enough until we get some time to get in there and fix those nasty walls???

This is where I am going to leave you for today.  Stay tuned for a sneak peek at the custom furniture I am making to put in this old house…I will be posting a tutorial in the next day or two!

Until Next Time…Happy Junkin’/ Renovating/ Decorating!
 
*)*)*)… never mistake kindness for weakness.. Because one gives freely does not mean that you have to take always.

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.
www.tootsietime.com
Did you miss a post or two in this series?
Article #1  If The Walls Of This Old House Could Tell A Story…The Saddest Chapter Is About To End.

Article #2   If Walls Could Tell A Story…The 108 Year Old House…On The Inside

Article #3 If The Walls Of This Old House Could Tell a Story…The Small Bedroom In The 108 Year Old House

This post has been proudly sponsored by 

19 8ighty 9ine Clothing House 

and

HCG Warrior Diet  

(it actually works great!   We tried it!)

If Walls Could Tell A Story…The 108 Year Old House…On The Inside

I recently introduced you to my latest project.   The biggest most challenging junkin’ project I have ever taken on.   I shared with you the exterior and yard space of the 108 year old house in Minburn Alberta.  When I posted about the old place that my cowboy owns, everyone was very excited to see what we were up to.  There were many comments anticipating the tour of the inside of this house...so today I am going to share just that with you.
 
If you are following this series, you will remember that this is the property that My Cowboy, and his 7  older siblings (one sister and 6 brothers), his mom and dad, and whoever else needed a place to crash lived.  Cowboy says that there were always a few extra kids staying with them...Their home was open to whoever needed a place to stay.   (personally, I think his mother was a superhero...she already had 8 of her own kids, and she was open to caring for extras???   That to me is amazing)

My Cowboy bought the property after his mother decided that she no longer wanted to live here, and moved to a slightly larger community.   The place stood empty for the better part of 10 years…empty except for the leftovers that no one really wanted to claim.   Time alone without heat or any real maintenance took a little bit of a toll on the old house.  The inside can only be described as  a stale mess.

Today’s tour will include a look the interior rooms before we got too much started.   I have a lot of photos to share today, and in an effort not to make this post painfully long, I will share just a few shots of each room.  After today's total tour, you will only see a glimpse of each room as it is progressing with the clean up and transformation.

Grab yourself a coffee…it’s going to be a long one!  I have to say...that the photos I am sharing seem to somehow make the inside of this house not look so bad.   Trust me...in spite of the fairly nice look in the photos...it is a mess, and a stale smelling disaster area!  Cob webs and dust are just the teensy tip of the iceberg!

Shall we begin???

To give you a better idea of what you are looking at, I am putting this picture of the exterior of the house up first.  This may help you see where you are as we walk through the house.
First, look at the gray slanted addition on the side of the house.   This is the addition that was added  to give this large family extra space.  It eventually became a porch, and a bedroom.   For many years it has just been a space to drop off equipment or things that needed to be locked up and stored. It is an ugly eyesore!

Now…it is our work space…and in the spring it is going to be ripped off, an a patio put in it's place.

You can see that before I remembered to take some photos, we had already removed the old bath tub and toilet…they were robin’s egg blue…Yes…there were a lot of bright and “wonderful” colors used in this old lady.   The orange on the back wall there is another cheery addition to the layers and layers of paint on most of the walls in this old house.

For right now, this porch is a great spot for us to cut wood, mix paint and store supplies while we work on the rest of the interior, that will be transformed into something completely different.

When you walk into the porch, you can go directly into the kitchen…

You can see the doorway into the porch and to the right, there is a gigantic hole cut into the wall.   That big hole is there intentionally…We are going to put a large window into this spot.   Once the porch is removed, a picture window will be a nice addition to the room.
The wood in this house is fir, and it is OLD…which means cutting it is a nightmare.   I don’t know how many blades Cowboy went through to cut this wall…but it wasn’t pretty.  lol


There is wall paper, which is falling off…and lots of it.   Layers and layers of it!  There is ick and old grunge everywhere…and then there are all the paint colors.   We have a lot to do in this room.



It is just a darned good thing that what goes on ‘under my hair’, as my youngest calls it…(meaning my imagination) is active and very very big.   I am gonna need it!

The first and by far the most important thing we needed to do, was to get a toilet installed in this house!   I was sick to death of  “roughing it”, and with fall coming there would be no tree cover to hide my bare bottom if I needed to pee!   So…Cowboy got busy and was working on the bathroom as I took all the photos.

The living room was full of just about anything and everything you could imagine.   There was a huge pile of very cheap laminate flooring, a nasty bathroom vanity, a filing cabinet, boxes and boxes of greeting cards that the family was given over the years, books, papers, you name it…I bet it was there.   We sorted through it all and either burned or sent most of it to the dump.  We tried to sell the laminate flooring and the vanity in a garage sale, but no one wanted it, not even for free... so we tossed it.  Anything that was sentimental in value is now in storage. 


By far the biggest improvement in this room will be the removal of this carpet…which has seen much better days…although it was ugly even when it was new…haha.   You have got to wonder what inspired the style of 70's...well other than drugs...haha



We now are heading up to the second floor.   I need to figure out what to do about the steps.  Cowboy thinks we need to try to keep as much of the stairs and railing original if we can.  It is going to be a challenge...they are very well worn.

At the top of the stairs, we have an adorable set of windows just screaming for me to put some pretty little curtains on them.   However that will only come AFTER we get some of this other stuff dealt with.   As you can see...the plaster walls in this area have seen MUCH better times.  
A few years back one of Cowboy’s older brother’s decided to start to remove the plaster.   That idea was short lived however, when big brother realized how much work that would entail…and now we need to decide how to deal with this mess!

There are holes in the plaster everywhere…and I do mean EVERYWHERE.   This house is going to take a lot of drywall patching compound.

At the end of the hallway, we come to a door.   This is the door out to that fabulous little balcony on the front of the house!
Something pretty needs to happen in this area too I think.

I don’t even think words can describe my thoughts on the mess in this room.   We cleaned it up to take this photo.  Be glad it’s blurry…Be VERY glad.  This room is going to take a lot more work than other's...so it will not be on the top of the list...it will wait until after Christmas.


This…is one of two bedrooms that are getting immediate attention.  This one, for some unknown reason is in good shape!   The floor, and walls seem to be almost fine.  Perhaps  all it will take is a few simple coats of paint to smarten this room right up!

This bedroom is not as lucky as the other smaller one.  Several layers of peeling wall paper, and crumbling plaster are making me wonder what I have managed to get myself into.

I need to come up with a plan…and I need that plan FAST.   It was September when I took these photos…and my Cowboy wants to be able to stay overnight here in this house in November!
He is an avid hunter, and wants to be able to crash here after a long day in the bush.   Since he does do most -  if not all of his hunting in the Minburn area, it kind of makes sense… to go home from here IS an hour away, so having a place to stay if necessary is a comforting thought.

So…what I need is a little time to scheme…and plot and plan.   Not too much time, as we are getting to a crunch here...Cowboy works away from home 2 weeks at a time, and that isn't going to make things go any faster!
I do know that my Cowboy wants this place to be a hunter’s hideaway….not a frilly Victorian palace.   So…I have to come up with an idea…that will be comfortable, rustic and still have a little Tootsie  style in it too!   Is that even possible?????

I just don’t know how the heck I am going to incorporate MY style of decorating into this house   There are a lot of challenges for me to incorporate some of the items that Cowboy is insisting on having in this place…did I mention that he has deer heads and other dead things that he is going to use in the décor?  He is a guy...and has a few cheezy "guy" type things too.   Ya…this is going to be a challenge of my Tootsie  skills like you have never seen before!

Wish me luck…I think I am going to need it!

Stay tuned for the next episode of  If Walls Could Tell A Story…the 108 Year Old House.

Until Next Time…Happy Junkin’/ Renovating/ Decorating!

*)*)*)… "Wisdom is knowing when to speak your mind and when to mind your speech."

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.

www.tootsietime.com

 

 

Did you miss a post in this series???
 Article #1  If The Walls Of This Old House Could Tell A Story…The Saddest Chapter Is About To End.   

 

 

This post has been proudly sponsored by 

19 8ighty 9ine Clothing House 

and

HCG Warrior Diet  

(it actually works great!   We tried it!)

 

This is Anything BUT Cheesy.

 

Hello AGAIN!   It feels SO good to be back trying to post again!   Today I am super excited to share my latest!  If my post is a little scattered, it is because I am multitasking.   As I wait for my machines to finish (for my product line) I am posting.  It is also 5AM.   My day started 2 hours ago.   Yes...I am up before dawn for two reasons.   One...the Cowboy had to leave super early to travel to work.   Two...It is supposed to be another hot hot hot day here and I will be using heat presses, ovens and irons again today, so I like to work when it's cool outside and in.   Here in Alberta, air conditioning is a waste of money.   We don't generally have HOT weather for more than a day or two at a time.(except this year where it's been nothing but HOT  lol)    Bare with me.   By the afternoon I should be exhausted!

Lets get on with it.   You guys are about to see what makes a girl like me swoon...I am SO excited.  

The other day I was running a few errands with my "Miss Busy" (AKA Ashlyn) who is now a 16 year old girl who on occasion will go shopping with her mother, but in general she prefers the company of other 16 year old girls...and boys...and they REALLY like to drive around endlessly.  (insert eyeroll here)

Anyway...I ended up in a little  store owned by one of my friends.   She ALWAYS has what the Cowboy and I call 'the good stuff'.   Her dad has a fairly good stash of antiques and what we consider REALLY  good junk that he will on occasion bring into Angie's shop to sell.   When I know he's added new stuff, I rush over to check it out and I rarely am disappointed.  Angie often laughs at my excitement over what she considers ridiculous junk.    Did I mention Angie's daughter is also 16 and is Miss Busy's best friend?

A few days ago I got the tip off that she had new stuff...and I dropped everything, grabbed Miss Busy and we headed over to the shop.   I wasn't in there 2 minutes and I was squealing with excitement!   

I love containers...wooden boxes...crates...anything that I can arrange things in to make displays...but never have I had the chance to buy a round crate until this day.   Did I mention I was excited?   Well that's an understatement!   Not only did I find an old wooden barrel, and an old grape box, but I found a wooden Christmas orange box!  ....and ...AND I found an antique round wooden cheese box!

I did not know Japanese oranges came in wooden boxes!   The Cowboy is only a few months older than I am and he said he remembers this...I do not.   So...I am enjoying this one!
 

It will most likely not get changed in any way, but will become fun storage in my work room.   Have I mentioned that I LOVE boxes and canisters, and containers of all sorts?   Ya.   I have always loved to be organized, and pretty storage containers are an obsession of mine.   I probably have enough canister sets in my possession to outfit an entire apartment building.  Definitely not something my kids needed  to purchase as they struck out on their own.  (insert eye roll from them here lol)

anyway...back to the good stuff....

Angie  told me what she knew of these pieces.   When he was a young man, her grandfather started a grocery store in Hudsons Bay Saskatchewan.   These boxes were saved when he received shipments.   They have been around for decades.   The grocery store business was good to the family.   Eventually, Angie's dad took over for his dad, and then Angie and her husband kept the business in the family and own it to this day.   The barrel, grape box, orange box and cheese box were on display in the store for years.   They have done some changes and no longer needed as many so here I am!   Playing up a storm.

I love grape boxes.   I already have several.   My favourite is one from inside the old house we have and are working to renovate.   I found it in the attic a few years ago.   I have it sitting on my dining room table.   I just picked up a three small flower arrangements and plopped them in it,   I also have a coffee cup in the back that holds pens and paper for quick notes.   The two at the front hide the ugly from the cup of pens, so it works perfectly for us!   There is another one that I hung on the wall in the old house in the bathroom.   It works as a rustic shelf for decorative antique medicine bottles.  

 

I decided to find out a little bit more about my most beautiful find. The round cheese box.    From what I can tell, this box is most likely from between 1930-1950.   Cheese boxes were originally a tool used for transporting cheeses in branded boxes with lids.  The brand on this one seems to be Swift Canadian Co.   I tried for several days to learn about the Swift Candian Co. in Yorkton Saskatchewan, but there was nothing at all that I could find about them online.   Obviously there was  a creamery there, as it says so right on the box, but I could find nothing. 

Round cheese boxes  were first used in 1890 to ship cheese from Europe. These boxes were typically made of maple, ash, or hickory sides which were nailed to pine wood pieces on the top and bottom. The wood was usually printed with the name of the farm or factory and the type of cheese. The box helped protect the cheese from tipping over during transport.

...And now it's MINE MINE MINE!  

Did I mention all the eye rolling Miss Busy did when her mother was excitedly rushing to the till with her treasures?   Oh yes...she was...and still is.  (She was texting Angie's daughter probably looking for someone to rescue her)  

I adore this piece and can't wait to find the perfect location in my house to show it off.   I did consider placing it in the Cowboy's office, but decided that it just didn't mesh with all of the taxidermy and trophy heads he has hanging all over the place in there.   (ya...I am not overly crazy about all the dead things he has in there...but I love that man, and he doesn't complain that my little business takes up a lot of space in our house,  so he can have them.   And... as long as I don't have to touch any of them...I'm a happy girl)  

The lid removes easily, and it is clean and odor free...I can't wait for inspiration to hit and the perfect spot to reveal itself!   It's quite large...I could put one of my bigger sergers in it to store...or a huge silk flower arrangement...I just can't decide.

That's it for me today!   I'm off to get some work done!   I am making some fabulous new giftware pieces to add to my line today!   

Do you have any round cheese boxes?   What did you use them for?    Inspire me!!! 

  Until Next Time...Happy Junkin!

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.
www.tootsietime.com

 

This post has been proudly sponsored by 

19 8ighty 9ine Clothing House 

and

HCG Warrior Diet  

(it actually works great!   We tried it!)