Quick-Change Room

It's funny how a room changes.

When my wife and I first moved into our house, the back upstairs bedroom (part of an addition from the 1980s) was going to be our "exercise room." Yes, seriously. Well, we never exercised in it, and it was kind of silly to have such big equipment on the second floor of our house, so the room found a new identity.

It became our TV room. Only we didn't really watch much TV up there.

Then the room found an identity -- the home office. The other spare bedroom was going to be our son's nursery, so the computer had to relocate. It was the perfect spot.

Our son was born, and the room found another identity: play room, catch-all family room. As he continued to grow, so did his toys. 

I guess then you can say the room became overcrowded. 

As we were expecting our second son, the room changed once again -- it's now our older son's room, as he had to give up his room (the former computer room) for his younger brother.

And I can honestly say I like its current use better than ever.

Exercise room: who were we kidding?

Kitchen Project -- Take One: The Backsplash

A backsplash really can dress up a kitchen, and it’s not terribly difficult to do. For ours, we purchased some travertine tile. I already have a wet saw from having done a variety of tile projects.

One thing I did learn from the fireplace project is that porous tile and grout are not a great combination. With our fireplace, I spread the grout all over the tile and tried to wipe it off – and it didn’t come off so well. This time, I kept the grout mostly in between the tile and it worked out great.

The Reading Room -- A Whole New Redo

Back before we had kids, we refused to call our family room a family room. The term sounded so 1970s. So catch-all. So unlike our lifestyle. So we called it the reading room, and it’s had its share of changes as well.

One of the first things we did we redo the fireplace. We purchased a new insert (installed by professionals) and used slate tile to give it a warm, inviting feel. We tore out the carpeting and replaced it with wide plank hardwood that had a distressed look and feel to it. (Perfect now that we do have kids.)

The room originally was red, but things change – we’ve repainted every room in our house at least twice since we moved in – and now it’s gray. We later added shelving and wainscoting (see later entry). A white beadboard ceiling (see later entry) softens the look.

Oh, and we still call it the reading room.