Sunday, July 24, 2011

Room Improvement

I have spent the last week turning Meg's room from a baby's room into a toddler's room. When I first started the project last Monday I thought it would only take me a couple of days. After all, I wasn't painting any of the walls, and I only had to put together one new piece of furniture.

Oh, how wrong I was.

Things I Learned While Re-Doing Meg's Room

1. Carpet hides a multitude of sins.
Nope, not just bad wood or paint. In some cases, as I learned, carpet can be used to fill in gaps between the wall and the floor. Behold, our portal to hell, er, the basement:


For a second I was thinking I would just knock a little more out and put in a laundry chute, but Ryan convinced me it would probably be better to have it fixed instead. He's so fancy.

2. There is no such thing as "just refinishing a floor."
Refinishing a floor is a brutal endeavor that tries a person's soul and destroys their faith in humanity -- especially if they have to deal with carpet staples. I had to pull up about a million of them. There were so many I actually considered calling the guy who sold us the house and suggesting he get on medication for OCD.

3. It is possible to punch yourself in the face. Once again with the carpet staples. I was pulling them out with a pair of needle nose pliers and one just wouldn't budge. So, I pulled harder, and harder -- and hit myself in the jaw. Up until that point I was sure I was a weakling, but damn, I can pack a wallop. I'm not starting a fight with myself any time soon.

4. Wet paint is a magnet for cats and toddlers. It does not matter how many doors are closed, or gates are set up, toddlers and cats will reach the wet paint and get into it. Oh, and if it is on the floor (as this was), they will then track it through the rest of the house.

5. IKEA is Swedish for "frustrating." That is the only way to explain the fact they expect you to build an entire bookcase with just your bare hands and a mutant allen wrench. Oh, and little wooden pegs. Let's not forget those.

6. There is always something more to do. Meg's room looks great now. It's a room she can play in and access all of the things she needs with ease, and without the possibility of hurting herself. Her bed is toddler ready, and the carpet that apparently had been used as a litter box by our old cat is no more. However, now all I can see are the walls that badly need to be re-plastered and painted, and the carpet in the other bedroom that needs to be replaced. Also, we should probably redo the hardwood floors in the front of the house.

Maybe we should just move.

Nah, Meg would miss her room too much. And packing would DEFINITELY take longer than just a week.

13 comments:

Tracy Lynn said...

Those Swedish bastards have a lot to answer for.

Scribe said...

I'm itching to pull up the carpet on the second level of my house - it's god awful pink - but I'm scared at the same time as to what I'll find underneath. Oh, and those carpet staples... the last homeowners thought that random nails were better. I'm continually stubbing my toe on those raised nail heads. Bastards.

BugginWord said...

I swear if I never eat another one of those fucking meatballs with lingonberry goo it'll be too soon.

Jen said...

Ugh, carpet staples are evil. EVIL. P and I redid our townhouse and that involved me pulling up carpet from every room. Carpet staples from concrete are worse that Evil. I don't know what that is exactly, but let's just say I know exactly how it felt when you punched yourself. Ugh.

Anonymous said...

We refinished the floors in our house when we bought it, but before we moved in. They are in desperate need of a new coat of poly, but the idea of doing it with us, the dogs, the cat and the kid make me want to just deal with the scratches.

When my parents pulled their carpet to go hardwood, they discovered that their home had had a fire, and the room had a huge patch where the fire had been. My sister pulled her carpet, and didn't have to do anything. No sanding, no poly, nothing. Pulled carpet, and staples, and the floor looked perfect. You just never know.

Jen Has A Pen said...

I am stressed for you. On one hand, I bitch that George isn't more handy around the house. But on the other hand, if he were, he wouldn't be as quick to hire someone to make up for his lack of talent. I'm impressed with you both. Meg is a lucky girl!

Riot Kitty said...

Ow! I have also accidentally hit myself in the face during such a project...now I know I'm in good company.

Anonymous said...

IKEA is swedish for frustrating. You funny me. I actually can't walk into IKEA without having a panic attack. Those swedes are just way to organized for my temperament. :-)

Patty Punker said...

refinishing floors or redoing walls with layers of wallpaper both are right up there in the category: do only once, learn your lesson, and try to avoid ever doing again in the future.

Anonymous said...

I wanna see "after" pics.

manders said...

ooh, but it must be so satisfying to see the results of your hard work! i, on the other hand, give up long before then :p

Unknown said...

I am redoing my 3 y/o son's room and, I agree- there is always something more to do! Also? A flying staple to the nose sounds like it would just feel awesome! (Sorry.)

Three Cats and a Baby said...

No pictures of the final product?!

I'm sure it's awesome and Meg loves it :)

We've been thinking of taking the carpet off our stairs up to Jay's room. It makes me very nervous though.