New and Improved Scrapbook Room

I have been wanting needing to replace the carpet in my scrapbook room for some time now. I kept putting it off for different reasons, but then I made the decision to just go for it while we are out on summer vacation!

It was exactly 2 weeks ago today that I pulled all my furnishings out of the room and dispersed them into the hallways and living area of my house. Once I started the task of ripping out the old stained carpet I knew immediately that this was a great decision. {Yuck!} I'll just say that after ten years of crafting, kids and a couple of pets, this carpet was definitely due to be removed! Here is what the room looked like before and a picture my daughter captured of me cleaning up from the carpet removal.

You'll notice that I still had all sorts of shelves and art up on the walls. I only had intentions of renewing the floors. Sadly, once the carpet was out I couldn't help but notice how awful the walls all looked. Mine as well throw on some fresh paint now while the room is down to just concrete!

My teenage daughter was very helpful through the painting phase. Her methods were a little unorthodox, but we got the job done. We touched up the white with a Polar Bear white and I decided on an accent wall in Lap Pool Blue. Both paints were Behr at Home Depot. All the painting was done before Friday night.

My husband and I purchased the wood laminate floors together on Saturday. We naively thought that we could start laying them in the room on Sunday, having the entire day to do the work. We learned through the purchase of the floors that they need to acclimate to the room where they would be installed. Well, that news through our plans off a little, but it was worth the wait to do the job correctly! We chose a hickory wood floor from Allen+Roth at Lowe's. Here they are acclimating, chilling, relaxing, making themselves at home!

We got to start laying the floors Tuesday night, then did a little more on Wednesday morning. Then we did some more on Wednesday night.

This is the part where I need to say that I could never do this alone and was so appreciative of my husbands help. The reason for the breaks in our work schedule is because my husband works a labor intensive job 10 to 12 hours a day. So when he was home, he was helping me between meals and getting his sleep. By Thursday morning we had the flooring almost complete.

Not to fully rely on my husband, he gave me some brief training and I quickly learned how to use a miter saw and table saw. We worked together to install the baseboards and I did all the caulking and paint on them Friday afternoon. I was working late into the night moving all the furniture back into the room in preparation for my card class on Saturday morning. I did some reorganizing and finished all the small details this week before I took these pictures.

Are you ready for the reveal?!!

MY NEW SCRAPBOOK ROOM!!

The greatest change is of course the floors and color, but another big difference was that I moved my desk to the opposite wall. This allows ample storage and gives me more counter top surface to work on.{Storage cubes and shelves from Ikea}

This mirror and shelf is just to the left inside the door. It is opposite of the window which helps reflect more light into the room. I can keep a couple little favorite pieces of art on it too!

Stamp storage is all located under the window with a bold graphic rug. Why cover the beautiful floors? For the sake of keeping them beautiful as I roll around on my heavy, metal, vintage 1980's office chair. {Actually, I don't know how old the chair is. It has been in my family for a long time and undergone its own remodel a few times.}

MY DESK AREA~

Being a Close To My Heart consultant, you can definitely see my love for our products. What you will notice in the next photo's is that I am also a fan of many Heidi Swapp products and style also. I love combining bright colors with bold black & white. 

My handy husband made this ribbon box for me years ago. I just cleaned it up and placed it back into the room exactly where it was.

I also kept my Making Memories magnet and cork board panels up on the wall where they were. {I didn't want to make any new holes in the freshly painted walls!} I also tried to keep my workspace more open and clear than it was previously. I moved one of the rotating organizers off onto my paper storage and created a fun display tray for the other items I reach for regularly.

Lots of colorful Washi tape, Shin Han markers and stamping blocks are great items to keep nearby!

Here is one last look at my room before and after~

Once I get to actually craft in the room I will see how well it functions or what I might need to change. I can't tell you how inspiring it is to enter my clean and organized room. All that hard work and constant exhaustion was well worth it. Now my husband and I are excited about updating the flooring throughout the house!

Please leave a comment of what you think about my new space. My beagle girl has made herself right at home on the new coordinating doggy bed!! I'd say she likes it....no wait....she's just tired and wants to be wherever I am! {tee~hee}