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Raising The Bar

The last week or so we’ve had a bunch of epiphany moments.  Like Goose is such a good dog when we run him, dust goes away when you actually dust, and yards are muddy…really muddy in the spring in Maine.  But the most profound epiphany moment was when we asked ourselves, “why should the most gorgeous, finished room in our house be one we never use?!”  You see, ever since we built the his/hers desk and moved our joint office space downstairs to the parlor, one of our upstairs rooms has stood empty….sad and empty.  Well…I came up with a purpose for the room…craft room!  Well…joint craft room and guest room.  But since we’ve only had about six house guests since moving in two years ago, it’s officially the craft room.  I’m excited to finally have a space for the glue gun and sewing machine to live…and glue sticks.  I swear I have a glue stick somewhere in every room of our house because I can never find one when I need one and just end up buying a new one whenever I need it.  So before moving into and organizing the craft room into a usable space, the room needed a little refresh.  First up, the curtains.

Don’t get me wrong, I love love LOVE those curtains which I purchased from Bed, Bath & Beyond.  But I don’t dig how they drag on the floor causing the curtain to hang funny.  Originally, I was thinking we could put storage shelves above the curtain rods and that I would hem the curtains.  In the end, we decided not to add shelving and I didn’t really feel confident enough in my sewing skills, I’m still learning, to hem such gorgeous, layered curtains without ruining them.  Thus, it was time to raise the curtains.

We used a very sophisticated method of determining the right height for the curtain rod.  Colby held up the rod while I told him to raise it a hair, no, down a little, right there RIGHT THERE!  Then he would mark the spot and put down the curtain rod.  Doesn’t he look impressed?

Then out came the laser level to make sure the two points where the brackets would attach to the wall are aligned and leveled.

Then out came the brackets and they went right back into the walls, this time just a little higher.  And since we didn’t have to push them so far out past the trim, we were able to attach the brackets to the studs.  That way we wouldn’t need to use drywall anchors to support the curtain rod and curtains.

The process left one serious mess from where the curtain rods used to attach to the wall.

Enter Process Drywall Repair!  I started by removing the drywall anchors by using a pair of needle nose pliers and unscrewing the plug from the wall.  Then I pounded in the sheetrock, making sure to indent the holes so they wouldn’t puff out and would lay flat once the spackling began.

Then out came the spackle and a putty knife.  We’re fans of DAP’s Fast ‘N Final Lightweight Spackle.

Using the putty knife, I applied a small amount of spackle to the wall, working it into the holes left behind from the drywall anchors.  I ended up layering a couple coats of spackle onto the wall since the holes were so large.

Once I was satisfied with the spackle coverage, I sanded it down nice and smooth using a fine grit sanding block.

Then after tossing on a couple coats of paint, you can’t even tell where the holes used to be.  Amazing!

Now that we’ve raised the curtains in the craft room, the room looks so much more polished and put together.  Is it just me or does the room look a little bigger?  And in a 10′ x 10′ room you have to squeeze out every inch possible.

Oh floor grazing, curtain goodness, I bow down to thee.  Hmmm…so this may have been when I discovered that dust goes away when you dust and clean a room.  Obviously this is pre-cleaning…silly dust just chilling like a villain rocking out to Bob Dylan under the cabinet.

Even Goose approves of the raised up curtains.  He told me himself.  Now he doesn’t trip or slide on the curtains when he’s “protecting” us from all those killer squirrels lurking in the neighboring trees.

So this is step one of the craft room refresh.  I know these next couple posts about the room might be a little boring or mundane…truth…they’re totally boring to me.  I would rather be refinishing our living room floor or opening up our master bedroom closet.  You know…tackling bigger projects.  But you see, I’ve been reading the book The Happiness Project lately and was inspired to work on my own happiness.  One of my not so charming habits is not completely finishing projects I start.  It also happens to be one of my 2012 resolutions…finishing those nagging projects.  So I’m determined to finish…really finish the craft room.

Pssst…I made a few updates to the “Our House” page.  There are now before/progress pics not only for the bathroom, but also for the entry, kitchen and dining room.  It’s a slow process and thanks for being patient with me.  Hopefully I’ll get it all done real soon!  Just don’t hold your breath…you may not make it.

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Angie's Roost Campbell Family in front of home in 2021

Hi there! We're the Campbells. We traded in Maine city living for the country life in Vermont. You'll find us here fixing up a circa 1781 historic home, growing our own food, and filling this home with the memories and things that matter. Read more about us...

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