This is why they're called Before & Laters

I've been working on the bedroom for a while. I haven't posted anything yet, but there has been a lot of progress since we moved in. Here is the Before (like before we owned the house).

You can't see it in the picture, but the walls are plaster covered in paneling. Not like high quality wood paneling, like 1/4 inch thick wood textured MDF or whatever they make it out of. I decided it was just too much work to tear it all out and replace it with sheet rock. Don't hate me if you love plaster, but it's just hard to deal with. Every time I want to hang something on the wall you can hear the chunks falling off the back and down inside the wall. Makes The Hubs nervous and I just hate paneling. I've filled it in with drywall compound and painted over it with success in the past, but that's a whole lot of wall space and I'm not as energetic as I used to be. I turned 29 a couple of days ago, you know. 

I didn't know what to do. 

Then I got inspired.

  

(I cannot find the original source of this image to save my life. If you know, please tell me so I can link to it.)

If I did a board and batten treatment I would only need to smooth out the top part of the wall. 

Pretty smart, huh? I thought so.

I decided to go two thirds board and batten, one third smoothed and painted. I got the smoothed and painted part done. It's Glidden Brilliance 2 in 1 low VOC Paint + Primer in Whispering Wheat if you're curious. The blur is about accurate for how I felt when I finished. Too tired to care anymore.

I let it set that way until I couldn't take it anymore. I didn't have a plan to buy and transport the wood yet (getting the wood for the parson table into the Escape was enough of an adventure for me).

Eventually I broke down and just painted the bottom Parchment White to match the rest of the woodwork. Wood purists, forgive me on this one too. The previous owners were working their way through the house refinishing all the wood. They didn't get to this room, and I'm not going to for a while. Maybe never now. I just had to promise Austin I wouldn't paint any of the other wood. I'm okay with that.

I hung the curtains too. Austin is a huge fan of those. You could sleep in there all day long with the blinds down and the curtain shut. Maybe that's why the bed isn't made.

Then I let that set for a while too. While it sat I realized the the top wasn't as smooth as I would like and really needed another coat of drywall compound to look like it wasn't painted paneling.

Finally I got an offer of a truck to use and someone to help me carry the wood while Austin was out of town. Fear of being told I got the materials but stopped there motivated me to actually get it up on the walls within 24 hours. I got that second coat of compound up too. Now the boards just need a coat or two of wood filler and some sanding and they'll be ready to paint.

I didn't have any wood filler and I didn't have the motivation to leave the house and get some. Somehow I had the motivation to tear out the carpet though.

Yes, I have a problem with starting new projects before I finish old ones. I justified it in my mind as part of the overall "Master Bedroom" project. That, and if I was going to pull up the carpet I would want to put down the trim along the baseboard and paint it. I might as well do that when i painted the rest of the board & batten, right? Sure. Let's go with that.

Anyway, gorgeous wood floors until I got to this.

Last corner I pulled up and way too far to turn back. It's only about 18 inches wide, but it runs pretty much the whole length of the room. Don't worry, I priced the wood and I think we can swing it to see those original wood floors. Love!