[Shed] Guest House Makeover PART.2

 This might have been one of my favorite projects we have done it a while. Mainly because I could think outside box, it's a shed no judgment, right? We've been thinking about what to use this space for some time. Storage, kids outdoor junk maybe a sauna? but realistically we needed an area for summer storage. Things we use when we go out to the beach and on the boat, items you don't necessarily want to pack away because you use them often but you don't want to leave on the front porch all the time either. Coolers, beach bags, beach toys, a grill, life jackets, and a small table. Using this large shed for part-time stuff left me always feeling like a waste of space. So I somehow convinced my husband to turn this baby into a guest room for friends and family that visit, but if you met my brother you would understand. 

 We had taken down 4' X 8 sheets of beadboard from the ceiling from the front porch attached to the main house and had been storing them in the shed for almost a year. This was the perfect project to re-use a lot of materials we had leftover from other projects. As you all probably know by now I have an obsession with pine I tend to use it in any way possible. Things I like about it is paintable, stainable, sandable and if you leave it natural every time you walk into the room you can smell it, I know I'm a total weirdo. SO first things first we started with the beadboard. I cleaned out the entire shed of everything that's been stored there for months and we're off to the races. 

We started with the beadboard, some of the sheets were in much worse shape then I remember we trimmed off any rot and then cut to length. Once installed I used painters putty to fill any holes from nailing and any gauges that we made from the initial removal. 

It took me about three hours to sand and repeat until I was ready to paint. I chose was Iron gray-Benjamin Moore. Can you spy the pine we're using on the ceiling and walls? Above you'll see we stored the pine in the shed for three days to let it acclimate to the temperature of the shed. We do this because pine will expand and contract, you need to condition it to the space that it will be installed in.  

I like the contrast when designing a space I call it a balance of opposites. In this case, it's the contrast between the light pine and dark paint. After the installation of the ceiling, I decided to gray wash it. I used leftover paint from a separate project and added one cup of paint to one cup of water. I usually just use a rag and just dip it in, ring it out a bit and while wearing plastic gloves I use my hand. It's easier for me. All in all, probably took me about 2 hours to finish.

This is me in my element. Not pictured is my not-so-hot cup of coffee and music blasting. It only took me about 3 hours to complete two coats of grey wash. I will do this process a lot. I think it allows you to change the look of the pine, take away the "yellowness" that most people don't like but still allow the natural beauty of the pine to come through. It works for all sorts of looks whether your going for a coastal theme or you're deep in the woods on N.H this will always work. If at a later date you decide to paint, no problem! You would just paint right over the gray wash no matter what color you're using. 

After finishing up the walls we got started on the flooring, our flooring was free from a family member who had it in his garage for a million years we didn't quite have enough for the entire project so we used up the leftover pine we had and made a border the entire perimeter of the floor. and then laid the maple flooring within it. With a light sanding and sealing it, it will be ready to start decorating and making it a space that our friends and family can enjoy while they are visiting us. Two things I took away from this mini remodel are 1. Everything has a purpose, reusing many of the materials we already had kept our budget for this very low. 2. Even small spaces can make a huge impact,  doesn't matter what space is if you show it the time and energy it deserves you can turn into anything. Stay Tuned for full reveal....