Winding Down In The Spare Bedroom

I have set up the spare bedroom and it is almost done. I have painted and painted and then scrubbed until it is sparkling clean. I still have the doors and trim around them to paint but that is for a later date. 

This bedroom is small. When we viewed the house, it was full of large furniture -- queen size bed, free standing wardrobe, and bedside tables. There was even a TV in the room. We knew it would not be that full when we bought it. 

The room evolved in its look over the years and it has always been minimal. It still looks full but not crammed full. It always looked dull and depressing due to the colour on the walls and it being on the north side of the house. 

Changing the colour to the light grey was the biggest change in that room. It lightened it up and made it feel bigger. Though I have a queen size bed in the room, the rest of the furniture is a smaller scale. 

The room does have a Coastal Grandma look to it without being nautical. It is minimal but not stark. It has warm and will have more warmth as I add the finishing touches to it. 

The dresser and small table are on the window side of the room. The wall feels balanced even with the dark blue curtains. I have kept what I wanted on the flat surfaces to a minimum so I can dust them easily. 

The bedside table is on the opposite side of the bed. It is small which is perfect. The closet doors open on that side of the room and I will be able to get into them easily. 

I put a feather duvet on the bed (one of two the Hutterites gifted me). I need to get a white duvet cover for it. I also have 2 pillows that are suppose to be stood at the head of the bed as a headboard. I will get them out and make pillow cases for them. I am thinking of a colour rather than white. 

I will hang a picture above the bed. It is one my aunt (mother's youngest sister) embroidered for me when I was born. I found it in a trunk when mom was cleaning out her house and had it framed. 

At the moment, this is the only picture I am going to hang up in the room. 

I am looking at a few I need to add to the room. I want to buy a longer curtain rod and 2 more panels so I can have the curtains further out from the window. They are too close to the window at this time and having the rod stick out 6" on each side will help the curtains frame the window. I am still hoping to buy white sheets and duvet cover. I am thinking of getting a pleated bedskirt also. Once I get these bought and put into the room, I think I will have a room I enjoy going into. 

I am very pleased with the room so far. As I wind down from this room, I am starting to plan my bedroom which will be the next room to paint and decorate. 

Learning To Live More Minimally

 I have worked some on the spare bedroom since Thanksgiving. I got almost half of the baseboards and the window painted. I then crashed with pain. I wondered if it was my hip joint, SI joint, or soft tissue. In the end it was soft tissue. The hip flexor and adductor were taut enough to drum on. The pain was becoming unbearable and it was causing me to have bad nights of sleep. I have had osteopathy and physio and am feeling better. 

I have started to set up the room so I can finish painting the baseboards. I moved the dresser back to where it was prior to 2023. It is now back at the foot of bed rather than at the head. 

I hung the curtains and I do like them in the room. It gives it a bit of colour which is needed. 

I put the bedside table where the dresser use to be. I decorated it to see how it would look. 

When I looked at the room from the door, it wasn't feeling right. I had everything on the window side of the room. It felt heavy on that side. The other side of the bed had nothing. I lived with it for 24 hours figuring out what I needed to do. 

I moved the bedside table to the other side of the bed. I decorated the top of it to see if it felt balanced. 

No it didn't as there as a gaping hole on the other side of the bed. The table came back in and it feels much better. 

Excuse the mess as I am still cleaning the room to finish the baseboards. 

I have not put the small cloths back on the table and bedside table. I was not enjoying the tops of these items. I did put the table runner on the dresser as I like it. 

I am still thinking about the bed. I know it will have white bedding with a blue throw on it. I am not sure if I will use the cushions or add the covers to the little wall hanging and table toppers and take them to the thrift store. I can make simple cushion cover for the bed if I think I need it. My goal of having the room minimal but cozy is coming along. I will be sleeping in this room when I start painting my bedroom. 

I have also been thinking about how I am enjoying pare back the house to have it more minimal. I am sure it will be easier to look after so I can do other things I want to do. I am enjoying having the walls lighter and all the same colour. It has a calming effect on me. I love having less out and will continue to see what I do and don't need. 

I have been watching a lot of videos lately due to the pain. Most often than not I watch maybe 50% and listen to the remaining part. Two videos I watched last night I did look at them all. 

Video One is about a young couple with 2 girls under the age of 4. They bought their first place and are painting and decorating it in a farmhouse style. She loves to decorate seasonally and the amount of items she has out is beyond my clutter threshold. She keeps it organized and clean almost every day. She loves what she does and I admire her for doing everything with 2 young children in the house all the time. Her husband is wonderful also. Her last video was her Christmas haul. She will be decorating starting Nov. 1. 

Video Two is about a German couple who live in Britain. They own a terrace home that is old. They have been redoing the house over the years they have lived in it. They also love colour with every room a different colour. Their style is Victorian/Edwardian with a modern twist. They don't have as many items in their home and they only decorate for Christmas which is more German than British. Their last 2 videos have been about renovating their kitchen/utility room. They painted their pantry all one colour and installed a light. They are now working on the kitchen as they need to paint it before the cabinets are put in. The door to the utility room was painted a rich blue with a green undertone on the kitchen side and will be a rose colour on the utility side. They are deciding which dusty rose they will paint the rooms in. It isn't my style but I love watching them renovate and decorate they buy high end items which are displayed all the time. They also look for interesting antiques that will fit in their house. 

While watching these videos and a Finnish one on minimalism, I realize that I like to have less in my house. I enjoy the prospect of being able to clean it quickly and easily. What do I really need and what can I let go of that I am not using. How can I find that balance not only in the areas I live in but those that I work in. 

I am deciding on what I will keep for hobbies (sewing, knitting, paper crafting) and will let other hobbies go. I also know I want low inventory for my hobbies so I can put it all away easily. I am learning how much is enough for me. I want to feel calm and inspired when I work in those spaces. 

I know I have a lot of work still to do painting the upstairs and decluttering both levels. I know I want to live minimally and will have to work on not collecting clutter in this house. It is a challenge that I am embracing at this season of my life. 

Nearing The End of Painting The Spare Bedroom

The spare bedroom is painted. I had it done the day before Thanksgiving. It shows more grey than the rest of the rooms as the window faces north. 

I am ready to scrub the floor and baseboards and then paint the baseboards and window. I need to do the window before I hang the curtains up. The doors and door trim can be painted later on as I don't need to move furniture around to do them. 

As I am getting closer to setting up the room again, I have been doing quite a bit of thinking. Do I need every piece of furniture in that room? What can I let go of? What do I need to buy for the room? I have looked at every item in the room not once but several times. It is decision time. 

The room is small. I have a queen size bed in it which I am keeping. I have my late mother-in-law's dresser and a side table I bought that are staying. That leaves a table that I plunked in there as I had no where else to put it. That will be leaving. That big decision has been made. 

I have decided that the dresser will be a storage unit. I can put a few items in it that I can access easily. It will not be full to the brim as I want to see what I have quickly. The side table will be empty. It has been ever since I bought it many years ago. No need to fill it up now. 

The closet is pretty minimal. A couple of items need to be put into a tub or two and stored in there or elsewhere. The paper work will remain in that closet as it is contained and tidy. The hose for the central vacuum is stored in there also. Other than buying or finding a tub or two, that area is done. 

I will be cutting back on the decorations in that room. I have decided that the two small cloths I made will go. I can use them in a quilt for the dolls. The small embroidered picture will go. I will hang a couple of pictures on the walls. Items that go on the dresser and side table will be pared down and the items not used will be put into the garage sale bins. I have made some huge decisions.

The bed will have white sheets and a white duvet on it. I am still deciding if I need to buy a blanket for the foot of the bed. If so, it will be a darker blue. I will still have lots of pillows on the bed to make it feel cozy. Hopefully I can get the room completed before the end of October. 

The next room I plan on painting is my room. I will have to move into the spare bedroom as I will have to move everything into the middle of the room. This room is big and it will take me some time to paint it. I cannot over do it as I have found out that I have to rest once the muscles and SI joint get sore. 

Thinking More Minimal Thoughts

I am in the midst of not only painting but am decluttering and purging as I go. I am finding that I need to get rid of items that I don't use or need. I need to move back to a more minimal look. 

I have realized that I am past my clutter threshold and am feeling stressed. How much do I want in my house so it feels minimal but also warm and cozy. How can I decorate a minimal home so I don't have items that need to be stored and take up space. These are questions I am mulling over every day. 

I do not want to have seasonal items as I have never done a lot of seasonal decorating except for Christmas. I am working through ideas and am thinking that I will have keep the house in the grey and blues I love and buy seasonal paper napkins. The only season I will decorate my house will be Christmas as I have everything I need and love for that season. I am willing to store the tubs under the stairs. I am not adding much to those tubs as I have most everything I need. 

I decided to try something that I did in Ashcroft. After I finish painting a space, I will treat it like I am moving back in to it again. It means sorting through everything in that room like we did years ago when we decided on going more minimal. It was a huge lesson on wants and needs for both of us. We succeeded and let go of a huge amount of items we didn't need or used.

I did that with the dining room on October 4. I spent a whole morning sorting, purging, and organizing the mess I had. It started with me wanting an office and realizing I didn't need it. With some creativity, I ended up with a pared down office space in the server. There is a place to store my lap top when I need it off the table. It works for me as everything I need in that space. 

As I paint the spare bedroom I think about what I need and what I want in this room. How do I want this room to look. I know light, bright, and uncluttered for easy cleaning. This is my October project.  

More walls were painted yesterday and what I did needs a second coat of paint. The walls look splotchy as the paint is wet. 

It is starting to look less like a dark hole now that 3 walls are grey. It will never be a bright and sunny room as it faces north. But it will not be dark and gloomy like it was. 

The goal is to have this room painted by our Thanksgiving. It is doable if I don't over do it each day. Then I can move the furniture back and decide on what I need to complete the room. Once done, I hope to have it calm and cozy so I can enjoy it more. 

Painting the Spare Bedroom

 I had one good flare up in my hip that stopped me from painting. I got over it when physio realized the SI joint wasn't rotating properly and I stretched enough to get it seated once again. 

I got 2 walls in the spare bedroom painted. It is the darkest room in the house as the window faces north. The light grey paint has certainly lightened it up. 

The window wall shows darker due to the light coming in. 

That is half of the room done and when I finished it yesterday, I was in a lot of pain. It took me 3 hours to cut in and roll the 2nd coat of paint. I have had to rethink how much I can do at one time. I will do half of what is left when paint again this weekend. Two hours of up and down the ladder and sitting on the floor is my max.

I have decided to keep the items I made for this room for now. I want to give it a try and see if I like it. I need to buy white sheets and a white duvet cover for the bed. 

Thoughts

I am loving what I have painted in the house. It is so much lighter and brighter in here. I am glad that I am doing the whole house in one colour to keep it unified. It also lets me work on having a minimal look. It isn't everyone's choice but it is mine.

I have been watching a lot of videos to get inspiration. It has been hard going as everyone is decorating for fall and Halloween. I don't do this kind of seasonal decorating. I did at one time and realized how much I had to store. I had the space to do it but haven't since moving from that home. I gave it all away. 

I do enjoy watching one YouTube channel that is filmed in Europe. The person has minimal decorations that she keeps in wicker containers which become part of her decor. She makes a lot of her decor which is neat. It has given me ideas of what I can do. She does it so well in a house about the same size as mine but without a basement. 

I also watch another YouTube channel that is videoed in Britain. They collect very carefully and what they put in their house is high end and brings them joy. They remind me that what I have in my house should bring me joy and what doesn't needs to go. Their style is very different to mine but their message is clear about loving what you have in your home. 

Moving Forward

Painting the house is going to take me longer than expected. The areas are bigger and I need to remember that I can only do so much at once. If I over do it, I have a lot of pain in my hip which sets me back. I then need more rest days. 

I am going to make accessories for the house. My main colour will be blue and I will add white and grey to the mix. I am planning on not having a lot of accessories, only what will make the spaces feel cozy. This means snoop shopping and looking at videos when I need to sit and rest my hip. 

I will post again when the spare bedroom is done and set up. I am looking forward to seeing the final results of my work.