Screen Room

In the fall of 2008, we decided to screen in part of our back deck, turning it into a screen room.

The Contractor

Our contractor is Mark Hesprich. Mark’s done a few smaller projects for us before, including:

• Crown Molding in our office
• Crown molding in our guest room
• Installing french doors in our master bedroom

This was a larger job, but we have the utmost faith in Mark and his guys. He didn’t disappoint. We love our new screen room!

Before

Here’s how it looked before we started:

Footings

First up was digging up the existing small footings, and replacing them with larger ones that would support the weight of the screen room

Framing

Roof

Tying into the existing roof

Tarpaper

Ceiling

 

Speaker wires

Ceiling

At some point, we really need to cut that limb…

Siding

 

The siding is now painted (but the tree limb remains):

 

Wiring is for lighting (ceiling and exterior), as well as speaker wires (for the volume controller)

Ready for screens:

The screens are going in:

Shingles:

Almost there:

Speaker template:

Cutting out the holes for the speakers. Its a great relief to cut the hole and find your speaker wire exactly where you expect it!

 

Speaker in place:

 

Volume controller and light switches installed:

 

 

Ceiling fan installed:

Dog door #1

From the screen room to the back porch:

Dog door #2

From the screen room into the house.

This door is from Hale Pet Doors. Its pretty bad ass. It has double flaps, 5 magnets per flap, weather stripping, locking Lexan security door, and a carpeted tunnel.

The security door is side load. A top load wouldn’t work because of the interior window molding.

with the security panel in place:

Complete!

We’re thrilled with our new screen room. Mark and his guys did a great job.

Guest Room Mini Makeover

We recently finished up a mini makeover remodel of our guest room.

• Paint the walls, ceiling, and trim
• New crown molding
• New custom made window valances (made by me!)
• New window blinds
• Replaced the door hardware
• Slipcover for the chair
• New bed (headboard & footboard)
• Art

Way Before

The way it was, before we purchased the house. Builders beige carpet & paint everywhere. All fixtures (lighting, doorknobs, cabinet pulls, etc.) were all brass.

Before

A few years ago, we painted the room a bright blue with a faux glaze to give it some texture. The color was a bit overwhelming. Notice that we also carried the paint up onto the ceiling to give it a fake tray ceiling look. The armoire was big and bulky, and hid the large 27″ CRT TV. It was time for all of that to go. We sold the TV. We still need to sell the armoire.

Paint

We painted the walls and ceiling. Color: Dovetail, from Sherwin Williams. It took 2 gallons of primer and 5 gallons of paint to cover the blue and get into all the nooks and crannies of the textured walls.

We painted the trim as well. Color: Ultra Pure White, from Home Depot (Behr)

Crown Molding

We purchased the crown molding and painted it. I then had my contractor Mark install it. I then puttied the nail holes and touched up the paint.

Its amazing to me how much crown molding changes the look of a room. The molding itself was $140. Mark charged us $125 to install it. $265 total (not including paint). To me, that’s pretty cheap to radically change the look and feel of a room.

64 feet of 5 inch crown molding. Painted, and ready to be installed:

installed:

The contrast of the white against the gray paint really make them pop.

Blinds

I also installed faux wood blinds, as you can see. Custom cut to your size, free of charge, at Lowe’s. Typically they come with more slats than you need. Its easy to remove the extra slats, and that gives it a cleaner look when the blinds are down.

Window Valances

I built valances for the two windows. Super easy. Build a 3/4 box using 1×6 pine. I then use 3″ crown on the top, and 1/4 round molding on the bottom. Lots of putty to fill the gaps. Prime and paint. As my Dad says: “Putty and Paint hides the carpenter that I ain’t.” They really “class” up the windows. Again, molding makes a big difference. And the contrast of the white against the gray paint really make them pop.

Slipcovers

We already had a chair (technically a chair and a half), and the ottoman. Their flowered pattern didn’t work with the room, but a simple slipcover does the trick.

Slipcover for the chair and ottoman, purchased from Stretch and Cover:

Bed

A new bed (headboard, footboard,and side rails). Purchased from Big Lots. The bed is normally $200, but we signed up to their Buzz Club, and got a 20% coupon, bringing the price down to $160. Cheap! Perfect for a guest room.

Art

We took some of our vacation pictures, saved them as Black & White, and had them printed using RitzPix. I upload the photos, and they’re ready for pickup in an hour. Prints are only 6 cents each on Tuesday & Wednesday.

We purchased frames from Aaron Brothers, and used the 40% off coupons that show up in the Sunday paper every week (also available on their website and by following them on Twitter).

 

A large picture of my niece and nephew looks perfect in this room:

Other Furniture & Accessories

We already had a dresser, two nightstands, the lamps with white shades, and the vase with lilies.

I also replaced the old brass doorknobs with simple nickel finished ones.

Makeover Complete

We’re thrilled with how the room looks now. It’s clean, simple, and sophisticated. And besides installing the crown molding, we did it all ourselves.