SHIPLAP IN A SEA CAPTAIN'S HOUSE

Our old house came with a few small rooms that we tried our best to put to good use. This little room is right at the back of the bathroom hallway which we refinished a little while back. It was said to be a room where the help would have lived when the house was originally built, which is why there is a staircase leading down into the kitchen.

Built in daybed by the previous owners.

We decided that it would be a great space for the kids to watch Netflix and play video games with their friends. It is also a cozy place for little kids to crash when we have family visiting. Parents can have the guest room to themselves and really get a restful nights sleep.

I wanted the room to feel fresh and bright with minimal amount of surfaces to clean etc. Basically, nothing in here could be costly or too precious. I didn't want to have to worry about the abuse things might suffer from frequent use by teenagers! I'm not sure exactly how the previous owners used this room but here is another picture of the room when we were first looking at the house.

Over to the left is the staircase to the attic and to the right is a back staircase down into the kitchen.

 First, we had to make this makeshift bed a little more stable and attractive. To do this, we framed out the bottom of the bed with some 2x4s.  Next, we added some bead board and baseboard to make the bed look more built in with nice trim work.

 I would have loved to have added drawers to the base of the bed however there is a furnace duct under there and we didn't want to interrupt the flow of hot air. This is a nice, toasty room to curl up in.  To help the heat circulate, we added these two simple white grates and put them in the baseboard.




The pillows have been collected over the years and help to make the bed cosy. I plan to sew a few covers to add to the collection. The nesting tables are perfect for snacks, remotes and phones when you are relaxing.

The space is about two inches shorter than a standard twin mattress, so consequently we ordered a custom fit mattress. The cost to do this was surprisingly reasonable and I am pleased with the quality of the mattress, itself.

The mattress has a custom slipcover made from a striped ticking fabric from Ikea. It has held up to several washes and lots of messy kids. Unlike a lot of other slipcovers, I have in the house, it does need to be ironed after you wash it, so I try to avoid that as much as possible.

Paul and I have created many different types of millwork throughout the house. In here we decided to try to mimic the look of shiplap. We thought it was fitting for a house built by a Sea Captain!  We did this by adding 6" strips of plywood. It was a simple, inexpensive installation, and I love the results.

View from the hallway.

To finish things off, we added crown at the top which is totally Paul's department. I'm just a set of extra hands when it comes to measuring and cutting crown moulding. I had reno's in mind when I decided to marry a math major. I have always loved old homes and knew my philosophy degree would not hold up to the rigors of installing crown moulding!

There was a lot of painting in order. Many coats of paint on the trim work and two coats of primer plus two coats of paint on the walls. Ugh ... not fun at all when the sun is finally shining. On the bright side, I didn't have to do the ceiling and, because there were two of use working on this project, I was able to fill the nail holes and caulk as we went along, which made the painting process a little more bearable.

I replaced the old roller blind with a wooden blind from Sears. While I love the look of woven matchstick blinds, which I have used throughout the house, I understood when the kids requested a blind that would really block out the sun when they were trying to watch TV in here. Function over form sometimes! We also replaced all the door hardware, including the hinges, as well as the light fixture. I have used these schoolhouse light fixtures in many places throughout the house because I am enamored with their simple charm.  For the door entering the room I purchased a brass plated knob and back plate. I primed and spray painted them black and they look great.

Same angle as the "before" photo above. To the left is the attic door and the right is a back staircase to the kitchen.

We hung the TV on the opposite wall. It doesn't line up for perfect viewing from the daybed so we put it on a wall mount that can be easily maneuvered and pointed towards the bed.

Sometimes Liev just likes to sit on a pouf on the floor and play video games, so the kids can maneuver it however they like. I am so pleased with the decision to frame it and I am very pleased with the end result. I bought the materials and drew a sketch, but the building was all Paul. It looks great and truthfully it turned out even better than I thought.

The cabinet under the TV was something I bought years ago. It's great for storing gaming systems, movies and video games. There is a permanent HDMI cable running through the wall from the the TV to a hole in the bottom of the console. It is great to have all the cords hidden.

I realize it is very white in here now, not much happening on the walls. I already have some homemade art for in here that is currently being framed. I cannot wait to hang it over the bed.

I plan to follow up this post with more detailed instructions and pictures, if you are interested in attempting any of these projects in your own home.

Thank you for reading along,
Valerie

Sources:

• paint on trim - Benjamin Moore Delicate White in semi gloss
• paint on walls - Benjamin Moore Delicate White in velvet
• blind - Home Depot
• mattress custom order - Home Hardware Furniture Store
• cabinet - Sears
• linen boxes in cabinets - Bed Bath & Beyond
• natural paper movie boxes - Michaels
• nesting tables - HomeSense
• red floor pouf - Target
• wicker pouf - Wicker Emporium
• blanket on bed - HomeSense
• pillows from Target, HomeSense, Ikea & custom
• door hardware (knobs, plates, hinges, handles and locks) - Kent
• white jug - Ikea
• ticking fabric for mattress cover - Ikea
• light fixture - Kent
• white tray on bed - HomeSense
• paper mach moose - TJ Maxx
• basket holding gaming guitars - HomeSense
• basket tray on cabinet - HomeSense
• ginger jars - HomeSense
• lacquered boxes- Homesense 
• glass cloche -Michaels
• lamp -Ikea
• tassel -Michaels
• red and white box- Target
• basket holding gaming guitars- Homesense
• door stop sprayed black- HomeSense