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Thursday, February 29, 2024

An Unexpected Detour

Hi Guys! I hope you won't be disappointed that there's no update (other than the two photos below) on the Fairytale Treehouse's great room fireplace. I had fully expected it to be my sole focus this week. Until...

Cricut cut parts assembled, herringbone "brick" affixed to firebox.

Test fit in the great room. Goldie can't wait to roast marshmallows!

As I'm sure you've all experienced, life has a way of landing us into unexpected adventures. That's exactly what happened to Russ and me last weekend. What follows is not a post about miniatures, but is quite an exciting development for us in any case. So if you're up for something other than minis, read on...

Russ and I have both had trouble sleeping for a few years now. Sometimes the aches and pains of our aging bodies is the culprit. Sometimes it feels like we can't find the right pillow. Still other times it feels like our mattress is seeking revenge for all our tossing and turning. Whatever the plethora of causes, it's annoying! We finally came to the point where enough was enough!

Our solution and plan was to install our new, firmer mattress. After all, it's been in its box for a little over a year now!!! Then we would assemble a new frame (also a year old now) for the old mattress (which I love but Russ does not) and put it in the second guest bedroom (we seem to be finding more and more occasions for needing a second guest bedroom lately). So our plan to get a new mattress for our bedroom had additional motivating factors. 

To give more context, in 2018 we replaced the carpet with wood flooring in two of our four bedrooms. We set one up as a guest bedroom at the time. The other has been sitting empty since we finished. The last bedroom (other than ours) I'm ashamed to say is a catchall for all the stuff we don't know what to do with but can't yet decide to part with. It will stay as is until we find inspiring motivation.

As we began to tackle the mattress swap last weekend, our plans drastically expanded. At first we decided it wouldn't be that hard to empty the room so that we could install new flooring. It is long overdue. And, we thought, while we were already in DIY mode, it might be smart to go ahead and repaint, as well. One thing lead to another and soon, thanks in part to our income tax refund, we had a pretty great makeover in the works. 

Here are a few of the elements that will go into making up our new environment. It seems serene and lovely on paper, but if we still can't sleep in here after all this then there is no hope for either of us, lol! But we do hope. We hope by the end of March we'll be sleeping in our newly redecorated room. And we hope to have two guest bedrooms ready in time for Easter company. And we hope our aging bodies are up to the task!

The background color, Cream Puff, is the same color we painted in the other bedrooms.
The more I've lived with it, the more I really love it!

Under the guise of saving money, I'll be making new wall art for the room. That means I'll get to carve out some creative time. It's the next best thing to mini time! I hope you're up for expanded adventures and will enjoy the transformation with us, too!

xo xo,

Jodi

27 comments:

  1. Ese proyecto está genial !!!Pero es menos controlable que a nivel miniatura. Ánimo y a colaborar.

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    1. Gracias Isabel! ¡Ja ja! ¡Tan verdadero! Pintar mini habitaciones no me produce tanto dolor ni cansancio, ¡jajaja! ¡Debe ser por eso que solo hacemos renovaciones reales cada pocos años!

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  2. We have had that same discussion here: can't sleep the night through--could it be our 20 year old mattress? And two guest rooms are handy. We have teen grandkids who like the solitude but mostly the privacy of the basement bedroom and the upstairs bedroom serves as a B&B for older guests. One couple comes from Eastern Colorado to the Front Range for doctors' appointments and the other couple comes from the Western Slope to visit grandkids with great grans here in town who don't have a guest room. The rates are cheap and the food's not too bad. And the Manchester roof needs painted and the 3rd floor needs to be made; instead, I've been making greeting cards as for my DAR chapter that we will send to Cards for Soldiers, an organization that sends cards to troops deployed over seas. If your new guest room is anything like the mini rooms that you create, it will be beautiful and we want to enjoy that adventure with you, too.

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    1. It can be so hard to pinpoint! Our "old" mattress is less than four years old. When we stayed at our daughters in her guest suite her mattress was much firmer and Russ slept great. That convinced him it was our plush mattress, lol! t is great that our guest rooms get good use! Russ and I joked that once we finish our bedroom it will be fit for VRBO! Too bad Woodson doesn't like strangers in the house! 🤣 I remember liking to "get away" when I was a teenager, too. They'll have fond memories! Card making sounds fun and interesting! Sometimes you just need something different until you find the excitement for minis again. Have fun!

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  3. The plan looks very beautiful, gray and yellow is a good combination. I hope you get a good night's sleep in the renovated room!

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    1. Thanks Mummu! It will take a few weeks to see if we're sleeping good from renovation exhaustion or a nicer room, lol!

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  4. Hi Jodi! What fun to get to do a wintertime make-over in RL!!! Just the thing for chasing the winter blues away! I Love the peachy wall color.... soft and warm but not too girly! And the floral print spread and curtains look like spring is on the way! I, too have been debating about my almost 20 yrs. old mattress.... but am not ready to make that kind of investment this year! I know I will enjoy following you through your "detour" and look forward to seeing the results! :):):)

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    1. Thanks Betsy! I was thinking that I am glad we didn't start this in the summertime - too hot!!! The wall color reads as a light and creamy warm yellow. It is so soothing and looks great with the white millwork. Bringing all the bedrooms together with wall/décor color will be a change from my 'different color for every room' tendencies, but I think I'll enjoy the change.
      If I ever became a millionaire (ha!) I'd have a house all done in Penny Morrison (https://www.pennymorrison.com) but for what I can afford on my extremely limited decorating budget, my interpretation of Laura Ashley will have to do, lol! Russ and I have been happy with our Tuft and Needle mattress and loved Tasha's Casper. The nice thing is that they are much more affordable now than our old mattress and box springs. Tuft and Needle sells through Amazon and Casper is their own site. I hope you can get a new mattress and a fresh start soon!

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  5. Claro que sí! podréis con la renovación de vuestro dormitorio, el cambio de colchón más el cambio total de pintura os dará alicientes para después poder descansar por fin! nosotras estuvimos de obras 2 meses hace ahora un año y aunque fueron incómodas, estamos realmente disfrutando de los cambios (incluido el colchón y somier nuevo)
    Ánimo y a por ello!!
    Besos.

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    1. Gracias Pilar! ¡Ahora es un caos total, pero sé que en unas semanas sentiremos que ha valido la pena! Ha sido muy divertido elegir cosas nuevas en colores frescos, ¡y esta vez no están en escala 1/12!

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  6. Jody I love the new chimney, the colors for the bedrooms are very beautiful and sunny and fresh, it will definitely be fine, enjoy and take it easy. yes, because it's not easy when you get older

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    1. Thanks Gonda!I was sad to have to put the fireplace aside for now but getting to redecorate and refresh our real life space is helping to push us through the aches and pains of all the work. Slowly we make progress!

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  7. What a great plan Jodi! The time is right and you will be so pleased when you have yoir stunning new bedroom - you will be too excited to sleep!! Isn't sleeping a literal pain as you age? I can't get it right either. Anyway, I hope it goes smoothly and quickly. It will be worth the effort.

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    1. As we've gotten older, we seem to get woken up by the slightest disturbance. We're both up a couple times during the night to use the bathroom and inevitably, that wakes the other person. I have been joking with Russ for a few years now that I want my own bed away from him and the puppies, lol. I tell him that Lucy and Desi had it right in their single beds! Once we're all finished not only will we have a nice, fresh space to sleep in, there'll be two additional options to go to if we're driving each other crazy!

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  8. I know you're going to love your room once its finished. Home renovations can be painful but I'm sure the result will be worth it. I'd be willing to bet that you could find something on pinterest or youtube for a DIY upholstered headboard if you hadn't planned on doing it already.
    I love your mood board for the room though! it's going to be so comfortable and soothing!

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    1. Thanks Sheila! I am sure you're right - once it's all finished, it'll seem like a good idea. Right now in all the chaos (and with differing senses of urgency) it seems crazy, lol!
      We had planned on making another headboard as we did for the guest room. I was going to tuft this one, and had already ordered the buttons. Then I found a great headboard on Amazon with amazing reviews for less $$ than all the material/wood/batting/buttons than it would take to make it. It's still in the box but I'm hoping it'll be perfect once we're finally ready for it!

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    2. Oh awesome! That's even better than DIY. Can't wait to see!

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  9. Hi Jodi!
    Yes, I'm still alive. LOL! Finally able to read small print with both eyes and have caught up with all your posts. Firstly I love what you've achieved since I've been offline and hope you manage to create what you want with the Great Room fireplace, it will look divine I'm sure.

    In regards to the DIY, I love the colour choice for your bedroom, white, grey and yellow are wonderful together and will look both restful and warm.

    Now, although I maybe late in acknowledging your anniversary, I hope the next 37 years are as blessed as the first! I love that your wedding was a simple one, as was ours, and it proves one doesn't have to spend thousands of dollars on it to have it be successful marriage. Just keep on doing what you're doing together.
    Love 'n' hugs,
    X

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    1. Hi Sandi! I am so happy to hear you are getting better and back to creativity! It has been such a fight to spend any meaningful time at my craft table the past several months, too. Hopefully by my spring and your fall, we'll find ourselves with loads of time and inspiration!
      Russ and have have been fortunate in that we tend to agree on most everything, and when we do disagree we feel no shame in compromise. It works great for picking colors in our house as well as for much more important life decisions, lol! We always talked about having a belated honeymoon trip someday, but we've had so many wonderful experiences in general we never felt cheated. Maybe the whole trick to happiness is not the cost of the wedding but simply gratitude for whatever gifts life gives us.

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  10. This got me laughing "One thing lead to another and soon we had a pretty great makeover in the works. " It happens so often that one starts with a little something at home and ends up doing much more than initially planned or anticipated. But it's fun, too!

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    1. So true! Partly because you'll already have things in total dishevelment and partly because you finally allow yourself to dream of better things. All I can say this morning is that we have much less progress to show for than I thought we would at this point. And many rooms which are not even part of the plan are in chaos! I am missing minis, and orderly home and I hope this will all be a memory, soon! 😊

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  11. This sounds like a great project! It's always good to devote some attention to the human house! I'm sure the dolls don't mind waiting. The colors you've chosen are gorgeous. I sure hope you'll love your new bed. I also have a lot of trouble sleeping through the night. I've tried many kinds of beds - and I often end up sleeping in my recliner! I can't wait to see your progress, and I'm especially looking forward to your wall art!

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    1. Thanks Michelle! It is exciting but daunting! It can feel like having a second job for a few weeks, lol! But like child birth you are so happy that you did it once the hard part is done. We're still in the thick of things because we keep expanding our scope of work but they are things we've talked about doing for years and years. Russ quite often ends up in his recliner, too. It takes the pressure off his hip and lets him sleep better. Whatever works!

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  12. I like how you want to do the new room. The colors are beautiful and relaxing.

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  13. While you were and probably still are on a detour I played the main character in "The Green Empire strikes back" and "The return of the Weedies". Sadly my role is a true "Solo" and there is no "Han Solo" in sight to stand next to me in this battle. *sigh*

    And even sader I also had to deal with a forced break from civilization... aka being connected to the internet. *censored comments* But knock on wood... it seems that my days of having trouble with the internet connection could be over as the technician who finally came found out that my cable only transferred 5 V where there should have been 9 V. He fixed this in a wink of an eye and I really cross my fingers that everything will work steadily now. And it made me realize once more that heroes hardly ever come along in shining armor and on the back of a white stallion... in fact sometimes they do arrive in a car of the telecom company. *LOL*

    I really had to smile when I read about the start of your renovation adventure. Isn't it amazing how one thing always leads to another and how you're starting with "we just want to" and ending up with a total makeover of several rooms?! But you'll get your deserved reward for all the work and effort once you'll be finished and sleeping in your new, fresh rooms and most of all on your new mattresses. One should never underestimate the effect a not-so-good-anymore mattress has on the quality of your sleep. And regarding your inspiration sheet you will have a very pretty, cozy room in the end being the perfect source of sweet dreams. However... this photo made me wonder... a bed directly in front of a window???

    I also liked to see the start of the fireplace. My, that's what I'd call huge dimensions... Goldie will be able to roast one, two, three, four and many more pounds of marshmallows at once in there. I would somehow pity the chimneysweep but I suppose that in a fairytale building with a powerful fairy beary living next door this kind of service isn't necessary. Just imagine the bill this would cause! *grin*

    I hope you, Russ and your "aging bodies" have been very successful in the meantime and I look forward to see more... may it be of "cream puff" or of huge fireplaces.

    Hugs
    Birgit

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  14. No me cabe duda que a pesar de todos los obstáculos que te estas encontrando por el camino, estas disfrutando de este proyecto y aprendiendo mucho con el para el futuro.
    Es un gran trabajo y he vuelto a disfrutar con tus entradas viendo detalladamente los avances últimos.
    Un saludo

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  15. Just stopped by to say hi! Looks wonderful!

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