The Bedroom Foyer Has Color!
With the exception of that spot on the ceiling that still hasn’t been painted (because I still haven’t had a chance to purchase ceiling paint), the bedroom foyer is now to the “finished” point I wanted to reach before moving on to the bedroom.
I got the upper walls painted teal, which is a custom color that I had matched to the grasscloth wallpaper, and I got the bathroom (storage closet) doors painted white.
It was a bit challenging to color match to the grasscloth wallpaper because grasscloth isn’t one solid color. It took a few tries to get to a color that I thought would actually be representative of the grasscloth on the whole, but I think the actual grasscloth will read a bit lighter than this paint color.
And of course, it’ll be prettier than a solid wall color, but I just wanted a solid base color on the walls before I install the grasscloth. I think the grasscloth is thick enough that nothing would actually show through, but I don’t want to take a chance and find out that I was wrong, especially since I have just enough grasscloth with none to spare. Plus, I just wanted the satisfaction of seeing a facsimile of my overall vision for this area. And I love it!
The HVAC intake vent and the current ceiling light are very dusty, so please be so kind as to overlook those for now. 😀 I have been changing the filters very regularly (sometimes daily depending on the work being done), but I haven’t yet taken the time to clean the light or the intake vent cover. I’ll get to that eventually, but first, I still need to move that ceiling light over so that it’s more centered, and that will create a bit more dust. I think that’s the last project in the foyer that will create dust, and once that’s done, I can get everything cleaned up before hanging the grasscloth wallpaper.
Overall, I’m so pleased with how this is turning out so far. But I realized that this area took me longer than it should because I did things in an order that made the painting more difficult and time-consuming.
I was so anxious to see a big project get underway in the foyer get the trim on the walls that I did the trim first and then had to go back and paint the lower walls with the trim in place. And since some of the areas were way too small to paint with a roller, I ended up having to paint everything from the chair rail down with a brush. So my excitement in getting to the trim first so that I could have that satisfaction of seeing progress on a major project ended up costing me a whole lot more time.
So I’m going to do things differently in the bedroom. I’m going to paint the walls first and get the lower walls thoroughly coated with the white paint (Behr Polar Bear), and then I’ll install the picture frame molding, caulk the molding, and then I’ll only have the molding that needs to be painted with a brush. I think that will go much faster.
And now that the foyer is to this stopping point (except for the ceiling), I don’t feel quite as anxious to jump right to the big project (i.e., the molding) in the bedroom just so that I can have the satisfaction of seeing big steps towards progress.
Obviously, I still have this elephant in the room (or rather, elephant in the foyer) that needs to be dealt with. Our router is coming through the ceiling and sitting on the floor, and that’s pretty unsightly. It used to sit on the top shelf inside the cabinet that was built into this corner of the foyer, but obviously, that cabinet is gone now.
As soon as I decide where I want to put the router, I can get it into its new home, and then I’ll just have this tiny hole to patch. So while it looks awful right now having this wire hanging down and the router sitting on the floor, it won’t be a big deal to patch that tiny hole. I just don’t know where I want to put it!
So that’s the progress so far, and I’m thrilled with how it’s turning out.
Hopefully, I can get the walls in the bedroom completely painted today, and then I’ll be ready to start installing the trim on the bedroom walls this weekend.
Also, I’m seriously considering hiring a professional wallpaper installer to install the grasscloth. I’ve been searching for a pro in my area, but so far, I can’t find one. All of the pros I can find are in the Dallas area. I’m sure they’re willing to travel, but of course, that won’t be cheap. I think it might be worth it, though, because I just don’t want to take a chance at messing it up since I have no room for error. If I mess up on any of the grasscloth, I can’t buy more. I’ve already bought all of the grasscloth in this color/dye lot that exists in the whole country.
I’m still not 100% decided on that, but I’m considering it. A professional could get it done a while lot faster than I could. And while they’re doing that, I could start sewing the draperies for the bedroom. I’ve installed lots of wallpaper in my life, and in general, it’s a pretty easy project. But grasscloth is a whole different thing, and I don’t want to mess it up. I can’t mess it up. I’d feel a lot more comfortable having that project in the hands of pros.
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Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
STUNNING!
Love how the foyer turned out, even without the wallpaper.b
Can the router go in the bathroom that will become a storage closet? We use an Eero mesh and get a powerful signal all over, including on porches.
I think that will be the perfect spot for it.
Ditto on Eero. Our local phone company (and internet provider) switched us over to that. The router is in the garage and we have wonderful coverage over the whole house. The interface is very easy to use and is intuitive as well.
The router could easily go in your walking closet! But obviously. you have thought of that.
This foyer is going to be a little jewel box!
Yes, easily dropped on the top shelf of the wall that it backs up to now in the closet.
Usually the local Sherwin Williams paint store has business cards attached to a bulletin board that are local painters etc. They may have local contacts that do wallpaper installation in your area although they advertise as painters. I know you were in the interior decorating business so maybe someone in that line of work can point you to someone not too far away that can do the job for you.
Your foyer is going to be so beautiful that it deserves the chandelier with the crystal balls! How gorgeous that chandelier would be in that foyer! Everything you’ve done is stunning! And, I support you re: hiring a professional to hang your grasscloth. 🙂
For the router position I would recommend putting it in a central location based on future floor plan with addition.
So to me that would mean a shelf on right side of your music room shelves
Central location will be important
to insure reach to all parts of your home and hopefully avoid problems when you add on.
Better to figure this out now then when you are in middle of the addition.
This is so stunning now, once finished OH MY! I am going to give unsolicited advice here. Please, when you are finished sanding, cutting wood, etc in your home, please, for the health of you, Matt, and your fur babies, hire a professional vent cleaner. Unless you did so when you first purchased the home, there is crud in those vents from the time the house was built, as well as from all the work you have done since then. Whether you think about it or not, you are breathing all that crud into your lungs. Do not let them sell you all the extra items, such as sprays for the vents, etc. Just a good cleaning of the vents is sufficient, and they will also clean the furnace. Your HVAC monthly bills will also decrease.
Anyway, hope I am not offending.
I totally agree! Being the lazy heifer that I am, I HATE cleaning the vent covers! Mine are in the floor and with 4 cats you can only imagine. Found the easiest way to get them clean: my dishwasher. My vents are cast iron (dogs used to flip the cheap ones out of the holes when we first moved in, 43 yrs ago.) so no issues with rust since they are painted & can be repainted. This also came in handy when I had rental houses.
The return air vent in the foyer looks like it might fit a DW with the top rack removed.
RE: Foyer. It is going to be so beautiful when finished!
The mouldings look beautiful! The contrast between the white and teal really makes it stand out. The grasscloth will add so much texture and interest to the space.
Oh, and I forgot to say the light fixture with gold leaves and gold wall sconces would look STUNNING with the teal grass cloth and wainscoting!
Holy cow, this looks amazing. I love a smart, crisp white trim and the molding on the walls is perfect, and goes so well with the lighter floors too. I think it’s wise to hire a pro to wallpaper too. Sure hope you find one.
Where do you buy your paint? Our local paint store recommended a wallpaper professional who works in our area (rural, but perhaps not as much so as where you are). They had cards from several in the area, but suggested one aboe the others. He was excellent. Another great resource for professionals in everything from plumbing to electric to fencing (we can’t all do it ourselves, lol) has been the local Moms FB group (it’s named Our Town Moms, but is open to any women living in the town, whether or not they have children). Might be worth a try.
You so made the right decision to lighten your hardwood floors – this tone is perfect with the wall colors!
How wonderful! I love how the dark blue/teal pulls out the same color out of the wallpaper in the closet! It’s the first thing that caught my attention…. Well the second because I just painted my bedroom with the same and white trim. I’m still loving it. Because our new home build is on a mtn in north Idaho, instead of grass cloth as an accent , we used CdAwood on one wall. Since following you, for years, I’ve used many of your color styles…. Including painting a very old side table PURPLE ….
Love that color ! I am excited to see the grasscloth ,but sad to see the colored walls covered up.
You know whats best for you and your comfort level. Go with your gut instinct.
First word I thought when I saw the paint…Shazam! It’s so awesome! I think you have the ability to install the grass cloth instead of hiring a professional. Every time we have hired someone we thought was a pro, we ended up having to teach them what to and not to do…sigh. Watch all the videos again, breathe, and start somewhere inconspicuous and go from there. You’ve got this. I forget what lies just outside the doors into the foyer, I know it is the music room, but it looks like you have enough wire to take the router across the attic and get it into that area of the house. Just thinking out loud. As for the air intake, they do make some lovely custom ones, or you could work your magic just the same and pocket that money. I think the whole foyer looks fantastic, I love the color contrast, and the bathroom doors look like new.
You’re on a roll now, wallpaper roll that is. Don’t fret, just breathe.
Cheers to you, Matt and the fur babies!
Yes, so true–I’ve paid people to do something I felt less confident to do, only to have to fix their mistakes.
Ooh! I like the idea of a custom cover. I wonder if Kristi could make a larger one, that covers the vent, but would also allow a light to be centered–kinda like an open ceiling medallion that also covers the air return…
Very pretty! I support getting a wallpaper pro for your piece of mind.
Oh Kristi, it’s looking amazing! Maybe hide the router in the music room on a shelf? I guess putting it in the storage room might work, since it seemed to work in the cabinet. It would may be easy to move the wire, since you are moving the junction box for the light.
Wow, your bedroom foyer is very similar to my home’s front foyer. I painted the lower walls a lovely white and the top area a beautiful navy blue. Then I taped off 8″ horizontal stripes and sea-sponged every other stripe with semi-gloss clear polyurethane varnish. The sponged varnish gave a soft mottled sheen to every other stripe. It’s been 10 years and I still love it. Your bedroom foyer is looking beautiful!
The router wire is so close to the wall where you have your closet on the other side. Why not pull it out of the foyer and put it on the top shelf of the closet on the other side? It would be totally unnoticeable that way.
That’s what I was thinking. That would be so easy.
Looking good, Kristi!! It’s going to be amazing. (Hopefully you will paint the ceiling before the grass cloth goes in so there’s no splatter!)
Also, do a little research. Usually they like freshly painted walls to cure fully before installing Wallpaper.
I actually really love the painted foyer, it looks so clean and neat. Do you really need to put the grasscloth in there? And save it for just the bedroom? I am so glad you took the time and effort to sand the floors, I like the light so much better. Looks great. I am confused, the double doors you call a closet, is that the bathroom that was in the music room? You didn’t show it open, just closed and painted. Paint sure does make a huge difference.
I was thinking this, too. It would make the bedroom special and relieve some of the worry about the limited amount.
If you go with a pro, have them give you references for jobs where they hung grass cloth. It would be a crying shame to PAY someone to mess it up!
I’m pretty determined to put grasscloth in the whole area. 🙂 I want the look to be continued througout.
The double doors are the hallway bathroom that will become the bedroom suite storage closet.
Things are looking great!
With your experience and a few good YouTube tutorials you could hang your grasscloth wallpaper and save tons of money. Have your mom or sister help you.
I love it…absolutely gorgeous. Kristi some things are worth paying for and because you can’t afford to make a mistake, I say it is best to have a pro hang it. You can accomplish other things while they are hanging it. Do you have a group on FB that is called Let’s Talk Waco? The reason I ask is we have one for my city and I go there when I need referrals for different tasks. Or try a wallpaper shop locally that might know people who hang paper professionally. Interior designers also know people too. Good luck finding one.
If you decide to go with a wallpaper pro, make sure you’ve checked their references and discussed, in detail, their experience with grass cloth and that they understand the limited supply situation.
I hired a highly recommended and experienced pro to install an expensive mural. She ignored my cautions that there were only 3 inches to spare and trimmed off 4 inches at the top, leaving me with an inch of bare wall at the bottom, saying, “Oh, you can just install some molding to cover that. My house is very modern and does not have a single lick of molding anywhere. She also ignored the manufacturer’s detailed instructions and the tools they provided for matching and cutting the panels, leaving a very obvious and sloppy flaw right at eye level. It’s been 10 years and still makes me cringe every day!
Wow! That’s awful! And infuriating! And that’s why I’m always so hesitant to hire “pros” to do things for me. At least if I do it and mess it up, I own that mistake. But it’s so irritating to hire a pro to do something and watch them mess it up. Then I’m left with less money and living with someone else’s mistake. I hate that feeling.
Don’t you have some baskets on the other side of the wall where the router is now? How about moving it to that side of the wall and putting it in one of the baskets?
I do, but I don’t have an outlet right there on the closet side of the wall.
The floor looks fabulous. I wouldn’t have done all that extra work, but I would’ve been wrong.
And the closet color next to the foyer wall color? Gorgeous.
millers_paperhanging on instagram
He’s from Lott, south of Waco and could show you things he’s done in Waco.
If you need more info, let me know
I don’t know if you ever go to Dallas area , but there is a fabric store called Cutting Corners that I used to shop at all the time when I was making custom drapery. There are several other fabric stores on Harry Hines in Dallas also.
They all have an amazing selection of drapery & upholstery fabrics.