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A Farmhouse Bedroom Renovation
Bedroom renovation in old farmhouses can be difficult, but they’re part of the charm. This is because, most of the time, bedrooms in farmhouses are small. They typically offer little spacing options and even fewer functional space options. Rooms of this nature can also make it difficult to place furniture or even find the right pieces of furniture to find in the first place!
Finding a piece that will fit in all directions, be functionally responsible and that will look good can be the biggest challenge. Recently, we tackled this piece of our farmhouse’s “charm” and decided to renovate one of our upstairs bedrooms. We had tried the bed, nightstand, dresser and desk collection in all different configurations. None of them were jiving.
Taking on A Bedroom Renovation
What is the reason you are taking on this reno? We chose to renovate and update in our daughter’s room for practical reasons.
The room was looking cluttered and it truly overwhelmed the eye when walking in. Since the room has two large windows on either side, a built-in closet (that we built in!) and a radiator with a box surrounding it, we really did not have any other options for the room layout. These obstacles left us with one empty wall that was long and basically useless. Thus, we decided to renovate the room and add a wall of built-ins joined with a window seat (over the radiator box!).
Boom! The project is moving along and we are excited to get the room up to snuff. This renovation is offering much needed storage options, a desk (best part, this will be hidden with doors so the desk mess won’t take over the room!) and a small window seat for reading or chatting on the phone or maybe clean laundry piles to be put away (the latter seems a bit more realistic!).
It is the second largest bedroom in our house, which really isn’t saying much since all four of our bedrooms are tiny. We are hoping that this room will create a haven, a space to rest as well as a place to enjoy all the daily happenings life brings our daughter’s way as she grows. The bedroom is home to our eldest daughter who is coming into her own and seeing life through a new double-digit lens.
How long will it take? We are hoping we can wrap the project up in the next month. So, when all is said-and-done, the entire project would have taken us two and a half months to complete. Due to our painter and woodworker’s limited availability (I know, join the club, wah!), it feels as if the project is crawling along like a caterpillar.
What does the bedroom reno entail? We thought it would entail a lot less than expected (just being honest). Typical. We ask one question – How have we not learned this lesson by now?!
When we peeled off the back-wall wallpaper, it revealed a top layer of mold. (I can hear the audience sigh). So, that added an extra one and half weeks to our project’s timeline. Since it was an exterior wall, we wanted to gut it and be sure the mold was not deep-seeded and wide-spread. Luckily, as we had anticipated the mold was topical so we added sheet rock and prepped the space for the next phase (the built-in installation). We are excited to share the finished room once we have it all organized and back to normal. In the meantime, enjoy some pics from numerous phases. Its been a ride and our daughter’s closet and things laid out throughout our upstairs hallway and master bedroom is less than ideal. We’re almost there!
Ideas to Gain More Space in a Farmhouse Bedroom Renovation
A big issue for this bedroom and what really sparked the built-in wardrobe and desk idea was the dresser and larger pieces of furniture in the room. Nothing was working and it always seemed as if these pieces were thrown in there for temporary use. X-ing out the dresser/larger pieces of furniture and incorporating built-ins seemed to be the only way to clean up the space.
Modernizing the space also seemed ideal since our daughter is entering a new phase. Her room will be used in different ways. She will be having friends sleep over and needed a room that would accommodate this next period in life. We’ve created more storage than her original single dresser gave and it give the room a “look” as well as a multi-purpose purpose!
We can’t wait to share the after photos with you!
Another way to gain storage and create more of a design in an old farmhouse bedroom is to consider the permanent bunk bed installation. We have seen some that also include storage (drawers underneath the beds or on the sides) and even built-in (safe) ladders to make it easy and fun for kids to hop up in bed and get cozy. Some folks worry about the permanency of this option, but we think bunk beds make a great guest room as well! Cozy and tidied up – who wouldn’t want to be a guest with those digs?!
