Do you dream in Chocolate?

I do.
Henry will, too.
That's cuz his room is now a nice, rich chocolate brown.

(Originally Jack's room--when we moved in)

That's right, the room of requirement has been completed (mostly)!

(notice the dresser in the wall? it's hiding access to the under-stairs closet. It was just an open doorway when we got there--not kid-friendly and a little creepy)

The process started only a few months after we moved in. Jack got sick of the peeling wallpaper trim during his nap (he was still 2 and taking naps at that point) and decided to peel large swathes of if from the wall. I finished that process by November but we decided to forestall further "improvements" until we had completed more urgent matters.

(The awesome border went most of the way around the room. Even across the doors and into the shelves. Sweet)

Fast forward to October of 2008. Henry was due in a month and we'd moved Jack into Sheridan's larger (and no longer purple) room. Mission: Renovation was about to begin!
Except I was 8 months preggo and had no desire to move around the house, let alone tackle major renovation. Sigh.
Fast forward to January. Henry:born. I was getting no sleep due to our 2 month old bundle of joy, so I decided to tackle room improvement to get the kid into his own space. Starting at the top makes most sense, right?
So, I scraped off the popcorn ceiling in a day. Even cleaned up! Lookin' good! (well, the drywall/mud look was MUCH nicer than the popcorn).

It took a few weekends to get the ceiling mostly smooth, and then I spent over a month trying to get primer to stick to it! What!?! The issues that crop up during "home improvement" are enough to make me want to strip rooms down to studs!

(Mmmmm. Chocolate. The room is a bit full right now with bed, crib, and rocking chair...but it's way cooler than it used to be. Check out the fabulous beadboard T installed--not easy when no walls are square!)

Anyway, after a far more drawn-out process than we'd dreamed possible, the room is complete! Tyler busted his booty putting in the beadboard. I got to use a variety of his power tools (table saw, jigsaw, nail gun, miter box, and of course drills) but failed at the circular saw (you were wrong about my abilities, Beth!). We'll have to try that one again next time! I also got to use a bunch of my favorite drywall compound to even out the upper walls--but the wall texture in this house is another post.

(see the door to under the stairs? Only a thin seam...T did a great job making it blend)

So, here she is. No more funky border. Yes, the paint is chocolate brown (a little lighter and far less burgundy than it appears in these picts). We still have the linens and stuff to do, but we'll call her good!