Owl Room, After

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We've finished our first complete room, top to bottom. Talk about gratifying! What began as Jordan's bedroom has turned farmhouse chic under its newest incarnation as the Owl Room.

This room was in the worst structural shape to start, with a gaping hole in one wall, spackle along another, a beat-up door and frame, and lots of trinkets and dolls being stored in the space.

Here are a few shots of the room before:



Lana and Mike started the process by emptying the space. Then, Corinne and Butch got in there over Memorial Day Weekend to install new sheet rock, spackle, and paint. The tan color they used on the walls was "reclaimed" paint — that is, instead of being thrown out, we eked out the rest of it on the walls of this room. The sheet rock was scrap from another house project. After Corinne and Butch finished up, it was just a matter of a few final details:
  • Installing the bunk beds we got from a nice man in LeRay, N.Y.
  • Reappropriating some shelving from the library
  • Hanging fresh curtains, courtesy of Laura Caldwell's basement (antique lace looks amazing in farmhouses, by the way)
  • Sanding and painting the doorframe and door
  • Bringing in an area rug we found downstairs
  • Applying fresh linens to the bed (also taken from elsewhere in the house)
  • Creating the theme: Moving the owl lamp from the lilac room and fitting it with an energy-efficient bulb, hanging a piece of art depicting an owl, and bringing in an owl bell
And, drum roll please:






Viva Better!
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Nicole Caldwell

Nicole Caldwell is a self-taught environmentalist, green-living savant and sustainability educator with more than a decade of professional writing experience. She is also the co-founder of Better Farm and president of betterArts. Nicole’s work has been featured in Mother Earth News, Reader’s Digest, Time Out New York, and many other publications. Her first book, Better: The Everyday Art of Sustainable Living, is due out this July through New Society Publishers.

Better Renovations: Jordan's Room, Before

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This was Jordan's room while he was growing up at Better Farm. Since he relocated to Watertown with all his stuff, the space has acted as more of a guest room/storage space. There's a lot to clear out! Also, the walls need a lot of work. But though it's tiny, there's room enough to bring in a bunk bed, paint it a great color, and get some nice window treatments. And how about the koala lamp! Perfection...
  • Figure out how to smooth out the walls behind and next to bed. New boards?
  • De-clutter
  • Fresh coat of paint
  • Patch holes in walls
  • Handle spackle situation on the wall next to the door
  • New carpeting?


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Nicole Caldwell

Nicole Caldwell is a self-taught environmentalist, green-living savant and sustainability educator with more than a decade of professional writing experience. She is also the co-founder of Better Farm and president of betterArts. Nicole’s work has been featured in Mother Earth News, Reader’s Digest, Time Out New York, and many other publications. Her first book, Better: The Everyday Art of Sustainable Living, is due out this July through New Society Publishers.