Report on The Guestroom. It's a mixed report. (See the kitty? Clarence at 1 year. He's still perfect.)

 

 Some backsliding.

 

 

Major update in The Room. That's a sofa bed and when it opens it fills up the entire room but when guests are asleep will they care?

A little backsliding on the room renovation.

I've still got 6 months.  Just under. And you'll note that the bookcase on the left is empty.  Soon it will get repainted (note passive tense) and then maybe I'll put it somewhere else in the house. Or maybe back in the same place. It will look better no matter what.

I may consolidate the fish into one tank, although it will be a bit crowded.  So I'll probably move a bunch of them outside for the summer in my little pond. They are Endler's guppies and quite hardy and prolific.  They do just fine outside in the summer but I often forget to catch them and bring them back in for the winter.   I don't feel terrible about it.  It's a cycle of life thing; they become food for something else, etc etc.

My sister spent the night in the room & declared it quite live-able. Next the little Ikea futon will go & the living room sofa-bed will move in.

I'll move the fish tanks to the wall system on the left and put the couch against that wall. I think. Book cases under the windows. New rug. Although I like this one and with some effort I could repair the unraveling edges and keep it. Other than the edges, it's in good shape. Why not? Why spend the money for a new one. The 4Rs: repair, reuse, repurpose, recycle. (Does that sound sanctimonious?)

Glad I have another 10 months to finish this project. But I'm happy with my progress.

I've started to collect all the humor nonfiction in one place--under fish tank on the right. Note 5th book from the left. Al Franken should reissue it. It's 15 years old but still so timely.

Inching along. It might not look like much improvement but it's something.

And now you can open the door all the way! The middle picture on the January 15th entry shows what you used to see when you opened the door.

Here are more before pictures.

The horror, the horror.

The boom box isn't gone yet. But it's no longer in that particular spot -- I just moved it to the wall system (which is a whole other subject I won't deal with until I absolutely have to). In April or May or June I'm thinking. My deadline is still December 31, 2012.

Top = after. Bottom = before.

I guess it's not that much progress since I feel I have to point out which is before and which is after. "Before and After" usually speaks for itself.

Things going to the attic along with a note for those I leave behind.

Things I can't and won't get rid of.

The tattered picture is the only picture I have of my maternal grandfather Edward and the only picture I have of my maternal grandmother Pauline when she was young. Photo taken maybe 1919? earlier maybe. My daughter made the little ceramic kittens when she was in high school. The small wooden barrel is filled with marbles. My mother-in-law kept it at her house and my kids loved to dump out the marbles and would entertain themselves for long periods just sorting them into color and size groups. Sweet memory. The paperweights both show the Washington Monument and are very old, as is Keith. The Neil Young concert was among the best concerts I've ever attended. Maybe THE best.

Making some progress. Slow progress. Compare picture to Jan 1 shot.

Top is now. Bottom was 2 days ago. Observant blogger Anne asked what that piece of furniture is that's blocking the closet. A headboard for a twin bed. It has a bookcase built in so of course I can't get rid of it. I just need to find a better place for it.

A friend sends a link to some wonderful book cases. I'm trying to get RID of books, not find better ways to showcase them.

http://freshome.com/2008/02/25/30-of-the-most-creative-bookshelves-designs/

My new bedroom might even look like this.

This look allows me to keep some books but they would be up high enough to possibly be less intrusive. Have to be some mighty strong bookshelves though. Not so sure I can accomplish that.

From http://manolohome.com

Inspiration for this blog.

Anne of Fat Chat (http://chesapeakebaydiary.typepad.com/fat_chat/) lost 24.6 lbs in 2011. She did it by reading and thinking and organizing her thoughts. She created a blog specifically about achieving her goal of losing weight, and she posted regularly every Wednesday.

If she can lose nearly 25 lbs in one year, I should be able to clean out a small catch-all bedroom and turn it into a pleasing guest bedroom. When I say "catch-all" I really, really mean catch-all. Fish tanks, hundreds and hundreds of books, boxes of old photos, bills, letters, and newspaper clippings, old magazines, old computers and other miscellaneous electronics, tchochkes left behind by my parents, paintings left behind by my daughter, desks, chairs, and stools.

I want a guest bedroom. Maybe like this. Not necessarily these colors.

I want a room that's neat and clean and uncluttered. It seems impossible to me that I could ever create such a room. But I'm going to try.

Picture swiped from Liz Williams Interiors dot com.

Suggested titles for this blog, which will be about turning a room of horrors into a guest bedroom.

ConundROOM
TransROOMation?
ROOM to grow?
A Lodger in the Library?
Be My Guest?
Adventures in Deaccessioning?

These ideas for the title of my new blog are from Anne of The Complaint Department and Fat Chat. (I'm not able to create a link to these two blogs. Must be user [mine] error.) Here they are.

http://chesapeakebaydiary.typepad.com/fat_chat/
http://chesapeakebaydiary.typepad.com/chesapeake_bay_diary/