Here’s a design challenge for you: take a 8′ x 17′ room used for storage and convert it into a main bedroom. Think you’ve got the stuff to do that? What if I told you that there were a few ‘special’ features you’ll have to work around. Still feeling smug? Read on:

1. Roof water damage has cracked the plaster on both the ceiling and window wall. The window wall is new damage and has been fixed by the association. The ceiling pre-dates you however.
2. There’s a chimney running through one corner of the room taking up a space 33″ x 44″.
3. Two windows! Northern exposure overlooking a brick wall and…
4. The neighbor’s living room windows are about 15′ away. Hiya neighbor!
5. Ceiling fan! Brass and faux walnut. Actually it’s faux brass.
6. There’s a steam radiator (painted pink!) near the window that gets so hot in the winter that Hell likes to send their overflow there. Oh, and because of the system there’s only two settings, on or off, otherwise it leaks.

At least it has a nice deep closet!

This is the bedroom after getting the trim painted and the walls edged in. Note the oh-so-lovely ceiling fan and the equally beautiful view out the windows. If you are curious the trim is painted Benjamin Moore Simply White and the walls will be Benjamin Moore Bird’s Egg. This is the first time I’ve tried their lower VOC “Ben” line and have to say that it has good coverage. While I would have liked to have used no-VOC paint past issues with adhesion have soured me a bit on it. Poor adhesion + $50 a gallon = one unhappy ninja.

Here is the nondescript pink radiator:

The pink is brighter in person. It could be worse I suppose. I’d like to put the bed under the window but this idea is simply not practical with this thing pumping out hell fire six months out of the year.

Since these photos were taken the walls have been finished and the room cleaned up. Just the radiator, closet and two doors left to paint. Oh, and the ceiling. I’m still going back and forth on what to do with the ceiling. The real solution would be to hire someone to put drywall over the existing one but bids are running around $1,000 which isn’t in the budget right now. So the other ideas are to either put up a bead board or tin ceiling and paint it white or use this special wallpaper that is made to even out problems like this. The idea of wallpapering a ceiling makes me want to crawl under the covers and never come back out. So I am going to procrastinate for a while and move on to painting the hallway, kitchen and living room while waiting for inspiration to strike.