sofa
INTERIOR DEFINE
chair
HOMEDAY
as great motivation to get
the whole family involved in
the renovation. The process
was more complicated than
expected; weather, permitting
and zoning, physical limitations,
and financial delays all slowed
our process considerably.
I’ve always been a fan of
eclectic style, never drawing
fully from one genre, but
instead mixing all kinds of
elements to create a one-
of-a-kind atmosphere. (Have
you ever seen a velvet sofa
and velvet drapes in a boys’
bunkhouse before? I hadn’t
-- until I designed this space!)
Since there’s a lot of white
in this room, I didn’t want the
lighting to fade away into the
ceiling, so I added contrast
with industrial lights and
Edison bulbs from Schoolhouse
Electric.
Surprisingly, even though
this was the original master
bedroom, it didn’t originally
have a bathroom. So we
moved the stairs to create
enough space to accommodate
a full bath, and installed cement
tile (cement ought to be able
to keep up with three growing
boys!)
When designing, I have to keep
the future of the space in mind,
while also balancing my own
sense of aesthetic with the
needs of three active boys.
Mercury mosaic tiles added
a splash of modernity to the
shower floor -- not enough
for the boys to be bothered,
but enough to make the space
feel fresh. And we tied in a few
industrial elements here, too, to
extend the style from the main
bunkhouse.
Those metal towel racks and
tissue holders? We made them
ourselves, using pipe sections
from the local hardware store,
then fashioned shelves from
leftover two-by-four lumber.
This room was a labor of
love, one we are very proud
of as a family. We all came
together, and worked long
hours alongside one another.
We all pitched in. Even the
boys helped, taking out nails in
the subfloor, sanding, painting,
and helping put together the
finishing touches. We wanted
our boys to have the rich life
experiences growing up on a
farm would offer them, but
getting to this point has been a
bit of a wild ride. We still don’t
have a completed home, but
our menagerie of farm animals
is growing, the wildflowers are
bursting up out of the ground,
and we’ve created lifelong
memories already.
rug
LORENA CANALS
Every time we look at this
bunkhouse, we’re reminded of
the miracle of hard work and
perseverance, and the magic of
never giving up on our dreams.
And through it all, I can see
redemption being carried out,
every day, in ordinary corners
of the world -- and any bumps
we experience along the way
are not not permanent.
I carry in my heart the hope of
the eternal. This too shall pass.
The original footprint of the
home was over two thousand
square feet, but since the
mold took such a tight grip
on the place, the salvageable
pieces left us with about half
the space. As we began to
build back up again, our first
priority was to get our boys
situated again. We started
by reframing the master
bedroom, and converting it
into a bunkhouse. We built four
twin-size beds right into the
wall, creating unique rooms-
within-a-room which each boy
could personalize by decorating
the shelves and beds as he
pleased. While giving each of
the boys space, this dual-
function design also allowed for
the center of the room to focus
on imagination and play.
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