There was an addition put on to our house many years ago that originally acted as a hair salon run by one of the previous ladies who lived here. For us, it became a bedroom for the cats while we dreamed up ideas of what it would one day become.
They cats need their own bedroom at night because otherwise they race around the house like maniacs, party under the bed and sit on my head, which is not conducive to a good night’s sleep. As much as I love the idea of cuddling with cats at while I sleep, these guys are just too psycho during the night!
This room was not pretty. With wood paneling floors, beat up stained walls and an ugly blue door, it was not a room we were excited to show off. I had dreams of it one day being home to not only our cats, but a washer and dryer, and maybe even a desk for my numerous hobbies.
So finally, at the beginning of this year, we began the process of remodeling this room. We painted the ceiling white, instead of that sickening shade of light beige, and covered the stained walls with light grey paint.
It took a while to decide on what to do with the floors, but we finally decided to paint them with high gloss dark grey oil paint. This was the worst part of the process because the cats had to stay out of this room for over a week while the paint dried. Which meant I did not sleep well for quite a while!
Another tricky part of the process was the washer and dryer. The only hookups we had for such equipment was on the enclosed back porch, so we had to hire an electrician and a plumber to be able to install a washer and dryer in this room. During this process the cats stayed in our room with a sign on the door that said “Cats inside, do not open!” But it got opened anyway and the cats nearly escaped for good! When I got home I found both doors open to the house with the plumber inside, and only Cloud and Jeeves were accounted for! Cloud was covered in red mud and the plumber said she ran outside and he had to catch her. I couldn't find Chester anywhere so I thought he was gone, but then I found him hiding under the couch. Whew!
Also, this was our first attempt on curtains and a rug for this room. We changed our minds about them almost immediately and gave them away. Haha.
I dreamed up this washer/dryer cabinet design years ago and was so excited to see it come to life. After spending years having NO washer and dryer, and then having it on the back porch, I LOVE doing laundry now! ( I still hate putting it away though!)
We traded out the old carpet cat tree that was falling apart, with some slick new modern cat furniture. I was worried they would miss their old cat tree and not like the new one, but they love it! The shelf under the window was at last minute decision and I'm glad we thought of it. The cats love the big space to lay out on and stare out the window, and I love the extra storage.
When the painting was done it was finally time for the fun part of adding furniture! We took a trip to IKEA and ended up stuffing our car so full we literally could not have bought one more tiny thing. We had a box down the middle of the car so we couldn't see each other, and I was squished in my seat with my feet up on a box, holding a bag filled of stuff and a lamp on my lap the whole way home.
It was definitely the most stressful remodel we have done so far, due to the cats having to be displaced, and almost escaping! But I am so glad it is finally done and I'm so happy with how it turned out. It's a room that once made me cringe to even walk in, and now I love hanging out in it.
