Walk-In Closet Update – Cabinet Progress, Artwork & Lighting Decision, And Flooring Disappointment (Plus, A Self-Control Update)

I got all of the corners and trim primed (i.e., the part that had to be done with a brush). And I got everything sanded and caulked. I did all of the sanding by hand using 220-grit sandpaper just to make sure everything was as smooth as possible and ready for paint. Once all of that was done, I only had about 45 minutes left last night before bedtime, so I used that time to get at least a little bit of the painting done.

I can add some shelves later if I need them, but for now, I decided to just hang some pretty artwork, add some decorative lighting, and be done with it.

I liked that idea a lot, but the thought of having to make or buy new artwork and lighting was really frustrating me. I had searched online for various types of lighting, and all of the lighting that really appealed to me seemed to be at least $200 or more per light. The idea of spending $400 for two decorative lights really had me feeling frustrated.

At some point during every big project or room remodel, I hit a wall with my spending. I just get to a point where I think, “I’ve spent enough money, and I don’t want to spend any more money on this room.” I’m well past that point on this walk-in closet, so I couldn’t make myself push that “checkout” button on any of my lighting selections. And while I love making artwork, I’d rather put time into making artwork for our bedroom or the foyer, not for my walk-in closet. I want to wrap up this project as quickly as possible and move on to those other areas.

And then this past weekend, I was standing at the sink in the kitchen, staring at this wall like I always do when I’m standing at the sink.

I started thinking about my future plans for the breakfast room, which will eventually be our new kitchen, and how that meant I could no longer use these two pieces of artwork or these lights in here anymore since this whole wall will eventually be removed.

Thinking that I would eventually not have a space for them kind of made me sad. But then it dawned on me. I need artwork for my closet! And I need lighting for my closet! Could these possibly work in there? I brought one of them in to see how they would look with the wallpaper, and…I LOVE IT!!

There is something to be said for keeping a color palette consistent from one room to another. It’s so handy when you can simply move things from one room to another and they still work because you always seem to be drawn to variations of the same colors throughout the house.

I might have to do something else with the frames. Right now, they have very thin black frames on them. I’ll either paint them in the dark navy blue that I used on the trim in the wallpapered cabinet section, or I’ll replace them with thin gold frames (or gold leaf these frames). I haven’t decided yet. And I’ll make the lights work in the closet with a couple of coats of white spray paint. So for very little money (just the cost of spray paint), I have artwork and lighting for the closet! And I get to keep this very meaningful artwork in a spot where I’ll see it regularly.

You’ll notice that I very conveniently left the canvas in the breakfast room that listed “self-control”. Perhaps that’s the one I really should have brought in here because…well, my self-control only partially held out this weekend. 😀 I mentioned last week that I was anxious to get my handbags and shoes in here and on their shelves, but that would be a really dumb thing to do since I still have to sand the floor. I was hoping that my self-control would hold out over the weekend.

I made myself hold off on the shoes. I have far too many shoes to bring in here only to have to take them out again before I sand the floors. But I just couldn’t wait on the handbags. 😀 Fortunately, I don’t have nearly as many handbags, so those only took two trips from my studio to bring them all in here. But I was way too curious to see what they would all look like on the light blue shelves next to the wallpapered section to hold out any longer.

I played around with a couple of different ways to arrange them, but then made myself stop and focus on getting the rest of the cabinets finished. I could easily waste away an entire day on this type of fun stuff, so my self-control finally kicked in again, and I got busy with the real work.

But speaking of floors, I got some frustrating news. As I’ve mentioned, the reason I didn’t do the floors first (which would have been the logical thing to do) is because one of the products I had ordered was on backorder. I was hoping to use a product called Bona Red Out that reduces the red undertones in red oak floors, making them look more like white oak. Right after I ordered it, I was told that it would be a few days late because of the lack of availability from Bona. But at the end of last week, I got another email saying that Bona doesn’t know when the Red Out will be available. *Sigh* I could continue to wait, with no shipping date available at this time, or I could cancel my order.

I decided to cancel my order and do the floors without the Red Out. The good news is that all of the red oak floors I saw finished with the Bona products (the floors that convinced me to go with the Bona Natural) were done without the Red Out except for one. I really loved all of the ones that were done without the Red Out, so I’m going to take my chances and forgo the Red Out on my floors as well. Fortunately, the Bona Natural that I chose (and received two weeks ago) has white in it, so that alone lightens and brightens red oak. I’m just going to move forward with that, and I’m sure I’ll love the result. I loved it in all of the pictures and videos I saw, so I’m confident that I’ll love my floors even without the Bona Red Out. I mean, if it’s not available, there’s not really anything I can do about it, and I can’t stop this project while I wait for an unknown shipping date.

So as soon as I get the other side of the cabinets finished, my plan is to let them dry for a couple of days, and then I’ll cover the cabinets with plastic and then get started on the floors. That’ll be a big job, but it needs to be done before I hang the rest of the wallpaper in the closet. And the floor is also what’s standing in the way of me bringing the washer and dryer into the closet.

It’s a little disappointing, but it’s a small disappointment. I just need to keep moving forward. And I’m sure once they’re done, I’ll be thrilled with the finished floors even if they are a slight bit redder than what I had hoped. At least they’ll be light and bright, and that was my main goal.

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