We’ve bought our home in 1988….I know, before most of you were born, but I assure you we were young once.  So young that we moved in with our 2-year old and a 2-month old children.  It seems like an impossible fete now, but we did it.

The 1970’s home wasn’t what we wanted, but it was what we could afford, and we didn’t want to become one of the house-rich and cash-poor people who were being allowed to purchase McMansions.  But that meant the house was small (1800 sf) and it needed paint, carpet, and more.  But we figured it’d be our “starter home” and we’d fix it up, sell it, make a huge profit, and buy a nicer home.  Well, that didn’t happen and in the next few years our starter home will become our retirement home.
Our Master Bedroom 1988 - Steve and the Boys
We didn’t start decorating our master bedroom until a year after we moved in and by then we thought we were DIY  home decor specialists. We’d already wallpapered and painted most of the rest of the house and were feeling a little heady about our accomplishments.  Yes, wallpaper!  It was the late 80’s and it was wildly popular and every young wife was spending a month’s check on the printed wonder.  Heck, back then there was even a store called Wallpapers-To-Go in practically every city and that’s the store we visited when it came time to choose the wallpaper for the bedroom.

Stormy blue paint on the bottom, off-white chair rail and trim, and country striped wallpaper on top. The shelves are filled with 1990's kids' trophies and hand prints - it's hard to move on.

The decorating was in celebration of my husband’s 30th birthday (today is his 53rd) so as his gift, I asked him to make the color and paper choices.  I mention this because no one believes me that my husband choose the decor when they see our country and shabby chic style leftover from 1989.

For our new room we decided that we wanted something with less contrast, something more soothing, and something that was easy to match other items to.  Our original blue was one we loved, but when it came to finding coordinating items years later, it became a bit of a nightmare.  This time we wanted a neutral but not white or off white…but before we could start on choosing colors, we had to remove 1989 from our room.   Planning done, we’re ready to get to work.

What’s Next? Flooring!

Previous DIY articles

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