Some time ago I inherited a four-poster bed when my mother passed away, and it's been in storage for almost two years. Earlier this summer it was brought to our house, and stored in pieces upstairs. Thinking we would put it together that same day, we dismantled the double bed already in the guest room so the four-poster could be put in its place. Well, someone forgot to get the side rails from the storage unit, so the bed could not be reassembled that day. (Someone, being me!)
Now, with guests coming in less than a week, I knew the four-poster had to be put together for them. But the guest room has been a thorn in my side since I bought this house: ugly 40-year-old floral wallpaper, pink woodwork, outdated wiring, really sad looking hardwood floor. And cork tiles had been glued to one wall for a bulletin board! This room did not deserve the lovely four-poster - and I was determined to get the room completely redecorated with Saturday as my deadline!
Fortunately I have a very patient and cooperative spouse. Within minutes of voicing my goal, he was attacking the cork tiles. They came off more easily than I had expected, but in the process it became apparent that all the wallpaper would have to be removed. That task took us about a day. The surface under the layers of wallpaper and paint, was Homosote, an early version of wallboard (drywall). It was powdery and porous, and a very dark brown.
Early the next day (Wednesday) we headed for the home improvement store to pick out paint. The color scheme of the room was determined by a set of Ralph Lauren drapes I bought years ago for another bedroom in another house. I love them - retro style cabbage roses in peach, against a grayish-blue background, with accents of cream and green. Ralph Lauren Paint offered the perfect colors, but I refuse to pay $28 for a gallon of interior paint! So we asked the store to match the colors we wanted in a less expensive brand of paint. They were happy to do so. This saved us $10 per gallon.
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