My house project

Before:

I have been dreaming of this project for a long time, but knew I needed some help to pull it off so a few months ago, my mom and I planned that we would do it this month for my birthday.  I love working on projects with my mom.  It reminds me of the times that my Grandpa came down to visit and helped with so many things in our other house.  It was sweet and special to be doing something that I know he would have loved working on.  The process was not too difficult, but definitely the most difficult woodworking thing I have ever done on my own.
First I started with pulling down the old molding and then using spackle and sanding the wall smooth.

As soon as my mom got off the train, we headed to the store (after picking up a sandwich) and bought all of the wood that we needed.  I already had most everything else ready as far as paint and other supplies and I had already figured out how much wood I needed.  That night, my friend just down the street used his saw and cut everything for us since I didn't have my own saw.  I just gave him all of the measurements and he was done in about 40 minutes.  It was so nice of him and a great solution to my problem of not having my own saw.

Then we started priming the next day and painting.  We also pre-painted all of the boards before we hung them.

Then we started hanging the boards the next morning.  There was definitely a learning curve and we made a few mistakes along the way, but nothing major.  Once we got in our groove, it became easier and using a nail gun is really fun.

I was looking for an old window to go over my fireplace.  So once we got all of the boards up and were finishing up those details (all the caulking, paint touch-ups, etc.) my mom and I did a little shopping on Friday morning.  I found my window!  And we got some new pillows, and a cute sign.

I am so happy with how everything turned out.  I love it and it feels so cozy.  It turned out just like I thought it would.  Whenever I decorate a room I just stare at it all the time for a few days.  I still have projects in mind for other things in my home.  It is such a fun creative outlet for me.