Tween Boy Baseball Room Part IV: Furniture Gets Steel Look

Hello again!!  I still have more updates to share on my stepson's baseball room, although this is very close to the end. If you missed the prior episodes, check here and here and here. In Part I we painted, added a curtain and pillows, moved the Derek Jeter fathead (successfully, whew!) and added a refurbished IKEA Malm dresser that I spray painted navy. In Part II I showed how to make a baseball curtain rod finial and tieback.  In Part III we added a new comfy comforter, some wall art, and a "magnetic" board.

This last part is one of my favorite things in the whole room, and the most work, actually more than I bargained for.  Here is the bunk bed contraption that we started out with.  Its really a cool piece of furniture.  It has a desk, dresser drawers, and shelves, great design.  The faux birch and navy finish remined me of a nautical style.  For this room I was going for a modern industrial locker room type look.

So, I painted.  Actually, I sanded, primed, then painted.  I'm loving this finish! 


Silver metallic paint!  We sanded first and then a coat of Zinser oil-base primer.  I went through 2 quarts of primer.  The Silver paint was a quart of Rusteloem and I only used around 1/2 the quart.  

Side note:  We need another mattress.  I'll have a final post showing the whole room when we get the other mattress, that is why the bottom bunk looks a little bare right now.  :)

The finish is intentionally imperfect.  I wanted the metal look and wanted the brushstrokes.  I can't say that I did a stellar job, but I'm happy with it.  Here are some better shots of the finish.

I didn't paint the portions of the furniture that were already blue.  That tied in with the room's color scheme and we liked the two-toned look for the most part.  Problem is that the blue is all scratched.  I almost positive that I won't be able to match this exactly to touch it up but I will try.

I think this room is almost done, save for a mattress and hanging a mirror and a little more artwork. 

-----Adrienne

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Tween Boy Baseball Room Part III: New Comforter and A Big Screw Up!!

Hi there!!  I have more updates to share on my stepson's baseball room.  If you missed the prior episodes, check here and here.  In Part I we painted, added a curtain and pillows, moved the Derek Jeter fathead (successfully, whew!) and added a refurbished IKEA Malm dresser that I spray painted navy.  In Part II I showed how to make a baseball curtain rod finial and tieback.

Which leads us to Part III.  First the fun and easy update:  new comforter from Target.  Its a faux down comforter in grey and really soft.  I want one for my room.

I should mention here that the vibe I'm going for in this room is industrial locker room style.  So I thought it would be both functional and fit in with the design to add a big sheet of metal to the wall to use as a magnetic board for all of the magnets, posters, notes, baseball cards, and ticket stubs that collect in stepson's room.  Here it is all hung on the wall and I love the way it looks.  I'm getting to the bad part, give me a minute.

I was in Home Depot (HD) and found this 3' x 3' sheet of metal for around $20.  Perfect size for the wall, I just wasn't sure how to hang it.  The HD guy suggested this liquid nails-like stuff that you can use on metal but I really didn't want all of that adhesive permanently stuck to the wall if we ever changed our minds.  Plus, I wasn't sure how the metal sheet stay on the wall while the adhesive set.

So, instead I decided to try screwing the metal sheet to the wall with some bolts I had.  I was hoping the bolts would add to the industrial look of the room.  I started by locating a stud.  I wanted at least one of the bolts in a stud to make sure the metal would stay up there.

Next, I drilled 8 holes around the metal sheet, one in each corner and one in the center of each side.

Then I predrilled a small hole into the drywall and used my socket wrench (?--not entirely sure if that is the right name for the tool, and I don't have a pic :(  ) to attach each screw.  Here is a close up of one of the screws.  I love how it gives an industrial look to the magnetic board.

And here it is all finished.  I ran to get some magnets that I had purchased to stage an 'action' shot.  I was super excited and super proud of myself.

But wait, the magnets do not stick.  My metal is not magnetic!!!!  How big of a dodo brain am I?  I bought aluminum.  I should have bought steel.  I just love spending lots of time buying just the right piece, devising a clever way of hanging it, hammering a bunch of nails into the wall to find a stud and wait until I am all done to discover I totall screwed up!  Really.

But I've had a few weeks to calm down and now own a roll of galvanized metal roof flashing.  Question is will I try to adhere it to my already existing metal sheet or rip it out and try again?  Not sure yet.


In the meantime, the baseball room got some wall art.  :)  That is pretty hard to screw up.

----Adrienne