Turning an Ugly Duckling Room into a Swan

So we have a breeze way room.  This room was once a concrete slab between the house and the garage.  At some point in time, the previous homeowners decided to roof over the slab and turn it into a room.  By the time my husband bought the house, the rubber roofing material over this room had deteriorated and rain periodically leaked into the room, creating lots of problems with the ceiling in the form of mold and rot.  Ugh!

We decided SOMETHING HAD TO BE DONE!  Not being rich folks, we decided to tackle the project ourselves a little bit at a time.  Luckily, my husband has some experience in construction, and he's the kind of guy that will work at a project until he gets it right.  I'm his "Girl Friday" (meaning, I fetch and carry tools, hold stuff, and help with the heavy lifting).

Last year, we replaced the rubber roof with a metal roof.  Yes, even though I am terribly afraid of heights, I got up on the roof with him, helped to nail down the new decking and attach the metal panels.  Yes, girls can do roofing!  (We did get a couple days help from hubby's son for this project - that was a BIG help!)

This year, we replaced the ceiling with new drywall (please note that you should not undertake this sort of a project unless you really love your spouse!) and installed a ceiling fan.  My son had accidentally broken out the glass in one of the patio doors, so hubby built a new wooden insert to take its place.  Then we painted the old yucky veneer paneled walls with a lovely light and bright color (Ostrich Feather) which lightened up the room considerably.  With new molding along the ceiling, the room was beginning to show definite signs of beauty.

With the new ceiling and walls in place, it was time to tackle the old, ugly, cracked and pockmarked concrete slab.  This required patching and resurfacing the concrete.  Sounds easy, but it took my husband 4-5 days just to get the concrete adequately prepared for resurfacing.  Once the concrete was resurfaced, we had to wait 30 days to apply stain.  So we waited.....and waited....and waited.

Finally, it was time.  I was in charge of the staining project.  I taped off the lines of the design with masking tape, and used the Rustoleum Semi-Transparent Concrete Stain in Sienna and ragged it on.  After drying and removing the tape, my husband and I painstakingly painted Sandstone concrete stain over each and every line, and used the Sandstone color to lighten four of the triangles in the center design.  I also stenciled a floral design into alternating border rectangles using gold craft paint.  Then we sealed.

The floor is just gorgeous!  I really had no idea how it would ultimately turn out, but it has a lovely marbled look to it, and when hubby resurfaced the floor, he left the concrete with a texture rather than smooth, so it almost looks like old stone or leather - truly a unique look that I just love.

We still have some work to do - we'll replace the ugly black floor molding and a little paint touch ups.  The room opens on either end with patio doors to a brick patio in the front and our pond and garden area in the back.  I'll probably add some wicker and distressed furniture and an electric fireplace for the winter.

It is so satisfying to see a room come to life with a little hard work!

Have you got an ugly duckling project?  How about sharing!