Before and After: A 1910s Bedroom with Cool Historic Details Gets a Lively Color-Infused Redo
Historic homes might require a bit of restoration work, but they often come with cool details and cool past lives. Case in point: this home that used to be a pickle factory, and this one that used to be a church.
Megan Shew’s (@meganjeansav) 1910 Victorian home in Savannah, Georgia, dubbed The Lemon Drop, used to be a dairy store, a neighborhood market, and a dry cleaner before it was turned into four rentals. As such, it has some quirky details. “In the pictures, you can see how the bedroom has a large delivery barn door, original shiplap, and concrete floors,” Megan says. She says the challenge for her and her partner, Justin, was ” to take this hodgepodge of history and make it a home.”
“We decided to keep the delivery door but seal it up super well so it is no longer functional,” Megan says. “We could not rip out such a unique original piece of history.” They also kept the shiplap and concrete floors, but they gave everything in the room a transformative coat of paint.
“Our vision was to infuse the house with color,” Megan says. “The bedroom only took a few days, and that is mostly time spent waiting between floor paint coats.”
Megan and Justin painted the shiplap and sealed sliding doors white, the (once brick-red) concrete floors light blue (Behr’s Beach Foam), and the walls bold aqua. “The color Water Park looked good at the store and had a fun name, so it was an easy pick,” Megan says of their main paint choice.
Megan outfitted the room with equally bold colors: a yellow bed and lamps and blonde wood nightstands — only fitting for a Lemon-named house — a pink throw, and a colorful rug and artwork. “My two friends and I took a spontaneous day trip to Augusta back in October and filled a U-Haul with Final Cut treasures,” Megan says. “I’m very proud to say I did not pay anywhere close to what these items are on the websites.”
Her best home makeover advice? “Try new things and be bold.”
“I love how a couple cans of paint transformed a stark, cold bedroom into a welcoming and joyful oasis,” she says. “I am very proud of how the original, old details work harmoniously with a fun modern bedroom.” For other old-meets-colorful home inspiration, check out this color-filled Cincinnati home that boasts historic wood details and jewel tones.
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