Master Bedroom Refresh - Passaic Colonial
Project Overview
A Passaic homeowner who had just purchased a 1995 colonial wanted to refresh the master bedroom before moving in. The room had original builder-grade finishes throughout: beige wall-to-wall carpet that had seen twenty-plus years of use, a popcorn ceiling with visible cracks, mauve-pink walls that had been the style when the home was built, and dated brass light fixtures. The closet doors were misaligned and refused to slide properly. A small section of wall near the window had a soft spot from an old exterior leak, long since repaired but never properly patched. Rather than a full gut renovation, the homeowner wanted a smart, cost-effective refresh that would make the room feel completely new: new flooring, smooth ceiling, updated lighting, fresh paint, and properly functioning closet hardware. Exterior Solutions LLC completed the full scope in 8 working days before the homeowner moved in.
Analysis
The popcorn ceiling was tested for asbestos content — results came back negative, confirming it was a post-1980 application that could be wet-scraped without hazard controls. The soft wall section near the window was opened up: we found a 12-inch section of drywall that had been wetted and never dried properly, with a small area of surface mold on the paper face. The section was cut out, the framing dried and treated with a mold-inhibiting primer, and a new patch was installed. The carpet was glued berber over a plywood subfloor — the plywood was in good condition once the carpet adhesive was cleaned off. We measured subfloor flatness and found a 1/4-inch hump at the center of the room from a slightly crowned joist, which was sanded down to within the 3/16-inch tolerance required for the floating engineered hardwood installation.
Process
Day one: carpet removed, subfloor inspected and cleaned, popcorn ceiling scraped. Mold drywall patch cut out, treated, and new panel installed. Day two: skim coat on ceiling applied. Electrical rough-in: four recessed can housings and ceiling fan box. Day three: ceiling sanded smooth. Drywall patch Level 4 blended and sanded. Day four and five: two coats paint throughout — ceiling first, then walls, then trim. Day six: engineered hardwood installation floating from south wall, door threshold transition installed. Day seven: closet door track replaced, new mirror bypass doors hung and adjusted. Day eight: ceiling fan installation, recessed light trim-out, dimmer switch, final caulk and punch list.
Outcome
The bedroom was transformed from a tired, dated room into a clean, calm, move-in ready space. The smooth painted ceiling — which had been the most immediately noticed change during the work — opened the room up dramatically. The wide-plank engineered hardwood gave the room warmth and scale that the old carpet never could. The recessed lighting on the dimmer gives the homeowners full control of the ambiance from bright morning light to soft evening glow. The new mirror bypass closet doors are functional and make the room feel larger. The homeowners moved in on schedule and described the room as one of the best decisions they made on the purchase.
Project Details
Materials Used
Flooring: Shaw Floorte Pro 5 Series engineered hardwood, 6-inch wide plank, Mineral color, floating installation with attached underlayment. Ceiling treatment: wet scrape of popcorn texture, skim coat of joint compound, sanded to Level 5 smooth finish. Lighting: 52-inch Hunter Brushed Nickel ceiling fan with integrated LED light kit and remote receiver. Recessed lights: four 4-inch Halo LED wafer lights, 2700K warm white, on single-zone dimmer. Closet hardware: new top-mount sliding door track system, new mirror-faced bypass doors in white frame. Paint: Sherwin-Williams Accessible Beige SW 7036 walls, Extra White SW 7006 ceiling and trim. Trim: existing 3.5-inch baseboard kept, filled, caulked, and repainted. Drywall repair: 1/2-inch mold-resistant drywall patch, Level 4 finish blended into surrounding surface.
Methods & Techniques
Carpet removal and subfloor cleaning. Popcorn ceiling wet scrape and skim coat to Level 5 smooth finish. Mold-remediated drywall patch with mold-resistant panel and primer. Crown joist hump sanded to within floating floor tolerance. Recessed light rough-in in ceiling joists. Ceiling fan rated box installation. Drywall patch finishing blended to ceiling. Two coats paint on all surfaces. Engineered hardwood floating installation from longest wall. Closet sliding door track removal and replacement with new mirror bypass door system. Ceiling fan and recessed light trim-out. Final trim caulk and touch-up.
Key Highlights
Popcorn ceiling wet-scraped and skim-coated to Level 5 smooth finish. Mold-remediated drywall patch with mold-resistant board and primer. Shaw 6-inch wide-plank engineered hardwood flooring throughout. Four recessed LED wafer lights on Lutron dimmer. Hunter 52-inch brushed nickel ceiling fan with remote. New mirror bypass closet doors on new top-mount track. Sherwin-Williams Accessible Beige full paint package. Completed in 8 working days before move-in.