I figured the wall colour might not be the best for Eric, so I first patched the cracks in the drywall, and then painted the ceiling in white. And then the walls were painted a light green called 'Maid of the Mist' by Benjamin Moore.
On one wall I decided to put a huge map of the USA and Canada, Eric being a long-haul trucker has been to pretty much everywhere in these two countries. Around the map I wanted to put planks of wood to make a feature wall that he would face when sitting at his desk.
So, I first painted brown in the areas where the wood would be placed. (This avoids purple from showing through any gaps in the wood pieces)
I used 1' x 4' strapping and stained it in four different shades, from light to dark. After finding and marking where the studs were behind the drywall (I use a strong magnet) I cut the wood into lengths that ended on studs so that I could use my pin-nailer to nail the wood right into the studs.
I worked around where the map would go and just overlapped it by about 1/2' on each edge. I really should have had help putting up the map, it's laminated in plastic and fell on my head a few times, leaving some crease marks, unfortunately. (I did all of this work myself)
In the corner behind the door there were some shelves made of pressed wood. I replaced them with shelves I made from the same stained wood that I put on the walls. The corner area was painted white, I'm thinking I may go back and paint that the same green as the walls, but it's white for now.
It all turned out quite nicely, I've just been looking for a good used solid wood desk. If I can't find one I'll have to make one, I guess.
