Our Master Bedroom in Progress

Hello again, friends. In the last week, our little family of three trekked to Maine with my mom to celebrate the impending arrival of my cousin's baby girl while spending time with my extended family there. That said, I lost track of the time and simultaneously lost momentum on my house tour update here!

Today, though, I'm back to offer a glimpse into our "in-progress" master bedroom. As incomplete as it is, I'm happy with the direction it has taken since this post from 2013.

Curtain Call (Curtains for the Bedroom and Den)

It's been awhile since I've blogged, huh? A lot has happened in my off-blog life since my last post--birthdays, Mother's Day, a nearly week-long visit from Mom, my sister-in-law graduated from med school--which seems like enough events to keep a person from blogging, right?

During Mom's visit, she and I made some good headway on the task of making curtains for my bedroom and our den and they are definitely worth sharing.

"What I'm Workin' With" Week: The Upstairs Bedrooms

As we head into the end of "What I'm Workin' With" Week, the tour is winding down and today we'll stop by the bedrooms upstairs!

Ideas for the Master Bedroom

All week I've been chattering about the living room like a little monkey. Well, enough of that. Today: it's all about the master bedroom. Let the post commence!

There comes a time when a "done" room needs to change, and that's how I feel about our master bedroom. With an abundance of light and space in our new room, I have the urge to go a little darker, moodier and a little more mature. Today, it's all about reimagining our master.

Final Shots of My Guest Bedroom

Tomorrow I promise I'll talk about something besides my guest bedroom, but today I've got a few more shots of the room before I change subjects. I feel an odd sense of pride about the current state of this room because it has a lot of DIYs in it that work together to create a welcoming spot for family and other visitors.

My Guest Bedroom: Tortoise Bedside Tables

Today, I wanted to continue chatting about my guest bedroom, specifically a bit about the nightstands I found for it. But first, I wanted to thank everyone for your lovely comments on the new built-in shelving in the guest bedroom. You all know how to make a gal feel good!

Big Before & After: My Guest Bedroom

Over the summer, I shared my intention of making some permanent changes to our rental, all of which were permitted by our landlord. Today, I'm happy to report that my guest bedroom is happily redecorated, thanks in no small part to new shelves that my husband and I built!

My Brand New Lamps!

Just last Friday I extolled the cute options from The Land of Nod. 

As I alluded at the end of my post, I had my eye on a few items that I couldn't help but purchase.

What did I buy, you ask?

A pair of Between a Rock Lamps in white that I simply adore!

 I love their unique multifaceted look, and the way that they add a not-so-serious touch to my bedroom. 

...New lamps. I can't think of many better ways to end the week.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

New Cornices for My Bedroom Windows

After posting about the cornices and pelmets recently, I couldn't stop thinking about how my bedroom windows felt a bit "undone" at the top. Enter today's project!

Here were the windows before, sans cornice:

Because there are quirks to our bedroom windows, I opted to save major time and money by using 2 tri-fold presentation foam boards (~$15 each) instead of using wood to build the cornices.

I started by taking basic measurements of the windows, deciding upon a cornice that was 12" high and extended 5"  out from the wall. My curtain panels run floor-to-ceiling, so I wanted a cornice that hit the right proportions to the window without being dwarfed or oversized. 

Once marked, I used my X-acto knife to make the cuts.

 I also marked the foam board to know which board would go where.

I chose tri-fold boards instead of foam board sheets because tri-fold boards have built-in corners! 

For added stability, I placed a short brace made from foam board at each cornice's interior corner. 

 With the foundation of the cornice strong, I sprayed it with adhesive spray and wrapped it in quilting batting.

My next step: stapling my fabric over the batting. I had remnants of the Roberta Roller Rabbit hand-stamped fabric that I used for the window curtains and used the last bit to cover the cornices.

I glued 3/4"-wide bias tape across the bottom of the cornice using Liquid Stitch for a decorative detail.

With the cornices constructed and covered in fabric, they were ready to be installed.

I attached 2 of these medium triangle hooks on each cornice, while Adam was kind enough to secure the cornices to the ceiling with the hooks. 

The cornices are so much lighter than they'd be if they were made from wood!

Ready to see my newly-topped bedroom windows?

And an important detail shot: you can see that the fabric's pattern runs vertically on the cornice and horizontally on the curtain panels (an intentional choice on my part).

The cornices took ~$40 in supplies (foam board; batting; bias tape trim; hooks) and ~2 hours to complete.

For such an inexpensive and relatively quick project, the impact is huge! 

What do you think?

The Old Switcharoo

I've been looking for a piece of art to complement the red-and-blue color scheme in my bedroom for awhile without success...but suddenly, this weekend, I found the perfect piece!

Turns out, it was under my nose...er, above my head this whole time.

I moved this painting from my living room and love its new location; 

but, now there's a gaping hole above my sofa!

Any suggestions for art above my sofa?

I'm hoping to strike gold on Ebay or something...but any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

What's Your Perfect Pillow Combination?

Recently, I was flipping through my copy of Deborah Needleman's book The Perfectly Imperfect Home, and the topic of bedroom pillows grabbed my attention. In the book, Needleman offers a helpful recipe for pillows that keeps us from going overdosing on them. 

(via The Perfectly Imperfect Home)

There's an assumption out there about women and their beds that concerns the amount of pillows we like to use to make our beds pretty--the assumption being that, for women, the more pillows the better. 

What's your take on the matter?

On my bed, I keep things simple with a combination of 4 standard pillows and three small decorative pillows.

But, according to Needleman, there are three main pillow combinations, all of which are chic and none of which require 57 decorative pillows.

"The Square Finish"

One way to combine pillows is the "square finish," where a pair of Euro square pillows are leaned against the front of a stack of standard-size pillows.

(via my Pinterest)

"The Domino Effect"

This pillow combination places Euro square pillows against the wall or headboard, with standard-size pillows in front. Pillows in this combination are organized from largest to smallest, like the examples below.

(via my Pinterest)

"The Standard Issue"

The "standard issue" pillow arrangement is a bit more stripped down than the other combinations because it does not involve a Euro pillow at all. Standard-size pillows are stacked and paired with 1-2 small pillows. One long bolster pillow adds a clean, finished appearance.

(via my Pinterest)

What's your perfect pillow combination?

Are you a fan of "the square finish," "the domino effect," or "the standard issue"?

Getting It Did

After sharing a bit on my bedroom yesterday, I thought I'd update you all on the DIY light fixture in the room that I created last year. With nearly 365 days past, I finally got around to painting it (which was my intention all along), thanks to unseasonably warm 70 degree weather. Cross that one off the 'to do' list.

Before, in its original white plastic state:

During, with a coat of metallic spray paint:

After, in all its gilded glory:

Me likey. 

And there's nothing more satisfying than crossing something off the 'to-do' list, am I right?

Cozifying My Ikea Edland Bed

Perhaps you are familiar with the clean-lines of the Ikea Edland canopy bed, a piece that I've had for about two and a half years. For awhile now, though, I've wanted to soften the lines of the bed with a fabric touch.

I hemmed and hawed for awhile about which direction to go in; did I want a canopy? 

A panel hanging at the head of the bed? A set of panels at each corner? 

Talk about being indecisive, or at least I was until Jamie of I Suwanee shared these images:

 

(via I Suwannee)

And, like that, the decision was made; I'd add some panels to the left and right of my pillows.

After rousing endorsements of Gray Line Linen from Jenny and Bryn, I opted for this $9 white linen to complement the existing color scheme in my bedroom.

Over the weekend, my mom was kind enough to help with the sewing and she added a row of buttons to hang the panels to the frame of the Edland. The buttons make it easy to remove the fabric when they need to be dry-cleaned.

So, with that I won't keep you waiting any longer...here was the before:

and the all-important after:

 

 

To create these panels, Mom and I put together two 15" wide linen panels with little more than a straight stitch. The one detail that we added was a row of coordinating buttons at the top of each of the panels, which allows me to easily remove the fabric for dry cleaning down the road. I also chose to add a tie-back to both panels with the fabric I purchased.

I love the cozy touch the linen panels add to the bedroom, while also drawing attention to the tall ceilings.
I still have to add a piece of art above the bed to tie it all together.
What do you think? 

Jazzing Up an Ikea Stave Mirror

Last week, I alluded to several projects that I've been working on, so today begins a week of reveals. Enjoy!

I've owned my "Stave" white mirror from Ikea for about two years and, up until recently, was on the fence about keeping it. It only cost me $50 and because it wasn't a major investment piece, I thought I might trade up for a floor mirror with a bit more oomph for my bedroom.

But, I thought I'd take a cue from one of my recent posts that touched on the subject of affordable-but-"meh" catalog pieces that can easily be transformed with the addition of a decorative detail or paint.
I thought I'd try adding both.

For this project, I used:

1.  an Ikea "Stave" mirror in white

2. two pieces of 8' x 1/2" unfinished rope molding (I bought mine at Home Depot for ~$7)

3. a miter box 

4. glue

5. a coping saw

6. spray paint or latex paint in the color of your choice

Want to see how I customized this bland mirror in a few easy steps? Here's how:
Step #1:
I purchased two 8' long pieces of unfinished wooden rope trim from Home Depot that cost ~$7 a piece.
The trim was narrower than the mirror's frame, and I began by laying it on the frame so that it was centered. It looked great!
Happy with the look, I took my coping saw and cut two pieces for the long and short sides of the mirror.
These were straight cuts.

Step #2:
With two pieces of trim cut for the short and long sides of the mirror frame, I marked where each piece would meet at a mitered corner. Then, I used my coping saw and miter box to cut each piece of trim on the diagonal where I had marked it.  

Step #3:
With two short edges and two long edges mitered, I was ready to run a bead of glue along the flat side of the trim. I pressed the trim to the mirror frame and wipe any excess glue.
While glue is drying, it's also a good idea to fill in the spaces in the mitered corner with wood filler.

Step #4:
With the glue set and the trim secured to the mirror, I began painting with abandon. I didn't tape the trim off because I knew I'd inevitably have to use a razor and Windex to clean up the mirror regardless.
I used paint that I had lying around: "Lamb" by Martha Stewart for Home Depot--a fresh, classic white.

I allowed the paint to dry and scraped away any paint on the mirror's glass.
Now, all cleaned up and transformed, I'm ready to share my jazzed up Stave mirror with the world...

 
I'm totally in love and so happy with the custom feel the addition of $15 worth of trim had on this nondescript-but-affordable mirror.
What do you think?