Guest Bedroom: A Start on Accessories

Lately I've been obsessed with the clearance section(s) at Target. On a recent trip, I spotted a cobalt blue lamp base I'd been eyeing for a while. It was only about $13, down from about $30. I wished they still had some of the shades that coordinated perfectly, but they didn't. It just gives me an opportunity for another DIY project. Check out that sweet lamp shade I snagged at a local Salvation Army for 4 bucks. 4 dollars for pink and green peace signs? Yep.

Notice the weird progression of colors in planning this room's potential: Coral? Red? Orange? Blue? Just go with it. It looks good, I swear.

How 'bout that rug? Isn't she lovely? Isn't she won-der-ful? I wasn't sure about it when perusing at Target, but Rich (a.k.a. Decorating Diva) talked me into it. After bringing it home, I was sure I liked it. It offers so much texture*.

These pillows were one of my first purchases when the color scheme began to come together. Actually, I originally purchased a few others when I wasn't sure, then not-so-promptly exchanged them. As with so many things, its difficult to see in the picture the texture the chevron ones bring to the room, but they're fab.

The baskets were a recent purchase from TJ Maxx. Where else can you get such awesome baskets at such a good price? I actually spotted theses several weeks ago before major decisions were made. I'm glad they were still around on my last visit. They're reminiscent of the dipped trend. Except that one (from West Elm) is $70! I got the baby girl for $15 and her big brother for $17. Can't beat it.

On to that weird chair in the corner of the room. It's orange. It's kind of ugly. Fugly, if you will. Where did it come from, you ask? Oh, I bought it. Remember those sweet green chairs over in the office? This one came from the same estate sale. I got the three chairs and the side table I refinished for $150.

Anyone have an opinion one way or another on the chair? I like the idea of it, but I don't like the shape of it. I don't like how deep it is. I definitely don't like the large poofy headrest. By the looks of it, there's more I don't like about it than do; but there's something about it that I want to like. When I originally brought it home, I had big plans for my first reupholstery project. Fast-forward about a year, and I'm scared. Plus, it's orange. Was it a happy coincidence that I grabbed an orange chair a year ago and now have the opportunity to incorporate the color into my room redo? Or is it just too fugly to consider?

I'm so happy things evolved the way they did. I'm loving the way it's turning out. I'm excited to recover the psychedelic lamp shade.  Plus, I recently worked on some sweet (and nearly free) art work that I'll be featuring soon.

I guess everything I've been reading about "the middle" is true. Sometimes things don't make sense right away, but if you keep moving, it might work out better than you ever planned.

*We got a dog. Her name is Carly, and she's the bomb diggity. To know me is to know I'm NOT an animal person. But Rich prodded until I gave in, and I just love her. What does this have to do with the texture of our new rug? Well, Carly likes it too. She likes it so much, in fact, that 15 minutes after laying that sucker in the ground, she started chewing on it. I almost lost my mind when I found her. Luckily, I discovered her before any permanent damage was done. Since its woven/braided, I was able to pull the strands back through. It looks as good as new! Oh yeah, it should. It is new. Damn dog. :)


Good ol' Carly. Isn't she cute?

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Guest Bedroom: Curtains and Bedding

We're in the middle stages of decorating our guest bedroom. I painted the walls Greystone and the trim Moutain Peak White (both by Benjamin Moore) and upcycled a dated ceiling fan. After that, I stewed for a while about what I wanted to do.

Way back in October, I began making a duvet cover . I bought fabric (a lot of fabric for a lot of money) in yellows and grays to start a quilt and quickly got frustrated with the too-difficult-for-an-almost-novice pattern. Instead, I sewed the hundreds of pieces I had already cut back together to make a strip quilt. When I finally finished it about 2 months later and slipped it on the duvet, I lied to myself for a couple hours before admitting that I hated it. I didn't think much of it. Since I still liked all the individual fabrics, I figured I could just use them on a different project down the road. I also realized that I'd rather stay away from the trendiness of grey and yellow. I ran to Target to see if they were carrying any inexpensive duvet covers that might work. As luck would have it, I ran into this beauty on clearance for about $30!

After purchasing the duvet, everything fell into place. Finally coming to the conclusion that I wanted to use coral tones as the main accent color, I ordered this fabric for the curtain panels I was planning.

While shopping, I noticed some of it was a tad redder than I had originally wanted to go with; but because I had been shopping frustrated for quite a while, I decided take the leap. When it came, It still felt a bit too red. What I didn't originally notice was the orange. Alas, I was stuck with it. That's definitely a risk you take when shopping for fabric online. As the days grew longer, so did my affection for the fabric. I love the gradient effect and I really do love the colors. For some reason, it reminds me of the friendship bracelets I used to make out of embroidery floss. Remember, Mom? Using the same method as last time, I whipped up some curtain panels. Check 'em out.

When making the purchase, I worried the fabric would be too narrow. I planned on cutting the fabric in half to make 4 panels. At 44 inches, it was a skinny mini, but I couldn't bring myself to buy double the yardage. Having to hem almost an inch on both sides, each panel ended up being just over 20 inches. After hanging them, I'm okay with the narrowness. After all, they're just there for looks. We're rocking purpose-serving cellular shades behind 'em.

I hung them using a method I found on Pinterest. Basically, I took a scrap piece of 12 x 12 card stock from my collection. From the bottom right hand corner, I cut a 3 x 3 square. From the top left corner of the small square, I measured 8 inches up (the distance I wanted the curtain rod to hang from the top of the window). From that point, I measured 9 inches to the left (the distance I wanted the curtains to hang from the left side of the window). I pierced a hole through the cardboard, held the 3 inch cut square up to the top left corner of the window, and marked a dot. For the right side of the window, I just flipped the cardstock around and repeated the process. The dots are your drill marks! It's fool-proof!

If you look closely, you can see the marks I made at 8" up and 8 and 9" over.

We bought the curtain rods at (yep, you guessed it) Target. I looked at quite a few places. I really wanted the same ones I bought for the office because they have the same mercury glass detail I replicated on the ceiling fan, but Lowes no longer carries them. I settled for these ones, still featuring the mercury glass detailing I was looking for, just in a different shape. I like them just as well.

So far so good, don't ya think?

P.S. If you enjoy reading my blog, please follow me by clicking "Join this site" and/or entering your email address over to the right of the page. If you want to see what projects I have worked on or plan on working on in the future, follow me on Pinterest by clicking the link to the right! If you like it, pin it!