Tag: Bedroom

  • In the Bedroom

    In the Bedroom

    I’m attempting to make the bed more often. Is it a New Year’s resolution? Not really, but I’m sure I’ll end up breaking it, so let’s go ahead and think of it as one! Make the bed every day in 2014. Two days down, many more to go.

    How many pillows on a bed are acceptable? When does it cross over to being an obnoxious number? I’m testing out the idea of a row of euro pillows with some of the larger throw pillows we already have on hand. They’re 22″ and 24″, versus the euros’ 26″ each, but it’s a good approximation if you imagine that they’re in matching white shams. Yay? Nay? Seven pillows seems excessive, though I suppose they could replace two of the standard pillows in front.

    August, Rumpling Up the Bed

    I’ve never been very good at making the bed, so I assume euro pillows will magically make it look magazine-shoot-ready at all times. That’s how that works, right? To aid in this quest, I chose white linen/cotton bedding. It’s perfectly rumply, but not disheveled, and the bed looks artfully undone in the mornings instead of messy. It’s an arbitrary (and likely all-in-my-head) distinction, but one that I like nonetheless.

    Check the wall color: Sherwin-Williams’ Comfort Gray. So much better against the woodwork than Sea Salt! I shouldn’t have second-guessed it. And I for sure shouldn’t have third-guessed it, having tested an unfortunate greenish color that didn’t even last to the light of day. I hated it and painted over it as soon as it had dried enough. Comfort Gray, FTW. Look how pretty it looks with Brandon’s favorite painting, Dying Flowers.

    Sherwin-Williams Comfort Gray Paint in the Bedroom

    The bedroom needs more artwork still, and better lighting. I did just thrift a vintage yellow banker’s lamp for one corner of the room, and it’s awfully cute. But did you notice in that first photo how the two bedside lamps we have don’t actually match? Isn’t that a nice touch? I bought the white one for our library ($10 at the time, from IKEA) when we first moved into our old house in 2007. Then when we were expecting Eleanor, I stole it for the nursery and went to buy another to put back in the library, but by then they were only available in silver. They’re fine lights, but a mismatched set of floor lamps is not quite what I had in mind for our bedside lighting. Even if I spray painted them, their bases would still get in the way. I usually like sconces flanking a bed, but the windows and layout of the room aren’t going to accommodate a pair, so I’m on the lookout for table/task lamps instead.

    Besides painting the room and changing the linens, I’ve added a jewelry armoire. It is the most ridiculous piece of furniture I’ve ever owned, and also my favorite. Perhaps that deserves its own post.

  • Sea Salt in the Bedroom

    Sea Salt in the Bedroom

    The things I do for you guys. Why’d you all make me paint my bedroom this color?

    Sea Salt Paint in the Bedroom

    Kidding, of course. I was torn between Sea Salt and Comfort Gray, and leaning toward the darker of the two. I’ve always liked Sea Salt though (I put together a whole collection of rooms featuring the color right here), so I gave it a try. I was concerned that it would be washed out next to my unpainted wood trim.

    And yeah…

    Sea Salt Paint in the Bedroom

    With white trim? Absolutely. Gorgeous. In my house? It looks like I sort of committed to a color, then chickened out.

    I only did one side of the room, as a test. We’ve been living with half-painted walls for two weeks because I really did want to give it a fighting chance! I’m more certain of my original choice now though, which is a good feeling. Time to repaint.

    Sea Salt and Comfort Gray Test Paint in the Bedroom

  • The Spruce Upholstery Book, and Plans for August’s Bed

    The Spruce Upholstery Book, and Plans for August’s Bed

    I know how to upholster a simple chair seat. Years of Trading Spaces viewings taught me to start with a staple in the center, pull the fabric taut to the opposite side, staple, and work out from there. Beyond that though? I don’t know. Stick some batting in there under the fabric if you’re feeling fancy, and call it a day? And forget about webbing and springs. That wasn’t covered by Hildi. Of course, my lack of knowledge in this area didn’t stop me from purchasing an inexpensive wooden framed bed for August’s room, with the intent to upholster it.

    I waffled between several blue fabric choices, but I fell for a design with tree slices during a recent trip to IKEA. The color palette is neutral, and I’m thinking of it as a manly take on polka dots. You know, for my manly two-year-old.

    Boy's Bed Upholstery Fabric

    I felt like I could approach the project with my limited sewing skill set and do a decent job, but I wanted to do an amazing! job. I searched for tutorials online, but there are a lot of people out there putting out a lot of tutorials with questionable methods. Then I heard word that Spruce’s Amanda Brown was coming out with a book (Spruce: A Step-by-Step Guide to Upholstery and Design), so when I was asked to take part in her online book tour, I agreed.

    The book is divided among five key projects, and from those, you can adapt the techniques to whichever piece you want to work on. It’s thorough and covers what I would consider to be complex reupholstering jobs, but everything feels doable rather than overwhelming. I’m paying close attention to the section on the frame of a three-seater sofa, as it’s pretty close to what I’ll be doing to the bed.

    Upholstering a Sofa

    Win a Copy of the Book!

    Do you have any upholstering to do? The Spruce book tour and classes are about to start, and they’re also holding a giveaway with their “Ugliest Chair” contest on Facebook right now.

    I received a copy of the book for review, but I’m also giving a copy away. Just leave a comment below to enter*, and I’ll choose a winner at random. Good luck! And be sure to visit the other blogs participating in the online book tour.
    Spruce: A Step-by-Step Guide to Upholstery and Design

    Open to US residents only, 18 and over. Ends Friday at midnight, CT.

    *The giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winner, Annie!

  • Testing Paint Colors for the Bedroom

    Testing Paint Colors for the Bedroom

    The walls in our home (the ones that don’t have wallpaper, that is) were all painted creamy white before the house was put on the market. It’s a good base to start with because it’s allowing us to take our time with decisions, rather than rushing to cover up horrid colors right away. I’ve been working on the kids’ rooms right away so they’ll have spaces that feel special, and I think it’s time to paint our bedroom next.

    Testing Paint Colors

    The rug that I first tried in the living room is officially staying in the bedroom. I’m liking the fir/pine wood upstairs (though it was painted once upon a time — the Victorians liked to faux-finish lesser woods to make it look like nicer wood than it really is), and the major furniture of the room is in place. Our bedding will probably be mostly white, and the neutral upholstered bed is staying as-is.

    Paint Colors for the Bedroom

    I’ve been wanting to try Sherwin-Williams’ Sea Salt forever, because it’s one of those colors that pops up over and over and looks completely different (and completely gorgeous) every time. I think it’s too light next to our wood trim though. The other color that I tested is Comfort Gray, which is one shade darker than Sea Salt. Before we moved into this house, I did tell Brandon to slap my hand away from the paint if I start trying to put gray on all the walls. But! This is more bluish!

    I think it’s the winner.

  • Eleanor Picks Paint Colors

    Eleanor Picks Paint Colors

    August gets excited when we do something different to his room. “A new blanket? For me!? WOW!!!” He’s two though, and he is not the bundle of opinions that is four-year-old Eleanor. She’s a character, but I love that she’s so into personalizing her room. She has been steadfast in her wish for dark blue walls, so I wanted to make sure she would like it by showing her some mock-ups of her room before we paint.

    E was making silly faces for me the other day, when she asked me to take pictures of her wearing her new shoes. As I looked through them, I realized that they were pretty representative of her opinions on the paint colors. So here we go! Mock-ups and reactions.

    First up, pink. I don’t think pink is the way to go for her new room, but we had to start with a baseline.

    E's Room Mock-up - Pink

    What do you think, Eleanor?

    Eleanor

    That’s what I expected. Here’s aqua.

    E's Room Mock-up - Aqua

    This could be nice. See? It works with the light, and the bedding. How about it, E?

    Eleanor

    OK, that’s a no. All right, all right. Dark blue? Yes?

    E's Room Mock-up - Blue

    Do you like it?

    Eleanor

    Ah. I see that I have your interest.

    Eleanor

    Oh, oops, I hit the lightness slider too far to the left. That’s really dark.

    E's Room Mock-up - Dark Blue

    Let me just fix that. Wait, what? You like it?

    Eleanor

    Of course that’s the one you go for. DARK BLUE. All right, kid. It’s your room! Let’s make it work.

    Eleanor

  • The Other New (Old) Dresser

    The Other New (Old) Dresser

    That dresser that I mentioned last week is now ours. It was on Craigslist with two photos and the most descriptive description ever: “Old dresser. Nice. Call ______.” It looked like it was in decent shape, it was cheap, and the seller even offered to deliver it (I got the impression that he ferries furniture around Chicagoland on the daily). It was worth a gamble.

    The seller and I had a few phone conversations, and he asked what I planned to do with it. Was I going to leave the dresser as-is? I told him that I probably would. The guy then said that the finish wasn’t that great, and it would probably need some touching up. I thanked him and said that would be all right, and after a few more days and a few more phone calls, he was on his way to drop it off.

    Antique Dresser

    The drawers are a little tricky, but they work (inside are runners only, no glides). I like the shape of it and the size is nice too, but surprise! His buddy put a shiny new coat of stain on it for me. No prep work — just right on top of whatever finish was there. I know he was being nice, and they didn’t anything charge for the labor, but it’s a lot darker than it was originally. It was also tacky, as in sticky, but that seems to be subsiding as it dries.

    Close Up on the Finish

    I don’t love it enough to go through the bother of fully repairing and refinishing it, but I’m considering painting it. I’ve been interested in trying Annie Sloan’s Chalk Paint (no sanding or prep work, and Nest Vintage Modern carries it). This could be the perfect project to experiment with, but it could go shabby chic pretty easily, which isn’t really my thing. I’ll probably live with it for a while first, as-is.