The "Finished" Result

What truly makes you declare a project is finished? It seems, in my case and I'm sure in many others, that your spaces are an on-going evolution of who you are. I constantly finding myself adding something to a project which is almost certain to happen with my headboard as I'm still swirling with ideas.
If you recall, my headboard was originally planned on being two 18"x24" frames, then became a long and lean rectangular frame with a fun green floral printed gift wrap inside. I liked the gift wrap option, but it just didn't feel right. So I kept searching for inspiration and I found it (read about that here).

Silly me just realized that I never posted what I did or how I did it! D'oh! So here is the "finished" result...for now!

So how did I do it? Here's the (just about) step by step.

Allow shopping purchases to be evaluated by a DIY-sniffing dog.

Wait for approval...

I had to cover my windows with any available blankets/towels due to the amount of light they let in, much to the dismay of my dogs who love the above blanket.

Using a laser level and painters tape, tape a straight line where the top of the headboard will be

This was on the back of a mirror from Target, but a protractor or small ruler will work as well. I temporarily nailed it to the wall to allow me to create the cutout on the corner of the headboard

Start mid-tape

And swing the piece/ruler down, letting the pencil glide the way

You should have a nice curved line, if not perfect you can re-do or touch up by hand

Start painting the line with a small paint brush- careful around wires!

Paint the rest with a roller

Pay attention to the pup who couldn't be bothered to move while the bed moved a few feet

Admire said pup while waiting for the paint to dry between coats

So that's pretty much it though I am debating a few additions. I'd love to put some small wall mounted lights on each side (inside) of the headboard but I cannot rewire my apartment and my landlord will definitely not! Maybe I can find some small shelves to just put a candle on? What do you think?

I Feel Like a Theif!

I strolled into my local HomeGoods back in December to do some Christmas shopping...for others! No matter how much I was tempted, I stuck to that mission! Tempted was not even close to describing how I felt when I saw this neat art piece for $60!

Imagine my surprise when I returned recently to see that it was not only, still there, but on clearance for... ... ... $19!

I couldn't wait to get home and hang it on my wall, right above the television. I know it doesn't go with the grey/yellow scheme I have going on, but I'm thinking I can infuse some blue and possibly a coral color in with some accessories.

The walls look like they're missing something, perhaps some shelving on each side of the canvas? Oh, and notice the right corner? I finally finished painting it thanks to a break in the cold weather! What do you think?

I think the bright yellow really pops against the grey walls, which was the goal. If you don't remember its before, it's right here. I'm still doing a test run on accessories, I just wanted to see what I had in blues to incorporate the new art into the room. Any other ideas on blue and coral?

Bringin' Me Down

While things in the bedroom are coming along, my attention has been diverted. My "office", which you haven't seen much of here, is oddly dreary. The walls are yellow. YELLOW! How can something be dreary while being surrounded by yellow? The room has one window, and calling it a window is a huge compliment to it. Here is the overview, Skye is very pleased to show the room off...unlike me!

This is how the window is most of the time...

This is why.

The "window" has been broken for at least six years. The bottom isn't broken, its only taped that way to prevent further damage from a hurricane we were supposed to be visited by a few summers ago. Yikes. I'm embarrassed.

How gorgeous would this combination be- wood toned blinds and bright green curtains?

Bali 2" Vinyl Blinds: Target

Twisted Sheer: PBTeen

 

 

Sailcloth Window Panel Pair: Target

I have a very tight budget of $20-$30 so those curtains from Pottery Barn are not going to happen. Target has a similar treatment, though cheaper and it comes in a set. I'd like to get the red out, since I feel it is a large part of bringing the energy of the room down. 

A pale yellow and a green should brighten things up, no? Although its not white, I think the wood tone blinds would work with the dark brown tones of the furniture. Any opinions?

One more thing that is bugging me is the storage shelving unit. I'm not getting rid of anything or buying anything new so I will make it work. It just seems out of place, what do you think?

Uh-oh!

Image via google

It seems that I picked a bad time to start re-doing things. My landlord came for an unannounced visit today to check for water leaks (which we have none of) and began to wander around. He wasn't happy with the sight in my bedroom.

There really isn't that much there, it just looks like a hurricane came through. Almost empty storage bins, painting tarp, bed pillows, a headboard, a dresser mirror and a few miscellaneous things. Who knows when he'll be back, but I know he will. So far I've gotten the headboard and mirror into the cellar. My back isn't pleased with that. I couldn't put the bins under my bed since my bed off its risers for the better part of two days, so now everything is just piled up. I swear, I don't need to be on hoarders though Clean House is more than welcome to come and re-do my apartment!

Image via Tree Hugger

I'll say this though...I clean wrong. Clean wrong? Yeah, I know. But I do. See that blue binder on the end table in the left corner? Instead of just putting it away, I'd sit down and go through the binder to take out old papers. Magazines? Instead of putting those away, I'd sit down and go through them to pull out anything I want to keep. See a trend here? I need a routine. A routine that I can stick to. Perhaps some fun cleaning things would help motivate me? Well, that's spending unnecessary money since I have cleaning products that work just fine.

Pier1Imports - $6.95 each

So what about you? Do you think fun and bright accessories make cleaning any more enjoyable? Did you set up a routine to get yourself into gear?

Finally!

It seems that I have stumbled upon the end of my headboard saga! I've tried large frames, room dividers, pillows, and I'm sure a few other things I've forgotten about. While they all looked ok (I did like the wrapping paper a lot at first) I didn't love anything. Love a headboard? Eh, you get what I mean. So I began searching google again and I came up with some pretty headboards.

Tufted

Upholstery Tacks

Tufted, tacked and framed

Someone on YHL's facebook (what a valuable source of inspiration, input and knowledge!) suggested wall decals. Unfortunately, spending $40+ for swirly decals was not an option. Another option was decals of actual headboards, I found some beautiful options by Mina Javid, but again price (and size) factored into things. $40 for a headboard is a steal, but the sizes went from twin to queen. No full. Next! I kept on searching and while searching I did find some inspiration for something I could do myself.

Gorgeous!

This could work!

Although I absolutely adore the first painted/decal headboard, my hands aren't steady enough to paint that intricate design and I don't think it works for my room. The second, simpler, design was just begging me to try it. So I did...more on that later!

Have you ever gone an alternate route to the traditional headboard? What has worked, or not worked, for you?

The Perfect Little Table?

I recently took a trip in search of curtain clips and came across an adorable little corner table, which I thought would be perfect in aiding the "cover the Verizon box" mission. It was $14.99 and the only model left, so after some waiting I found out that I could buy the floor model for 20% off. Sweet! $14.99 isn't bad, but $12 is even better. Fresh out of the trunk, here it is!

On it's own it doesn't do much, but it is the perfect height for a plant or a large photo! Notice the three shelves? Bonus storage! Of course it won't be staying this cherry brown color. A fun yellow paint job is already in the works, mother nature help me out?

I'm super excited about this little table, I just love the lines of it. Have you found any great deals recently?

Hanging in There...Just Barely!

Ever happen to run smack into a great deal, and although it might not be perfect as is, you just can't pass it up? That happened to me when I found the most amazing shower curtain, five of them actually, on sale for only $7 a piece. The colors and patterns were perfect for me to use as the curtains dividing my bedroom from the computer room and main hallway.

The first problem is the pre-made holes were too small for the curtain rods I had and as a result, wouldn't close. The second issues is that they are standard shower curtain height of 72", while my doorway is a good 12" longer.

The first solution was a no brainer, thanks to the likes of John & Sherry over at YHL. Curtain clips! Prior to my discovery of YHL, I shockingly, have never heard of them! I found four packs of ten clips for $2.99 each at the Christmas Tree Shop. To save myself some time I folded the curtain in half, width wise, and put the clips on each side. I spaced the clips out every 7" or so.

The second solution will be a bit more work, since I will be using YHL's no-sew hem tape curtain tutorial. Last year, in an effort to de-clutter, I got rid of 90% of my sewing stuff. Luckily, a shiny gray fabric was not discarded. It's a pretty close match to the dark grays in the curtains, the wall color and my bedspread.

The bedspread

The fabric

The curtain

All fabrics together

Hopefully soon I will have some finished curtains. I am worried that adding almost a foot of solid gray material to the bottoms will make it look more like shower curtains than custom bedroom curtains. Thoughts?