Bedroom, part 3

Here are the final pictures... I really wish I had some 'before' shots. It sounds strange, but swapping the wing back chair for the old tv stand really brightened up the room... not to mention making it feel much larger.




I keep going back-and-forth on whether to hang several pictures on this wall 'gallery' style... I like the simple look of just the signing board from our wedding, but also like the more eclectic looks of several frames in different sizes & shapes clustered together.
I've temporarily borrowed this garden stool from our living room, but eventually want to get a white one to replace it with (word on the street was TJ Maxx had some for $30! but I couldn't find any at the one near our house) I like having it to double as a nightstand and small table by the chair.

I'm also considering a white slipcover for this ottoman and adding this light blue Greek key trim with some Fabri-Tac to soften the look a little. I tried to have this nightstand double as a dressing table.

So there you have it! Originally, I planned to add some light yellow or white curtains to the windows, but with everything in the room, I feel like just the wooden blinds work for window treatments... What do you think? Do curtain panels overwhelm a small room or add a soft touch? Any thoughts on my other comments above?
We still have a few final details to complete, but we're pretty excited about the impromptu progress on the room!

Bedroom, part 2

After my recent post on spring bedding, I took a trip out to TJ Maxx... And of course came away with a great set of yellow & white sheets.

Then I decided to really make Jeff proud and instead of purchasing a new quilt, I went with the Crate & Barrel quilt we used all winter with our duvet. It's reversible, so I just went with the white side. I actually think this will work out better, since we can easily flip to the beige side when Miss Ellie decides to take a nap (yes, I am terrible at doggie discipline & she gets on the bed whenever she feels like it)

Finally, I hit the jackpot at the Target on South Boulevard and picked up this very cute throw pillow from Dwell for Target that Jenny recently used.

As a side note, I also scored some pretty nice baskets for our bathroom on this bargain shopping excursion. Remember this idea to go with an open concept for our bathroom shelving? Here is the almost final product...

We obviously still need to remove the hinges, and I'm thinking about painting a slightly darker blue inside the shelves. But overall, I like the way it's coming together.

Bedroom, part 1

It started out as painting 2 pieces of furniture, then turned into rearranging the room, then turned into spring cleaning, then turned into new spring bedding... And now we have a new look for our bedroom!

So to start from the beginning, I originally planned to paint our Ikea 3 drawer nightstand...

  With this as my inspiration, one of the best Ikea hacks out there...




I left the dark wood as is and just painted the fronts of the drawers Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace. I also used that color to paint our old yellow desk/nightstand.



I painted both pieces following these instructions from Bryn (if you have any furniture painting projects coming up, definitely check these out). I used a few different products, but most importantly ended up wiping on the poly, instead of using a foam brush, to avoid any brush marks.

Here are the finished products... The Ikea dresser is still missing these brass ring pulls, ordered this week (note that there is a 12 order minimum, so please let me know if you're interested in the 6 extra)


For the desk, I bought brass cleaner at the grocery store to attempt to polish up the hardware. It's not great, but I kind of like how it contributes to the look.

Easter Fun

Hope that everyone had a wonderful & blessed Easter weekend! We enjoyed the beautiful weather and time with family. As always, it went by too fast.

I did a little antique browsing at the Metrolina Expo with Sarah, and we had the best time! She left with a few amazing finds for her upcoming wedding and her beautiful home... I left a tiny piece of my heart with this incredible set of 4 bamboo chairs...

Reupholster the seats, and the question is really what couldn't you do with these?! Use the set around a kitchen table, or one at your office desk... But I knew the hubs wouldn't approve, especially since he told me he thinks I am a furniture hoarder (pretty sure he was only partly kidding too).

On Saturday, I spent the day in the mountains with my dad and Jeff. I can paint and stain, without taping, with the best of them these days... The mountain house looks great, and I'm starting to think that we could start the cutest husband & wife painting/staining/general small-scale remodel and DIY side business.

After our annual church picnic and Easter service, I finally finished my bedroom painting projects... We're rearranging a few pieces of furniture tonight and will hopefully have some pictures later this week. Jeff says the refreshed furniture looks "hip" - Can't wait to hear what everyone else says!

Spring Bedding

Sharing a home really brings out interesting conversation... For instance, I had never heard of switching out bedding for the seasons. Jeff, on the other hand, couldn't believe that anyone would sleep all spring & summer-long with the same down duvet that they used all winter...

And now that I've seen what my oh-so-green husband keeps our thermostat set at, I'm looking for a nice light, summer option.

For the winter months, we went with the Barbara Barry Poetical duvet cover. Although it looks gray in this picture, it is actually much more taupe and matches well with our chocolate brown upholstered headboard (more on that later).
{not our room; image via Macy's}

The Newlywed Diaries just recently featured this great post on switching out bedding, and I love their guestroom for lightweight, summery inspiration:

Then I found these yellow sheets, from Martha Stewart for Macy's, paired with a simple while coverlet:
But then, of course, I found an image that I've been scouring the internet to replicate - A simple white coverlet with a colorful border:

{image via Two Ellie}
Last in my inspiration to spruce up our bedding for spring, The Newlywed Diaries also featured this great idea for an upholstered headboard, and I'd love to do something similar to our dark brown... Just adding a pretty, patterned fabric over the top:

So what about your households? Will you be swapping out your winter duvets for spring bedding, bumping up the thermostats for your warm duvets, or both?

W²: Easter Picnic Edition

This is one of my favorite Weight Watchers recipes, and for some reason it always reminds me of warm weather days... maybe it's all of the delicious veggies. Either way, I'm planning to make it for my church's Easter picnic on Sunday.

{image via two ellie}

W² Roasted Vegetable & Orzo Salad:
3 sprays olive oil cooking spray
1 small red onion, diced
1 carrot, sliced
1 cup mushrooms, quartered
2/3 cup zucchini, diced
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup roasted red peppers (in water), drained & chopped
6 oz marinated artichoke hearts, drained & chopped
1/4 cup black olives, sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
4 tbsp. fresh parsley or basil (or mixed), chopped
1 lb. orzo pasta, cooked & cooled
1/2 cup Litehouse Lite Caesar dressing*

1. Heat large skillet over medium heat, add cooking spray.

2. Add onions, carrots, mushrooms and zucchini. Cook for 5 minutes, or until veggies are tender.

3. Add pepper during last minute of cooking, and remove from heat.

4. Combine roasted veggies, red peppers, artichoke hearts, olives, tomatoes, parsley, green onions, & orzo in large bowl. Add dressing & mix* Refrigerate until ready to serve!

Yields 6 servings for 4 points each.

* If you want to cheat some on the points (and make it a little more delicious, especially when feeding a crowd), add crumbled feta cheese along with all other ingredients in step 4. And/or substitute the lite Caesar dressing with the Good Seasons Italian dressing (the kind you make with the packet) - but be sure to also add a dash of lemon juice.

Possibilities

I just happened to stumble across this settee on Craig's List today for $60. It has a little damage around the corners, but for that price you could afford to make due for awhile, then have it reupholstered!


Wouldn't it look great paired with a kitchen table?