Tiffany blue, black and white bedroom

When my daughter became 13 last month, I asked her if she would like me to redecorate her bedroom. Sure she said, with a tiny wee bit of enthusiasm; she doesn’t excite easily :)

I will forewarn you that this is a long post with lots of pictures.

I searched for a day bed for a while, then remembered that she had a daybed before and it kind of reminded me of a crib, so nix that idea.  While searching Craigslist I found this king size headboard; hey, that will work. I dashed off to another city to pick it up for $50. I absolutely love the shape. The colour, not so much but I had plans.

 

I had to do some McGyvering to get it to attach to the bed frame so that it didn’t rest on the wall and smoosh (that’s a word, right?) the curtains. The headboard is about 3 inches wider than the length of her single bed, so I attached some 2 x 4’s to the frame legs and drilled into the 2 x 4’s to attach it to the bed frame. Just in case you decide to do this, be forewarned.

Then I priced out damask wall paper and at $40 a roll, that was out of the question. I created a stencil and went to work. It took some time and some patience :)

Next up were the stripes. I measured to have 3 of each colour, coming out at 16” each.

I picked up a small vanity from Kijiji. It will do for now and serves as a night stand.  I’m thinking down the line I would like to get a long and narrow parsons table. MY BF had the little chair already and I sprayed it with silver and covered the seat with a tshirt that I got at the GW.



Rather than have a bazillion pillows/cushions on her bed, that I knew would only end up on the floor, I opted for one large bolster. I bought this table runner at Home Sense. I stuffed it and tied the ends in ribbon.



Let me show you a little piece of her room before



Let me take you on a tour of her newly decorated room



Headboard painted in Tiffany blue. Bolster created out of a table runner.



Matelasse bedspread and pillow shams from the thrift store, picked up over time.


I removed the ugly sliding closet doors and hung up the drapes that I made, using swing arms. Ribbon from the dollar store was added to the edges using iron on tape. The memo board was a couple of dollars from the thrift store and the butterfly art was made for her a while ago.



The mirror has lived in every room of my house in grey, but now it looks pretty in blue. I moved the swing arm lamp from the back wall and added ribbon to the shade.

This little Ikea table also received a quick update by adding ribbon.


 
 

Here is a close up of the damask pattern I stencilled on.


I can’t wait for her to see how the room has come together. The last things to do are paint her book case and return it to her room , paint her chandelier or get a new fixture, and make a floor cloth.


Please weigh in on your thoughts for the floor cloth. I was thinking of doing this zebra pattern.



Black and white may be a little too busy for this space so what do you think of doing it in the Tiffany blue?  Or should I do something totally different?
Cost breakdown:
funky 70’s headboard - $50
Vanity - $25
quart of black paint - $17
Ribbon - $5
Spray paint - $12
tshirt to cover chair - $2.50
Total: $110.50
Everything else I already had.

I just loved doing this room. Growing up, my shared bedroom was quite utilitarian, so it’s nice to make one that is pretty.

Update: Here is the completed floor cloth.  I don’t know why I doubted myself, it turned out wonderfully.  You can read about the process here



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A big thank you goes out to Kate at The Besties for featuring this project. Thanks Kate!

Trying my hand at stencilling

A while back I picked up this screen panel at the dollar store. It’s not meant to be a stencil, but I liked the pattern. Besides, for a dollar, I couldn’t go wrong.



I’ve never stencilled so I decided to try it out somewhere that is not seen a lot. This is the wall that you face as you walk down the stairs to my craft room.  It’s not perfect and it doesn’t have a repeat, so I did the best I could with what I had.

The colour I used is weimaraner, by BM.  I love it! And because it's not perfect, it looks authentically old in a Moroccan way :)



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Front entry updated

It has taken me far longer than I anticipated, but it’s done and it’s so much brighter and fresher.
I painted, replaced all of the baseboards and door trim, installed a new light (so long boob light), made some coat hangers, put up some accessories, got a new carpet and updated a little bench.
Here are some before and afters
I picked this little bench up at GW. It just may have belonged in a Texan bordello :)
It got a coat of spray paint on the one day that we had good weather and the red velvet and fringe was replaced with a matelassé pillow cover, that I also got from the GW
This adorable metal umbrella was new with the tag attached and I got it for $4.00 .Love it to pieces

Previously I had a coat rack in here to hang our coats. If you read my previous post you will know that I don’t have a coat closet in this space.
I made these coat racks and put them behind the front door so you don’t have coats staring at you, as soon as you walk in the door. The top hooks are for my son, and yes they are really high up, but he is 6’6”, so it’s quite accessible to him :)

I just love the new light.  Again hung very high so my son’s head doesn’t hit it. I can’t wait to see the reflection the light gives off at night; I bet with the cutouts it’s going to be gorgeous.

Here’s the ugly door to my basement apartment. In order to help it blend in a little more, I painted it and the door frame the same colour as the walls. I would like to replace the door altogether, but it’s a little out of my skill set, for now

And this is the view as you walk in to my house

I have some tweaking to do; a few more decorative touches to add and all of the caulking, which I am dreading, but overall it’s done.
I wanted to mention my floor. I had this floor put in when I first bought my house almost 10 years ago. It was pricey and a new product at the time. It is plank vinyl ,installed right over concrete with adhesive.  This stuff is the bomb! It is easy to keep clean and indestructible. I highly recommend it.

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The last project of 2010

I worked hard to complete my entrance and powder room update, but there are not enough hours in a day and I really didn’t anticipate it being so much work. ha ha.
The powder room update is finished for the most part. The small details remain, but I will finish those with the entry details when I get an opportunity.
The baseboards and window frame were changed. I added a chair rail and although you can’t tell, there are two different colours between the top and the bottom.
Most everything was found at the GW or other thrift stores. If I had a bazillion dollars, or even a few, I’d change a few other things too, but I’m working with what I have. It’s a very small space so taking photos was not easy.
Before:

Now:

Are you wondering what the “P” stands for?  It’s not for the obvious that happens in a washroom, it stands for Powder Room. :)




These are the junkin’ finds and what I paid for them:
Little lamp – $4.00
Lantern – $3.00
Hand towels – $1.00 each
Bombay plates – $1.00 each
Shelf – $2.00
White oval frame -  $3.00
Pottery Barn clock – $4.00
Mirror – $6.00
Toilet roll holder – $1.50
Total: $30.50
This makes me very happy :)

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