Tag Archives: bedroom

November 19, 2012 · 7:00 am

Home decor trends winter 2012

This is a guest post provided by Eva Stephen.

Autumn is upon us once again and as the (occasionally sunny) summer gives way to the slumber of winter we prepare to bed down and snuggle up. Our clothes get thicker, we add tights and boots to our wardrobes and the trusty vitamin C sneaks into our medicine cabinet. Shorter days mean longer nights in at home as do chilly weekends, making autumn the perfect time to update our interiors and make our homes somewhere we’re happy to hibernate.

Whether you fancy a full house facelift or just want to add a few affordable updates there are a range of designs, colours and textures to choose from this season. You can join the Industrial revolution, take a trip down memory lane, get creative and crafty or perhaps go on a Fox hunt.

Key Trends 1: Industrial

The key to the Industrial look is strong angular shapes, robust wood and metallic materials and practical usability. Think vintage cinemas and disused factories, metal lockers and steel chairs. You can recreate the look with new or second hand furniture, vintage lighting and metallic accessories such as hanging lamps, book end clamps and metal letters. You can also get creative by using old signage as objects d’art. The grubbier and more beaten up the better with this look but to avoid over styling try mixing some vintage industrial pieces with either contemporary Kingstown furniture from Shop4Furniture or softer decor. Although this look works fantastically well in airy loft style apartments it will sit equally as comfortably in a 1930s semi or Victorian terrace. You can pay homage to your home by finding second hand or reproduction pieces that reflect the period it was built. If you have a new build these old pieces can be a fantastic contrast to those newly plastered walls by adding interest and depth.

Industrial bedroom design Via Busy Door}

Key Trend 2: Retro

The swinging 60s and sexy 70’s will never be too far away when it comes to design. The space age styling of the 60’s made way for the shag piles of the 70’s and bold and bright colours spanned both decades. Today we can create a retro look by subtly merging the two. It’s not about having film set like period perfection but about capturing the essence of the era. Modern technologies in print and design mean that we can now find beautiful paisley or flock wall papers in luxurious colours and textures.

{1970’ Bedroom décor Via Caroline’s Lost and Found}

{Retro Wallpaper Via Starnet}

You can achieve the retro look by papering at least one wall in a bright and bold design. As far as furniture goes a sideboard is a sure thing and textures such as cork, hessian and of course shag pile are good additions. If you want to be a little less dramatic you can buy some charity shop crockery or modern reproductions. Coloured glass and psychedelic cushion covers can also add to the look. Allow yourself to get nostalgic with this one and choose items that you really love and that bring back great memories if you were there.

{Nostalgic Bedroom Design Via Pinterest}

Key Trend 3: Crafty

Cost conscious times call for budget friendly design which is why the make do and mend mentality is back in Britain. Along with the post-recession mood the Olympics and the Queen’s Jubilee have added to the patriotic mood of the country and it is certainly very British to ‘make do’. From the up cycling of old furniture by repainting or reupholstering to the more crafty skills of cushion making, cross stitch and crocheting everyone can do something creative. You can even get the kids involved with some crafty projects. If you really can’t or don’t want to make something yourself you can always cheat and buy items that just looks like you made them. The wonderful thing about this trend is that you can create individual and one off pieces or dig out something old which tells a story and breathe new life into it.

{Crafty Bedroom design Via Pinterest}

{Crafty Bedroom Décor by My Crafty Home Life}

Key Trend 4: Foxes

Last year was all about the Owl but it’s time for old Owly to fly away because 2012 is the year of the Fox. Foxes have been creeping quietly into our homes for a while and have really made a bold appearance this year. You can go fox crazy by having a fox print on your wallpaper or bedding or you can keep it low key with a little fox ornament or print on a plate. Don’t be surprised to see lamps, cushion covers and statues bearing the furry fox this Autumn/Winter.

{Fox Clock Via Babble}

{Fox Cushins Via Kidsomania}

With all of these trends you can go full on with curtains, furniture and flooring or pair it down with accessories and ornaments. Whichever trend takes your fancy and whatever your budget, just remember that you have to live in your home and your interpretation of a trend is what’s important. You don’t have to be Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen to create a beautiful interior. You can take inspiration from magazines and blogs and by pinching a few ideas here and there you’ll be able to create something special for your own home which is bang on trend.

Thanks to Melissa & Virginia for allowing me to guest post. I look forward to hopefully sharing more of my ideas with you all!

Best Wishes,

Eva Stephen

DIY Wood Pallet Wall

I know the title of this post probably sounds really weird, but trust me on this! I have been seeing this idea all over Pinterest & “Blogtown”. Honestly it’s brilliant. It’s inexpensive, recycled wood – so it’s Eco-Friendly and gorgeous! I always like incorporating a little rustic into a space. Adding a natural element seems to make a space feel more grounded and homey. Idk, maybe that’s just me.

These walls are made out of FREE wood pallets!! Loving this beachy shabby chic look. To achieve the whitewashed shabby look, brush over the pallets with something like this and then lightly sand with 60 grit sandpaper. You might want to water down the white wash stain, depending on the look you want.

This tutorial shows you how to create a wood pallet wall & the weathered/white washed look. They did an incredible job.

{Via Real Housewives of Bucks County}

{Via Design Sponge}

{Via Just A Girl}

This darker wood makes the whole room into a masculine and edgy boy room. Love it.

{Via Just A Girl}

Wood pallets are typically FREE, just call around your local area!

This adorable baby boy nursery is the cutest! This Blog has a really good pallet accent wall tutorial as well & great safety tips.

{Via Bower Power}

I am highly obsessed with The Lettered Cottage. See how they re-did their reading room. Simply amazing. I love how the room looks like it’s right out of a Pottery Barn catalog!!

{Via The Lettered Cottage}

Can you believe creating a wood pallet accent wall is cheaper than painting?!? Not to mention it looks like it’s a billion times more expensive than it actually is.

By the way, this would absolutely increase the value of your home. Just in case you were wondering.

Xo, Melissa & Virginia

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Filed under DIY Ideas, Home decor ideas, Increasing Your Home's Value

Tagged as accent wall, baby, bedroom, boys room, cheap, decorate, DIY, eco friendly, house, how to, inexpensive, nursery, pallet, pinterest, projects, recycled, rustic, tutorial, weathered wood, white washed, wood, wood pallet wall

February 28, 2012 · 12:51 pm

DIY Tufted Headboard Tutorial

I have been wanting a headboard in our room for so long. For some reason it was just never something high on the priority list. I also never really found one I was in love with – that wasn’t $1,000+

The other day, I was searching for something on Google and came across this amazing blog and saw that she did an incredible tufted headboard and tutorial. So I thought, why not give it a try!

Let me first start off by saying that this wasn’t complicated or hard to do, but just takes time! Clay & I did this over a weekend, but you could stretch it out over the week.

The headboard took about 2 days from start to finish. We followed Little Green Notebook’s tutorial exactly.

After doing this myself, I came up with a lot of tips for you, which I will share throughout this post.

{Materials you will need}

Home Depot

Pegboard from Home Depot, cut to size. We measured our bed (King size) and had them cut the pegboard 40 inches high x 76 inches wide
Spray adhesive
Staple gun & staples
Mounting hardware to attach headboard to the wall behind the bed

Joann’s Fabric Store

3 inch thick upholstery foam

**Huge Tip** Download the Joann’s app on your smartphone for a 50% off coupon. They have coupons every month for 50% off a single item, plus 20% off your entire purchase. For some reason these pieces of foam are extremely expensive – we would have paid $120 just for the foam!

High loft batting

3 1/2 yards (less if your bed is smaller than king size) of whatever fabric you like. Originally I wanted a more velvet blush pink fabric, but we found a light blush pink satin fabric for 50% off, making it only $4.99 a yard!

Here was my inspiration photo

4 inch upholstery needle

Waxed button thread

**Tip** I highly recommend using waxed upholstery grade thread, don’t use non-waxed. Half way through the tufting, we ran out of thread, so I went to a different fabric store that was closer to our house. They only had non-waxed thread. It was IMPOSSIBLE to work with. We ending up having to go back to Joann’s to get the waxed stuff anyway. The wax sticks to the fabric and makes it much easier for making knots as well – more on that later.

Button making kit + refills 5/8 inch size – enough to make 58 buttons. You can do less if you plan on having less tufts or if you have a smaller headboard.

Total cost $150 – not bad for an upholstered king headboard

Now that you have all your supplies let’s begin!!

First you will need to figure out your tufting pattern – we decided on rows of 11 and 10 buttons, alternating each row

circle where you will make your holes with chalk

then take a sharpie and make dots through the chalk marked holes.

Take the pegboard off and now you have your pattern.

Take a pairing knife and cut out your tuft holes

Now that all your holes are done, use your spray adhesive and glue the foam to the pegboard. Now all the holes will match up and you’re ready for tufting.

**Tip** make sure to let the foam hang off a 1/2 over the pegboard on the top and sides. This will make the edges more cushy and soft looking when you go to staple the fabric around the edges.

Then make your buttons with your kit

This part wasn’t as bad as I was anticipating.. we watched some Oprah & Real Housewives + we had this fatty to keep us company 🙂

Once all your buttons are done

Lay your pegboard, foam, batting & fabric down – in that order

Take your needle, waxed thread & button

and poke it through your first hole

Pull it through and staple a couple of times. Triple knot the thread around the staple to ensure it doesn’t come loose

And there’s your first tuft! Yeee!

I am so thankful the Little Green Notebook said to start in the middle of all rows and work your way out with the tufts & save the edge tufts for last.

Knowing us, we would have totally botched this part if not for her advice!

After all your tufts are done, staple at the bottom on the foam slightly pushing up when stapling so that your staples aren’t visible.

Then just simply pull fabric tight around all edges and staple to the back!

Attach your mounting hardware & attach to your wall behind your bed & there you go!!

What a difference this pretty headboard makes in our room!

Notice how the tufting starts right at the top of our mattress and the rest hides behind the bed perfectly

Our headboard kind of reminds me of this Pottery Barn one – I think ours is way cuter though and we didn’t have to spend $800 Yay!

What do you think? Are you thinking about making one??

It really makes our bedroom feel so romantic & chic. What do you think of the color?

The best part is, I was about to buy something identical to this headboard for $600 about a year ago. With everything said and done, we spent a total of $150!