Update to the no cost makeover

Wow, nearly 2.5 months since my last post.  That's a record.  I miss you all!

I did end up doing my little "no cost" make-over, but it was slightly modified in terms of the "no cost" part.

In order to get the blue, tan, white & black color scheme I talked about in my post, I ended up buying some fabrics to make the toss pillows that pulled the design together.  So, I'll count that cost.  The rest, I just moved the furniture around like I figured I would, but still haven't bitten the bullet and painted that ladder shelf. (Going from white to black, to really pull the theme together.)

So, the fabrics I purchased were super inexpensive- one was $5.99/yd, the other two were 2.99/yd.  I purchased 1.5 yards of the black and white damask, and 1 yard each of the trellis and circle damask.  Also, I had found a white fabric shower curtain on clearance for $2.50 at Target, so I used that also to make two solid white pillows.  I still have enough of the trellis fabric to make another pillow, so even though the fabric total was around $16, I didn't use it all!

Also, the mirror above the fireplace was purchased in 2010 (Just before Christmas) so it doesn't count in my 2011 project cost tally (but for score keeping purposes, it's a huge round, chunky mirror, exactly like I wanted, and it was $45.)

So, I moved the couches, moved the ladder shelf, put in another table and my Louis XVI chair, moved the sofa table, and added in a small cabinet (yet to be painted) with a lamp.  We got a new TV stand (also in 2010), and have the glider from 2010.  (Love the glider, but it's hard to decorate around!)

Stay Tuned!  I've got a lot of posts coming up soon- even though I haven't been posting much, I've been taking photos of everything I'm doing.  It's been a busy place around here, and is just about to get busier!

PS: Baby C is growing like a weed!  Here's a sneak peak at his weekly pictures.  YES!  I'm still taking a new photo EACH week!

Week 1:

Week 10:

Week 20:

A little no-cost makeover

Anyone else out there relieved to pack away the holidays?  The house always looks so large once the tree is down, and the holiday decor is safely packed away and out of sight for another year.  However, the large space always leaves me feeling the urge for a change, and a fresh room.  It'd be easy, given all the money in the world, to plan out a fresh new space.  The trick though is to try a no cost makeover.

Our room has pretty good bones.  The couches are neutral, there's a brick fireplace, white slatted blinds, hardwood floors, etc.  I couldn't picture the room pulled together though (for our no-cost makeover) until the other day that I sat on the opposite couch in the room and it came to me.

Our makeover will be based on this color scheme:

 

So, the execution plan will consist of the following:

Paint ladder shelf black (I showed you this shelf before here)

Recover couch throw pillows in white fabric (I've done that once before, here)

Add series of four Black and White NY City prints to the room (from the office, that's not being used)

Reorganize picture frame ledges (see them before, here)

Add white cylinder lamp shade to current lamp, plus add another lamp (this room is dark at night!)

Re-arrange furniture

Here's the room now (right after Christmas decor was removed).  

NOTE: This is not for the faint of heart... I'm not proud, and I wouldn't consider this room pulled or put together in any way... ok, disclaimer over, now you can see the photos.  :)

How on earth do you decorate/stage a fireplace like this?!

The tree (9ft this year!) was in that back corner

Anywho, I hope to work on this room this weekend.  Our adorable baby boy though is so cute, that I just love hanging with him, so I'm not sure how much I'll get done!

Just thought I'd share.  Now, to get this done, and be excited over our room again!

Budget Friendly Alphabet Art

One of the last projects for Baby Boy's nursery was completing some sort of alphabet art.  I had originally desired to make the alphabet a large focal wall, but that can wait until the toddler years.  After all, Z said he doesn't need to know his alphabet until at least 6 weeks... :)  So, for now, artwork in frames is what I went for.

This was a super thrifty project-  We're talking $3 in frames (yes, they're the same color of the crib and glider wood!) from the dollar store- 11x14" even-  They're big!  The letters came from a pack that was $3, and I used only 1/2 of the pack, so lets call it $1.50.  The rest of the materials I had on hand: white fabric, acrylic paint, spray adhesive, fabric glue...

So, here's how the second attempt at my alphabet artwork came together.

I found this pack of letters at the one trip I've made to Walmart in years.  They were $3 for the pack, and turned out to not be what I thought they were (I thought they were cardboard, turns out they're more like post it note letters...).  I used the holographic letters that were also included since they were coated, and I knew the acrylic paint would stick much better than to the black paper letters.

I organized them in the frames (with the black letters first), and started painting with the 5 coordinating colors in totally random pattern.  (I don't do random well, but it seemed to work this time!)

Each letter took at least 2 coats.  Some of them took 3 since the paint brand was a little cheaper (more water in the paint?)

   

I took these $1 11x14" frames from the dollar store, and removed the cardboard backing.  I used the spray adhesive to adhere the frame insert upside down to the cardboard, and then used the spray adhesive again to adhere the white fabric to the boards.  (I used this same curtain liner fabric for the laundry basket liner I made.  I guess it worked out that I had extra)  I used my rotary cutter to trim the excess fabric so it was nice and snug in the frame.

Then, I used fabric glue to attach the letters in the predetermined pattern to the white boards.  Clean the frames up with some windex, and snap back together!  Then, photograph for blog...

They're not hung yet.  What I'm trying to determine is whether they should go horizontal along the wall, or vertical.  You be the judge (but quickly, since baby is coming any day now!).  The reason for the question is because I still need to incorporate the mobile into the room, and I figured it would go in the corner by the dresser.  So here's the wall the alphabet art will go on.  What do you think orientation wise? 

Let me know what you think!

Two-Toned & Lined Curtains

I made curtains again!  Gosh, our baby is lucky I've taken to sewing lately...

These were imagined back in June, when I stopped off at Home Fabrics, and picked up the three main fabrics for baby boy's room.  Remember when I showed you this fabric set (polka dots used to cover the glider cushions, that I showed you HERE):

To go with our bedding set my awesome cousins purchased for us:

I wanted a pulled together room (designed from scratch) but not something totally matchy-matchy which a lot of nursery stores provide.  So, I imagined these curtains while walking through the store.  The top fabric is green and white houndstooth, and the bottom is a blue and lighter blue stripe.

The curtains, for now, are hung on the closet as doors since the doors that were installed were not going to cut it (bi-fold doors, braced together so they opened like regular doors, plus they didn't shut tight and seemed cheap).  They're fully lined, in case they become window treatments later (in order to black out the sun while baby sleeps

Since these were all straight stitches again, I didn't really make a tutorial.  But, essentially, I measured the full length I needed which was 84" (luckily the closet and the window are the same length, if I want to swap the curtains later), measured the width of the blue stripe fabric I wanted to use, and subtracted that from the full length needed.  I cut down the houndstooth and blue stripe fabric (with seam allowance) to the proper size.  I sewed the blue and green together first, and then the white liner onto the back.  The top seam is rough, but since I knew we were just going to use clips to hang them, it wasn't a huge deal.

With a typical spring loaded shower curtain rod, I hung the curtains as "doors" for the closet.  They are a nice touch, and hide the closet that's still a work in progress of organization (even though I've been given orders to kick my feet up and not do much... which bums me out, but it awefully nice!)

Oh, and Shhh, they hide this:

Yep, I forgot I still have to paint these small portions of the closet sides.  We were going to cover them in the beadboard, but time got away from us.  The paint will be fine for now.  :)  When I get around to it.

Here are a few shots of the curtains from different angles:

(those small frames resting on the crib will be hung on the wall soon...)

(Do you see that laundry basket at the bottom of the closet?  Check that revamp out HERE!)

So, what do you think?  I can't wait to show the whole room put together- there are just a few finishing touches that hopefully we'll have time to get to this weekend.