easy DIY upholstered headboard (no sewing!)...

A while ago a wrote about how I wanted to re-do my bedroom. I want to paint the walls a very light warm gray and maybe paint my dresser a glossy black, or buy the low Malm dresser from Ikea in brown-black. Anyways, I still wasn't sure about what I wanted to do with my bed, right now I have an antique iron bed (painted white), it's very shabby chic, which is so NOT what I'm into now. That was a phase, my tastes have evolved....

Well, I was reading Design*Sponge last week and found great DIY instructions on how to make your own upholstered headboard! Super easy too! Once I save some money to re-do my bedroom, this will probably be the first thing i do.

Right now, I'm trying to figure out what kind of a fabric I want to use to upholster it, I'm thinking of a fabric with bold yellow pattern on it. I want to have my yellow suzani folded at the foot of the bed--it's too small to use as a bed cover--so I want to have a bold pattern at the other end of the bed to balance it out. Here are some ideas....

duralee

duralee

Okay, I haven't totally thought this through and figured out the scales of the patterns on these fabrics, but these are just some general ideas for the colors. I will probably end up looking through our office stash of leftover fabrics from previous clients....which is perfect for my non-existent budget! Designer for free, best design of all!

Here is the finished headboard from Design*Sponge....so glamorous! Love it! Link to post with DIY instructions here.

design*sponge

my dining room and hallway...

I haven't posted any pictures of my dining room and hallway yet, so here it is...I found the table and chairs on craigslist. The chairs were originally stained a strange brown color that clashed with the table so I painted them a creamy off-white.

The chandelier is old and ugly, not to mention hung too high, but this is a rental and I didn't want to put too much time and money into changing it.

The buffet is a built-in and original to the 1922 house. It looks goo far away, but the buffet really needs to be sanded down and re-stained. It has been painted one too many times, the wood grain isn't even the real grain, it's faux wood grain....along with the rest of the "wood" molding, trim, and doors in the house.

I needed a place to drop my keys when I walk up the stairs into my apartment so I made this cute little vignette. The artwork is from my grandparents house, I love it. They're old framed prints for "Godey's Fashion"....old clothing is totally my thing by the way. I was the dress-up queen.

Another view of my "key drop-off area". I love my hardwood floors, so pretty. They just don't make hardwood floors like they used to.

and now for the boring corner. Behind that awkwardly short half wall is the entry staircase where I have yet to put any artwork on the walls. I did build this replica of a Rietveld chair though....a few years ago for an architecture project. Yes, I am quite crafty...

This is the view from the back of the house to the front living room in the hallway.

and here is the opposite view from the living room to the back of the house.

artwork without artwork

How creative....I like this idea of using wallpaper a piece of artwork without having it cover an entire wall. It adds a punch of color without having actual framed artwork, which can be expensive to collect--unless you already have an awesome collection. This would be great if you have high ceilings and you're not sure how to create a cozy look without cluttering up the wall with artwork. Even if you don't already have decorative molding on walls, it's pretty inexpensive and easy to do and you can achieve the same look.

As for the ottoman...is anyone else getting sick of Kelly Wearstler's "Imperial Trellis" pattern? Don't get me wrong, I like it, but it has been a little over used.

source: home sweet home

Want a cupcake?

Delicious, right? Too bad they aren't real....they're soap! I was browsing all of the pretty things on Etsy when I found these cute creations on Verbena's Custom Blends Etsy shop. These would be such a cute and unique party favor! I will have to keep these in mind the next time I throw a nice tea party/luncheon with my friends--okay, so I have never actually thrown a tea party/luncheon (since I was at least 7), but these soap cupcakes almost make me want to put the effort into a tea party extravaganza!

Feeling crafty...

I found this little crafty activity over on Apartment Therapy...how to make mirrors from thrifted plates. This is such an easy and inexpensive way to add some interest to that blank wall you've been wondering how to fill. I will have to keep an eye out for some funky plates next time I'm at a yard sale (okay, I think I always have my eye out for plates at garage sales, but this time I will actually make use of them!)

*Source: Apartment Therapy