Master bedroom

A wise friend advised me to focus on the master bedroom, to create a sanctuary there even if the rest of the house was not finished. For the most part we did that, because having a place for the whole family to gather was at the top of our list, so our living room did get top priority. Today I’m sharing our master bedroom as it is now. I still want to have a little sitting area, but for the most part, it is functional, and after a few things we added this past weekend, I think it’s beautiful.

I wanted warm, soothing neutrals, a bit of glam, a bit of Paris (of course), and I definitely wanted to make good use of things we had in our California house.

The main purchase here was the bed. We wanted a king-sized bed (Eastern king, not California king), and Steve wanted a sleigh frame, so we looked and looked, and found the bed at Wayfair.

We had the white duvet cover, got white sheet sets from IKEA and WalMart, and the beaded pillow is from the clearance aisle at Pier 1. Our Stearns and Foster mattress is absolutely heavenly to sleep on, and was purchased from Ashley Furniture in nearby Brookfield.

We bought some prints from street vendors when we were in Paris last November, and I’ve held on to them until I figured out what I wanted to do with them. We considered putting them in the living room, dining room, but in the end I liked the idea of having them in our bedroom.

The frames are from the “value” section at Michaels, and the set of mirrors are from Kohl’s, but I’ve seen similar at Target.

Steve did a great job putting them up and we both love how they look up there.

The neutral frames let the color in the prints pop and this little gallery is a sweet reminder of our trip.

The nightstands are IKEA Expedit pieces we brought from California, and the lamps and shades are from WalMart.

I love these curtains.

They’re from World Market and the moment I saw them I knew that I wanted them. They’re neutral and warm, and I liked that they give us privacy but are not completely blocking the light. Don’t worry, we don’t light those candles when the curtains are closed 😀

The painting to the left was brought from our California bedroom.

We also have our two dressers facing the bed, as well as the trunk that is a family heirloom. We’re really happy how our bedroom is coming along, it is a soothing, comfortable space we both love.

A little corner of my world

We recently got new nightstands – we decided on the Expedit from IKEA in the walnut finish and have been really happy with them. Our boys inherited our old nightstands. I’ve been on a turquoise kick and I was very happy to receive my LOVE print from Made by Girl this week. I love the pop of color on our neutral walls:
My little corner is full of things I love: yellow roses from the plant my husband got me, pics of him and our boys, and wrought iron/fleur de lis decor. I also got some pillowcases in chocolate brown/turquoise to use as accents, since most of our bedding is in neutral colors. The vase is not as dark blue as it looks in the photo, it is (you guessed it) turquoise and it is from IKEA.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

I know what I did last weekend

So, a couple of weekends ago we were all sick as dogs. The boys were running around, not letting their coughs interfere with playing, but my husband and I were feeling like spit warmed over. I had a whole Sunday ahead of me and I decided to do something productive. I mean, more productive than adding to the used tissue pile.

The last time my fabric store had a flannel sale I snagged a few different pieces.
Blues were the dominant color, but I chose patterns that weren’t too baby-ish. I’m kind of done with puppies and kitties and duckies at this point.

I made a few sets of jammies with my boys’ initial on the t-shirt top.
They share the same first initial, so handing them down to little brother won’t be a problem!

I also made a few fitted sheets and pillowcases

I found cute blue ribbon with moons and stars, I thought it fit the bedtime scheme, so I added it to the pillowcases
All in all I made 2 fitted sheets, 3 pillowcases, 3 sets of jammies and about 8 pajama pants. No, I didn’t make them all on that Sunday, but I started then, which is the toughest thing to do, to get started.

I get this silly “frontier woman providing for her family” feeling whenever my boys wear or use something I’ve made. It’s a great feeling.

handmade projects

Inspiration: Pottery Barn

Ah, Pottery Barn, one of the leaders in home goods inspiration, and I mean *just* inspiration because their shit is too fucking expensive for this mama’s wallet.

But inspire they do, and isn’t that the best? To see something that makes little sparks go off in our brain because we just KNOW that we can make something like it for far less moolah.

Check out this pretty pillow:
I know the colors would look great on my burgundy sofa, but would I pay $29 for it? Hell no!

Or these darling distressed lanterns:
I’m even more distressed because there’s no way I’m paying $49 to $99 bucks for one of those! I have my eye on a couple of cheapo lanterns that I plan on painting white and faux-distressing.

However, I do have to stop, put my hands up and cry Uncle when it comes to their bedding:
I want this shit – I mean, these sheets – so bad, they’re perfect for my neutral-toned master bedroom. I love paisley motifs more than floral Laura Ashley type stuff, and let’s face it, I can’t exactly go out and make my own sheet set for less than the $99 a queen set of these would cost me.

It might just have to be a splurge later on, because these babies are calling to me. “Come buy us! We’re soft and cozy and go with your lovely neutral-toned bedroom!”

Orissa Paisley Sheet Set, I got my eye on you.