I decided a while ago that I just didn't like the look of our extra bedroom. It's style was no longer a reflection of my taste in decor, and since my project board in Pinterest just keeps growing and growing, and Patrick was starting to roll his eyes at me every time I brought home another thrifted steal for a future makeover, I figured "it's only the hottest time of the year; what better time to spend a weekend outside working my butt off?"
There should be a danger warning for all the things that can go wrong during a weekend of crafting. Practically just shy of an ER visit, I found myself with a hot glue gun burn to my left hand (skin completely melted off), a stab wound to my right palm (watch out for those sharp objects), a toenail casualty, sore quads, and a beet red farmer's neck tan-line. But it's all completely worth it when I look into the perfectly finished guest bedroom (basically every time I go upstairs, because I really like to look at how cozy it is).
I like to call it my Eclectic Cottage Bedroom, all inspired by a hand-me-down quilt someone really old in my family put a lot of hours into sewing together. Not a single thing actually goes together. Every item has had a face-lift since in my possession, like the mis-matched black dresser and nightstand (hand-me-downs from Patrick's parents to furnish his first apartment when he moved to Dallas) that I painted black some years ago.
#1) For the dandelion headboard I used 6ft cedar fence pickets, attached together in the back with 2 sturdy planks of wood (one towards the top, one towards the bottom) and some perfectly measured wood screws. Then sanded the face and edges of the pickets down to a 150 grit sandpaper.
I stained the wood with Kona colored stain, using an old shop towel and hap-hazardously smearing it all over, leaving some parts more saturated then others and not caring if all the wood grain was actually covered. The art was then free-style hand painted by my mother and me with black acrylic (beware: two artists working on one project equals some bickering). Lastly, I sealed the entire project with 2 coats of wipe-on Polyurethane. (None of these steps took more than 20 minutes for dry time since we did it outside in the blazing sun, so it only took me about 2.5 hours from start to finish.)
#2) Next on the list was spray painting several items I already had laying around the house, using coordinating colors, to give the overall look a new fresh feel.
#3) After sanding off the left over residual from some kid putting stickers down the sides of this mirror in it's former life (I thrifted it for a mere $6), a Colonial red with satin finish transformed it to fabulous and vibrant.
#4) My mom's perfectionism trait comes in great handy when it's time to tape things up!
Covering every glass bulb down my 2 candle stick holders and lamp base was a royal pain, but she made it look easy. The gold would soon be covered in an off white with flat finish, to portray a new, but not too new look. (See that tiny little pillow? She sewed that for me to use as the ring barer pillow in our wedding.)
In the mean time, Patrick stayed in the A/C with his sick self and did some laundry.
And Dusty did was Dusty does best......nap.
And the puppies practiced making sweet faces during snack breaks, in hopes of pity human food donations.
#5) I updated this $2 lamp shade with my hot glue gun and some textured fabric tape.
#6) We beautified this cheapo bead-skirt with roughly 6 yards of burlap (I used my 50% coupon at Joann's) to keep the vintage feel alive.
#7) Patrick hung my curtains.
#8) I created a super cheap but oh so adorable wall decal with different sized cross stitch hoops and mismatching fabric. (Remember that teacup trinket I did a while back? It now has the perfect home.)
#9) My unfinished project for the room.......
......transforming my chandelier, twice made-over now (used to be bronze when I bought it for $35 on craigslist, painted it black, glued on rhinestones and hung crystals from the bottom)........
.......into a flat white masterpiece to tie the room all together.
Just imagine the Chandy bringing this room to it's full potential!! I can't wait!
See that yellow runner over the night stand? I my mom sewed that for me back in the day....she's so talented. And for the crochet pillow cases, she found those at a garage sale for practically free. The antique rocking chair was given to me by Nana.
And here's a sneak peak of something I finished for our other extra room, the kpLOVE Studio......
I chose a solid antique yellow with satin finish for this chest.
#3) After sanding off the left over residual from some kid putting stickers down the sides of this mirror in it's former life (I thrifted it for a mere $6), a Colonial red with satin finish transformed it to fabulous and vibrant.
(For the record, we tried a gloss red first, which looked terribly cheap and was completely transparent. The double coat coverage spray paint had the best depth, and prettiest finish.)
See that yellow runner over the night stand? I my mom sewed that for me back in the day....she's so talented. And for the crochet pillow cases, she found those at a garage sale for practically free. The antique rocking chair was given to me by Nana.
............which opened a whole new can of worms.
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