Wish Me Luck

I am trying to cover and transform these black-out roller blinds in the two dormer windows of my master bedroom this morning.  I decided to go with the green fabric.  Stay tuned for after successful after shots — hopefully!

Random Things I Am Liking Lately

It’s been a while since my last random likings post, so here’s what’s on my radar these days:

The Lily Mirror from  Ballard Designs would look great above a dresser in a girl’s room (or my room, whatever!):

I am looking for any excuse to purchase one of these amazing Bogart Flat Weave Wool Rugs from Garnet Hill.  Using one of these as a runner in a hallway would be perfect.

Currently coveting this amazing Scallop Trim Coat from Boden for the transition to Spring.

I am head-over-heels in love with these Nest and Egg Prints from Wisteria.  I could design an entire nursery around these babies. 

This clean-lined Apex Bookcase from West Elm would fit perfectly against a short wall that would otherwise be wasted space.

These quatrefoil design Firenze Embroidered Panels from Ballard Designs are gorgeous.

Imagine the vignettes you could create on mantels, consoles and bookshelves with these adorable Hear No, See No, Speak No Owls from At West End.

These fresh and feminine desk accessories from PB Teen would look fabulous in both my daughter’s play room and my home office!

Have a fabulous weekend, y’all!

 

Look What I Found!

There is good news and bad news.

First, the good news:

{Chocolate Rugby Stripe Fabric, Serena & Lily}

The perfect wide-stripe fabric for my railroad stripe curtains.

Now, the bad news:

It’s $40 a yard.  And I need about 33 yards for the curtains.  Yeah, that math’s not too pretty.  I am going to check around town and see what I can find.  If I can’t find the perfect fabric for less, then I may attempt the fabric spray-paint method.

I will keep you posted!

P.S. I hope to post later today (with pictures) about my hallway update….

Going Sideways: Horizontal Stripe Curtains

Ever since I laid eyes upon these awesome horizontally striped curtains made by the design diva Jenny at Little Green Notebook, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about where I can replicate the dramatic look.

After doing some investigation, I have realized how hard it is to find horizontally striped fabric.  Jenny took vertical striped fabric and sewed two pieces together to create the railroad stripes.  I love this look!

Also inspired by Jenny, the ever-resourceful Camila over at High-Heeled Foot in the Door actually spray painted bright yellow stripes on to a pair of white Ikea panels.  I love how this turned out!

Here are some other horizontal stripe curtain eye candy:

{House Beautiful via Mrs. Blandings}

{Fresh Ideas via DesignSpark}
(great post on a similar topic, love the blog name!)

{Covered in Curtains}

I love the tailored, but dramatic look of the horizontal striped curtains, don’t you?!

So, I am thinking about exploring these beauties further and maybe attempting to make some brown and white horizontal stripe panels for the two windows in my family room.  The picture below was taken last summer for another post.  What do you think?  Ambitious, no?

My only problem is that I can’t seem to find any brown and white, wide stripe fabric (even vertical stripes!).  All you design gurus out there, any source ideas?

Nailhead Curtains? Yes Please.

Have you seen these beauties from West Elm?

 

Yes, they are Nailhead Linen Panels. 

And they come in flax and slate with antiqued-nickel nailhead trim.  Price ranges from $59 – $89 and free shipping.  If you are crafty, you could DIY, but why would you at those prices? 

P.S. Dear West Elm, please make these in white or ivory so that I may hang them in my family room.  Thanks a mill, Miz spark!

To DIY For — My $14 Window Treatment

This was the sad state of my hallway dormer a few months ago.  Dormers are such a decorating dilemma!  I see the sole purpose of our hallway dormer as a conduit of natural light, and I do not really want to obscure the window in any way.

I was so desperate for ideas, that I enlisted the help of longtime friend, and fabulous interior designer Paul Corrie, who gave me some great ideas.  In fact, I am still pondering his suggestion to paint the linen closet doors.  I think it would really create a gorgeous symmetry.

So, Paul spurred me on to update the dormer decor, but I was searching for inspiration on the window treatment.

Last week, I stumbled upon this AWESOME POST on DIY Pelmet Boxes by Jenny over at Little Green Notebook.  Aha moment!  It was perfect for my dormer — not expensive, doesn’t block much light and it covers those yucky blinds that we have not yet replaced.

TAH DAH!  My new dormer:

For the pelmet box, Mr. spark! and I followed the directions at Little Green Notebook, and due to our space, the project was even easier for us.  We measured the foam core board ($1.50 from Michaels), attached the sides with duct tape, covered the box with batting ($3 from Michaels) and fabric (1/2 yard P. Kaufmann’s Curly Q in Green Tea, $9 from Willams & Sherrill), and staple-gunned it in place.  Our fit was so perfect that we didn’t even have to nail the pelmet box into the wall — it’s suspended up there between the walls of the dormer!

Regarding the fabric choice, I wanted something simple and light in color because the dormer can be dark in the afternoons, and I wanted to pick up the green of the trees outside the window and the green on the stairway runner:

And a side-by-side:

I love the way it turned out and can’t believe that it cost us $14 to make!  A huge thanks to Jenny at Little Green Notebook for the tutorial and creative idea.

What do YOU think?

Tres Chic Nursery

I am loving this new With a Flourish nursery ensemble from Land of Nod:

The crib blanket and crib skirt come in lavender and pink, and are both reversible between the floral and lattice patterns.  The bumper, changing table cover and valance are available in lavender and pink floral.  The crib sheet is available in a sweet, complementary lavender or pink polka dot.

The pieces des resistances are the panels – I adore the lattice panels!  The panels are available in green, lavender, blue and pink floral and lattice.  They look almost look custom, don’t they?  I would also love to use the green or blue lattice panels in another room – like a home office, laundry room or powder room.

Almost makes you want to have a baby just to decorate a nursery….I said ALMOST!

And btw, a similar ensemble also comes in “big girl” sizes with a variety of options and combinations for twin, full and queen beds.

BRAVO, Land of Nod!

 

Stunning (Paper!) Curtains

Take a look at these stunningly unique beauties by Tord Boontje for Artenica found on Unica Home.  These curtains are made out of Tyvek, an ultra durable synthetic paper product.  Can you believe it?

At $58 per panel, these panels are accessible and affordable.  I think these curtains would look great by themselves in a smaller window where privacy isn’t necessary, and natural light is welcome, like a home office, hallway nook or laundry room.  Or, wouldn’t they make a fabulous room divider floating on clear fishing wire?

These panels would also look so whimsical in a child’s playroom or bedroom, and you could layer them on top of a white or solid colored curtain to give light control and privacy, but also to make their gorgeous design stand out.

Look at the precise and intricate pattern full of flowers, foliage and animals.

I love this amazingly artful, jaw-dropping and unexpected medium for window treatments!

Sneaky Trick Revealed!

I am about to reveal a money-saving trick that I discovered a few years ago as I was purchasing items for my daughter’s nursery.  This specific bit of information is about to save me $144, which is equivalent to 36 free mochas at Starbucks, 6 complimentary pedicures or a week of groceries at no charge!

So, I am slowly progressing on window treatments for the two windows in my family room.  I have finally settled on my look (only took me three years!), and started looking for affordable window hardware.  I like the simple double-rod look below from Pottery Barn. For each window, I would need the medium size, which cost $139 each, or $278 total, for the window hardware.

I started looking around for similar, but less expensive window hardware.  For fun, I checked out PB Teen (Pottery Barn’s line aimed at teenagers).  Guess what I found?  Almost identical window hardware for $144 less! Two of the same sized double-rod below ($55) with the almost identical finials ($12) below adds up to $134.  Both are made from steel, look similar in heft and quality and are backed by the reputation and customer service guarantee of Pottery Barn.

BTW, I have found similar savings comparing Pottery Barn vs. PB Teen/Pottery Barn Kids for end tables, rugs and bookshelves too.  Perhaps Pottery Barn figures that we will not pay as much for kids’ rooms, so they sell pretty much the same items marketed under another name, for less.  PB, I am on to you!

Now, what to do with my extra $144?  I have my eye on this awesome mirror….