✥ Shopping for Parts ✥

Phase two of the headboard DIY project...the materials hunt!

 I  outlined the list of materials I was looking for.

I know I need fabric and a lot of it. Those of you who have purchased fabric know it can be really pricey. I did go through a few local fabric stores but could not bring myself to pay the large price tags for the thick velvet I already decided that I wanted. So I started browsing for curtain panels that worked into my color scheme. I figured this would save me quite a bit and would be exactly the right size I needed for my king size bed.

 curtain panel

The winning panel turned out to be from Target. It is the same brand as all the other linens I have on my bed- Fieldcrest Luxury. I liked a few of my options at other stores as well- most of my options came in at around 30 buckaroos. But the winning panel was on sale for $8, yes $8 dollars!! That's some serious savings! It was the same cream color as my bedsheets and bed skirt. Actually it has tonal striping that matches my damask striped sheets perfectly. Not that I am in love with matchy-matchy- but the sheets barely show with a made bed and I think it will be very pretty.

sheets

The next stop was Lowe's for the piece of wood. Some of the "how to's" online mentioned getting real wood for the headboard, while others went for a particle board. Of course I chose the cheaper particle board- the cost coming in at only 15 bucks.

I also picked up the french cleat that allows the headboard to slide into place on the wall and eliminates the need for legs. That was 15 dollars.

While at Lowe's I walked past the carpet padding and stopped mid stride. I has already priced out the cost of foam and knew it wasn't going to be cheap. So I had the gal quote me on a layer of their thickest carpet padding. The total came in under 20 bucks. So three birds with one stone!

Because the carpet padding is less "squishy" than the foam I wanted to put an extra layer of batting down. I had a coupon for the craft store and almost got two bags for the price of one. Sweet!

The last step was the nail head trim. I really wanted to buy local because I wanted to see the finished project the same day. I was outta luck. The only trim I could find where boxes of 24 nails and they didn't have the huge number I would need. So I had to buy online. I ended up with an ebay seller who took three weeks before popping my item in the mail. I could've killed him and wish I would've paid the extra DOLLAR  to get through a online store! This is when my "fruggle-ness" turns into cheap-ness and I could kick myself.

I choose the french natural color because it matched the pulls on the antique dressers. Although most the metal accents in my home are the more common brushed nickel.

If you're adding everything up you know I'm under 85 bucks for the project! 

Not bad, right? 

All From Ikea

I was asked to out together a living room design in a modern aesthetic for a friend of mine. She was starting from zero, as in from scratch. We were working on, my favorite, a BUDGET!

I like working on a budget. It gives a project parameters. It helps you to define where the bulk of your money should go. I am always bargain shopping, whether out of necessity or not. It's kind of like a game and I am the winner when I find a good deal on exactly what I want. Meaning, I don't like to settle with an inferior style or quality just to save money. It still needs to look good, last a long time, and be something you love. Do not bring things into your home you don't love. That's always a waste of money.

Okay, I apologize for the tangent. Back to the design.

To decorate this living room I knew I was going to do mainly from Ikea for two reasons. One: my friend is a big fan of their clean lines and likes the more modern the better. Two: she is not a shopper like I am. I was going to need to find almost everything there for here because going from place to place looking for just the right accessory is not her idea of fun. (Although why not, I don't know?)

My parameters included a $1000 budget, a color scheme of black and red, the necessity for a sofa bed and storage. 

The starting point was supposed to be a very modern, black sofa. But sitting on it just wasn't that comfortable. They look so sleek and stream lined, but when the arms and back of the couch are low and the same height there's no where to rest your head. So comfort won out and I needed to incorporate the tan/beige sofa into my color scheme. This primarily changed the curtains and the pillows, but the walls are already a lighter tan than the couch so it should look great.

At $699 the couch is really fantastic. There is storage underneath the chaise and under the love seat portion there's a pullout that pops up and turns the couch into a double bed. It is also very comfortable and easy on the eyes. We got the curtains to bring more black around the room. It is actually wavy stripes of black gray and tan. The same colors as in two of the pillows.

I choose this bookshelf for her storage problems and the red boxes fit on the shelves perfectly. The bookshelf will actually be on its side and multitask as a room divider. We went cheap on the TV stand- cheap on price but not on style. There's nothing offensive to the senses here.

For side tables I convinced her to go rogue and we left Ikea to get some square storage ottomans. They're black and we got two to act as two side tables for now, but  on a whim they could work as a coffee table or even a bench if she wanted them to. The top can be flipped over and works as a hard surface for drinks or whatever.

That pretty much killed the budget. But think about it, the couch was 700 bucks so we got her a whole living room for 300 additional buckaroos.
We chose a club chair to bring a pop of red to the other side of the room. It was a great price and is actually comfortable. Love. Ikea.
I choose some accessories for her to keep her eye on. We picked out a trendy sunburst mirror and some red lamps. Also her contribution was a vase and sticks that mimicked the wavy lines in the curtains.

I would love to do more in the way of accessories but it's just not her style, she's actually had blank walls for the last 6 years. So I guess it's baby steps and I'll take what I  can get. If it were up to me I would suggest she do one of those amazing vinyl graphics, something like a gray silhouette of an organic shape. Also, some black floating shelves with tan and gray vases or glassware. Then a photo wall with black frames and black and white prints.

This was a really fun project. Personal shoppers and decorators are so lucky. They get to shop all the time and don't have to spend their own dinero. The only challenge is moving away from your own style towards one that will please your client/friend.

Hopefully I can get some after shots to show off my labors!

Shower Goodies

Today I'm getting the invites out for the upcoming shower. The shower I'm planning if for a friend I've worked with in the nursery at my church. The shower is for her church friends only and 30ish people are invited

A few weeks ago I did a plan for the shower and made an exhaustive list of things I'd be looking for. This way I would have it on hand no matter where I am I'd be prepared. This helped me take advantage of some great sales, especially when I wasn't out shopping for the shower specifically.

Z and I were at Pier 1 looking for lamps, of course, and found some incredible deals for the shower instead!

I was brainstorming how to do gift bags for under a dollar a bag/prize. I couldn't find a better deal than that in all my searches but I kept coming back to a pack of white paper bags I had purchased for when I was working in the nursery ( hand puppets.) Then last night my search for ways to make these very plain bags cute and decorative brought me back to my favorite baby shower inspiration blog, bumpsmitten.

Not bad right? I'm pretty sure I could do something like this and have them turn out dang cute.

Dollar, Dollar Bill-Yo

Well, you may have  noticed that I am looking for new couches. But the search has lead me in a direction I wasn't really planning on. I think I am moving away from the color scheme of warm tans and greens that we've had for the last 6+ years and moving towards a more modern pallette.

I think I want to incorporate greys- in the form of draperies and a sectional. With more vibrant pops of color. I do love the muted and calming colors I have had in the past, but think The Bergs may be in need of a change. Pops of bright yellow or turquoise maybe?

Have you seen younghouselove.com?

I browsed through some of their mood boards and focused in on the ones that draw me in.
You know how you just respond to some colors?

I like how gray is the new tan. It seems like a more sophisticated  neutral pallette.
I like the bright green, but can't seem to shake the idea of yellow and gray.

And can you believe this turquoise? I'm not sure if I'm brave enough to do it.

So the next step is the budget and of course lots and lots of internet browsing.  Since this make over is going to cost more than I had originally thought I had to come up with a way to fund my makeover. I finally decided to sell some of our older stuff. We are terrible at actually getting old items listed  and sold. Now that my motivation is a new living room this is a different story.

I've listed almost $2000 worth of stuff we DO NOT USE on a local website (KSL Classifieds)  and have already made $180 on my Blackberry, $35 on a framed backpack, and $135 on ammo Z didn't like.

I think I'm in love with this process. It is totally worth the time and I make way more than if we'd had a yard sale! Yes!

By the by- Remember the couch I was inspired by? I saw one in the same shape when I was at Ikea this week.  It also comes in a great blue-grey.

 

All in all, I'm looking for  a couch, chair(s), lamps, curtains, coffee table or some alternative and probably some new accessories.

It's Baby Time!

I've been working on putting together a baby boy shower for the last few weeks. I did a lot of internet image searching for inspiration, then saved all the pics I liked. I want the shower to look professionally done and my goal in every endeavor is a lot of bang for my buck.

I made a list of all my possible ideas and then my next step was to hit up every craft store in my area. Over the past few weeks I've checked prices on each decorating possibility, at each store, and then looked online to quadruple check for good deals.

I've been really inspired by these images. 

Image from bumpsmitten.com

image from bumpsmitten.com

Things I love include the cohesive color scheme, simple and classic platters, the banner,  minimal food choices that look amazing and yummy, and the small details that make this look over the top.

So I adopted these starting points and made a color scheme of navy and turquoise with pops of golden yellow. I developed a theme, it will be "a star is born". Made some smart menu choices that will mimic the look of my inspiration tables. Then went crazy at the craft stores buying the best priced items I could find.

One of the most important choices you can make is decorations. I pulled my inspiration from this  baby girl's shower photo.

image from bumpsmitten.com

 I cannot wait to make my own Martha Stewart inspired "puffs" for over the table! She has a full tutorial on her website. I founf colored tissue paper that make each "poof" or "puff" only a dollar!

You may be noticing a theme from my inspiration photos. They all hail from a fantastic website that provides ideas for every budget.

I can't wait to post updates on this topic. I will be working on the banner and gift bags this week.