Bedroom Redo: Mini-update

One more step to finishing the bedroom room (and for all of those who mocked my Dec. 20th deadline---You were right, you told me so----I hope you all got coal in your stockings) was finding an inexpensive duvet cover for the ugly Big Lots poly blend gypsy horror I was using. It was an emergency purchase a couple of years ago when we had a family of four coming to visit for mardi gras and were still in our small apartment waiting for the house to be finished and didn't have enough bedding, especially since we were "enjoying" a cold spell. I never liked them, especially after I spilled paint all over one of them in my then studio/guest room. (I just realized it sounded like I was talking about the guests not the comforters! I actually liked the guests, and have never spilled paint on any guest......wine perhaps, maybe chili, but never paint.) I had stored the comforters when we moved in this house, but after Thomas's twin moved in with us, I had to consolidate storage and the only place to store it was on the bed! Actually, it wasn't horrible--at least the unstained reverse was a solid burgundy that somewhat went with the scheme. And I learned to like sleeping euro style--with just a duvet and bottom sheet. However, the poly blend fabric was itchy, and it was a pain to drag that huge thing to and from the laundry room.



Before: notice the bedding carefully turned to the reverse and folded to be as inconspicous as possible:g

This photo is just a shameless excuse to show off the cutest, sweetest dog in existence (except yours, I'm sure):

After: It took a while to find an inexpensive duvet cover that wasn't equally as unpleasant as the comforter fabric. I didn't want to spend more than $50 because it will be subjected to a lot of dog/cat laying as well as frequent laundering. I finally found an all cotton, 200+ thread count set in bone on Overstock.com for $39 with free shipping. Woohoo. Take that Santa, I was a good boy this year after all.

It's a decent value for the price. It's not incredible quality--for instance, it's pieced and the placket is not a hidden one, but the fabric feels good, and it's a bargain for the price. Now, I really have a bed that I feel like cuddling up in, and with below freezing temps predicted for the rest of the week, (here, in New Orleans! Global warming where are you when I need you!), that's a good thing. Now all I have to do is to back and quilt the vintage fabric into a throw ala the thin quilts of Provence, (Please don't hold your breath for this to happen...I'd hate to be responsible for your asphyxciation.)

Forgive the unstyled picture, but I actually like a slightly made, but rumpled bed. And if you, like me, like reading the titles of books you see in interior photos, I'll list them for you:

Thom Filicia's design book, The Art of Happiness by the Dali Lama, The Grandy Sophie by Georgette Heyer, and the best....Princess Luciana Pignatelli's 1971 beauty how to bible, The Beautiful People's Beauty Book.

Bedroom Redo Part Deux: Cleopatra approves

Off to function at the inlaws, so no time for much text, but here are some photos of the bedroom about 75% done.
For review, before:

And after:

Design Resolutions: Bedroom redo update

Last thursday, I decided to get a head start on my design resolution # 1 (trying to make my house as magazine worthy as possible on an extremely tight budget by working on some problem areas) by embarking on a cosmetic redo of the bedrooom. Some reader seemed surprised that I was aiming for a Dec. 20th deadline. They should have been surprised. Apparently I was smoking crack to think I could churn out a redo that quick. Since then, I've experienced some unexpected work issues, some forgotten social obligations, and extreme forces of nature (parts of New Orleans experienced flash floods). And laziness....I didn't mention the bouts of pure laziness. However, there has been some progress: the painting is almost complete, and I love the new color, Riverway from Sherwin Williams: it's a beautiful, deep, blue-green teal with a lot of gray undertones (it may not be apparent from the pictures, but it's much darker than the original aqua paint). *Note: this is why one should pay some attention to paint names---the original paint was named Vintage Kitchen---and that's what it looked like. It would have been great and cheery in a 30s style kitchen, but it was a little too bright and perky for a non-morning person's bedroom. Years ago, I had a similiar situation where, only after painting a large portion of a friend's den did I notice that the beige I thought I had chosen from a small swatch was acutally a pale lavender--I rushed to the paint can to see that lavender was actually in the name....I hadn't noticed--luckily the friend was female and okay with the lavender).

I've also had the headboard (from a salvaged door) hung, and the sconces remounted. I love it. Unfortunately the free bed frame I had been gifted was for a full size and not queen, so I have to hunt another one down...I may not make the deadline, but I'm on the way.

And frankly, the deadline was somewhat artifical. I just know that I can never get off my can unless I have some sort of ending date in mind.