Blonde Going Grey

Remember this Blonde dresser…

It went grey…

Olympic’s Zero VOC Mountaintop and Silver Charm to be exact.  I really like the Zero VOC for painting furniture.  The paint doesn’t smell…which is nice when you are putting the dresser in a bedroom…or when you are painting with some kind of viral infection that has taken over your lungs...(On a side note, when a Lowe’s employee tries to tell you that Valspar paint is low VOC and doesn’t really have a smell….don’t believe her.  It’s one of the strongest smelling paints.  Lesson learned.)

It always takes me a little bit to get used to something new living in our house.  It always feels like a stranger has moved in with us…but it’s growing on me.  I am, however, not completely sold on the top drawer handles.  I don’t love them but I don’t hate them.  I’m giving them some time.

It’s hard changing from a matchy-matchy decorating style to a more eclectic style.  I know it’s still a little matchy being grey and all but I still feel like it doesn’t “match”…baby steps. 

I had considered maybe a green or a plum but that’s just not really our style…and that’s ok.  Not everyone can be bold and daring.

Now to figure out what to add to the top of the dresser.  We are pretty minimalist people and don’t have a lot of “stuff” which means I will need to purchase some things.  I’m thinking a lamp, a fan, and maybe some frames.  Luckily I am indecisive...which will allow the paint to fully dry before I place anything on it.

What are your thoughts?  What do you think of the handles? When will my West Elm curtains arrive so I can "finish" this room???  So many unanswered questions!

(Read about my furniture painting process here!)

Blondie

Look what I found while thrift store shopping with my family this past week-end….

I'm in L-O-V-E.

My dad kept insisting that the dresser is called a “Blondie”.  I thought that was funny.

Almost as funny as my parents squished in the backseat of my Jeep while trying to get the dresser home.

Good thing they love me....

My dad doesn’t think I should paint the dresser.  Seriously, Dad?

No piece of furniture is safe from my paint brush and mini-roller.

It’s going to live in our master bedroom.  I have visions of 3 different shades of grey in my head.

What color(s) would you paint the dresser? 

Would you keep the hardware or replace it with something new?  I'm torn.

**This dresser find gets me 1 step closer to completing goal #27 on my 30 Before 30 List. 

Read more about it

here

.)**

Bench Cover

Nate's mom gave us this bench....

Unfortunately it didn't really go with the rest of our bedroom...

She really does have good taste.  I swear.

I debated on how to cover the bench.  It sat in my sewing room for several months.  I just couldn't decide what to do with it.

I thought about reupholstering it but then I came up with the idea for a cover.  I like easy. 
Covers are easy....if you don't end up in a battle with your sewing machine....stupid sewing machine.

I ordered this fabric from amazon.  Grey fabric is incredibly hard to find.

The bench is 53" wide, 18" tall, and 18" deep.

I cut three 54"x19" rectangles (top, front panel, back panel) and two 19"x19" squares (side pieces).

I then sewed the pieces together.  I'm not great at sewing so there will be not be a detailed "how to". I used what little common sense that I have to sew the pieces together.  I have no idea what my seam allowance was.  I was just trying to keep my line straight while still making the cover fit the bench. I just "Make it work!" (love Tim Gunn)

My sewing machine and I had a disagreement after I had finished sewing the sides together. 
I still needed to hem the bottom edges but just couldn't handle the fight...so it sat unhemmed in our bedroom for about a month...because I'm awesome.

I finally got around to waging war on my sewing machine hemming it this week-end and we now have a pretty bench cover...

A bench cover that fits in a little better....



What do you think?  Should I take the cover off and leave that beautiful floral pattern?
On an unrelated note, does anyone have a tailored bed skirt that they like? Do share!

Curtain Dilemma

Why are there not more grey curtain options in the world?  Why do I always like expensive things?

Here are my current options but they will probably change by tomorrow night...

A. West Elm's Luxe Window Panel in Zinc
                                 Pros: least expensive
                                 Cons: unsure what color zinc actually looks like

B. West Elm's Opaque Linen Pole-Pocket Panel in Platinum
                               Pros: still in my comfort price range
                               Cons: thicker than I want and maybe too brown-grey

C. West Elm's Silk Dupioni Panel in Pewter
                               Pros: Beautiful and I'm in love
                               Cons: Would take 1/2 of my monthly decorating "allowance"

What are your thoughts? I want a blue-grey and not brown-grey. 

I need an intervention...

Picture These

What do you think of these roman shades from JcPenney (in silver and on SUPER sale)......

Image found here

hanging in these windows....

What do you think? 

I'm the most indecisive person in the world. Seriously. The whole entire world.

I'll go clean/organize some closets while I ponder this....

House Tour- Master Bedroom

Let's continue our house tour in the master bedroom.
Here is what it looked like early on....

And today in 2011...

ROOM INFO:

• Wall color: Poolhouse (Sherwin Williams)
• Duvet: West Elm Parachute duvet (Feather Grey)
• Headboard: handmade (see post here)
• Night Stands: Crate and Barrel Brighton

To do list:

• find a dresser to paint grey/white and place under the tv
• add some accent pillows
• finish sewing the cover for the bench
• cover some books in grey paper for the night stands
• hang some curtains or roman shades??? 

I might actually finish a room someday....maybe...

Next week I'll post about my awesome Salvation Army finds....

West Elm Parachute Duvet Review

Our new duvet arrived last week!  I'm in LOVE!!

I love the color (feather grey).  I love how it flows!  I love how soft it is! I love how warm it is! I love how it has ties on the inside to keep the comforter from slipping!  I love how it has a slightly wrinkled look so you can't tell if I was too lazy to take it out of the dryer on time or it's just supposed to be that way!
Rave reviews from this customer!!

I put it on the bed before washing (to make sure I liked it and didn't want to send it back). 
It was perfect. 
I was then afraid to wash it because it looked so good straight out of the package
(but not washing it is obviously gross).
I then washed it according to the directions and it actually came out looking better..
and it was REALLY soft. 
Also, the dog stopped rolling on it because it smelled new. Bonus.

The only negative is that it is a little short on each side of our king bed.  If you have a queen, I would order a king to get that extra width.  Not a deal breaker for me though...just need to some coordinating bedding.

And now for the next bedroom decision....

Do the windows need something more??

I'm debating between white or light grey curtains hung something like this...

Image found here

Or white or light grey Roman shades like this...

Image found here

What are your thoughts?  Or am I just crazy and I should leave the windows alone?
I NEED your opinions!!!
(Don't talk to Nate before answering this! :P)

Tomorrow we'll do a full tour of the master bedroom to end the week!

Bedroom Progress

While I wait impatiently patiently for our duvet to arrive, I have been working on getting some other things in order.

Let's review what the bedroom looked like before:

And here it is currently:

(The black thing on the floor is Ike's skunk. He kept dropping it in my pictures. Whatever.)

I removed the decals from the wall, started cleaning up the nightstands, and replaced the lamps.

I found the replacement lamps at TJMaxx. 

I think they are a better size than the previous lamps from Target.  The Target lamps will now live in the guest room.

Still on the to-do list:

• finish the headboard
• wait for the duvet to arrive
• look for some cheap blue/grey/silver/white books
• ponder hanging something above the headboard
• talk nate into replacing the ceiling fan with a cute chandelier like this...if only ceiling fans weren't a neccesity in Iowa....a girl can dream....

image found here

Who doesn't love a to-do list?  Any other suggestions?