Bedroom Part II

Bedroom

Here is my bedroom. It is Martha Stewart's Blue Ticking on top and Benjamin Moore's Glass Slipper on the bottom. I used painter's tape to make a 2-inch stripe around the room. I will be adding a few more pictures of the long wall soon, but I am having a hard time getting the color to be quite right on film.

Study

Here are a few pictures of my study. It was initially the second (far smaller) bedroom in our apartment. I am using it as our study/den since it also houses the TV. The window looks out on our neighbor's beautiful backyard, which is definitely a cheerful sight when studying. My mom was nice enough to give me her old desk from law school which is just the right size for a computer and a few big books. The chairs (taken from the trash of my high school) are going to be my first reupholstering projects. I am going to be starting a continuing education class in a few weeks on "the art of upholstery". I'll keep you posted on the results.

The walls are Martha Stewart's Peach Marmalade. The pictures don't really capture it accurately. It is a little peachier than they make it look. It is a really great, cheerful color for a small room. I'm sure I'll really appreciate it during the winter. Hopefully it will make the apartment feel a little less cold.

Those of you who remember my Boston will apartment will recognize the shape of the pictures above the bookshelf. I like the way the gold looks against the peach. Wes (Mushkillah's old toy) and an awesome wooden art piece my sister gave me are sitting on the bookshelf.

Finally, I have a picture of the litter box wall (finally not in my room!) with the TV table and a white cabinet from my grandma's old house. I put a few photos and knick-knacks up there to remind me of why I am going back to school. It is nice to look at some familiar faces and GLS mementos when I am in the midst of studying.

Living Room

Here are a few photos of the living room. This room is still a work in progress. I mentioned earlier that I am planning on recovering the couch in bright raspberry and making new curtains for the french doors to the porch. I think I will also make a few throw pillows with black and turquoise to connect the chairs.

The Chicago Neighborhood Map is above the couch temporarily, but will likely be replaced with black and white photographs that belong to my roommate. The colors of the map are just a little bit too yellow for the gray walls. I think black and white prints will look really great, especially when contrasted with the bright furniture. The gray we chose is Benjamin Moore's Fusion. It is dark, but it has a great purple undertone that makes the room feel cozier. My beloved turquoise chairs look really sophisticated against the dark background. I'm pretty excited to work on getting the rest of the room up to snuff.

New Apartment

I haven't done very many craft projects in the last few months, but I thought I would upload a few photos of my apartment instead. I have spent a lot of time painting and decorating my new place. I even made a few pillows and a curtain for my bedroom. Next on the agenda is recovering the couch (bright raspberry) and making new curtains for the living room. I will keep you posted on those projects.

Here are two pictures of the kitchen. One is of the view from the kitchen into our living room. We worked really hard to find a cheerful green that still looked good with the gray we had selected for the living room and (maybe more importantly) that didn't make all my red appliances look like Christmas decorations. We eventually chose Benjamin Moore's Seedling. It reminds me of an olive oil bottle in the best possible way.

The second picture showcases the amazing wooden cabinet the previous tenants sold to us. Please note the cat on the stove, the baby scale holding the fruit (Boston purchase), the silver baking goods containers (Columbus purchase), and my ever-adorable mixer (Chicago gift). I am also extremely taken with the rabbit dish towel I picked up at the Renegade Craft Fair a few weeks ago. The spice rack is an old tape holder Annie and I salvaged from the alley behind our house. It works extremely well.

Unfinished

I bought this little table at a local thrift store ("Urban Renewals"). It wasn't bad looking when I bought it, although there were a lot of stains on the wood. I tried a couple of different things with it (even painting it yellow!) but decided this cute, tray look was the best. It still needs another coat of mod podge (to cat-proof it) but here is the general idea!










Materials:
1 Can White Paint
8 Notecards
Mod Podge (Gloss)

Small Project

I found this card at Brookline Booksmith. Using glue, a little foam board, a City Year magnet, and a clock set from A.C.Moore I turned it into a little clock for our fridge. The only drawback is that the lazy dog makes me want to stay in bed all day.















Materials:
1 Letterpress Card
1 Clock Set
1 Heavy-duty magnet
1 Altoids Tin (conceals clock back and allows you to attach magnet)
AA batteries
Glue
Foam Board

Before "New Hobby"

Before "Summer"

Summer

Adrienne and I found these chairs by the side of the road when I first moved to Boston. I took a before picture, but my camera is not letting me upload it for some reason. They were unfinished chairs with a few splotches of red paint and dirt on them. I cleaned them off before painting them. I then used Mod Podge to apply some designs from Paper Source. Here they are now.








Materials:
1 Small Can Flat White Paint
1 Sheet of Paper Source Wrapping Paper
Mod Podge (Matte)

Antiqued

I recently redid the free nightstand I found on craigslist. I hate using spray paint, but I sort of like the antique, faded look of the nightstand now. I used flat white paint to highlight the details of the desk and a Target gift bag to make the flower design on the top.

Materials:
1 Can Krylon Indoor/Outdoor Spray Paint (White)
2 Cans Krylon Indoor/Outdoor Spray Paint (Meringue)
Flat White Paint
Gift Bag
2 Drawer Pulls (Blue)

New Hobby

Materials:

Mod Podge (Matte)
Hot Glue Gun
1/2 Yard of Ribbon
12 x 12 in. square of paper