Easy, Inexpensive Artwork

What teenage girls isn't intrigued by shoes, handbags, and make-up? I haven't met many. Why not satisfy her desire for pretty things without going shopping? Magazine advertisements make great artwork, and they're a whole lot cheaper than a new purse.

Don't get me wrong, I don't encourage my daughter to obsess over material things, but some of these ads are as pretty as any artwork I've seen. 

 I used these Ikea Ribba aluminum-look frames.

 $9.99 Each

These three magazine pages suit the coral color scheme in my daughter's room, and they look great in the Ikea frames. I love the way the metal-look frames complement the metal look on drawer fronts (see that project here). At just $9.99 for each piece of 12" x 16" artwork, I'd say we got ourselves a bargain.

I remember being a teenager and tearing the pages out of my favorite magazines.  The entire back side of my bedroom door was a collage of pictures (mostly cute puppies and Duran Duran).  My mom hated it, but I felt it was a way to personalize my space.  By putting those pictures in a frame, your teen can express his or her personality in a more sophisticated way (although I think my parents would have thought I'd lost my mind if I had asked them to frame my Duran Duran pictures - lol).   This idea could be adapted to suit  boys as well by framing pages of an old comic book, Sports Illustrated or Scout Handbook. Really, this idea could be adapted in so many ways to fit into any room of the house. 

So, have you framed the pages of a favorite book or an old magazine?  If so, leave your link in the comments - I would love to check it out!

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Dressing Up Boring Curtain Panels

 

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As you know by now, I'm in the process of taking my daughter's room from tween to teen.  Her new favorite color is coral, and we've brought a touch of it into the room with the bedding.  However, I felt the room needed a few pops of coral throughout in order to tie everything together.  My daughter let me know that she wanted solid white curtains, and I agreed with her choice.  Coral is such an intense color, that having all-over coral curtains would be a bit much.  I chose these Merete bleached curtains from Ikea:

In keeping with the plan to scatter the coral color scheme throughout the room, I decided to add a 4-1/2 inch band of coordinating fabric along the vertical edge of each curtain panel.  Here's how you can dress up a pair of plain panels using the same technique. 

• First, gather your supplies.  You'll need scissors, a ruler, fusible hem tape, an iron, pins, a sewing machine and a piece of fabric at least as long as your curtain panel.  I used this fabric:

 

• Second, if you are using grommet panels like I did, I would suggest you trim the grommets off (provided your curtain panel is long enough to reach the ground without those few inches of fabric).  You don't have to trim the grommets off, but I tried leaving them on and didn't care for the way the panel looked in the end). If you do trim the grommets off, you'll have to turn under the top edge of your panel.

• Next, cut a 10 inch wide piece of fabric that is a few inches longer that your curtain panel.  Turn the top edge under 1/2 an inch and iron. 
• Fold the piece of fabric in half lengthwise (it will now be 5 inches wide).  Fold each of the long raw edges under 1/2 an inch and iron.  Now your piece of fabric will be 4-1/2 inches wide.

• Now position your strip of fabric along the edge of your curtain panel.  Follow the instructions for your fusible tape and attach each side of your fabric strip to your curtain panel, keeping the top edge that you turned under even with the top edge of your panel. 

• You're now ready to hem your curtain panel.  No matter how many times I measure and how many different measuring tools I use, I can never get curtain panels hemmed to the correct length using conventional sewing methods.  If you've read any of my other blog posts, you know that I'm all about unconventional methods, which is what I've had to resort to when it comes to hemming curtains.  It seems the only way I can get my curtains hemmed to the correct length is by hanging them first, and then hemming them while they are hanging.  If you'd like to use this method of hemming, hang your unhemmed panels the way you want them and then pin the bottom so that the panels just barely skim the floor.

•  Pull the panels (still hanging) up onto the ironing board and press them.

• Next, turn the curtain panel over to the wrong side and turn the raw edge under again so that it's encased in the hem.

• Now it's time to sew.  With your curtains still hanging, and pull them up onto the table and run them through the sewing machine.

 

If your curtain panels got a little wrinkled with all the manipulation, you can either steam them or spray them with a little of this.

I'm a big fan of this product! 

When you're done, you'll have something like this:

See how the bottom edge just skims the floor thanks to my unconventional hemming-in-place technique?

Now that that project is done, I'm one step closer to finishing the room.  Check back throughout the week for updates on my progress.  Hopefully I'll be able to keep my promise and get the big reveal posted by Saturday.  Have a great week, and thanks for stopping by!

Knock Off Bargains at Home Emporium/Southeastern Salvage

Do you have an open mind and a good imagination when it comes to decorating? If so, I've found the perfect store for you. Have you heard of Home Emporium (known as Southeastern Salvage in other areas of the country)? More of a warehouse than a store, Home Emporium offers a wide variety of of items to help turn your house into a home, including mirrors, rugs, furniture, lighting and storage containers. The reason you need a good imagination when you visit is that the merchandise is not artfully styled like the merchandise in Pottery Barn or the Ballard catalog. It's pretty much lined up in rows, with no accessorizing. Shopping in such an environment can be a turn-off for some people, but bloggy (yeah, as of now, that's a word) people like you and me thrive in such an environment - we know how to spot a diamond in the rough, and we like the challenge of creating our own vision. Here are a few things I saw during my last visit to my local Home Emporium in Cincinnati (warning: lots of horrible iPhone photos to follow).

Luscious Lighting

I'll bet none of your neighbors in the suburbs have lighting as unique as this.

 

$99 - A great price on these glass bell pendants.

 Ooo la la!

This rustic lamp is very Ballard-esque. 

 

Love this!

Gorgeous Globes

These come in so many colors, there's sure to be one that suits your decor.

Cheap Chargers

$3.99 each

 

Lovely Lanterns

 Choose black...

or white.  In the summer, they also had a great silver lantern.  Any of these would be right at home in the Pottery Barn catalog.

Charming Chairs

Metal, wood and burlap chairs as far as the eye can see.

 Awesome Accessories

A unique accent table.

 

 These distressed suitcase could serve as both a side table and storage.

Yet another example of merchandise that looks like it jumped off the pages of the Ballard catalog.

 

Colorful Containers

 These would be fun for a kid's room or playroom.

 Tons of Trestle Tables

This is the one I want.  At $899, it's far less expensive than anything you'd see at Pottery Barn.  I never considered leather chairs for the kitchen table, but once I saw these, I was smitten.  I love the tufting and nailhead trim. 

 

Another great table.  I like this one because, unlike some other trestle tables, someone can sit comfortably at the end without hitting their knees on the trestle.  Notice the barren table top.  You have to imagine it set with a burlap runner and white plates atop distressed gold chargers with an overflowing centerpiece in the middle.  That's how it would be set up in the Pottery Barn store, and because of that styling, people are willing to pay nearly double for a similar table.

A simple x-base table in a lighter finish.  The benches are a fun option. 

I've purchased a few things at Home Emporium myself.  Remember the rug I used in the laundry room?

This rug was $49.

How about the chandelier in my dining room?

I bought the chandelier at Home Emporium and added the "crystals" myself.

 

Almost all of the seagrass baskets throughout my house were purchased at Home Emporium for a fraction of the price of similar Pottery Barn baskets.

 

If you are lucky enough to live near Birmingham, Chattanooga, Chesapeake, Cincinnati, Columbia, Knoxville, Mobile, Nashville or Shreveport, then you have a Home Emporium or Southeastern Salvage near you.  Have you ever shopped there?  What's your favorite find? 

 

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Master Bedroom Reveal

Last week I promised you I would show you my teenage daughter's completed bedroom by the end of this week.  Ummm...that's not exactly going to happen.  A trip out of town last weekend, a husband with a bad back, and company this weekend have all put the teen girl's room on the back burner.  I'm hoping you'll forgive me if I give you a little tour of my master bedroom instead.

Most of you are somewhat new here, so I'll remind you how this looked before:

These are the MLS photos with the previous owner's belongings still in place.  There's nothing terribly wrong with it, but it's not exactly exciting, either. 

We decided to warm things up a bit with Sherwin Williams Basket Beige paint and some window treatments.  The layered bedding keeps us comfortable in both the summer and the winter. The beige coverlet set was a Costco bargain, and the rust coverlet and shams were purchased at West Elm Outlet. The suzani pillow is by Dwell Studio for Target.

I need something above the bed.  Art, decorative plates, three small mirrors?  What do you think?

I made the curtains myself out of fabric I found at Hobby Lobby.

 

I'd love to have artfully styled nightstands and dressers like I see so often in blogland, but for me, that leads to more dusting.  I've opted to keep things simple in here.

 

 

Anyone else addicted to Chapstick?

 

I love my sitting area.  It's the place I retreat to at the end of a long stressful day.  The previous owners had the chairs facing the fireplace, but I felt that made the room feel smaller.  I put my chair next to the fireplace, leaving more open space in the room.

I practically live in that chair after 9:30 PM.  I sit there and read, watch TV and, of course, blog. 

The fireplace is on practically every night from November through March.  The photo below shows the fireplace just a few months ago.

The house was obviously built before flat screen televisions were commonplace.  We decided that we wanted to keep a TV in the bedroom (controversial, I know), but we wanted to be able to watch it from both the bed and the sitting area.  So, we filled in the area above the fireplace...

and moved the television to the top of the dresser, which is located directly in front of the bed.

The TV sits on top of the cable box cover I made a few months back (click here to see how I did it).  They say gold is back (whoever "they" are).  I hope "they" are right, because it never left our house, and we've accumulated quite a bit of it over the years.

 

The television is slightly angled so it can be seen from both the bed and the sitting area.

The bookshelves not only contain books (mostly hidden in the green storage boxes on the bottom shelves), but also items that are special to our family, such as our wedding invitation and pine cones collected from the yard of my childhood home.

Eventually I'll do something to the back of the bookshelves.  I'm not sure what, but I think it needs a pop of something. 

 

A few AAA tourbooks from places I've visited recently.

A handmade plate made by an up-and-coming artist and purchased for me by a friend at an art auction.  Okay, maybe the artist isn't up-and-coming, but she is my daughter, and I appreciate that my friend picked this up for me at the middle school art auction.

 

This bronze statue was presented to my husband by his co-workers in Ireland after a two month assignment in the the Emerald Isle.

As you can see, I've been busy putting my personal stamp on this room and changing it to meet our family's needs. 

 

In case you are interested in any of the items you see here, I'll leave you with my source list.

• Rust Bedding - West Elm Outlet
• Beige Bedding - Costco
• Suzani Pillow - Target
• Curtain Fabric - Hobby Lobby
• Curtain Rods - JCPenney
• Nightstand Lamps - Stein Mart
• Chair, Bed - Bassett
• Striped Pillows in Sitting Area - Tuesday Morning
• Basket Next to Fireplace - Home Emporium (aka Southeastern Salvage)
• Large Picture Above Fireplace - Home Goods (I got a huge deal on this.  The frame was falling apart, so I had to have it reframed.  My huge deal turned into a huge expense.)
• Nightstands, Dresser - made by Broyhill, purchased about 11 years ago
• Sunburst Mirror Above Dresser - Home Depot
• Gold Lamp on Dresser - Marshalls (it still has the wrapper and tags because I may return it)
• Paint - Sherwin Williams Basket Beige

Thanks for taking the time to visit me and my blog!  Come back next week to see the teen girl's room (for real this time!). 

 

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