[Image from Z Gallerie - Fray Pillow 18"]
I have been a little nervous to talk more about sewing pillows because I have a feeling this will be one of those slow, but steady projects. I’ll be trying to squeeze in a few pillows here and there when I can. However, I think this will be fun, and hopefully, we can share some tips and resources with each other.
[Image from Z Gallerie - Bukhara Pillow 24"]
First up: the pillow plan.
I plan to tackle both the bedroom and the living room, but for sanity’s sake, let’s just talk about the living room for now. We have one mammoth-sized white sectional so I think we’ll need at least 5 pillows in a mixture of textures/patterns. We’ve already agreed that two of the pillows will be a bold geometric (stripe or chevron?). We’re monochromatic people, so we’re hoping to find the right shade of blue and maybe a little bit of gold or bronze. The other pillows will be a mixture of soft and shiny, so I’m thinking about playing with pleats and ruching. Some days I feel really crazy and want sequins. And then I come to my senses and realize I don’t really want to sew sequins.
So now I need your input!
- Anyone have recommendations on their favorite pillow forms? JoAnn’s is an option, but since I’ll need a bunch I am open to special ordering them from somewhere.
- Would you make your pillows fancy with a lapped zipper and removable cover — or go the quick/easy route?
- Any pillow trends out there you love and think I should consider?
Next up: I think a fabric shopping trip is in order…
Filed under Fabric & Sewing, House & Home, Inspiration.
Tagged with DIY, pillow project, sewing pillows, the last 5.
Happy Wednesday! It’s hard to believe this week is half-way done. I missed being here yesterday, but I was called in for jury duty. Thankfully, I escaped after a long day of praying not to have my name called. I am so happy to be free and and am now playing catch up.
This weekend, while I was daydreaming about this bedding, we found some lamps.
I totally get that this does not sound like a big deal. However, in our home, this is huge news. WE. HAVE. LAMPS. We have been looking for lamps for the bedroom for almost two years. Yes, that’s how long it can take us to find something we both like. I am so happy that I no longer have to check the lighting section every time I walk into a store. I can now look at the picture frames or the pillows or something else I can obsess over and not buy until 2013. It’s so great to move on!
So the lamps were a big deal, but what pushed this shopping trip completely over the edge was that we also bought a q-tip holder. Yes! I can retire the glass from the kitchen that was standing in as the q-tip container. I nearly fell over in the store when my husband said I really like this one. Um, me too. Me too! We even got the matching toothbrush holder. (It’s ok. I know that you are either thrilled for me or worried about how sad my life has become.)
I’m ok with that.
Filed under House & Home, Organization.
Tagged with decorating, the last 5.
[All photos from Macys.com]
A few months ago, I shared with you the state of our too-small bedspread. You all cracked me up with your comments and support and sometimes bluntly honest opinions. Since then, I’ve been avoiding any mention of the bedroom, because there just hasn’t been time or money to fix it. However, it doesn’t stop me from dreaming about what I’d like to do.
So now I have a new bedding crush - the pieced pintuck bedding at Macy’s. In person, it’s a paler shade of gray and a little more silvery and shimmery, but what really gets me is the mixture of textures on the pillows. I would want to punch it up with an accent color so it’s not too masculine, but otherwise, it’s pretty near perfect in my book.
For about half an hour, I entertained the idea of making an entire duvet set myself. However, the people around me keep reminding me that I just don’t have the bandwidth to take on any another projects right now. (Thanks Mom + Dad.) Instead, I’m toying with the idea of making some pillows inspired by this mix of origami and basket-weave. That way I’ll be ready when/if this duvet ever goes on sale. Would you all be interested in a series of pillow projects and tutorials? I have a couch that is begging for some pillows, too.
In the meantime, we had some very happy decorating moments this weekend so I plan to share some of my new treasures this week. I hope your week is off to a great start!
Filed under House & Home, Inspiration.
Tagged with decorating dilemmas, duvet cover, pintuck bedding, the last 5.
[the last 5 is a series of posts about tackling unfinished decorating projects and adding your own personal touches to a room. Find out how it all started here.]
This past weekend was just about perfect. It rained a little and neither of us were feeling 100% yet, so my husband and I watched movies and tackled little projects that we’d been putting off (hello taxes!). I am not sure what type of person writes “taxes” and “perfect weekend” in the same paragraph. We aim low around here, apparently. However, I guess if you’re with someone whose company you really enjoy, even taxes can be ok.
I finally got around to cleaning out my desk and put some of my new storage purchases to good use. For some reason, all of my sewing notions seem to scurry off and hide themselves in the four corners of this room – never to be seen again, or at least never to be seen again when needed. I always hate purchasing the same thing over and over again – snaps and velcro and D-rings. So the only hard part of this project was rounding up every last needle and thread into one giant pile. There is a 3rd much larger drawer (not photographed here) where all of the bias tape and hardware went.
We lined the drawers with some left over pieces of my favorite wrapping paper (inspired by this Design Sponge post). Two sets of hands made this a little easier. I held the wrapping paper, and my husband cut the paper down to size with a craft knife. The paper is secured with double-sided tape.
The drawer lining is not the most permanent of projects, but I wanted something I could easily change if I wanted to. I don’t know why I didn’t do this before. The wrapping paper makes for such a lovely surprise, and I’m hoping it keeps me motivated to keep the drawers nice and clutter free.
The organizing bug is definitely going around right now. Almost everyone I talk to is cleaning something out. How are your spring cleaning projects going?
Filed under House & Home, Organization.
Tagged with desk, drawer liners, Organization, sewing notions, the last 5, wrapping paper.
[Image of Cirrus Bedding from Anthropologie]
[the last 5 is a series of posts about tackling unfinished decorating projects and adding your own personal touches to a room. Find out how it all started here.]
I have decided that I really like confessing my decorating sins to you. It’s cathartic, and you all make me laugh about it. So today, I’m going to ‘fess up about another problem I’m having in the hopes we can have a little group therapy session. Last time, it was the attack of the cute. This time it’s the bed.
I have shown a few glimpses of our bed here and here, and I am thinking you probably didn’t guess just how strategically I was taking that photograph so as not to show you the grim reality. My duvet cover and sheets are just too small! (See photo of “sad bed” below.)
So here are the problems: (for those of you who are sight-impaired and/or too kind to notice or “those just so distracted by the thought of having white bedding and muddy children/pets” AKA “my sister”)
- The duvet cover is too small. Or my mattress is too big. How come the duvet does not cover the end of the bed? I’ve tried sliding it down so the top of the duvet cover is 1/3 of the way down the bed, but this seems to look a little bit sad and lumpy with a fluffy down comforter. I find this whole thing borderline depressing. I want to find more pillows and accessories for this room, but I would like to start off with great, simple bedding that works. I went to several stores to see how they were arranging the beds for their displays and realized that half the time, they are not even displaying a full bed! It’s more of a half-bed display-thing that makes the bedding look awesome and fluffy. (Cheaters.)
- The sheets are just not deep enough for our super fluffy mattress. It’s a little hard to see in the photo, so I’ve taken an even worse picture for you.
The Even Worse Picture:
- And lastly (yes, there’s more): our duvet cover is open at the end. It’s been on my “to be fixed” list for months now, and I’m really going to do it this time. (That’s why we’re having this group therapy meeting.) I’m trying to decide between buttons (which kind of drive me nutty on duvet covers) or ties (which might be ok, but could just draw more attention to the “short bed syndrome”).
Unsightly oozing of duvet cover:
So now I want to hear from you! Anyone else suffering from bedding disappointments? Why do they label these things King, Queen, Full, etc. if they don’t really fit your bed?! All of you master stylists, I want to hear the tricks of the trade. It makes me wish that Holly at decor8 made house calls. And it’s ok, if I’m really the only one, you can tell me. Sometimes a little dose of tough love is needed.
Filed under House & Home.
Tagged with bedding, decorating dilemmas, duvet cover not fitting, mattress, the last 5.
By Kelly
January 26, 2011
