Guest Room Blossom Triptych

Tags

bedroom, focal point, focal wall, guest room, home decor, triptych, wall art

A few years ago in the gardens at Brodick Castle on the Isle of Arran, Scotland, I took photographs of the gorgeous flowers just after a rainstorm.

Our guest room was desperately in need of a focal point above the bed. Afterall, the accent wall is the boldest color I’ve ever painted on a wall!

I decided that some of the blooms would be perfect wall art for our home, so I ordered 8″x10″ photos and added them to white floating picture frames. Going with the straight lines of the headboard, Hubster and I mounted them in a simple arrangement.

Guest Room Triptych

Unfortunately I couldn’t get a great photo of the finished project, you need to see it in person.

XOXO,
Young Wifey

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Potted Orchids: Pop of Purple

Tags

bedroom, crafting, crafts, home decor, houseplant, potted plant

I love house plants just as much as I love my outdoor plants. The problem is, my furbaby Rory, loves them too… to eat them that is. I had a beautiful orchid on a high shelf far away from where he could reach or climb… but he figured out a way to the top. I would love a live purple orchid in our master bedroom (remember before, I talked about sneaking in hints of purple?), but Rory simply won’t allow it.

I saw this realistic potted orchid when we were picking out our bedroom set and didn’t like the price tag that went with it. $89.95! Seriously? You want me to pay how much for a plastic plant?

While at the craft store I saw this blue pot on sale for $3.99 ($3.39 with my 15% teacher discount). Add three stems of faux orchids that were supposed to be $6.99 each  (I used a 40% coupon on each of them, spending $12.58).  A little trimming and rearranging and I was done in less than 10 minutes. Out of Pocket Price: $15.97

Potted Orchid

The river rocks we had left over from our wedding centerpieces. To make it realistic you could add stakes (2¢ each when you use bamboo skewers) and paper twine (use less than 5¢ worth). Be I went for a cleaner line and omitted this step!

$16 for my potted orchid or $90 for theirs (I can make almost 6 for that price!)?

What have you created recently cheaper than the original?

Guest Room Bed

Tags

bed, bedroom, guest room, headboard, home decor, makeover

One of the fantastic things about having a bigger house is actually having a guest room. A few years ago we got a new mattress and boxspring and kept our old ones knowing we’d have a guest room in the future. We went to visit my family in Philly over our Christmas break and my mother gave us the bed frame & headboard from my grandmother’s spare room. I guess my parents were tired of having the boxspring & mattress on the floor while they stay over.

Headboard Before

I wanted to redo this with a cute crackle finish, but Hubster vetoed the shabby chic look (I’ll just have to pull it off in other parts of the room).

After a thorough cleaning and several coats of white paint (I used the trim & door paint we purchased from Sherwin Williams, knowing it would hold up to a good cleaning), we carried the headboard and frame upstairs and quickly assembled them.

Guest Room Bed After

I know the after picture isn’t fantastic, I still need some time to create some bedding and cute throw pillows. One step closer to actually having our guest room put together.

What is one DIY home project this is on your short list?

Fairy Lights for Guest Room

Tags

bedroom, birdcage, birdhouse, fairy lights, guest room, home decor, lamp, lights

In the process of setting up a guest room, I’ve shown you some of the birdcages I have in the room. I found this adorable birdcage light on Pinterest and remembered I had seen one a few years ago and wanted to recreate my own. I used 3 strands of 100 white lights with white cords and filled my shabby chic bird house to light up my guest room.

What do you think?

Apple Blossoms & Golden Finch

Tags

art, bedroom, birds, canvas, craft, destress, fine art, flower, flowering tree, golden finch, guest room, hobby, home decor, home making, paint, painting, postaday2011, relax, relaxation, stencil, tree

Rainy Saturday
I’ve been extremely stressed recently, on top of work, two weeks before the end of my course, my professor decided to extend the class! Can she really do that? We’ve stalled on our home projects. There are still walls to be painted and boxes to be unpacked… I often forget how much painting relaxes me. Painting canvases, not walls…  played around with the idea of flowering branches and birds. I played around with a silhouette idea, but didn’t like it for my walls. The inspiration has to hit at just the right time.

Blossom Detail

Today, while checking out a local community yard sale (during the pouring rain), I saw a cute stencil. Now, I’d never stencil flowers and birds on my walls (and I was quite harsh about the ones on the walls when we bought our first house), but I saw a cute stencil and thought that it would be great as a painting. For 25¢, you can’t go wrong.

Quickly after we got home I was playing around with the stencil. I was going to use it on my canvas, but it had three layers of stenciling craziness and the result would become a mess. So I looked at the image on the packet and used the images to guide my painting.

I rummaged through an unpacked box to find my paint brushes and acrylic paints. I kept my blank canvases handy, knowing that I’ve been itching to paint. I still need to spray it with a clear coat before Hubster hangs it on the wall. This is what I created…

Apples Blossoms & Golden Finch

This painting is perfect for my guest room, It’ll tone down the green walls and matched the bird-cage theme.

What did you do yesterday???

Spray Paint Series: Bird Cages for Guest Room

Tags

bedroom, bird cage, guest room, home decor, painting, postaday2011, spray paint

I have a few off white antique bird cages that previously resided on my bookshelves in my old living room. I’m going to be moving them in the guest room. These small black votive holder bird cages were our place card holders from a recent vow renewal.

Bird Cages Before

When I unpacked them I wanted them to go with the antique wooden birdcages, but vary the color from the off white ones. I used the same white spray paint and pearl essence finish as I did for the guest room nightstands. Not exactly sure about their placement on the antique dresser, but until the room is completely furnished, it works.

One Bird Cage After

What accent colors do you prefer?

Spray Paint Series: Nightstands for Guest Room

Tags

bed table, bedroom, before & after, end table, guest room, home decor, night table, nightstand, paint, postaday2011, side table, spray paint, table

Catching Up:
I was really bad at posting last month (and an even worse blog reader), it seems to be my July trend. Despite me being sick for a week and a half, we did get a lot done to our house. I however haven’t been in the kitchen much. July has come and gone and now it’s almost time to go back to school. I had surgery yesterday (don’t worry, it was diagnostic and had good results) and have a few weeks of healing ahead of me. Stuck on the couch or in bed seems like the perfect time to share a few of our projects with you and for me to catch up on my reading…

A Can of Spray Paint Can Do Wonders
Last week, Hubster and I purchased these two black nightstands at Ikea for our guest room. After all, the guest room currently only houses a box spring & mattress (sitting on the floor) and an antique wooden dresser. I know what all I want to make and add to the room, but it’ll take a while (and a lot of projects) to get it to where I want it.

Ikea Before

I had chosen a soothing green for the guest room, with a bold (for us) green accent wall. Hubster was very unsure of my color choice, but I told him to trust me. Knowing once my vision was complete, he’d approve. It just needs to be toned down with white and natural accents.

I wanted to paint our new tables white with a glossy finish, but Hubster suggested a pearl essence finish. Nice! After I put the tables together with my new allen wrench, I started to paint them with spray paint that promised primer & paint in one. Well, even after a few coats the tables were a shimmery silver… beautiful, but not fitting into my vision. The next day I picked up white spray paint and decided to use it as my primer. After a few good coats, I topped it off with my pearl essence top coat. Once they were dry, I placed them in the guest room and topped them with the beveled edge glass.

Young Wifey's After

Now the tables are on each side of the bed, this one topped with some antique vases (family heirlooms) with a white hydrangea bloom and a few books on the shelf below. Please ignore the stained carpet, the previous owners were really rough on the house, I did steam clean this room TWICE (we plan to replace it with a hardwood floor in the future)!

Just a small project to share, but it added a big impact in the guest room.

What miracles has spray paint worked for you recently?

PS – If any of this post didn’t make sense, please blame it on the percocet…