Upholstered Headboards

BEFORE:

These were matching twin headboards and footboards that were part of a French Provencial bedroom set that was being painted white.

We thought perhaps the plain white headboards might look a little boring, so we decided to upholster them. Here is how we did it...

Step 1:

Prime and paint the parts of the headboard that are going to show, including the entire footboard.

Step 2:

Using newspaper, trace an outline of the headboard design and cut your pattern. (NOTE: Take special care to get the pattern as accurate as you can so it will fit snugly into the opening.)

Step 3:

Use your pattern to cut out a 1-1/2" piece of foam. Use spray adhesive to adhere the foam to the headboard.

Step 4:

Re-use your pattern to cut cotton batting and your choice of fabric.

Step 5:

Using a staple gun, attach the batting and fabric to your headboard taking care to staple as close to the edge as you can because you will need to use cording to hide the staples.

Start stapling at the top center and bottom center of the headboard and work your way out toward the edges, taking care to pull fabric taut as you go.

When you are finished, you might need to use a sharp razor blade to trim any excess foam and batting that can't be covered by cording.

Step 6:

Using a hot glue gun, start in the right bottom corner and glue cording around the edge taking care to make sure all staples are hidden.

DURING:
AFTER:


NOTE: In this case, to cover the staples, we had a double cording made to match the fabric. It's difficult to do and usually needs to be done by a sewing professional. To save money, you can use a pre-made cording in a color that coordinates with your fabric. It looks just as nice, but with significant savings.

THE BREAKDOWN:

The paint is by Valspar Signature at Lowe's in a color called "Creamy Delight." It's a latex satin-finish.

The material for the headboards is named "Polka" and is manufactured by Waverly. I found it for $7.98 per yard at a fabric store here in town. It took approximately one yard per headboard. I recommend buying a little extra than what you need in case you mess up (which I did on the first one). You can always find a use for the leftover fabric. We decided to use the leftover fabric to make throw pillows for each bed and have each monogrammed. So sweet for a little girl's room!

Cost for this project: $32 for fabric, $40 for 1-1/2" foam , $5 for batting and $10 for paint and primer.
Estimated time to complete project: Approximately 6 hours.
Degree of Difficulty: On a scale of 1 to 10, I would say it was a 7.

Second Life

The Challenge:

The armoire used to be THE BEST solution for storing televisions in a neat and tidy way. It was great for hiding wires and even offered much-needed storage for DVDs, blankets, photo albums, etc. That was when televisions were big, bulky boxes. Nowadays, however, everyone is switching to the sleeker, thinner, but much larger flat-screen televisions.

Places like Pottery Barn and Ballard Designs sell console tables and cabinets designed especially for the larger flat-screen televisions, but they are very expensive and don't really offer that much hidden storage. I've seen them range in price from around $800 to nearly $3,000.

But here is a less expensive option that offers a stylish way to display your new flat-screen TV, but still provide the storage that every family needs.




I wish I had taken a "Before" picture of this piece when we bought it, but alas, I didn't have a website when I did this project. This is an old buffet that I found at the Salvation Army for $80. It was made from real wood, sturdy and had nice lines. It was a little scratched up and the finish was very dated, but it offered a whole lot of storage and a nice large surface to place a flat-screen television.

I painted it with an olive green paint and then went over the entire surface with an umber glaze. We kept the original hardware.

To Do This Project:

Keep an eye out at your local thrift stores and flea markets for an old dining room buffet with closed storage. I think the best ones have both cabinets and drawers. The cabinets are great for storing DVDs and CDs and the drawers are great for storing blankets, photo albums, games, etc. If you plan to paint it, don't worry so much about it's finish (because most thrift store furniture is in sad shape), just look for a piece that is made from real wood, sturdy and has the style you like.
It might take awhile before you find it, but don't be discouraged. The flea-market gods tend to smile on the shoppers who know what they're looking for.

To achieve a "factory finish" on painted furniture, take a few minutes to remove all of the hardware and sand out any scratches, nicks or dings with 180-grit sandpaper. Wipe it clean with a damp (but not wet) rag. Then go over the entire piece with 220-grit (very fine) sandpaper. This will give you a smooth surface to paint.

Clean off all remaining dust. You may need to use the upholstery attachment on your vacuum cleaner to remove dust from corners and crevices.

Prime the entire piece with a water-based primer and then paint. I have painted a lot of furniture in my day and I think you get the best outcome with a satin-finish paint. It gives you a smooth, wipeable surface but hides brush lines better than a gloss or semi-gloss.

You will also get a better outcome if you apply multiple, thin layers of paint rather than one or two thick layers. It takes patience, but it's worth it!

Between layers, use a 220-grit or even finer sandpaper to gently sand out each layer of paint. This will remove any inconsistencies or blemishes from the paint but also help the paint adhere more strongly to the surface of the furniture and make the finish more durable to everyday wear and tear.

Give the paint about 48-72 hours to dry thoroughly and then enjoy!

Estimated Completion Time: Approximately 2 days
Approximate Cost for Project: $80 for the cabinet and about $30 for paint, sandpaper and glaze
Degree of Difficulty: On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it a 4.

Client Story: Cozy Library

These clients live in a two-story, center-hall colonial. When you walk through the front door, you step into a small foyer. The formal living room is on the right and the dining room is on the left. For this project, we were working in the formal living room.

This bookcase was our jumping off point. The client bought it about a year ago because she wanted more places for books and pictures.

In this case, she had already picked out a paint color and had the room painted a neutral beige. She liked the color and didn't want to change it. She also had her window treatments picked out and hung, so for this particular project, the objective was simply to shop!

As with any room, we had some challenges to overcome and decisions to make. You can tell from the picture that the room isn't very large so that was something to consider. Also, the client and her husband describe themselves as very casual people...so a formal living room wasn't really something that suited their lifestyle.

Still, it is the first room you see when you walk in the house so it needed to look nice. The couple have a large den right off their kitchen where they watch television and their home office was upstairs, so we didn't need to worry about accommodating the need for a television, desk or computer.

The clients are avid readers and had recently bought this painting that they really liked...


Given the bookcases she'd already purchased and this painting, it was pretty to easy to see that this room needed to become a library!








What this room needed to do:

The clients have a 19-year-old son who is still living at home and two grown daughters who live on their own. Their oldest daughter is married and just had her second baby so, of course, the baby pictures are rolling in and they needed more places to put framed pictures and books. That was one of the biggest reasons they bought the bookcases and why we bought three tables for this room.




I think nothing looks better than a smattering of family photos placed around a home. It says, "A happy family lives here."

AND not forgetting that their teenage son is still living at home and the house is always full of teenagers (and I mean ALWAYS), the clients really needed a room that was all their own where they could go and read in relative peace and quiet.

The Breakdown:

We bought the chairs, the round table and the library table at Value City Furniture in St. Louis. Our original plan was to buy two matching leather club chairs, but when we saw these, the client changed her mind. She liked how the chairs didn't exactly match, but coordinated. We also thought we got extra style points for the masculine and feminine look of each chair. The bigger chair was $180, the smaller chair was $150. The library table was $250 and the round table was $150.

We bought the lamps and the clock on the library table at HomeGoods and most of the picture frames, accessories and the smaller three-legged table at Hobby Lobby.

The gold sconces on either side of the bookcases were actually mine, but when we saw how good they looked, I had to give them up for the cause because I'm sweet like that.

The Client's Homework:

To help the client stay within her budget, I recommended that at a later date she purchase an area rug that would help draw the seating arrangement together. I also recommended that she find a footstool or small ottoman to place in front of the chairs for some added comfort when reading.

Tips:

When we bought the furniture, they originally told us it would be six-to-eight weeks for delivery. The client was eager to finish the room within a shorter timeframe, so we asked if they would sell us the floor models and were told yes...and not only that, because they were the floor models and one of the chairs had a little ding on the leg, we got it for a discount!

It never hurts to ask for what you want. In this economy, people will do almost anything to make a sale and the worst they can say to you is "no." We've all been told "no" before and went on living, so don't be afraid to ask.

If you wanted to do a similar room, you could always go with leather club chairs or matching wing-back chairs.

TV Stand

The Challenge:

We needed a television stand to put in a child's room that would safely hold a television/DVD combo and perhaps offer some additional storage. We also wanted the stand to be pink and be on wheels so that it could be taken out of the room easily, if needed. The budget was less than $50.

So, we went shopping...and this is what we found.

Well, it had wheels and it was a TV stand...two out of three ain't bad.

The Solution:

BEHOLD THE POWER OF PAINT!!!



The Breakdown:

The TV stand was purchased at a local thrift store for $15.

The pink paint is an interior sating by Valspar called "Watermelon."

Total Cost for this project: Less than $30.

Estimated Completion Time: About four hours.

Degree of Difficulty: On a scale from 1 to 5, about a 3.

A Bright Idea!

The Challenge:

Two things were wrong here. First, the scale of this lamp was all wrong for the space...it was too small. And secondly, the budget for this room was really, really tight by the time I got to the lighting.

The Solution:

I went in search of an inexpensive solution and I found it at Goodwill for $5.


The color wasn't at all right for the room, but there were things I liked about this lamp (1) It has a low center of gravity and that's ALWAYS a good idea in a kid's room. It won't get knocked over easily...and (2) it kind of reminded me of the polka dot upholstery that we'd used on the headboard and seriously? What's cuter than a HUGE polka dot? Not much, I'm thinking...So I bought it.

Next...one precious lamp coming right up! It just needed to be pink. First step, tape off any parts like the electronics and the cord that you don't want painted.

Remember, when you are painting glass, it's especially important to prime before you paint. They sell primer in a spray-paint can. That's the best product for glass.

Then, I painted the lamp using wide, flowing motions with the spray paint so as to avoid paint globs and create an smooth, even finish.


But what REALLY makes a lamp cute is it's shade and I found this one at Target and it was perfect...as is! It's white at the top, light pink at the bottom and the two colors are divided by white rick-rack. I didn't have to make any changes to make it work and that's a rare thing for me.





The Breakdown:

I found the lamp at Goodwill for $5. You see these round-based lamps a lot in second-hand stores. They were really popular in the eighties. You can find them in different sizes too. Just look for one that's in good shape with no cracks and a cord that's not frayed or exposed in any way.

The spray paint is by Krylon and it's an interior satin called Ballet Slipper (How perfect is that?). I bought it at Hobby Lobby...which, by the way, I am single-handedly putting someone at Hobby Lobby's kid through college, so to that guy I'll just say, "You're welcome."

I bought the pink and white lampshade at Target for $19.99. It may seem expensive compared to the actual lamp, but it was so perfect, it was worth it.

Total cost for the perfect lamp: $29.00
Estimated time for this project: About two hours.
Degree of Difficulty: On a scale of 1 to 5, it's a solid two.

Beautiful Ballerinas

The Challenge:

It's really hard to find original children's artwork these days that doesn't say "Drama Queen" or "Diva" on it. If you're anything like me, you'd probably prefer your child NOT behave like a diva or drama queen (at least not in front of company) and therefore find it very frustrating to find just the right artwork that is unique to your child and his or her interests.

Recently, my husband and I moved our daughter into her big-girl room and I started looking for artwork that would be age-appropriate for a three-year-old, yet grow with her for at least a few more years. Right now she's really into ballerinas and that's the motif I wanted to go with for her new big-girl room. However, anyone with children knows that her interest could change tomorrow, so I didn't want to make a huge investment in case I have to change it all to soccer balls next month.

I didn't want my artwork to look overly precious, and ballerina posters seemed too generic. What I really liked was some watercolors of ballerinas that I saw in a flea market once. They had a neat kind of retro look about them, but of course, I didn't buy when I had the chance. (Reverse Buyer's Remorse! I'm still kicking myself for that one.) So, what was my Plan B?

The Solution:

Clipart! Can I just say? I love Clipart. It's copyright free (emphasis on the word, "FREE") and there's an image out there for just about anything you want to search for...including photography and other color images.

Because I was going for a sort of retro 1950's artwork, I used the Clips Online application and downloaded two black and white images of ballerinas. I enlarged them to fit onto an 8-1/2" x 11" piece of paper designed especially for watercolors.

After that, it was as simple as filling in the images with the colors I wanted. It was easy and very inexpensive. I didn't even use artist-quality watercolors. I used my daughter's Barbie paints.

To frame, I bought standard picture frames, painted them to be the color I wanted and had mattes cut to fit. (All artwork looks more expensive with a matte around it. I don't know why...it just does.) In this case, I thought at oval cut-out framing the picture seemed more feminine which was exactly what I was going for, but you can have mattes cut anyway you want.

Here is the finished product...





The Breakdown:

The frames are from Hobby Lobby. They cost approximately $15 a piece. They were originally brownish-gold, but I painted them white then lightly added a touch of pink paint to the swirls for added femininity.

The mattes were custom cut at Hobby Lobby: $6 a piece

The ballerinas are printed on paper specifically for watercolors. You can buy a tablet at either Hobby Lobby or Michael's.

Paint: Barbie. Seriously.

Total Cost for Original Artwork: Less than $25 a piece.

Estimated Completion Time: Approximately 3-1/2 hours. (Includes painting the frames)
Degree of Difficulty: On a scale of 1 to 5--one being very easy and five being think about this one before you try it--I'd give it a two-and-a-half.

Getting Started

People tell me all the time that they WANT to decorate, but they never do it because they're worried about making an expensive mistake. That's a pretty fair concern. Furniture, fabric and paint can be expensive and what do you do if you end up not liking it when you're finished?

With that concern in mind, I have developed some helpful hints that I hope will help you feel more comfortable about making decorating decisions for your home. I have also listed here some tips for saving money.

Tip #1:
Go buy all the decorating magazines you can get your hands on or, if you can, go to the library. They give away old copies and back-issues of most major publications for free. Flip through each magazine and mark with a sticky note EVERYTHING you like. (Write on the sticky note what it was you liked, otherwise you might go back and wonder what in the world you were thinking when you marked a certain page. Trust me...I've done that.)

If you like the overall color scheme, mark it. If it's the curtains in the room that appeal to you, mark it. If it's simply the style of the room, mark it...or even if it's just a pair of lamps, mark them.

After you've marked everything, go back and see if you spot a trend. If most of the rooms you have marked are modern, well then modern is your style. If they're traditional...you're a traditional gal (or guy).

Then move on to colors...if you tended to appreciate softer colors more so than bolder colors, this will tell you a lot about the "feel" of your room and the kind of colors you should select. If you prefer bold colors...take that to be your direction.

In my opinion, if you continually find yourself drawn to the same style and colors over and over, you can feel more confident about your purchases and your design decisions and then it won't be so scary to take the leap.

And what if you liked EVERYTHING you saw? Well, you are what we like to refer to in the biz as "easy to please" and we like you very much.

Tip #2:
Before you commit to a paint color, choose your fabric first! Use the fabric swatch to then choose your paint color. You can do it the other way, it's just more difficult and takes a deep faith in the decorating gods. It's much easier to have paint mixed to go with your fabric than it is to find fabric to go with your paint color.

Tip #3:
Paint a swatch on the wall and live with it for 24 to 48 hours. You want to see how the movement of the sun will change the color throughout the day. This is a mistake even pros make. I once painted the den in our old house a soft olive green...at least that's how it appeared at around 3:00 in the afternoon when the sun was on the other side of the house. First thing in the morning, when the sun was shining directly into the room, it was neon green.

That was an expensive mistake...not so much in terms of dollars, but DEFINITELY in terms of hours spent listening to my husband complain while he re-painted the den.

Tip #4:
Think about flow. In today's open-home floor plans, rooms should flow seamlessly from one to the other. A good general rule of thumb is to have a "master color" that shows up in every room. That way the change from room to room is more subtle and not so abrupt.

Tip #5:
Splurge on the upholstered furniture in your home that gets the most use...like your sofa. Think of it as an investment for your rear end. A well-made sofa in a neutral color (with down stuffing and the best-quality fabric you can afford) will last fifteen or twenty years and remain as comfortable as when you first brought it home...even with kids! If you get tired of the upholstery, it's worth it to have a well-made sofa re-covered...and whatever you do, opt for the scotch-guard protection!

If you or your spouse is particularly tall...say six feet or taller...you should both shop for your sofa together. My husband is 6'4" and it took us seven years and three sofas before we finally found one that "fit" him.

Tip #6:
Don't splurge on anything made of wood...like tables and side chairs. I have just two words for these things...Goodwill, baby! Once you have determined what kind of furniture you need, start haunting second hand stores, flea markets and antique malls. If you're patient, you'll find what you're looking for at a significantly lower price. You may have to refinish it or paint it, but it's worth it for the savings.

And not only that, I believe that most older furniture is made a lot better than new furniture. Back in the day, they used real wood as opposed to the veneer and particle board they use today and it holds up to the wear and tear of everyday life a lot better.

Tip #7:
Don't worry about things being too trendy. If you like it today, you'll probably like it tomorrow. Most home decorating trends seem to me to have a life span of about ten years. After a decade, you'll probably be ready for something different anyway...so don't sweat it.

Tip #8:
Shop everywhere!! You'll be amazed at where you get the coolest stuff at the best deals. These days most of the chain stores carry accessories, lamps and artwork that is remarkably similar to everyone else's. If you're willing to step out of your comfort zone a little, hit a few yard sales, flea markets and starving artist shows, you just might something interesting and one-of-a-kind that no one else but you will have.

Tip #9:
I know it's a pain to help people move, but do it! If you do, you'll be the first one to get the hand-me-down armoire when your friend realizes it won't fit in the new house. Also, this is a very important phrase....learn it, memorize it, live it. Repeat after me..."You're not going to throw this away, are you?" This one little sentence gets you THE BEST FREE STUFF! You'd be surprised how many priceless family treasures people are willing to just give away simply because they don't want to mess with moving it.

Tip #10: (and probably the most important)
If you like something, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. There should always be a place in your home for the things that make you happy to look at. Now, if you're my husband, that place might be in the basement, but still...there's always a place.