IKEA Party

Hi!  Happy October!  Almost November!  Yikes!

It has been very busy here this fall... Unfortunately, that hasn't meant busy with the house, it has been more just plain busy!  The school year is off to a great start (the first quarter ended this past week, can you believe it??)...

About three weeks ago, I decided to finally paint the powder room!  In two evenings after work, I slapped on a couple coats of Bay Waves (Valspar, same as in the master bedroom).  It's not decorated, though, so no pictures.  Who wants to see a toilet, anyway?  Related: I'm in the process of painting the kitchen the same color whenever I get a spare moment.  Aka it might be done by February.  :)

This past Saturday, I took off to IKEA with a few friends (Summer from my Eurovision Party, and her roomie Celeste).  Since the nearest one is about 3 hours away, this couldn't be the recon trip I would have preferred... so I jumped in with a budget and came out on top!

Among other things...

I picked up two sets of (2 panels each) the Ferle curtains.  I also grabbed ring clips, although I've decided not to use them...  This is just one set of the curtains.  They actually cover the giiiiiiant window!  I didn't expect that, hence I purchased two sets ($15/each).  I may double up for a fuller look, although I'm tempted to keep the spare set for fabric.

Next, I finally found a suitable rug for the living room... and a coffee table!!  Did I mention I was $20 under my self-imposed budget?  

Yay!  That green rug is delicious, no?  It's not high-quality, yet it will do for awhile... and that color is perfect.  It matches the netbook.  

Also in the aforementioned budget, I managed to get a new bed for the master bedroom, so (soon) there will finally be a bed in the baby's/spare bedroom.  Yay!  It's from IKEA's Malm series.  Once it is together, picture will follow... and then we will have to get a new mattress.  Exciting, no?

Until then, since it's been so long since I updated, here's a parting shot of Poly and her best friend, Stick.  They are relaxing on the old curtains.  

How did you spend your last six weeks?

Textiles and Glass

Remember the heavy curtains we put up in the Perkins living room?  A brown set layered with a steel-grey set?  So dark... so heavy... remember those?

Well, my bff World Market went and had a sale and lo and behold, the shower curtain I have in the dining room was on for $17.  So, I picked up another!  Just one because I knew I'd never actually close the giant living room window curtains...

I carefully cut the curtain in half.  Check out my scrumptious Fiskars sewing shears.  Did you know Fiskars have been around since 1649?  I have no idea if this is true.  I just read it in their wiki.

I own an iron yet we are notoriously wrinkly because...I don't iron.  Except my hair.  Fun fact - my flat iron makes a FAB hemming iron, because you can press both sides at once.

Lalala I pinned and hemmed the unfinished side of Panel 2.  The fabric is wrong-side-up here, btw.  

As the French say... voila!  Looks soooooooooooo much better... bright and airy... 

Wait!  What's that you say?  Where did I get the lamp on the left?  Here's a hint: the shade used to be in the bedroom on the one nightstand's lamp, and the lamp itself... was the old red base!!  I took off the red beads and strung about 8 zillion green beads onto green thread (tied to green bias tape).  Let's just say I have a lot of sewing/beading/crafting supplies.  Only one cat, though.

The extra dangles at the top (and also on the bottom of each strand) are from a bracelet I made yeeeears ago.  I didn't like it.  Beady beady...10 hours later (no joke):

Got out my trusty hot glue gun...

And made myself a little hula skirt:

Isn't that special?

Don't worry, the bedroom isn't too upset I stole the lampshade.  I mean, the lamp IS naked right now.  However, last weekend was tax-free weekend here in SC, so... :)


Shower curtains in the great room, flat irons for sewing... how do you think outside the box?

Dining Room Update

Welcome back!

As my last post said, I felt the dining room needed a little softening to make it flow into the open space of the great room.  So, after toiling for a day or two, I made a few changes.  I think they do wonders for the area!

First, I've been hating on the awwwful brass chandelier since I first saw this house back in September of 2011, so I was more than willing to shut off the power and rewire in a new pendant light ($18 at Lowe's) plus a paper lantern (Pier 1, $10).  

Then, I put the bamboo placemats back on the table.  I also decided the window needed curtains - both for some soft texture and also for privacy.  This is a townhouse and my elderly neighbor sits on her back porch all.day.long and I get antsy about that after awhile.  I could not find any curtains I liked (I wanted greens and yellows to pull together the two rooms) at Target, Kohl's, IKEA online, or Ross... and then I wandered into World Market and found a $30 shower curtain that is absolutely perfect.  

I hung the curtain with little shower clips from Target.

Currently, the curtain's clips are half on one side of the rod's center-bracket, half on the other, which is why it is bunchy on the left.  Eventually I may cut the curtain and hem the cut, then add a band of coordinating fabric to the bottom.  I rather like the casual look right now, though, so I am going to laissez-faire it for awhile.  

And now... the two rooms together, as viewed from the loveseat.  By the way, the temporary new "rug" is a quilt and the green pillows are the old green Pier 1 ones covered with fabric a la this Pin.  Thanks, Mom, for the idea!  

What are your favorite ways to repurpose items?