Summer Blockbuster

Summer kidnapped me and left the blog Home Alone, but the only thing breaking into this house was The Usual Suspects:  vintage finds, re-up projects and a compulsive re-arranger (that would be me).

If you recall, the fabulous coffee table find created The Perfect Storm to redecorate, and plunge into a creative Matrix around here.

Remember me? (don't pay attention to the background...work in progress)

Mission Impossible this was not.  Moving art, and furniture from one room to another until Twilight and beyond is Much Ado About Nothing for me.  It’s Love, Actually.

Here’s a little sneak preview of the coming attraction in the den:

I can’t wait to show you photos of the ‘final cut”!

Until that project's finished, here’s a little Hide and Seek fairytale to celebrate the end of my summer hiding.

 

Who's hiding now?  (note the zebra hide on the floor & french chair in
the corner - an ebay find waiting for her knight in shining new upholstery) 

Once upon a time a Sleeping Beauty was resting on the living room floor.  Things around the house got a little Tangled.  Yes, the hide from the floor is now on the chair.  From Cinderalla to Beuty and the Beast:

   

Thus, The Never Ending Story of my house (ha ha).  More on the shake up soon.

Fit for a (tween) Queen part II

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes...

Fit for a Queen part I.  One thing I love is the challenge of a budget. Things add up, and there’s no shame in saying, hey…is there a less expensive alternative? Creativity is really tested when tackling the almighty dollar. I love the thrill of transforming something bought at the cheap into something fabulous and unique. The more the frugal, the more the creative.

First, plans for my niece’s room changed when I found the above rug from Garnett Hill. I love the combination of coral and teal, and so does my 12-year-old ‘boss.’ With the rug, however, the hot pink fabric for the chair no longer worked. So all the original fabrics got tossed, and I decided on this budget friendly trio:

Fabrictastic!

Next, instead of spending money on custom curtains, which can add up quickly, we are getting plain white sailcloth curtains from Pottery Barn and trimming the lead and bottom edges with this coral/pink greek key trim:

Custom trim on store bought drapes = a Custom look

Third, instead of spending money on the coffee table for the seating area, I bought two of these puppies from Target for $15/ea. and painted them with chalkboard paint:

$15 table + chalkboard paint = tween dream

Here is the room before the rug, etc. (but after the paint glaze):

O Room-eo, Room-eo, wherefore art thou cool Room-eo?

Deny me a rug and refuse me more color....

Or if thou wilt not, at least refuse thy sad looking window seat.

Room in Transition:

I can imagine she and her friends really enjoying this seating area,

and I love the way the rug gives a big pop of color to the space.

Floor pillows ...

and a striped window seat to lounge on,

and two cool chalkboard tables (which she immediately got to work on)!

Fabric ordered: check. French chair at the reuphoster: check. Curtains on the way: check.

Soon enough, my favorite pre-teen queen will have something to write

home about, or rather, write about home.

Fit for a (Tween) Queen

Did I mention I’m ‘tween-tweaking’ (slap me for that) my 12-year-old nieces bedroom? Guilty. Am I correct in thinking that a pre-teen is tween, and what wordsmith came up with this term? Why the added ‘w,’ and does it denote anything in particular? Forgive me for this very philosophical line of questioning.

Before I sink myself further down this rabbit hole, let me take that elusive w back, and just call her a pre-teen. As they say, age is only a number. She is wise beyond her years, or maybe I’m unwise below my years. Either way, we just ‘click,’ and I’m lucky to call her family.

Above is my inspiration board for the room.

A few months before she asked for my help, she had had the room painted a very bright teal/turquoise. A great color, but it was so bright I had to bring my sunglasses just to consult on the space. I decided the first thing I would do would be to add a glaze to tone the color down a bit, and add a little high-gloss glamour to the space.

The only item that Momma said must stay in the room is an antique Victorian bed. Other than that, my niece and I were on our own.

If you can see the design board and its accompanying descriptions, congratulations, you don't need Lasik. (For whatever reason, no matter how many times I've resized these images in photoshop, they still show up teeny on the blog? Try clicking on the photo to get an enlarged version.)

For the not so visibly, and the visibly challenged people, here are the design cliff-notes:

1.The idea was to pour a bunch of hot pink color into the turquoise room with various fabrics

2. Floor pillows, a french chair (the one I'm redoing), and a coffee table to provide a seating area in one corner of the room

3. The Celerie Kemble Betwixt fabric to cover the window seat and to trim out the curtains (for the big window facing front of house), and roman shades (for above the desk and window seat).

4. A Parson's desk and french chair for studying in the corner across from the bed.

Of course as with any good plan, there have been multiple changes, mainly in the name of el budgeto. Check back tomorrow for more, and progress pictures.

I can promise you this:

It's looking Tweentastic!