Showing posts with label Decorating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Decorating. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Oceans of Fabric

Recently, most of my studio time has been taken up with making drapes for the family room. We have changed our look to something a little lighter and more updated. I found this drapery fabric in Joannes...and with a coupon was able to get it for 50% off...still $15. a yard but a good deal I thought.
Drapery fabric runs 54" wide so it can be difficult to manipulate... It's pretty much straight sewing but for me the hardest part is making the lining lie flat on the drapery fabric so it doesn't buckle when sewn. For this you need a space to work where fabric can lie flat.
I have big tables my husband made but still not wide enough....sooo...
I was able to put 2 of them together - luckily he made both of them the same height.
Of course, Fraggle had to supervise...
This part takes hours....cutting the lining, catching it under the side fold and ironing, ironing like there's no tomorrow to make sure it all lies flat....and pin, pin, pin...
and carefully lugging it over to machine for sewing. My studio was in shambles for almost 2 weeks...I moved bridge tables next to my machine so I had a place to lay fabric while sewing...Well, finally...I finished...and
this is the BEFORE...a much darker and more formal look...
and this if the AFTER. I went for full length drapes as I really liked the fabric and thought in this case - more was better. I also took down the wooden blinds which I loved and hated to part with but everyone voted and liked the "no blind" look better.
The drapes go very well with new chairs, rug etc...and am showing this picture to point out the pie crust table...which I know might be dated but has lots of memories. I grew up with that table and one of the funniest memories ..... when I was little my mother used to buy Nabisco Sunshine Crispy Crackers and the box had a waxy kind of paper covering...fun to trace with a pencil. One night I laid this waxy paper on the table and proceeded to trace the whole thing...only to find when lifted up I had carved the words Nabisco Sunshine Crispy Crackers into the table. It has since been refinished but mama wasn't too happy with me and my art skills.
So one good thing about getting rid of the blinds was the view out back is now more visible...
So back in my studio making quilts again...feels good to check the "drapes done" column !!

Friday, January 30, 2015

Make-over

It all started with a coat of paint. We decided to start re-doing some of the rooms upstairs, one being a guest room.   This is one of my favorite rooms and the one my daughter and her hubby stay in when they come to visit. 
 It took ten samples of different paint colors applied in 5 different areas of the room. I almost didn't have to paint as I had a "patchwork" quilt effect. We finally doctored up this color with a little more white to give it a very subtle look. We ran out of paint by the time we reached the bathroom and thought uh...oh...what are we to do, since we mixed this ourselves, but Lowes was able to match a paint chip perfectly a "whew" moment.
 This room has always had a beautiful, but old fashioned and small 4-poster double bed that my mother had when she first married. Time to update to a queen size. We started with an "old looking" but new iron bed with a very deep mattress. Some might need a ladder to climb aboard. Finding a comforter was a challenge, brought home at least 6 huge and heavy ones. We were looking for something that would work with walls and drapes and not overpower.
 I found two I liked, especially the beige one which had great texture, got it in a full/queen size. I find when I have to buy the combination size it doesn't always work and in this case with a deeper mattress, it was way too short, so back to Belks - and no king size and also NOT  carrying it anymore. They called several Belks in the Asheville area - no luck. I asked for the number for two Belks in SC about an hour away and started calling when I got home. As luck would have it, Spartanburg had it so I made the long trek down there the following day.
 In the meantime, on the lookout for bed skirt fabric, drapery fabric, shams and pillow fabric.
I love stripes and try to bring them in when I can. I found a really nice one that worked with the spread - it's much more subtle than it looks in the picture, the blue matches the wall.
 
 Onto drapery fabric - the one hanging was a soft water color effect - beautiful and just the type of fabric I love, but no pop and the room was already very subtle. I still bought it as it was the best choice so far - got what was left on the roll so there was no cutting which means I can return it - store policy).
 And then I found another fabric - even better as it was more lively and at Joannes also (with a 60% off sale going on) so I bought the roll of that. There was only 9 yards left but that would just make it. You can see the roll on the foot of the bed.
And on to my mother's old rocker. She received this as a birthday present when she was a little girl. She would have been 95 this year, had she lived, so I estimate the chair to be 80+ years old. That is the last thing I'll cover when I see how everything else is going.
So I'm up to my neck with drapery fabric, bed skirt fabric, pillows, shams, and sheers fabric and a cover for another bench in the room. You know what I'll be doing this Super Bowl Weekend (along with eating pizza).
Hope you all have a great weekend.

Monday, September 1, 2014

A Pop of Color

I've been watching this show on TV featuring Sarah Richardson, an interior designer. It's not on regularly but I have my DVR set up to catch anything that features her. She is very creative and I love seeing what she does with different spaces within a home or condo. She claims to be frugal and hunts for bargains, even picking up furniture put out for trash. She's really into giving rooms a "Pop of Color" which I quickly adopted for my own home. My family room is nice but a little ho-hum and sorely in need of some "Pop" I did go looking for throw pillows but the ones I liked were $40 on sale. How crazy is that when I have a perfectly good sewing machine and a healthy stash of fabric. 
 Of course, Murphy's Law - no matter how much fabric you have, it's never quite right, so off to the Home decor store to find the perfect color. I loved what I found but it needed more body so I had to fuse each piece with a fusible knitted interfacing - So Sheer. I also had to find buttons, when did they get so expensive !! ?. Wow..it adds up fast.
 So, 2 days later and lots of interruptions, I got my "pop" - not as much as I had hoped for but they do go well with the couch and loveseat and I'm a happy camper.
and that's what counts.
Pop..Pop...  (-: