If you haven't figured it out already, I'm on vacation. Actually, I just came back from vacation early so I could repack and go to She Speaks. Oh, and my sister and I have/get to speak there. But it's worth the stress because Emily and I get to share a hotel room and fall asleep laughing just like old times. I am beyond excited and nervous.
Our topic is "Defining and Refining the Purpose of Your Blog." It's been really good for me to hash out this talk with Emily. She hashed, I laughed, got distracted, and tried to make funny jokes. Knowing the purpose of your blog really is the key to being able to make decisions about blogging and not blogging. The highlight of course, will be getting to meet lots of new people {ok and sharing a hotel room with my sister, did I mention that she is the funnest person in the universe?}. Meeting new people is also the most daunting part for me and my introverted self. I usually act stupid or embarrass myself when I meet new people. Speaking of embarrassing myself, if you are coming to She Speaks, be sure to sign up at Jen's for the bloggy meet and greet so we all can meet!
Lastly, I've got a full email inbox--if I haven't responded to you, thank you in advance for not taking it personally. Sometimes the blog tries to take over my life. Thank you so much for understanding when I do the right thing and put family first. If you too struggle with balancing blogging, make sure you read Blogging and Balancing Time @ Keeper of the Home.
Next week, I'll take some time to recap our She Speaks talk. I think it will be good for us all to have a little heart to heart about blogging. Thanks so much for reading. You are what makes this blog worthwhile!
She...
Windowless Mistreatments
I used them in the bathroom in the old house but now, they are in the foyer. You don't need a window to soften a room with fabric. Six yards of fabric at $5 per yard {1502 fabrics, Thomasville, NC} is much less expensive than a 8' x 5' rug. Do you have a place that needs softening that could use some drapes--what about that opening to your dining room?
Lazy Perfectionist
I'm out of the office this week. This post was originally written last summer but it's one of my favorites. And since it's my blog and I can wreck it up as I see fit, I thought I'd throw it up here again.
{this takes place in our last rental--can't wait to show you what I did with this fabric in our new place}
I mistreated my shower.
We don't have a window and I had this fabric that I used in my dining room in our old house. The lower shower rod is bolted into the wall. It was here when we moved in. If it weren't tightly secured, I might have just moved it up so the shower liner hit the top of the tub and put both the liner and fabric on one rod.
You can use the height trick in the bathroom too. This shower looks so much more, well... regal just because the fabric is hung high. I used the fold, clip and poof method with this mistreatment. Do you see that I have no clean towels and my clock that I love but is broken is just sitting on the empty towel rack?
I cannot find the rest of my black ring clips. See, the last two are silver. No biggie, I'll find them one day. {never found them, they stayed like that for a year and I never even noticed them again until I took it down} I don't think it takes away much from the power that this fabric has in softening this room. I have decided that I can live with some imperfections like that. I am a lazy perfectionist. I love for things to look pretty but, I don't want to work myself to death for it.
I don't mind a few unsightly wires especially when balanced with a pretty iron thing and warm lighting.
A sink with a few dishes...not so bad, it could be much, much worse.
And a light fixture that's been right here since we moved in--patiently waiting to be hung. It's amazing how much you can get done when you allow things to be less than perfect. Most of what I do is simply good enough--my cleaning, my cooking, my hair, proofreading my blog. I only have a handful of things that care to do really well.
I love what the Flylady says:
"Housework done incorrectly still blesses the family"I like to apply that to other stuff, not just housework. Like cooking. Preparing imperfect meals still blesses the family. And of course decorating, yes, decorating done imperfectly still blesses the family. Today, instead of focusing on what needs to be finished, changed, repaired or replaced, I'm gonna enjoy what I have, where I have it, while I have it because we all know that it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful.
What do you allow to be imperfect so you can focus on the things that really matter and why is it so hard to give ourselves that freedom?
Kate
Sometimes people ask how to deal with having to leave the house they love {because of a job loss or interest rate hike} and move to a smaller condo, a place they'd rather not be. They want to know how to think about it, how to deal with it and how to accept it. There are lots of things you can do to make any place a home. But the biggest thing I've found to help me be content is to be grateful. Be thankful for what it is that you do have--it's probably a lot more than you think.
I've been keeping up with the McRae family and little Kate every since Angie wrote about them. I know there are so many families going through junk like this. And if you are the praying type, remember Kate. You can start at the beginning here. And her Caring Bridge Journal and Photos are here. Be careful. It only takes about 3 minutes to completely fall in love with this family.
Easy Fireplace Surround Makeover * And Giveaway
Here's the after shot of my surround makeover.
And here is one of the billions of befores. Forgive me for the tragedy that is up on the mantle. But do you notice the difference with the black surround? Or whatever that part is called surrounding the firebox? It's not a huge change but for a renter like me, it gave me back a little control over how I can make this house feel more like our home.
I used these "Vinyl Decals" that WallCandy Arts sent me. I signed up to be an affiliate with them months ago. That means, if I put up an ad for their products {like at the end of this post or the link up above} and you click and buy, I'll make a couple of dollars commission from the purchase. WallCandy sent me some removable chalkboard to try and some to give to some to you. You know hoping we would all fall in love with the stuff and they would retire fat and happy. And I'll be honest, I wasn't too crazy about it at first. I just couldn't think of how I wanted to use it.
Then I got to looking at my fireplace and how the surround was yellowish and my walls are pinkish {long story} and I kept thinking that the fireplace would have more impact if it were black. I remembered the chalkboard sticky sheets that I had and wondered if there were some way that could work without me burning down the house. Naturally, I turned on the fireplace for about 30 minutes in July to see just how hot the outside of the fireplace gets. It never even got warm. I think we have a blower or something that makes the air go out. So, I wouldn't recommend this application for everyone but for us it works.
I loved it. Loved it plain black but then, I decided to draw some whimsical bricks. Let me just tell you, I brought funky back into my family room. This room so needed some not so serious, fun focal point and the lopsided bricks did just the trick. So far the only down side is that my son, the 8 year old engineer has begged me nonstop to let him redraw the bricks so they will be strait. I told him that it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful and he scowled at me.
I was so sure this would never work that I didn't even take photos of the 3 minute process of me cutting large L shaped pieces out of the chalkboard rectangles and smacking them on the fireplace. The decal is like the vinyl words that you get from other places but really thick and forgiving and according to the package, you can remove it and use it over and over.
I saved every little scrap. I put a large piece here.
And here.
It would be fantastic inside of here. Unlike chalkboard paint, you don't have to commit to a long term relationship. You can try out where you want your chalkboard to go and then move it later. And for us renters who see the chalkboard walls in others houses and get all jealous that we cannot have that, this is a great solution. And to top it off, you don't even have to paint!
I didn't even mess with measuring precisely and matching up the seams, I just overlapped the chalkboard decals and it turned out fine.
I've got some extra sheets to give to two lucky readers. If you think you could use it, convince me in the comments that you have a great idea for this stuff and maybe you'll win. If you want to spend your cold hard cash on some of these decals or anything WallCandy has to offer just click here: "Vinyl Decals"or the buttons and any commission I earn helps keep my coffee habit going strong and ultimately results in better blogging, right?
Good luck! I hope you win--contest closes Friday at midnight.
Want a chance to win even more free stuff? Visit Sandy, the Reluctant Entertainer!
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Mantle Upgrade :: Using What I Had
Using items I already had I incorporated:
- Layers
- Texture
- Contrast
- Color
It looked like this last week. But it was missing some umph.
It started out with a pretty but pipsqueaky little raised embellishment. So I made a tiny nail hole and hung a wood carving over it to bulk it up a little.
Here's the before.
Here's what I added. I wonder what it will look like next week.
Wait till I show you the 5 minute fireplace surround upgrade tomorrow--it changed the whole room.
Shop The House
If I were rich beyond reason there's no doubt I'd be surrounding myself with fresh flowers, live berries and fruits all the time. Flowers next to the toilets, flowers overflowing window boxes, I would drive a parade float around town instead of my mommymobile..
But, since I've been given a different sort of riches, I decided to shop the house and grabbed this yard sale urn.
And combined it with these lovely, light spa green pretend berry type things that I plucked from my fall/winter wreath. All this time they've been ignored and under appreciated because I was assuming that I could only utilize them half the year. I can just stick them back in the wreath when I'm ready to hang it again.
Have you shopped your house lately? Why not look at those Christmas berries through your July colored glasses and find a new way to use them? What seasonal item have you repurposed lately?
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Bird Watching
Love What You Have :: A Guest Post by Lindsay @ Remodeling This Life {I am crazy over this chair!}
How To Make and Upholstered Ottoman @ Just Beachy
Fabric Scrap Project Idea @ Make and Takes
DIYP Magnetic Refrigerator Memo Board @ We are THAT Family
5 Reasons To Line Dry your Laundry @ Simple Mom {our neighborhood would NEVER allow that but doesn't it seem simply wonderful?}
Richella let's out a big secret....shhh, she's not perfect. I love this post. And I love that part of the human condition is when someone reveals their imperfections, we all breathe a sigh of relief and want to introduce them to our imperfection as well.
Bored and need even more inspiration? Check out the Nest Files!
Painting Knotty Pine
beforeApartment Therapy :: Before and After Knotty Pine Paneling
How to de-gloss paneling :: Ranch Remodels
More Knotty Pine before and Afters :: Curbly
Wood Paneling That Looks Really Great Unpainted :: Inspired Room
Joy, this post is for you and the others out there wondering the same thing. Here's a small part of Joy's comment from yesterday's post about painting pine furniture:
Here is the question of all time for those of us who have knotty pine and can't stand it (But of course everyone keeps telling me im CRAZY to paint over it, it will not work but the ladder is to live like im in a tree house!! LOL!! But no really!!!...I don't want to live in a tree house!!!). And everyone telling me this does not live in my house with me, hubs would probably try painting it if we could find a paint that would at least cover somewhat.Go for it Joy! YES! You can paint that naughty pine! Have you painted paneling before? Feel free to link to a post in the comments showing your painted paneling--knotty or not!
Painting Pine Furniture
I recently painted my yard sale purchased, pine armouire. I'm working on putting on the replacement knobs but I've had so many emails asking about this piece I decided to show it now. Ignore the red knob, it's just so we can open it until I find the perfect big one.
This is how it looked before. I think about 25% percent of houses in my neighborhood have a piece of furniture that looks like this. I love how warm it was and how it was such a great victim to withstood the abuse of 3 boys.
I've wanted to paint this piece since I saw Meredith's painted armoire {here's her before}. So, naturally, two weeks before we moved, I grabbed a pillow and an oval box for color inspiration and then all my color wheels and found a color I thought would be a good choice.
Of course, it never occurred to me to remember what color I choose. It's not like I write a blog and people ever want to know any paint colors. My goal was to have a robin's egg blue but not a bright one like Martha leans toward but a dirty, natural feeling blue. Also, since I was painting over pine that had plenty of knots, I wanted to make sure it was a color that would look ok once the knots bleed through the paint. Because bleeding always seem to happen with knots.
I have painted raw pine in the past. I've used coats of primer and paint and within weeks, yes, WEEKS the knots start to bleed through. This time, I tried Behr Paint and Primer in One. {And wouldn't it be nice if I were getting a big fat check from Behr since I'm broadcasting how much I love this product? I am not. Behr has no idea what a Nester is.}
Dear Behr, please feel free to allow me to be your spokesperson. I am the world's worst painter and this paint worked like magic. I'm still in awe.
--your's truly,
The Nester
So, it's been almost 6 weeks now and so far, no bleeding. I will tell you if and when I see any signs of knots coming through. And if and when they do come through, I will be ok with that because I picked a color that will look even better with knots.
Now to the nitty {knitty?} gritty. How I, the world's most horrible, impatient painter, painted my armoire. And it turned out great.
1. Put the furniture on movers {those round things} and put plastic on the ground and move the armouire onto the plastic away from the wall. I did this all by myself thankyouverymuch. I think I even left the TV plugged in.
2. Get your professional paint roller holder thing and line it with your professional liner. Cake pan and aluminum foil.
3. Get your paint. Here's the formula for what I used if you must have it. I think I would have been happy with any of the 20 colors I choose from. Usually, when people try to pick a robin's egg they go waaaay too turquoise. You almost want a gray. Then, when you put the color next to gray it should look robin's egg. {216 is the bottom number under the "B"}
Hello? Just realized that the name of the color that I had matched is on the label. Sherwin Williams Halcyon Green 6213. But remember, you really cannot tell what paint colors truly look like by looking at a computer screen. And I adjusted this photo so you could read the words so, if you think you would like it please get a sample first. In real life, the color is more greenish grey than what you see in the photo on my computer. Quietude, the one above also looks fantastic. I like the eggshell finish. I don't like it really shiny so eggshell is a good choice for me. Why did I do a color match? Because I decided to paint this the same day I painted this. I didn't have a Behr color wheel and I didn't want to go to Home Depot, grab colors then come home and decide. Which is how you must do it. Never decide a color in a florescent lighted store. You need to choose it in the room where you will be using the color.
4. Start with a brush and do the corners. Or start with a roller and do the sides. I don't really have a set way. I did wipe down the piece with a damp cloth first too, I guess I should add a number in for that. But other than knocking off the dust, no prep work.
5. I took the drawers out and left them for later. I also removed the handles with pliers because I didn't want to mess with painting around them. I've got new handles I'll show you soon.
6. Decide where you want the paint to stop. You can paint all of the inside or be lazy like me and just do the doors. I simply painted whatever I could with the roller and let it stop at the edges. No brushing meticulously for me. I only used the brush in the tight corners and around the hinges.
7. I admit I didn't do the best painting job ever to grace the internet. I painted three coats, I waited a few hours between coat one and two and then overnight before I did the third coat. I think it took me maybe 4 hours total from clean room to clean room.
8. I liked the fact that I had big square hinges to work around. I got a little paint on them but so? I'm not expecting the paint police anytime soon. They are busy arresting people who are too afraid to paint, because we all know that is a much bigger offense. And, yes, I left everything inside while I painted it.
9. Why am I still numbering? Here are some close ups, I won't bore you with my words...
I love that you can still see the wood when you open it up.
Don't forget to paint the top. I didn't paint the back.
Where I decided to stop the paint. There's no wrong.
I didn't let the paint dry long enough before I shut the doors so there is a little paint that rubbed off. I could fix it but I probably never will.
There you have it. I feel like every time I see this piece it thanks me for taking the time for painting it. It was so quick and simple. My only regret? I should have painted it years ago.
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Price My Space Party
Welcome! It's almost time for Price My Space. We {me and y'all} thought it would be fun for everyone to share what they spent on some things in their home. And, I wanted to make sure all the people on the west coast had a fair chance to get in early so I opened up the Linky at 8pm Sunday.
I try to keep the rules as minimum as possible so, as far as what you can share, please feel free to reveal as much or as little as you'd like. Just have a table you want to show us? Fine. Have an entire room you are dying to tell us about? Go for it. And remember, this is not just a place to brag about our bargains. {as much as I LOVE doing that!} In real life, lots of us do end up paying retail for some things, please feel free to tell us about those finds as well. We are being real here girls.
I know I find it encouraging to see what people spend on certain items on their home. What they feel was worth the money, what they feel like was a waste, what they found on the side of the road, what they spent 28 hours refinishing... you know stuff like that.
If you don't see the links under these words that means Mr. L is still working on it! Sorry!
Price My Space:: Living Room Part 2
The Price My Space Party is Monday so don't forget to get your rooms ready. I may even have the post up Sunday evening so you west coasties can get in on the action early.
This is the second half of pricing my living room. Read the first half here. Let's get to numbers 5,6,7 & 8 shall we?
5. Pair of these chairs. Y'all these chairs have a fancy name, and for the life of me I cannot remember what they are called. I've used them here and here and a whole slew of other places. These chairs move around more than a swarm of flies on a watermelon and were one of the best items I've ever spend money on. They were each $350 and that included 2 matching ottomans that I use as extra seating and a coffee table.
The blue table was a yard sale find at my sister's house and I traded clothes for it, I'm sure. It started off black. Pillows: Target $20 each. Lamp: Target $40, years ago. I told you about the drapes in part 1. Total for this part of the room: $780 and that includes the two ottomans you don't see in this photo, I counted the windows in part one.
6. Rug: Tuesday Morning, 5 years ago $200. It's a 5 x 8. I wish it were an 8x 10. This rug has held up, again for 5 years. And it's made so well that I can flip it over and use the other side if it gets too dirty. I really should just have it cleaned.
7. The Toile Sofa: I've written about it before. We bought it in High Point at a showroom called Utility Craft. It's a Clayton Marcus that is/was a division of Lazy Boy. It's got those cushy down wrapped cushions and it's just made really, really well. It's held up to five years with 3 boys, a man who sleeps on it, and 5 moves. It cost about $1800. A huge amount for us. We paid cash for it and spent a while deciding what we wanted. It can seat lots of people/kids if needed and one day, when the toile gets all ripped up, I'll just have it recovered. Total: $1800 {I took a poll to see what others spent on their sofas to make sure I wasn't the only one who's spent this much, click here to see the results}
8. Red Chair: This sweet thing is quite worn. But I love the lines, color and scale. It was $350 purchased also in 2004 in Thomasville, NC at some hole in the wall store that was going out of business. The toile pillow came with the sofa and the other pillow got a 30 minute makeover. The picture on the wall came from my husband's grandparent's house and I wish I had 67 of them to hang on every wall. Total: $350
Total for second half: $3130 plus $552.75 from the first half = $3682.75 for our living room that seats 8 comfortably and 12 uncomfortably. And has already lasted 5 years.Well, as you can tell, there were some things that we spend money on and other things we found super cheap. To me, if you have the money, it's worth it to spend it on upholstered pieces that will cushion the family hineys for many years. The things that you sit on get the most wear and need to hold up more than anything else. And that's where the bulk of our money went. I'd rather have a nice sofa than go to Mexico. As far as windows and walls and accessories, I try to find those things as inexpensively as possible. You can build those over time and switch out and rearrange, shop the house and really get creative with all that extra stuff. But, if you can, it is worth it to put your money into a well made sofa.
I've also seen some amazing hand me downs, consignment and goodwill finds and slipcovered sofas that have looked fantastic.
Five years ago, we had a budget set aside to help us furnish our house and for that I am forever grateful. It might have to last us the rest of our lives. Now, I have close to a zero budget. I am so glad that we purchased some things back when we could. I wouldn't go back and invest that money or spend it any differently. I love that we "invested" it in our home and get to enjoy it every day. And now, I have a new challenge, how to decorate on a virtually non existent budget.
So, join us Monday. Feel free to price your space. No pressure. But, whether you spend thousands at a retail shop or quarters at a yard sale, you can have a beautiful home that you enjoy and that blesses your family. I cannot wait to see how you all have beautified your nests!
Price My Space:: Living Room Part 1
The bulk of our furniture was purchased five years ago. It was 5 years ago to the month I think, when my husband and I sat down on the lone place to sit in our house besides the toilet and decided it was time to think about furnishing our home. At the time we were able to set aside some money every month to put towards furniture and such. My goal was to focus on one room at a time so we could see progress and so I wouldn't be overwhelmed. My other goal was to pay cash for everything.
My first priority was places to sit. So we started in the living room. I had a yard sale and sold our old furniture and we had no where to sit for a few weeks while we waited for our sofa.
1. Window Mistreatments: the fabric was $7 per yard {purchased at 1502 Fabrics in Thomasville, NC, 5 years ago} each panel is about 3 yards so each panel was $21 plus the trim at $3ish per yard so that is another $9 per panel. Each panel was about $30 completed. I bought the rod at Target for $30 and have used it in 4 houses so far. We've got another window that cost the same on the other side of the room. {See how to make them here.} Total for both windows: $180 These are my most expensive windows and have been used for 5 years in 5 different houses! And I wish I would have bought one more foot of fabric--then I could hang my rods even higher.
2. Sofa Table and stuff: Table $109 at a crazy unfinished furniture place that has since gone out of business. I bought it already painted black 5 years ago. Changed out the knob: $4. Ottoman was included in a set I'll tell you about on down. Lamps, TJ Maxx, $39 each, 5 years ago--I moved them from my boy's room. On the table there's some red stuff I pulled out of this wreath and a box thing that I had in college sitting on a candle holder that is chipped that was $1. I painted the box blue last month. Pointy thing on the wall, Goodwill, a few months ago, $7. Total: $199 not including the ottoman.
3. Armiore: Purchased used from a friend for $75 --again, 5 years ago. I painted it last month with Behr Paint Plus Primer all in one stuff that was ??? Maybe $30ish. I'll tell you more about painting it soon but here's the before. It was super easy. I still need to find 3 knobs for it. Plates; the middle blue one was a gift to myself back when I had that big tassel sale I bought this plate for $13 at HomeGoods. I had the red ones {part of a set from Target 5 years ago 4 for $10} big green ones were $2 each from the rich Goodwill and the square one was $3 from HomeGoods. Total: $130
4. Fireplace Wall: Well, it already looks different up there. I'll list what you see in the original photo and I'm still not happy with it at all so just so you know, it will keep looking different.
- mirror: $50 Garden Ridge 2 years ago
- white urn: $20 Hobby Lobby 6 years ago
- red plate: $2.50 part of that set
- white crock: wedding gift {one of my favorite things}
- books: .75 cents yard sale
- wood thing on the fireplace front $13 TJ Maxx 6 years ago {hiding an ugly little scroll thing}
Now:
- urn: $20 with free branches from my yard
- books: .75 cents
- shutters: $10
- wood thing: $13
- starfish: ?? I have no idea how that appeared in my house
So far we are at $552.75 and we don't even have a place to sit yet. And if you want to see the photos closer in, you should be able to click them to enlarge. Go here for part 2.
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Sofa Poll!!
There's a poll embedded in this post about sofas and how much yours was so click over and enter if you are reading via a feed reader. I'd love to hear what you spent! Tomorrow, I'll start pricing my space. And the Price My Space party is Monday!
Anyone know why my link within is up there?
Goodwill Hunting
Since it was a holiday weekend, my mom and I opted to do a little thrifting. You know you are frugal when you complain about how expensive the Goodwill prices are. These two little things that I know not what to call them were $3 each. 
This lamp base that I cannot get a decent photograph of was $2.99--now that's more like it. My first thought was that it looked like something some kid made in wood shop class but, it looks great on my white dresser. Everything looks great on the white dresser. I already had the lampshade.
Plantation Shutters: $5 per shut. Big, textural, take up space without annoying me. That's why I like shutters. And I can paint them.
More shutters behind the sofa. If they end up going there they'll be hung eventually. 
Metal cake stand like the ones that Maxi B's has. I have always wanted one. $5.
Our thrift stores are clean and new and inviting.
They don't smell funny and are organized well.
Want to see what other people found over the weekend you can see a whole slew of great finds at Southern Hospitality.
Have you shopped your local thrift stores lately? You never know what you might find!
Fabric Buying Tips
We've talked about where to shop for fabric and many of you are asking how to know what fabric to buy for certain projects. An entire blog could be dedicated to this subject, there are so many things to do with fabric and so many seductive and utilitarian fabrics available. I'm sure if you started a blog like that you could write for years without running out of things to talk about.
I struggled with writing this post because part of me feels like people would like a list of rules and regulations for fabric buying. And I really don't believe in many rules and regulations when it comes to decorating. Nesting and making your home beautiful combines something creative with something personal and who needs rules for that? For every rule there is an equal and opposite exception where someone not only broke the rule, but did so with style and gusto.
Balance the no rules philosophy with the fact that some things truly don't look all that great together or work out all that well and we are stuck right in the center of decorating tension. Which isn't all that bad of a place to be. All you need to do is balance some general guidelines with trial and error and personal opinion and you can come up with a stunning result.
Amy ButlerSo if you supply the trial and error, creativity and personal opinion, I'll supply some general, random thoughts and guidelines regarding fabric. The following are not rules.
What to Take When Fabric Shopping:
1. TAKE YOUR TIME! this is highly important. There is no rush. Southern Living is not showing up at your door tomorrow and if they are, girl, you had better hurry!
2. Take your fabric file, it will assist you in coordinating existing fabrics
3. Take a friend she can giggle with you and be moral support
4. Take away swatches. Don't leave the fabric store without fabric samples to look at in the room where you want to use them. Label each swatch with masking tape {if the store doesn't do this for you} and write the store name and cost per yard.
Our local store has remnants labeled, they are all 50% off the marked price, a great dealWhat to look for
1. For window mistreatments, you want 54 inch wide decorator's fabric. If you are doing long drapes you don't want a heavy upholstery grade fabric that won't hang well. Pull out the fabric on the bolt out a few feet and grab it in your fist and hold it up and see how it drapes. If it's super stiff, it's not going to look all that great on your windows. On the other hand if it's extremely thin, it could look cheap if not lined. Look at premade drapes and take note of the kinds of fabrics used.
2. For recovering dining room chairs you want a thicker fabric. Stay away from silk it will get stained and worn fast. Look for a little thicker fabric and remember, solid colors will show dirt quicker than a pattern.
3. If you sew and want to line your drapes, consider using a twin sheet. For my duvet cover, I used a coordinating sheet for the back and fabric on the front. That saved me some money and time.
my bedskirt
my expensive french knot worth every penny
If you are looking for small yardages of luscious coordinating fabric, try out Fresh Squeezed Fabrics and search their fabric bundles. This would be great for a fabric canvas, pillow, ragamuffin garland and various other projects that take small amounts of fabric.
Remember if you are making mistreatments, keep your yardage price low. If you end up spending $30 per yard and say you will need 3 yards per panel for one window you would spend $180. You would be better off buying from Half Price Drapes or Ballard Designs. Mistreatments are best done when you find super inexpensive fabric or fabric that you already have.
Want more guidelines to decorate by? Read The Best Decorating Advice Ever at The Inspired Room. And if you missed this weekend's Bird Watching, be sure to scroll down, there are some great projects this week.
What are your fabric tips?
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Bird Watching
Before and After : Ashely's Pallet Daybed @ Design*Sponge
DIY project : Morgane's Drawer Hangers @ D*S again
A license plate mistreatment @ Whimsies & Whatnots
Beadboard Wallpaper Treatment @ Southern Hospitality
Kimba's got her pins on SALE! @ A Soft Place to Land
Family Tree Revisited @ Blue Castle
Henry's Nursery @ Holly Mathis Interiors
Even more fantastic ideas at the Nest Files!
State of the Nest Address :: 2009 is Half Gone Version
My word. This year is half over. I thought it would be fun for me to write a big long post all about Nesting Place, the blog -- kind of like a State of the Nest Address.
Best of the Nest {so far this year}
If you are new here, you might want to check out some of the most well read posts from the last six months:
10 Minutes to a Room You'll Love :: A series where we talked about super quick easy fixes for the family room, master bedroom, bathroom and the kitchen.
Staging Your Home for Sale :: Another series that Remodeling Guy and I did together all about home staging, a must read if you are putting your house on the market.
How to Tablescape With What You Already Have was one one of those posts that I need to go back and reread and follow. It's amazing how smart those real designers are!
And who could forget Lampapalooza?
One of my personal favorites :: 10 Ways to Avoid Having a Home You'll Love
And, if you didn't get your free ebook, click here.
Top 20 Referrers for the first 6 months of 2009:
Over 50% of Nesting Place visitors come from other blogs. Thank you all so much for taking the time to link to the Nest!
- Kimba
- Melissa
- Layla
- Emily
- Angie
- Kelly
- Shannon
- Sophie
- Rhoda
- Edie
- Melissa
- Meredith
- Tsh
- Chris
- Melanie {I'm currently listening to her music}
- ANNICOLE
- Tim
- Pretty Organizer
- Wendy
- Kristen
Still to Come
Want to know what you can look forward to for the rest of the year? I hardly am one to plan out blogging like some organized people but, I've got a vague idea.
I figure, why come up with my own ideas when I can just copy Problogger? We'll walk/fly? through 31 days of nest dressing ideas in August. Or some other month that has 31 days.
Price My Space coming July 13th start thinking of what stuff you want to tell us about.
Some other highlights:
- more mistreatments
- how to have a swap meet
- fresh new, amazing tassels
- vlogging
- giveaways
Like it here? You are in good company! Nesting Place is closing in on 2 million page views so far for 2009! Want your blog reading to be made easier? You can subscribe to Nesting Place and all your favorite blogs in a reader. Just click on the subscribe button up there in the top right sidebar or right under this paragraph.
Your Turn
Tell me, what do you want to read more about? What do you want to read less about? Is there a topic you wish we would cover? Feel free to repeat the same thing that someone else says that way I'll know that lots of people feel the same way.
And thank you, so much for reading. I just love hanging out here at the Nest with you. If you weren't here it would just be me, by myself talking way too much.
Price My Space
How fun would it be if we all linked up and Priced our Spaces together? You can show an entire room, a wall or whatever and go into however much depth you feel like revealing. Don't feel like you have to tell the world how much you spent on everything. It's really about encouraging others that good deals are out there and, that there are some things that are worth paying full price for. I'll start with a photo of our family room to show you what I'm talking about. If you want to do the fancy number thing you can open a photo bucket account for free and edit your photo to add numbers.
I'll price this room in another post before the party. So stay tuned. Until then, start thinking about what room you want to price.
In other news, I just saw this:
I think that's Nesting Place and I guess that means it's been nominated for the Blog You've Learned the Most From award. What a fantastic category! If you agree with that, I'd love to have your vote because you know, I never win anything.Where to Shop for Fabric
What started out as one post about fabric to go with the top 5 tools list has morphed into 3, maybe even 4 posts because I cannot seem to stop chatting it up about all things fabric. This is the first post in a series on fabric.
Fabric is a luxurious tool. Along with paint, it possesses power that is almost superhero like. Properly place some fabric on a bare window and you can instantly transform the feeling in a room. Mix patterns to fill and personalize a room. Use textures to add interest and depth. Keep to solid colors for a clean cozy feel without interrupting the overall feel of a room.
1. Finding Fabric in Your Town
Yes, Jo-Ann, Hancock, Hobby Lobby and other craft/sewing/hobby shops do sell a little fabric. I've purchased fabric from all three of those shops and you can find some nice things at good prices. But if you never step foot in any other kind of fabric store, you are really, really missing out.
You could start by simply googling your city and the words fabric store.
Here's what came up for Charlotte. You've got your Hancock and Calico {if you are not familiar with Calico Corners stop right now and order their catalog: completely inspiring} Midas {large chain in the Carolina's} and then Boone {no website but one of my favorite shops} Hobby Lobby, Robyn's--what? I've never heard of that!, Front Door {local and small but good remnants} and other stuff. I usually lean toward the local shops.
Right now the best place for me to find fabric at a good price is a little strip mall place called Tony's fabrics. It's big, it's bright and all the fabric is $6.99 a yard. How did I find it? I drove there even though it was a long drive from my house when we first moved here. It was worth it to scope out my new city and see what was kind of fabric cornucopia they offered. Why isn't it on the list? Here's the thing, the two best fabric stops in my city, aren't actually in my city. Make sure you google surrounding towns as well.
Besides googling or pulling your phonebook out of 1986, another way to find the best stores is to ask your friends who sew. These days there are special stores for quilters, hobby fabric stores and more decorator friendly stores. Most likely, if you are mistreating a window, you want to visit decorator fabric stores.
2. Finding Fabric Online
What? Shopping for fabric online? Isn't that harder than convincing your Mother in Law that you can actually paint brick. {No real mother in laws were hurt in this analogy, mine was totally supportive of our brick painting}. Here's how I shop for fabric online. Start in the stores. Shop around, find what you like, get a swatch and a manufacturer name {sometimes found on the edge of the fabric, or on a tag on the bolt, or ask the fabriteer (my name for people who work in the fabric store)}. Each fabric design has it's own name and if there are different colors in the same pattern, a color as well, try to get that too. Most fabriteers will amaze you with their ability to remember a fabric maker and name from even years back.
Once you have the fabric maker and name start looking online. For example. Say you want a P. Kaufmann Central Park Toile. First, just google it. There are lots of places you can find it, right? So, why not start with two online fabric stores and compare. Let's look at, Fabric.com--which I've talked about before. They tend to have great sales and seem quite customer service oriented. Here's what they have--you can click on the photo to enlarge it:
16.98 per yard plus shipping
One more thing, did you notice the color difference for these fabrics? This is why it's hard to blindly shop online. Most likely they are the exact same color.
More to come in way of fabric shopping well talk about what to buy, pricing, tips and coordinating fabric.
Are there good stores in your area? Feel free to leave a shout out with your town and favorite fabric store.
