Sunburst Mirror with Wooden Shims, Neiman Marcus Knockoff

The project I'm sharing with you today is me jumping on the sunburst mirror bandwagon only about two years behind!  I've gone back and forth in my mind about making one of these, and when I started thinking through our Master Bedroom project, I decided that over the bed would be the perfect place for a large mirror.  I prefer a simple approach to decorating, so one piece of art above the bed, rather than a gallery wall of sorts, seemed like a good solution.

I am so happy that I went with this option!  It's exactly what I was picturing, and I'm loving it!  I followed Thrifty Decor Chick's tutorial for her mirrors {she copied a Ballard design}, and I just made it look a bit more like this mirror I found by Neiman Marcus.

via

The natural wood look wasn't working for me, so with two coats of ivory primer/spray paint, and then some brushed on Ivory Dust, by Valspar, my shims were looking the way I wanted.

There are tons of great tutorials out there for variations of a sunburst mirror.  Mine required two packs of builder grade shims, hot glue and glue gun, two scrap pieces of wood, a mirror, hook on the back, and some paint.  Total cost = $15.  Neiman Marcus cost = $375.  I prefer the lower dollar amount.

And, to keep it real, here is the pile of stuff I removed from my nightstand in order to take this picture.

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DIY Drapery Hardware

Finding the proper hardware to hang window treatments is always a challenge.  The nice ones are pricey {ranging from $20-$100} and the cheap ones are never the right size.  There are three windows in our Master Bedroom, so if I was going to put in the kind of hardware I wanted, I was looking at spending more money on the hardware than I did on my drapes {read about the drapes here}.

Instead of spending a ton of money, I decided to purchase some materials and put together my own hardware.

1. Purchase materials from Lowe's {or hardware store of your choice}.  These were found near the building materials.  I bought 1 1/4-inch dowel rods, brackets, finials, and little wooden tabs to put into the brackets {not pictured}.

2. Cut dowel rods to size and paint with paint color of choice.  I used a sample size of Ivory Dust, by Valspar.

3. Hang on the wall and put the little wooden piece in to cover the screw.  I then used a q-tip to paint the wooden piece.

These were so easy to do and I love them!  You could easily paint these any color to get a little pop  of color over your windows.  For just about $5 per window, it's not too shabby!

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How to Customize Store Bought Drapes

Decorating our Master Bedroom has been a challenge for me, as I'm trying to do it on a very tight budget, and I've had difficulty deciding how to go about it.  Last week I shared with you the paint color, and a peek of the fabric that I used for my window treatments.  Today, I'm sharing my new drapery panels.

For months I searched for the perfect fabric to make some drapes.  The fabric I loved was a gorgeous paisley and for a mere $45/yard, I could have some beautiful panels.  Why is it that I always like the expensive fabrics??  There was no way I could afford that, so I kept my eye out whenever I would shop for fabric that I liked.  I looked at fabric stores, TJMaxx, Target, etc., and not just at drapes; I was also browsing sheets, tablecloths, and anything made out of fabric to see if I could find something similar.  Finally, one day at Target I saw some panels on clearance that were the colors and paisley that I was looking for.  I purchased all four of what they had left.  The best way to describe the material is linen-sheer {if there is such a thing}, though, so a ton of light came through, which I didn't like.

What do you do when you like part of something that you bought but not all of it?  You can return it, but I decided to customize it to make it work in this space.

There are 3 windows in our bedroom.  In order to achieve the fullest look on a window, you would normally use 2 panels per window.  However, the store only had 4 panels {I even looked online, but they were all sold out and discontinued}.  Since I knew I wouldn't be closing them {we have mini-blinds on all the windows} I decided to cut 3 of the panels in half, giving me two panels for each window.  Instead of a fuller look, they would just frame the window.

Then, after cutting them in half, I added lining to each one {purchased for $1/yard at a remnant store} similar to how I added lining to my Dining Room Panels.

Once the sides were finished, I simply used stitch witchery to adhere the lining to the top of each panel, placing it right below the pocket rod.

I kept the original hem and pocket rod of the purchased portion of the panels, which made this customization quite simple.  And, the total cost for 3 windows was just about $50.  If I had gone with my favorite fabric choice in the store, I would have only been able to purchase one yard of fabric--not even enough to cover half of one window!

Later on in the week I'll show you how I made the hardware for these--another fun and very inexpensive project!  Also, for those of you math-minded folks, you might be wondering what I did with the 4th panel {you were wondering, weren't you??}, I'll share that as well.

Don't be afraid to customize things that you purchase, even items that are brand new!  With just a little bit of work and a few supplies you can get the look you want for much less.

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Home Stories A to Z

Project Master Bedroom

One of the last rooms in our house to finally get some decor is our Master Bedroom.  We've been living with the builder grade paint, no window treatments, nothing on the walls, and no coordinating bedding since we moved in.  Last summer, we purchased some furniture that Mother-in-law found at an Estate Sale.  We are so thankful for it and got a super deal, but it was a king-size bed, so I only bought some sheets and a cotton blanket on clearance until we could decide what we wanted to do in there and have some money to make it happen.

I found some fabric that I liked at my favorite fabric outlet in town, an ivory and brown pattern, which would become Euro shams.  I knew I also wanted some shade of blue in this space.  Back in February, I found some drapery panels on clearance at Target, for $12.98 each, so I bought all 4 panels that were remaining and decided to use those for the windows.  Here's a peek of the fabric:

Going off of the fabrics I had chosen, we then moved on to a paint color.  This was a tough one!  I really wanted a deep blue on the walls.   These were the colors we had on the wall for a few weeks before we decided.

We opted for the darker tan because we were trying to think of re-sale; the blue color I love is a lot of blue for this space, especially if someone is going to either rent or buy our home when we move.  We're planning to use the blue in the bathroom {a much smaller space} and I think it will look nice in there.

Here is the bedroom  before any work was done:

And, here is just one of the finished walls:

Simply putting this color on the walls instantly made our room feel warmer, less sterile.  And, that plant you see was on clearance for $4!  I've actually been keeping my house plants alive this year {gasp} and really wanted one for our bedroom.  This one is perfect and didn't cost too much!  Yay!

I"ll be sharing more of how this room is coming together in the next few days and weeks.  I'm having a lot of fun just putting together items that we already had, fabrics I had purchased for very little money, and some DIY things that make me feel like I accomplished something in here.  It's been a slow process, but when you're trying to make a home 'from scratch', that's what happens :)

Modern Safari Nursery Reveal

It's been 3 1/2 months since our little guy was born, and today is the day that I can finally reveal to you the nursery!  Some of this space has evolved over time as I've finished putting together the last projects.  You may remember my nursery inspiration and then my mood board that I shared with you.  Then, I shared some fabric choices.  We weren't sure the gender of the baby, so I went with a color scheme that I believe is gender neutral, and had decided that once the baby was born I would make it more gender appropriate with accessories, etc.  Well, we had a boy, {you can read his birth story here}, so I was able to make the nursery into what I would like to call 'Modern Safari'.

Come on in and have a peek!

This is what you see when you open the door.  I painted a little  30 cent plaque from Marshall's with chalkboard paint and wrote Mason's initials in orange chalk.

 The dresser was painted in ASCP Pure White, and you can read about that project, my first ASCP experience, here.  The pictures above the dresser are some that my husband had previous to our marriage--'The Big 5', a lion, elephant, cheetah, wildebeest, and rhinoceros.

My mother-in-law recovered this glider.  It was previously a blue denim, but there was enough fabric leftover from the crib bedding to piece together this beauty.  I. love. it.  I've never had a glider before, so it's been nice to rock Mason every now and then.

As I was working on hanging up pictures in here one day, I happened to look in the garage and saw this canvas resting in a pile of cobwebs.  Before we had children, my husband stated that he would one day like a Tintin themed nursery.  Tintin is a character from a Belgian comic series that Bradley read growing up.  You may be familiar with the movie that came out last December, based upon this series.  I couldn't believe how perfectly this canvas fit in with the colors and theme of our nursery.  Up on the wall it went!  The shelf {from Target} holds books, puzzles and toys.  You can read about my fabric covered boxes here.

The shelf below contains little toy animals from Tanzania, where my sister and brother-in-law recently went on a mission trip.  They had no idea I was decorating Mason's nursery this way, but they are a perfect addition!  The 'M' hanging on the wall was used as decor at a baby shower hosted by my friends, and the shelf was made by my brother.  I contemplated painting the shelf white, but decided it would be more significant to leave it as he had designed and created.  I love that Mason has a little piece of my brother in his room.

A stack of Tintin books rests on top of the toy shelf, tying in the picture with the rest of the room.

The bedding turned out exactly how I had envisioned!  The fabric is a Premier Print collection, and I added some white fabric I already had to make the bedskirt and drapery panels.  I used a Butterick pattern for the bumpers and crib skirt and they were super easy to do!  I saved a ton of money by making my own bedding, and I was able to have just what I wanted.

The one project left to finish is a wall hanging above the crib.  Bradley made this for me out of pieces of wood, just put together and painted.  Eventually, it will have 'fearfully and wonderfully made', from Psalm 139:14 on it.  And, yes, that is a rocking hippo in the corner.

Taking a picture of a window treatment is terribly difficult, but you can see a glimpse of it in this photo.  I just added some of the zebra print fabric to plain white fabric and had some custom-made panels.  Orange ribbon is used as a tie.  I love the simplicity and classic look.

Putting this nursery together was so much fun!  And, if we have any more children, I'm definitely just going to reuse everything.

I don't have a specific breakdown of the cost, but this is pretty close.

Fabric and Bumper Pads for Bedding:  $60
Lamp: $15 from Target
ASCP and wax for Dresser:  $65  {I covered another dresser as well, and have lots of wax leftover}
Orange Ribbon for Window: $2
Paint: $55

Total:  $197.

Not bad for an entire nursery makeover!

Linking to:

Not JUST a Housewife

Beneath My Heart Best DIY Projects of August 

All You Need is a Little Paint

We have moved 4 times in our not quite 6 years of marriage, each time living in a different sized dwelling, using various combinations of our acquired home decor.  My color schemes have changed a few times over the years, and because of that some things that worked when we were first married just don't cut it now.  It's not in the budget to buy new items for each house, so instead I'm trying to work with what I have {as much as possible} and make it the best it can be for our home.  One of my recent discoveries is that if I don't like something the way it is, all I need is a little bit of paint, a few minutes, and I have a new look on an item that makes it fit in more perfectly with my home.

Exhibit A:

This picture was given to me before I was married and it hung in my bathroom.  We used it in our first home, but then it sat in a box in storage for 3 years.  I still like the picture but the gold frame was not my favorite.  I took out a sample paint that I had purchased on clearance at Home Depot {keep your eye out for these sales--I got samples for $0.50}, gave it a little coat, and in about 5 minutes I had some 'new' art for my downstairs bathroom.

The bathroom is not finished yet, I'm still waiting to paint the walls, maybe paint the cabinet, frame in the mirror and get some hand towels, but so far I haven't purchased anything new for this space, I just re-did some old items to make them go with my desired color scheme.

Exhibit B:

NO BEFORE PICTURE, SORRY!

I am pleased to say that I have kept a house plant alive for almost a year now--this truly is a miracle!  I never thought I'd be able to have plants in my house, because I'm notorious for not watering, or overwatering, and they never survive.  This plant was given to me by my mother-in-law, and it remained in the hunter green pot she used to start it for me for about 9 months.  Rather than buying a new pot {those things are expensive!}, my husband simply painted the green one with a coat of yellow paint {using another clearance sample paint, sprayed some white paint on the trellis, and it looks brand new.

The pop of yellow is just what I've been wanting in the kitchen and I love how simple it was to create something 'new'.  

So, look around your house for items that are still perfectly fine, but maybe they're old, worn, or just not the right color anymore.  Instead of going out to purchase something new to replace that item, grab a little paint and fix it up so that it looks perfect in your home!