TDA decorating and design

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Loft Makeover Reveal

Originally for the space below I was going to do more bookshelves like I did on the North side of our loft here. However, my husband didn't think we needed anymore bookshelves...to hold the many books that we didn't own. He suggested instead that I create a reading nook since I LOVE to read (yes, I read and don't have very many books, go figure! Some would say that my kindle is literally attached to my hip). I thought this was a brilliant idea and make the space VERY usable!

Here are some of the changes I am made for the upstairs loft:

I found this chaise from Home Decorators Collection that fit the measurements of the space pictured above perfectly!

I ordered it in the swatch below, "Groupie Praline":

I also fell in love with this swatch from Fabric.com, P. Kaufmann Boscobel Floral Natural, the colors are exactly what I was looking for for this space. Bright, cheery, and I loved the combination of the gold, cornflower blue, green, and brown. I created a new roman shade for the window out of this fabric, as well as a throw pillow for the chaise -

I loved this fabric with the floral above so I am adding a second throw pillow to the chaise in this -

Also from HDC, I ordered this chair for my desk:

Now that I have the white board & batten walls and bookshelves upstairs, the white desk had to go...

so I gave it a makeover!

I am so excited to share with you guys the loft changes I have made!

south side of loft -

before:

after:

South side of loft, bookshelf wall-

before:

after:

desk wall-

before:

after:

*For added protection, I had 1/4 inch glass cut specifically for the desktop.

Roman shade-

before:

after:

Full room view of north side -

before:

after:

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Nursery Half Moon Window Treatment

Recently, I had a friend who was decorating a nursery for her first little girl ask me, "what would you do with this window?"....

Many of us have windows like this and it leaves us wondering, "where do we put the window rod?"

She really wanted to have black out shades/panels so her baby can sleep during the day, and was not afraid to permanently block out the half moon window on top.

My solution was to take a sheet of mdf, cut out the half moon window shape, and apply a wood detailed applique in the middle of it (We purchased the applique piece from Lowes). To apply the applique piece, simply glue it down with wood glue and then calk around all the edges where it meets up with the primary piece you are adding it to. Her husband secured it to the window frame with L brackets.

We also made a thinner wood valance similar to the one I made for my daughter, with crown molding to fit right underneath the moon window.

I love how it turned out!

Inside of the wood valance fits the drapery rod for the darling panels she sewed!

I think it is so pretty and feminine, perfect for a sweet baby girl!

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Zipper Pillow Tutorial

Since I am constantly changing out my decor, I am switching out pillows just as often. One way to save money on pillows is to add a zipper making it easy to take out and reuse your pillow forms, AND reusing your pillow covers down the road without ripping out stitches and resewing them.

I'm sure there is a correct way to sew a zipper; however, I am to impatient to read and follow directions so I thought I would show you the way I taught myself to sew them.

To start the pillow, cut out two equal squares, mine are 14x14 inches.

Place the two fronts together and sew the top and sides, leaving the bottom open -

Originally I was going to make this pillow larger, but had to change plans when I realized I didn't have enough fabric as I thought I would. (This fabric was left over from a roman shade I am making)

I had purchased a 14" zipper from Walmart for under $2. When I realized it wouldn't fit my new pillow I new I would have to shorten it-

Shortening your zipper is simple. Mark with a pen where you want the zipper to stop at and sew across that line a few times -

Once sewn, you can cut off the extra zipper.

Next turn the zipper so the top of it is facing down. Open the pillow and place the edge of the zipper, to the edge of the INSIDE of your pillow (see below) -

After sewing this side, switch and sew the other side of the zipper (still face down) to the inside of the other side -

Make sure you don't sew the very ends of the zipper, leaving about an inch of pillow on each ends -

Once both sides are sewn, gather both ends of the zipper and pull them separately from the pillow, sew the last inch of the pillow shut without the zipper in it -

Flip it right side out, insert your pillow form, and zip closed! -

Now, you can change out your pillow as easy as tomorrow and easily use it again months from now no problem! -

Monday, July 16, 2012

Loft Board & Batten

After completing board & batten on my stairs, I mentioned I wanted to continue it upstairs into our loft. It finally is complete!

Here is one side of our loft -

This south side of the loft is really just an open area that my kids love to play and wrestle with their dad in, yet the space also makes it feel open and airy on our upstairs floor. However, it really does not have much functional space except for this small area:

I have tried several different options in this area.

It first started out like this: