Pinboard

I love vintage WPA postcards of National Parks - some I've picked up on my travels and some have been sent to me by my niece who loves them too - and I wanted a way to display them. Pottery Barn had a wonderful linen covered pinboard but it couldn't be that hard to make....so, I bought a 3M foam board and covered it in white linen.

New Den Pillows

For a change, I decided to add a little color to the den so I made these pillows with some fabric from Calico Corners. This was my first time trying envelope-style pillows and I could not believe how easy it was! There's an added benefit because it makes it very easy to switch covers if I get tired of them. And I know that within six months, I'll find these garish...my name should be Monochrome Mary.

Gulp.....

My den slipcover has been on for slightly over a year and as much as I hated the idea, it needed to be laundered. Even though I've read in many message boards that Mitchell Gold slipcovers launder like a dream, it was still scary.

I tried one seat cushion first - pretreat spots with Oxyclean, wash in cold water, and air dry for several hours in air conditioned space. I was told by the salesperson when I bought the sofa to put the slipcover back on the cushion when it was slightly damp but I did it when it was damp. Then I let the slipcover finish drying on the sofa until it was totally dry. It worked like a charm!

I did not think the main slipcover that goes on the body of my sofa would fit in my washer so I had to find a laundromat with commercial size washers that wasn't yucky. I hit paydirt close to home at The Washboard - excellent laundromat. Air drying this part was more of a challenge and in the end, I spread it out so that it filled the guest bathroom.

Last night I put it back on - damp, of course, and let it dry til morning.

So good to know that it laundered beautifully, went back on easily, and no shrinkage!

The Desk

I was so happy to finally find a good spot for the painting my sister brought back from Italy! It's been in quite a few spots in my house but none were ever right. I think it's perfect on the top of the desk.

Bedroom After

I find the finished bedroom to be more restful. The picture over the bed is a print I bought from a street vendor in Florence years ago. The bedside lamp came from a local consignment shop. The trunk at the foot of the bed was my grandfather's - he used it to store his tools and was given to him by the daughter of a ship's captain. The pillow on the chair was one I bought in Steinmart years ago.

Fabric

My bedroom needs at least 30 yards of fabric for the windows and bed and I had some major sticker shock when I started to look for replacement fabric. Then, Pottery Barn had a 20% off sale on their curtains. I had always liked their Matine toile, so I decided it was time to buy. I got lucky and found the matching quilt and shams on eBay for a lot less than I would have paid in the store. And since I liked how the bed looked without a dust ruffle, I just decided not to have one.

I have a wing chair (that once lived in my living room) in the bedroom. Over the years it had faded from terra cotta to coral. It was a big surprise to me to learn that it's a lot cheaper to have furniture reupholstered than having slip covers made. After testing several different solid natural fabrics, I decided natural twill was the best choice.

The Bed

My bed is an antique rope bed that my mother bought for $10 when I graduated from my crib many, many years ago. It is not close to a standard size and in desperate need of a new mattress so I debated about getting rid of it and buying a new standard sized bed. But when I took off the dust ruffle and the legs were exposed, I fell in love with the bed all over again. I was able to find a company in Columbia, SC that makes custom sized mattresses. With each new mattress, though, less and less of the headboard is exposed!