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!

The Bedroom

My bedroom has been pretty much unchanged since the early 80s...Laura Ashley fabric, botanicals on the wall, swagged curtains. As much as I still love the fabric, the room looks dated.

Kitchen - Done, Finally!

The weather is finally nice enough to have the windows open, so the painter was here today to remove all traces of the stencil design in the kitchen. I tried - but two coats of water-based Kilz didn't make a dent in covering it up and I never mess with anything oil-based.

I had never replaced the original contractor ceiling fixture over my breakfast area. A chandelier wasn't a good choice because the wiring was not centered over my table and couldn't be without ceiling and electrical work. I just didn't want to get into that mess. Last week, looking at another decorating blog, I came up with the idea of a schoolhouse light.

I hope this is it with the kitchen for awhile!