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Showing posts with label benches. Show all posts
Showing posts with label benches. Show all posts

master bedroom refresh

Well I"m back in Calgary after two fantastic weeks on the East Coast at "home" visiting family and friends. I was busy while there, and one of the projects was refreshing my mom and dad's bedroom. The budget was slim to nil on this one, so I had to get the creative juices flowing. I started with wallpapered walls and a lovely wood floor, a bed with black iron-look head and foot board, and two tired old dressers. And it was quite dark, with only one window facing east.

I was very excited to see what was possible by using the sustainable design concept of reusing and re-purposing. Here is the before picture...


And after...


I wanted to create a brighter, lighter feeling country bedroom. The dresser below was painted a dark sage green (see my previous post on painting the dressers in this room). The curtains were an old shower curtain cut in two to make panels.


Everything on the walls and shelves was either something already in the house or from the yard outside. Birch branches are leaned against the wall as a point of interest and to cover up a bad crack in the wall underneath the wallpaper.


This is the second painted dresser with matching grey-green paint on the back of the existing shelves.



Jewellery is displayed on an old picture frame with a ribbon tied across the back.


The head and foot boards were painted with white semi-gloss trim paint and then distressed with sandpaper.


This bench was an old deacon's bench. We sawed off the back spindles and side arms, painted it out white, and made a foam cushion for the top.


The side table is a block of firewood sawed and sanded with a Varathane finish. 


Snowshoes complete the country feel and were found in the basement, so again, no extra cost for decoration.


This project cost only $100 dollars - for paint and fabric for the cushions. The rest was all re-purposed and reused.  I'm pleased with it, and so are my parents. What do you think?

Stay tuned for more budget-friendly refreshed rooms- including the bathroom and kitchen.

a showhouse-inspired slow home

The real life Houston home featured in the latest issue of Traditional Home is based on ideas gleaned from show homes, but it also stands out as a great example of what I consider a slow home. Virginia Mary Brown carefully considered the design of her home to suit her family's needs, to preserve history, and to responsibly re-purpose materials salvaged from her grandmother's home that used to sit on the property.

For example, look at all of the light coming through the windows that were put on three sides of the house for maximum ventilation. The sofa is handed down from grandma and recovered in white cotton duck.


The wonderful brick pavers that run from inside to outside are from her grandmother's home. The downstairs is open concept in order to keep the family close together, but the big sliding barn doors can be closed to separate the family room from the kitchen when needed.


The reclaimed pine floors are warm and stand up to kid traffic.


The kitchen is deliberately placed so that everyone goes through it to go in and out of the house. It is therefore a gathering spot, and has a big table in the middle to accommodate all kinds of activity.


All of the bedrooms were placed upstairs, bucking the trend for a downstairs master.


The fantastic marble mosaic tiles in the bath were purchased at a hotel salvage sale.


This home was obviously well thought-out and its contents were found and purchased with deliberation and patience. Finding the right pieces can take time, but it is worth it in order to end up with a home that is highly functional and durable, will grow with your needs, and will last for generations. All that and high style as well! Not bad.

spotlight on...tufted benches


Tufting was born under Napoleon III, a period of opulence and abundance, but it is a classic look that has stood the test of time. Buttons and tufting resurfaced in a modern way in 1929 when designer Ludwig Mies van der Roh created his famous Barcelona chair.  The 1930's Hollywood Regency style touted tufted chairs and benches, and tufted tub chairs were all the rage in the '60's. 

Today's look can be both modern or vintage, with all kinds of materials used. I would love to have any of these benches in my bedroom. 
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from ebay

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Do you like this look?