What has been keeping me away

Hey all!

Sorry to have been absent for so long. With both girls moving out this summer, their bedrooms were left a bit empty.   Adam and his fiancee are arriving for a visit in November so we needed to get the rooms fixed up and beds in them.  Wait a minute...did she say fiancee?  Yes indeed I did.  Adam proposed this weekend and Marcia said yes.  No idea when the wedding will be yet.  Anyway, back to the bedroom situation.  We decided to start with Amy's since she actually took her bed with her and the room was empty.  Our plan is to move the double bed Abby left into Amy's room and get a queen set for Abby's so when Adam and Marcia come they can have a queen bed instead of a double. More comfortable that way.  I took some before pics but my camera ate them so I have almost before pics.  Amy had this lovely fuchsia wall in her room.  It was not my favorite.  After much thought, I had my plan in place and we started the transformation.

It was quite a job to paint the woodwork and  the book case white.  Glad Dan was the one doing all the hard labor!  Notice that lovely white and gold fan on the ceiling?  That's gone and replaced with this one.

The room is very hot in the summer as it gets the west sun. I wanted a chandelier but practicality won out.

After the painting was done we addressed the window coverings.  I originally wanted floor to ceiling white drapes for the window but since I am trying to do the rooms on the cheap so to speak, I nixed that idea when I priced them out.  So white sheers were purchased instead but they don't do anything to block the light.  My one big splurge for the room is this blackout cellular shade.  It will help with the heat issue and keep the room nice and dark in the morning.

We hung the sheers next.

I didn't care for them just hanging there.  I wanted a more romantic/cozy look to the window nook so we added in the tie back pieces.

That was much better and then I had a brilliancy!  I remembered the mini chandeliers that Hobby Lobby sells and as it happens they were 50% off that week.  I think it was the perfect touch and Dan thought so too!

For nightstands, I decided to use the two tables that I bought at the thrift store last year.  I think we paid $30.00 for the pair. They've just been hanging out waiting for me to decide what I wanted to do with them.

For this room they needed to be white.

But I wasn't quite happy with them being all white and I didn't think I should shabby them up so instead I added some fabric under the glass tops.

Next came the lamps.  Originally, I bought 2 lamps from Walmart.  But at $22.00 a piece plus the $15.00 for each shade I was thinking that was more than I wanted to spend.  That's when I ran across 2 crystal lamps at the Goodwill and I got them both for $20.00.  Dan sprayed the gold parts silver and re-wired them and after a good cleaning they just sparkled!

But it was hard to see the black lampshade against the black wall.  We tried a white shade but Dan and I both liked the black lampshade with the crystal lamp better than the white.  So I came up with the idea to put a mirror behind each lamp.  Now Dan wasn't really sure he liked that idea.  I had to convince him.  Finding 2 white mirrors for a price I was willing to pay proved fruitless.  Lucky for me a Kirklands opened up last week and I found 2 mirrors for $16.00/piece that when painted up white would work.  They weren't as fancy as I wanted but sometimes you have to sacrifice the image in your head for the reality that suits your pocket book.  

After seeing the mirrors in place Dan gave me a thumbs up.

And finally, here is the bedding that I got for a very good price.  Again, it was not exactly what I wanted but will do for now.  I may eventually replace it down the road with something a bit more sophisticated.   The white piece above the headboard is temporary.  I had it and when I decide what I want up there I will replace it. I'm thinking maybe a ceiling medallion or an ornate oval frame.  I saw one the other day at the thrift store and I should have bought it.  It would have been perfect.  But as Dan says, you snooze you lose and I am sure it will be gone by the time I can get there again.

I pulled some items from around the house to put on the shelves until I find the perfect pieces.

Here's a final look at the room from the hallway.

There is one corner to the right of the door that I have to decide what I want to do.  I was pondering a chair but a chest of drawers is probably more practical.  I'll let you know when I've figured it out.

So Amy's room is now basically finished.  We will be moving on to Abby's room next.  Have the bedding bought, the paint color chosen and I found a queen size headboard and bed frame for $50.00 on Craigslist last week so we have the basics ready to go.  I can't wait to cover up the purple that Abby had on her walls!!!

Take care till next time!

Julie