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Tea Towels Turned Pillow Cases

06/06/2012

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For today's post I thought I'd continue on in our posts about beautifying our master bedrooms (even though all the ideas can be applied to other areas of your home). I started this casual series when I kept realizing over and over again how our bedrooms seem to be the forgotten room in our homes. And as understandable as that may be (since most of your time is spent sleeping instead of simply living in the room, and because visitors don't usually spend time in your bedroom, so it's not seen as often), its such a mistake! Honestly, my bedroom was the least of my worries for a long time, but I have definitely learned through experience that its worth putting in some effort to make you feel like you have a special place to retreat to. It might be a mental thing for me, but regardless, it really is needed for my sanity : ).

So the images below are of my bedroom. There are aspects I love about the room, such as, the bed, and the paintings of Paris that my husband and I bought while there about a year ago (though I'm not crazy about the black frames). It was quite the plunge to actually buy a bed. I can't believe how expensive they can be, but luckily we found one that we loved, I felt like the design was timeless, and that was on sale! However, there are plenty of things that aren't working for me in this space (bedside tables, lamps, lack of window treatment...) but I think thats the way I'll always feel with every room and I'm not sure I'll do anything about it till we move (and who knows when that will be!).

My budget friendly idea for today's post is about my DIY pillows. I found some really cute tea towels from Anthropology on sale, which was quite lucky since I don't usually enter that store  because its sort of depressing to see so many beautiful things knowing you wont spend that much money on anything. But anyways, I took a chance that day and it was totally worth it. As you can see I bought two of the same colorful tea towels, and one more (the small pillow in the front) fun print.
Here you can see the pillow from the side. Since my sister-in-law knew I have no sewing ability, she did this project for me by picking out that coordinating blue fabric and sewing it to the back to transform the tea towel into a pillow case. Unfortunately we seem to be a little rough on our belongings in my home so some of those cute pom-poms that were on the tea towel have come off... whoops! 
My sister-in-law knew I wanted this tea towel to be a smaller pillow, so instead of adding a back to it (like the bigger ones above), she simply got the right sized pillow, folded the towel in half and  sewed around the edges.
Simple enough, right? I love the bit of spark these add to my room. There are days when I make my bed using only the white pillows when I don't feel like color/pattern overload, but overall, I still love them. 

Like I talked about in this post, my favorite place to find inexpensive pillow options is on Etsy. Isn't it crazy how expensive pillows can be? How can pretty pillows cost $100..or more? Totally crazy... at least for me that is, so I think its great to come up with creative, inexpensive ways to get a good look for your home... like using tea towels to make pillows : ).

To see other posts we did about how you can update your space, here are the previous posts done: Lamp Shade DIY and Ikea Rast Hacks for beside tables.
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Holiday Jump Start

11/09/2011

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I'm not talking about shopping or cooking or mailing anything; I'm talking about your guest room.  My guess is that you're going to have guests, or you will be a guest, sometime over the next two months.  We all want to be a fantastic host and I'd like to share with you my ideal bedding ensemble.   
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 1. Sheets
Buy the best you can afford and think of them as a cost per use investment.  I would also carefully select a timeless design; nobody wants to offer their brother-in-law a pink leopard print bed in which to sleep.

2. Pillows
Some people prefer to sleep on their back with their head high off the bed, others prefer face down in a small pile of down.  I think offering a standard pillow and a euro pillow, like in the above picture, allows for customization and a great nights sleep.  There are few things worse than waking up with a sore neck and a well rested guest will make your own day brighter too!

3. Thin Blanket
These are often referred to as coverlets. In the above picture it is the striped blanket.  If you were at my in-laws it would be some darling quilted matelasse.  I love a thin blanket.  Even in the warmest summer night I want a little weight to my blanket, a very little weight.  If your husband happens to be the temperature of the sun this might be all you need year round.  

4. Thick Blanket
Duvets!  I prefer mine folded at the end of the bed, just like in the picture.  Sometimes I only need my feet to be nice and toasty, but on cold New England nights there is nothing better than pulling a thick down comforter up to your neck.

5. Too Many
If it's taking your visitors minutes to make room for themselves on your guest bed you, my friend, have too many pillows.  If you need convincing of the hazards of too many pillows click here!  

6. Too Personal?
The guest bed is not the place to display your stuffed animal collection from middle school.  I don't want to fall asleep thinking about who slept in a bed before me.  I like a certain amount of neutrality to guest bedding, think of a nice hotel and you'll catch my drift.

7. I have always wanted to invest in a bedside carafe.  I think this one below is particularly lovely, but it'll cost you. 

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The carafe below is still great, and a lot more affordable at about $20.
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                                                                                                                                                                                                            -Andrea
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My Bedding

10/21/2011

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We're going to try something new and fantastic for today's 2nd Opinion.  I'm hoping to open up the awesomeness that is 2nd Opinion to more readers.  Some of you have told me that you don't have an entire problem room, but maybe just a problem wall, or a difficult product choice.  Well 2nd Opinion can help you too!  Today I'm submitting my own bedding dilemma and I'd like to hear what y'all think.  


For my recent birthday (!) my Mom bought me new bedding.  I can not tell you how happy I am to climb into bed every night.  I've always loved my bed, but these flannel sheets have won my heart!  I chose the Paintbrush Flannel Sheets in Pale Gold at Garnet Hill, and the ticking stripe duvet cover in gray, also in flannel, to compliment the yellow.  I happened to have 2 existing gray euro shams that are quilted, and these go well with all the new pieces.  

As you may be able to tell, this is a big bed and this leaves a lot of white in the ticking stripe. Probably too much.  I think we need an additional blanket at the end of the bed, as well as a sham for the middle euro pillow.  Here are the options I've come up with and I'd like  to know what you think, I'm looking for a 2nd Opinion :)
All of these fabrics are from Lewis and Sheron Textiles.  I like the idea of these prints or dots contrasting with the solid and stripes.  I also like the idea of a little femininity added in a pillow and throw.  And although I really love the mustard I need something to go with it and according to our color theory post, purple is an obvious choice!  
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