I'm Not Just Eating Bon Bons...

I just wanted to show you guys one of the projects I've been up to since you last heard from me.

I promise I've been busy.

Hubby is at the academy where "you learn to fold your clothes in ridiculously small ways," I am taking my next to last master's class, I have 3 kids and 3 dogs who seem to go different directions at the same time. Blogging has taken a backseat.

Sorry :(

Anyway, this post is about my master bedroom. "I've seen it" you say?

I don't think so. Remember the blues? This room got them too.

My bedding was in sorry, sorry shape. I love toile and red and Hubby really likes blue. I struggled for awhile how to marry our loves without looking all "Americana."

It's not that I'm non-patriotic, I just had visions of 1980's countrified Americana decor. Then I found the fabric. For me it always starts with the fabric.

Then I found the blue. And I think it just took off from there.

I kept a very little bit of the original red toile to make a "napping blanket." I got a simple blue blanket from Wal-mart, sewed the red toile on the front and then put about 9-10 covered buttons on it to keep the two pieces of fabric from shifting too much.

My old dining room table has become a desk. Granted I'm sitting on the bed typing this blog, but the desk looks cute doesn't it?
This chair was the inspiration. It was another auction find, but this one got a little expensive.

I had hubby bidding against this really oddball guy and I just couldn't let him and his oddballness have it. While the bidding was going on he would get really close to the auctioneer and just stare at him while he was deciding if he should bid again or not. Then when he would decide to bid he would make a big deal about bidding-throw his hands in the air and yell really loud. That chair would have been so unhappy at his house.

I put these old closet doors behind the dresser because it is on a really long wall and I needed to break up the wall. I did not want to think about what to do with that big ole wall. I actually like how the white breaks up the blue. Closet doors behind furniture is my new favorite thing.

I used chalk paint on the chest. I'm not completely sold on chalk paint yet. It is easy to use, but I didn't fork out the bucks for the waxes so the polyurethane yellows the paint. Plus I'm not used to the heavily distressed look. Maybe I just need more practice.
I added the monogram to the headboard using contact paper and my Cricut. It was a big ole brown space that just needed a little sumpin.


You know how much I love plates. This is just part of my collection of red transferware. Some plates are hung with nails and some are hung with 3M velcro tabs. It is one of my favorite parts of the room! You know how I am about "views." This is the view from my bed.


This picture is taken before the plate wall was done, but you can see the closet doors and my some other favorite pictures. You can also see the "napping blanket" being put to use by my youngest daughter!

I decided that I would enter my "Americana" bedroom over at the CSI challenge this week. Come on by and see the other red, white and/or blue entries!

Also linking up with Roomspiration:

T is for Toile!

Welcome to "T" week!!

I am finally going to get around to "Toile"

According to freedictionary.com:

Toile (twahl): A usually light-colored fabric printed with a scenic pattern or design often used in upholstery or for curtains

It is important to note the pronunciation for toile. It is said like "tw-aaah-l." Many people don't know exactly how to pronounce it, which is not really that big a deal unless people think that the name of my blog is TOIL in the family.
That is a whole different meaning, doncha think?

Anyway. I LOVE toile, not toil. It all started with my bedroom and I really have to contain myself so I don't have it everywhere. I love red toile especially, so I use that in my bedroom:

I use toile at Christmas: (toile ribbon and toile tree skirt)


I also love red transferware because it reminds me alot of my favorite toile. I use red transferware all over my house.


These plates are hung off this screen made from closet doors. Read about that here.



Then there is some fabric that I have that is reminiscent of toile. My roman shades:


The curtains on my screened in porch:
I try to be a LITTLE subtle in my uses of toile. While toile is a pattern that is typically used in large doses (i.e. on walls, windows, etc) I think I might get a little on toile overload.
I also try to not get everything I see in toile. You can find it now on paper, sheets, lampshades, frames, garbage cans...you name you can put toile on it.
For me, less is more.

I have mentioned redoing my bedroom.
Yeah, the one I haven't even perfected yet.
You can read about that post here and here.
Here is the fabric that I have (I literally HAVE it in my decorating closet, all 20 or so yards of it). I picked it because it has blue in it, it is a little toile-ish and I think it would look really nice with my regular red toile.
Wouldn't it be pretty with grayish blue walls?

I'll leave you with someone who doesn't have the same "less is more" opinion that I do:

Have a great week!

I will be linking up with Jenny and Alphabe-Thursday

Bid Farewell to Truvy's Beauty Shop

I told you all about my trial with Truvy.

For those of you younger than 30, Truvy (played by Dolly Parton) is a character in Steel Magnolias. She has a beauty shop in her garage that is the location of many scenes in the movie. If you haven't seen Steel Magnolias, go rent it. You will not be disappointed.

But I digress...

Last post of "M" week:

And I am going to show you some highlights of my master bedroom. To save you from getting distracted by clicking to another post
(I am the queen of getting distracted-but I am sure you haven't guessed that by now)
I am going to show a before then an after picture of different areas of the room.

Here is the far corner (this room is stinking huge) before:

Here is the corner after:

Here is the bed wall before:

And After:

Here was my nemesis...the hair washing sink:

Here was my attempt to work with what I had:

Buh-bye sink...

Finally...no sign of the sink or of Truvy anymore!

I'll post a better step-by-step of how I went from sink to shelf in a later post.

Here is the first thing I see when I walk into my bedroom:

I love my "mantle shelf." It is just some super cute corbels with 2 shelves wrapped in molding. (I used two shelves because I wanted it to be think and chunky and I already had the wood on hand). Here is a closer shot of the corbels ( I got them off ebay.)

Finally here is a shot of the room as you come in:

Let me tell you that rug is HUGE. I'm talking 12' by 18' We bought it at an auction last week for $85. Can you believe that?

After looking at all those pictures...I am my own worst critic...I am worried now that it is too colorful. I am second guessing my choices. I do plan on making another set of toile curtains for the windows by the chair (so all the curtains match-again, just using that I had). I still have some other areas to add some touches to. I am thinking the area above the headboard needs something.
But isn't there a fine line between just enough and too much? Help me find that balance!!

Anyway, thanks for stopping by! Go watch Steel Magnolias!

Linking up to Thrifty Decor Chick,



come by for a visit!