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Sep 8 2014

songbird’s room : all in the details

Posted by hayley
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Sometimes friends see rooms in my house and think I can help them pull together something similar on the fly. What they forget is that it takes me months to decide on, shop for and execute the design. My 2-year stint as an artist at an interior design firm after college taught me a little of the trade, but I make no claims to be a professional. I have to really live in a space to best figure out what the heck to do with it.

Songbird's Room Reveal  |  greyhouseharbor.com

Putting Songbird’s room together has been so much fun the past few months (okay, almost a year). And by fun, I mean effort. So please excuse the avalanche of photos that follow; I feel an urge to over-document!  If you want more details on a specific project, scroll to the link gallery at the end of this post.

Songbird's Room Reveal  |  greyhouseharbor.com

After installing this ceiling shade pendant light, I used white banner paper to create a 3-dimensional “slip cover” to add a bit of whimsy.

Songbird's Room Reveal  |  greyhouseharbor.com

In our house, your 5th birthday is a big deal because that is the right of passage for gum-chewing. When Handsome and I bought our first home, this gumball machine was a housewarming gift from my Dad (he knows my deep love of candy). It got a color makeover and now is Songbird’s coveted accessory, complete with a stash of quarters she earns from odd jobs.

The painting is a Songbird original and I scored the antique nightstand on Craigslist for $10, then painted it.

Songbird's Room Reveal  |  greyhouseharbor.com

Songbird's Room Reveal  |  greyhouseharbor.com

Candles have come a long way in my day. A couple battery powered pillars inside this lantern look real with their wax exterior and flickering flames. It’s our new favorite nightlight.

Songbird's Room Reveal  |  greyhouseharbor.com

Songbird's Room Reveal  |  greyhouseharbor.com

Songbird is learning to tell time on an analogue clock, so I found this one at Target for her room — perfect color, but too small. To make it appear larger, I painted a floral “frame” on the wall around it using the same color as the clock.

Songbird's Room Reveal  |  greyhouseharbor.com

This drawing is a chalk pastel work I did in college of koi fish. It’s been sitting in the attic for years, until Handsome pointed out that it would fit great in here. Right now I think my kids totally take my talents for granted; they assume everyone’s parent can paint a mural or sew up an elaborate costume the night before Halloween. But I like to think that someday they will reminisce upon those things and remember fondly growing up surrounded by walls filled with their Mom’s art.

Songbird's Room Reveal  |  greyhouseharbor.com

Songbird's Room Reveal  |  greyhouseharbor.com

A magnetic dry erase chore chart and shallow knob-hooks make use of an otherwise dead space behind her door. And washi tape adds a pop of unexpected color along the door edge!

Songbird's Room Reveal  |  greyhouseharbor.com

Can you believe this gorgeous desk was once abandoned in an alley waiting for the garbage man?! The horror. A pink desk was Songbird’s only specific request; all it needed was paint and a handful of cute new knobs.

Songbird's Room Reveal  |  greyhouseharbor.com

Songbird's Room Reveal  |  greyhouseharbor.com

A clear acrylic makeup organizer is just the right size to hold Songbird’s craft supplies. Markers, tape, and a desk drawer full of white paper and stickers give her a special place to sit and create. It’s the only thing that gets her through my mandated daily “quiet time.” Hey kid, you don’t have to nap anymore, but Momma still needs a sanity break.

Songbird's Room Reveal  |  greyhouseharbor.com

Songbird's Room Reveal  |  greyhouseharbor.com

These shells I bought from a gal on Craigslist were super ugly at first, but there’s very little that spraypaint can’t fix.

Songbird's Room Reveal  |  greyhouseharbor.com

Songbird's Room Reveal  |  greyhouseharbor.com

This smile was worth the effort!

Songbird's Room Reveal  |  greyhouseharbor.com

 click text

 

Upholster a Panel Bed
Shade Pendant Lighting
How to sew a kids bean bag chair in 30 minutes
Sew a Kids Bean Bag Chair


Rebuild a Lampshade
“Big Helper” Board
Wood Sunburst Mirror


Washi Tape Door Edges
Make a Fabric Garland
Paint a Throw Pillow


Floating Bookshelves
Corkboard Revamp
Ombre Scallop Tutorial


Paper Feather Garland
Pride of Ownership
Hang Keyhole Hardware


Desk Rescue


Tags: songbird, songbirds room
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3 comments
Sep 7 2014

songbird’s room : before & after

Posted by hayley
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It’s been a long road of DIY madness, but I’m thrilled to announce the completion of Songbird’s room. I adore it and, more importantly, so does she. Now the space is as light-hearted and playful as the girl who dreams there.

BEFORE:

songbird's room : before & after  |  greyhouseharbor.com

AFTER:

songbird's room : before & after  |  greyhouseharbor.com

OTHER SIDE BEFORE:

songbird's room : before & after  |  greyhouseharbor.com-Songbirds-Room-Before-After-2.jpg

AND AFTER:

songbird's room : before & after  |  greyhouseharbor.com

Handsome has given me a hard time about the many, many months it’s taken me to finish just this one room, but nearly every single thing in here was done all by muhself, by hand.

I painted the room (yes, it was already white, but I re-painted it in eggshell finish because flat paint drives me crazy), installed the crown molding, painted & upholstered the bed, fabric-wrapped the boxspring, handpainted the scallop accent wall, sewed the beanbag chair, revamped the corkboard, salvaged and refinished the desk and the nightstand, rebuilt lampshades, hardwired new lighting, handpainted the clock detailing, sewed new pillowcases, sewed and painted accent pillows, built a wall mirror, strung a fabric garland, played art director for a tiny artist, made a chore chart, spraypainted a gumball machine and shopped for all the other finishing touches.

So yeah, it took me awhile to squeeze all that in between life’s other happenings. Go figure. ;)

Tomorrow I’ll post a bunch more close ups!

Tags: songbird, songbird sillies, songbirds room
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4 comments
Sep 3 2014

how to upholster a panel bed

Posted by hayley
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For the first 11 years of marriage, Handsome and I slept on the Queen-sized mattress that I bought in college. I spent a whopping $300 on that mattress set at a discount store back in the summer of 2001 because, well, it was the most I could afford at that time. Neither Handsome or I realized just how saggy and alarmingly uncomfortable it had become until we finally bought ourselves a real adult bed for our anniversary just last year.

Part of the reason I held onto the Queen for so long was that I really liked our headboard/footboard. It was one of our first big purchases as a married couple — sturdy, handsome, name-brand, not too feminine, not too masculine.

how to upholster a panel bed  |  greyhouseharbor.com

When we super-sized to a King, it no longer fit our mattress. Originally I had planned on selling it to have money to build a bed for Songbird’s room, but after a few sub-par Craigslist offers, I realized that *DUH* I already had a perfect bed that I liked. Why drive myself cray trying to build something that would never be as high-quality as this already was?!

Painting it was step one. The dark wood was awesome for our room, but it was a little heavy for a 5-yr-old. Not gonna lie, those 4 coats on all sides were a huge pain, but now it looks like a whole new bed! The crisp white was perfect, except that it sorta blended in with her white walls and white bed linens.

how to upholster a panel bed  |  greyhouseharbor.com

Both the headboard and footboard have a slightly inset panel that I decided would be great for upholstering, but I also didn’t want anything too terribly damaging or permanent. Once I found this cute paisley tablecloth for $11 at TJ Maxx, I knew exactly what to do!

how to upholster a panel bed  |  greyhouseharbor.com

This will work for any bed that has a panel design. Measure the inside of the paneled areas and cut 1/8″ plywood to size. I was lucky that my panels were perfectly rectangular, but if yours are curved or irregular you can use large craft paper to make a pattern (like these guys did).

how to upholster a panel bed  |  greyhouseharbor.com

Double up some low-loft quilt batting, lay boards on top and cut around them, leaving the batting an inch or so larger than the board.

how to upholster a panel bed  |  greyhouseharbor.com

Figure out how your fabric will best fit the board. I was lucky to find a pattern that was free-form and forgiving, but be careful if you use stripes or something else that would need more attentive aligning. Lay the fabric flat, then lay low-loft batting on top of that, then your board atop that. Again, cut around the edge, leaving the fabric 1″ larger than the batting.

how to upholster a panel bed  |  greyhouseharbor.com

how to upholster a panel bed  |  greyhouseharbor.com

Use a staple gun with shallow staples (you don’t want them going through the front) to attach the batting and fabric all the way around the board. Be generous with the staples, as this will give you a cleaner fold. And staple as close to the edge of the board as possible.

how to upholster a panel bed  |  greyhouseharbor.com

Trim the fabric/batting close to the staples.

how to upholster a panel bed  |  greyhouseharbor.com

I didn’t want the staples to scratch my paint job, so I also covered them with tape.

how to upholster a panel bed  |  greyhouseharbor.com

You probably know about how awesome Command Strips are and how well they work without damaging your hanging surface. But did you know they also make a “velcro” version? Instead of having one strip that’s sticky on both sides, each strip is sticky on just one side while the other side has a plastic velcro effect.

how to upholster a panel bed  |  greyhouseharbor.com

I stuck one strip to the corner of each board.

how to upholster a panel bed  |  greyhouseharbor.com

Velcro a mate to each corner strip, remove the paper from that sticky side, carefully align your board inside the bed panel and press!

how to upholster a panel bed  |  greyhouseharbor.com

Wood, fabric, batting and Command strips … project materials cost me just under $35. Now, should I ever want to change the fabric for a new look or remove the upholstering entirely, I’ll just pull the board off. And because these aren’t heavily abused parts of the bed, they’ve remained stuck with no problems.

Re-purposing furniture I already own makes me happy, happy, happy!

how to upholster a panel bed  |  greyhouseharbor.com

Tags: diy, diy home improvement, songbirds room
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6 comments
Aug 17 2014

the boob job ( shade pendant tutorial )

Posted by hayley
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Raise your hand if you currently have or have ever had one of these ugly lighting offenders in your home. Ok good, so it’s not just me.

diy shade pendant light  |  greyhouseharbor.com

I’m not entirely sure why builders insist on these boob fixtures as their lighting of choice, but I’m going to guess it has something to do with their general blandness and low cost. We used to have a whopping 8 of these mounted throughout the house. But now we’re down to 7, thanks to a  “reduction operation” (sorry for the continued reference, but seriously, how can you not see it).

diy shade pendant light  |  greyhouseharbor.com

Songbird’s room definitely needed some lighting with more personality. I debated for a long time between a pendant light or a ceiling fan, but ultimately the shade pendant won me over. All the worthwhile fixtures I found online were well over $200 and therefore clearly outside my budget.

If you can’t buy, then DIY!

*** Before you begin any electrical project, be sure to turn off the appropriate breaker. Not just the light switch, but the actual breaker please! ***

Stuff you’ll need: White Hanging Light Swag Kit from Lowes, 2-in-1 canopy kit, screwdriver, wire cutter/stripper, wire nuts, Sharpie

1. Remove the boob flush-mount light with care, disconnecting it from any wires in the ceiling.

diy shade pendant light  |  greyhouseharbor.com

2. Unbox your “hanging light swag kit” from Lowes (I looked for it at Home Depot, but no luck). You’ll notice that this kit is actually designed to be plugged into an outlet. So if you wanna just plug your light in, than it’s ready to go. However, this tutorial covers how to hard wire it instead.

diy shade pendant light  |  greyhouseharbor.com

3. Use your wire cutters to snip the cord just above the light toggle, removing the toggle and the plug end. This photo makes it look like I’m leaving only a small length of cord, but there’s actually several feet left.

diy shade pendant light  |  greyhouseharbor.com

4. I picked up this lovely over-sized lampshade at Home Goods/ TJ Maxx for $16. You can use any lampshade you want, but it must have harp hardware on the top like this and not the kind that goes down inside.

diy shade pendant light  |  greyhouseharbor.com

That’s because the swag kit is designed to screw onto the small center fitting like this! Neat, right?!

diy shade pendant light  |  greyhouseharbor.com

4. Next, open your canopy kit and spread out the contents. You’ll only be using the canopy, support bracket, and the 4 silver screws (2 of which have white caps on them).

diy shade pendant light  |  greyhouseharbor.com

diy shade pendant light  |  greyhouseharbor.com

5. With the bend of the bracket facing up, slide the cut end of your cord through the hole. Hold the bracket up to the ceiling and adjust the cord length to your preferred shade height. Use a Sharpie to mark the cord just above the bracket.

diy shade pendant light  |  greyhouseharbor.com

diy shade pendant light  |  greyhouseharbor.com

6. Take the bracket back off and attach the long screws with the white caps to the inner most holes on each side.

diy shade pendant light  |  greyhouseharbor.com

7. Slide the canopy onto the wire, followed by the bracket (bend facing up) and tie a tight double knot where you made your Sharpie mark.

diy shade pendant light  |  greyhouseharbor.com

8. Cut the cord about 3″ past the knot. With your wire cutters, snip between the two wires at the top and gently pull them apart. Then use your wire strippers to carefully remove the plastic from the last 1″ of the wires to expose the metal filament.

diy shade pendant light  |  greyhouseharbor.com

diy shade pendant light  |  greyhouseharbor.com

9. A quick lesson in electrical work… There is always a live wire and neutral wire. Match the two up and you’re in business. Match the wrong ones together and it won’t work. But how do you know which is which?

Typically a live wire will be red or black and neutral wire will be white or grey. A ground wire is used as a safety net for an electrical short, but they aren’t necessary for low voltage lighting. The ground wire will be bare copper, green or yellow.

In my ceiling I had 4 wires because it was able to accept a ceiling fan as well as a light fixture. The RED is my live wire, COPPER is my ground, WHITE is my neutral, and BLACK is an additional live wire to work a ceiling fan from a separate switch. Don’t be afraid to touch the wires, as they have no current running to them because you turned off the breaker, right? Riiiiight?!

diy shade pendant light  |  greyhouseharbor.com

Since I do not need the ground or the black fan wire, I tucked them back into the ceiling hole. Be sure and keep a wire nut (red cap) on any additional live wires.

diy shade pendant light  |  greyhouseharbor.com

10. Unscrew the shade from the swag kit. It’s easier to hook this up with less weight hanging off your wires.

The cord you stripped also has a live and neutral wire, but it isn’t color coded. One plastic tube will be smooth and the other is slightly ribbed. The smooth wire is live, the ribbed is neutral. Another way to tell for this cord is that the black writing is on the live wire. Stick both raw ends of the appropriate wires together in a wire cap and twist until it’s tight.

diy shade pendant light  |  greyhouseharbor.com

11. Go turn on your breaker and your light switch to check your work!

diy shade pendant light  |  greyhouseharbor.com

12. Flip the switch back off. Use the two short screws to attach the bracket back to the holes in the ceiling.

diy shade pendant light  |  greyhouseharbor.com

13. Slide the canopy up the cord and stick the two long screws down through the holes. Secure with the white caps.

diy shade pendant light  |  greyhouseharbor.com

diy shade pendant light  |  greyhouseharbor.com

14. Re-attach your lamp shade and you’re done!

wpid4385-how-to-make-a-shade-pendant-light.jpg

Already a vast improvement; no more body parts on the ceiling, yay! All said and done, this beauty cost only $39!!! That bargain price alone should be motivation to try it in your home too.

She’s a bit of a plain jane right now, but check back for my idea on how to up the spunk!

diy shade pendant light  |  greyhouseharbor.com

Tags: diy, lighting, songbirds room, tutorials
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I'm Hayley. Wife and mother by day, DIY enthusiast by night. Fueled by sweet tea and jelly beans, I own power tools and know how to use them. Consider yourself warned.

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