I have a Heron Problem

Apparently I have a huge addiction these days. I posted earlier about the Audubon print that I was having framed. I got it yesterday and it turned out so beautiful. I can't wait to hang it!

Please excuse the horrible iPhone picture!

I had it matted in a deep navy and the frame is a rich chocolate brown with gold accents. The frame colors match a round mirror that I have that will be going in my bedroom, so I think it will compliment it nicely.

We are moving to another office and I was asked to find some art to purchase to put in some of the various offices. I went over to the new office yesterday to see how the gradual move was progressing. Our official move day is Friday. My office is looking like a hot mess at the moment and still missing a few pieces of furniture.This picture doesn't do it justice because my office is quite large with three windows across the front, which I am excited about because I am going to put up a bird feeder right outside so I can do some bird watching. Ha!

But in my search to find some prints to hang in my office, I came across these:

I told you I have a huge heron problem! However, I tried to get away from my beloved birds to search for a few other prints for the other offices. I found some landscape paintings of St. Marks and the lighthouse, a few paintings of the Tallahassee Capital and Governor's Mansion and a few tiger pictures, since that is the "mascot" of our product that we manufacture. So I spent most of my day shopping online, which I won't complain about.

Funny thing about what I came across while looking for artwork. I went online to Kirkland's to see what kind of art they had and I came across this chest:

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Does anyone else recognize this knock off? The moment I saw it, I was like - hey that's like the one at Pottery Barn!


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The one at Kirkland's was only like $280 if I remember correctly. The one from Pottery Barn will set you back $700 big ones. So, if you like the look, then save yourself $420 and go grab the one from Kirkland's!

Now that I have admitted to my heron problem, I guess I will get back to work.

Head Case

I got a hair-brained idea one day. And it all started because I was bored and went shopping downtown. Of course, I had to go in the fabulous fabric store to see if they had anything new. I was actually looking for fabric to make some pillows for the couch or curtains for the kitchen. Instead, I found this.

A beautiful silk plaid and a nice floral. (yes, I am grandma-y. Love me some plaid and florals. Get over it.) If you notice it is the pink version from this previous post. There is a method to my madness.

So my attention turned to my upholstered headboard.

This is the before. It has seen its better days after Joseph and I have been leaning up against it for two years. I don't think that I ever shared how I made this. Really simple. I simply went and got a piece of OSB from Lowes. Just plain old 7/16", Georgia-Pacific, Hosford, Florida made OSB. (I used to work at the plant were it is made, so I always look for our product, and I had to make sure it came from that plant before I bought it. I told you I was weird.) I think it might have set me back 3 or 4 bucks. Good for me, not good for GP's bottom line. Then I got some 2" foam from my local craft store, along with some batting. I cut the OSB to the width that I wanted and got to work. I took spray adhesive and glued the foam onto the board. Next, I wrapped it with batting and secured that in place with a staple gun. Then came the fabric. The damask in the picture above is really showing up against the camera flash, but it is much more subtle in normal light. After the fabric was stapled in place, I nailed on some cheap boards that I also picked up at Lowes that I cut to the correct height. Wah-lah. Instant headboard.

But I was ready for a change, so I got to work on changing things up. At first, I was going to make a slipcover for the headboard, since the legs were nailed into place and I didn't want to take the time to take them off. But I decided against that simply because I was too lazy to get my sewing machine out. So I just decided to work around the legs.

First, I laid the fabric out on the floor.

Then I placed the headboard on top and got to stapling.

That's it. All done. Pretty simple, yeah. And its great because you can instanty change your look with just a couple yards of fabric!

Here it is all finished.

My plan was to pick up a duvet in either white or a soft green or tan, but like most best laid plans, they change. Not long after I recovered this headboard, my husband and I decided to go get my king size mattress from my parents house. We hadn't done it before because my bedroom furniture that is still at my parents is extremely massive and our little room now just won't hold the bed, but it will hold the mattresses. I do believe that our new bed has saved our marriage. Really. We now have room to get away from each other while we sleep. The three dogs (I know) now have room to spread out on their blanket away from us. So I am no longer kicking my precious babies all night, waking me from a deep sleep. It is awesome. So there you have it, a little headboard change and bed hopping!

The Hunt for a New Couch

I have started the exhaustive search for a new couch. As much as I love the ones I have now, they won't be lasting too much longer. The couch is broken and is currently being held up in the middle by a small coke bottle. So yes, I need a new one!! I have seriously been considering getting a sectional from Pottery Barn. But I can't decide if I want to go with the upholstered one or the slipcovered one. I know the slipcovered one has the advantage of being able to come off to be washed, but I'm just not sure. Or am I even a sectional kind of gal? But I guess if Candace Olson is a big fan of them, who am I to question her wonderful taste?

Slipcovered

Upholstered

Then the question begins on what color do I go with? Twill or brushed canvas? Suede or herringbone? White or cream? Tan or caramel? It goes on and on. I do know that I want it to be a neutral color. I would love to have a white couch, but I know that we are not the we-can-have-white-furniture-and-not-get-it-dirty type people. I have requested some swatches from Pottery Barn, so I guess I will be better able to decide what fabric/color to go with!! I have to be able to see and feel the fabric. I'm not the kind to drop a small fortune on a piece of furniture sight unseen! Like yesterday, I ran over to Haverty's just to check out what they had. I saw a sectional from across the showroom and thought it looked nice. Then I got up close. Bad. Very bad. I don't know what kind of crazy fabric the manufacturer had picked out to use. It was hideous. It was like a cross between a herringbone, chenille, popcorn-y type hot mess. I said no with a quickness. So...the search continues!!