Upholstered Bed - Step 2

When I got to my parents house, I found my dad had finished the frame for the headboard.  First step, vacuum up all the excess dust.

Next step, start filling the cavity with 2" foam.  I've heard a great way to do this is with an electric carving knife, but the one I received as a bridal shower gift is packed away in our storage unit, so a square and straight edge had to suffice.  For those who know of my exacto knife mishap a couple months before the wedding will be happy to know I was careful.  No trips to the emergency room or stitches for me!

Figure out the arch was a bit more difficult,

and it wasn't as smooth as I would have liked.

 

Add batting and tack with a few staples.

Especially into the cavity that will attach to the bed portion.

Once we laid the fabric down, we realized the wrinkles in the batting were coming through, so we gave it an iron. Being concerned about melting batting or foam, my mom used a low temp and added a pillowcase into the mix.

Much better.

I started in on the nailhead trim, and that quickly turned into a disaster.  Every nail was starting to bend (literally I bent 17 before I got really frustrated).  I talked to my dad, and he suggested we pre-drill the holes for the nails, but as it was getting dark (and the Patriots were taking a beating) we decided to call it a night and re-visit later. 

The UPS lady brought me ....

... the first project for the house.  Well part of it.  The electrical components are coming next week.  Can't believe we're only four weeks out!

Art I'm digging

I've been watching the Nate Berkus Show since it aired back in September, and have been drawn to some artwork on his set.  I couldn't find any photos of just the artwork, so here's some random photos I found via google search.

I saved these images as a reminder of the artwork I liked, and kind of forgot about them; well until I was looking on Crate and Barrel's website, and saw this.

The yellow, blue and red all matched up (in a different frame) but there was no sign of the large green diamond one displayed on Nate's set. 

I started to google around some more and found this image:

Bingo, the large green diamond in the bottom left corner.  There was also a reference, Chariklia Zarris.  I googled this name and found a number of prints, in different sizes, on art.com.

I want to include this type of symmetrical, graphic artwork somewhere in the house. 

• I could picture three of these prints hanging in a row in our foyer (perhaps with moulding similar to what Nate has). 
• I could picture nine of these, frameless in a grid pattern, in my home office
• I could picture six of these hanging in our dining room, or over our bed

I don't know if I'll buy some prints from art.com (not digging the frame option from C&B) or try to free-hand some of these patterns in a different size or different colors.  I think I'll have a better feel when we're in the house.  In the meantime, I'm on the lookout for square frames.  Maybe like these frames from IKEA ... unless I can score some frames with 40% coupons from Michael's!

20% off

A few of the items I've picked up in the past couple days ... at 20% off.  I love sales!

Light fixture for the dining room, from West Elm

Washing Machine from Samsung

Dryer from Samsung

Refrigerator from Samsung

The light fixture should be here by the end of the week, and I've scheduled delivery of appliances for the day we close.  So happy to have the large purchases crossed off my list!

Dining Room Decisions

I've read a number of design books and blogs that discuss the proper sizing of a chandelier.  Two formulas I've seen have been:

1.  Divide the width of your dining room table by 2

2.  Add the room's length and width in feet

If I were to follow these "rules" I should be looking for a light fixture that is between 21" and 22" in diameter.  I keep leaning towards a drum shade pendant, and found one on overstock that I like (and was 22") but it seemed overly "white" to me, and I wanted to add color and texture to the room, so I hadn't pulled the trigger.

Then, I saw someone mention the Short Drum Pendant at West Elm, the only problem is, it's 24".  I decided to stop by the store to see it in person, and I love it.  It's big.  Then again a 22" wouldn't be much smaller.

As I walked around the store, I saw the Large Rectangle Hanging Capiz Pendant, but in gray.  I liked it as well, and it seems like it would be a better size, but I'm afraid it will be out of style in a couple of years.

The best news?  West Elm takes Pottery Barn gift cards, and I'm sitting on $125 worth of Pottery Barn gift cards.  I'm leaning towards the drum shade, because I think it's more "timeless" but with the way I change my mind, it may be a surprise until something is hanging in my dining room!

Let there be light!

As of Friday, we have electricity! That's right, those are lights on  in our kitchen!

Another great surprise this week was the addition of landscaping.

There's a ton of little things that need to be done; like closet organizers, backsplash, painting the front door, installing appliances, carpet, etc. but the house is pretty much done.  The goal is have all the little items done in the next couple of weeks, at which point I will go through and create a punch list. 

It seems crazy to me how quickly it's gone up, and now we need to wait five weeks and three days (although who's counting?) until we move in.  I asked (ok almost begged and pleaded with the builder) to move in earlier, but they told me that it takes the city two to three weeks to get all the inspectors through for the final blessing, and certificate of occupancy.  I guess I need to be patient.

In the meantime, I picked up a little something to get me ready for the move.

Time to start packing up all non-essential items!

Upholstered Bed - Step 1

I've mentioned a few times that I've been eyeing the Colette bed from Crate & Barrel, but couldn't bring myself to pay $1800 for the king size version right as we're about to close on the house.

I read a number of tutorials (see prior post for links).  After reviewing my revised plans with my dad, who has built furniture pieces in the past and does an amazing job doing wood work, we came up with a game-plan (that's changing as we build :)). 

I had purchased the fabric, foam and nailhead trim, and asked my dad if I could go "shopping in his garage" for the lumber.  He told me he didn't have the pieces.  Ummm ... what do you think?  For the record, I'm sure my mother would have a heart attack if she knew I posted my father's wood obsession on the internet!

Step one was to create a template for the top of the headboard.  One of the tutorials I read said to free-hand the design (which I couldn't bring myself to do, because I've always been more of a geometry kind of girl than an artist).  Another tutorial I read had some suggestion on creating a grid, and free-handing it from there.  My dad taught me a trick he learned "back in the day", he cut a few strips of thin leuon, and bent until we go the "curve" I was looking for.

Yes, that is sand in my hair.  I went to the beach with my nephews earlier in the day, and they wanted to play "let's bury Aunt Heather, even though she's wearing jeans and a fleece top"

My dad told me to take the template home and "live with it" for a few days, to make sure I loved the curvature.

Meanwhile my four year old nephew wanted to "help".  This was taken before what I will refer to as "the splinter incident of 2010"

I came back a few days later and we got to work - I apologize some steps are missing.  My photographer (i.e. my mom) missed a few steps.

I started by finding the center point.  Yes.  I had to do math on the board.  I can't do math in my head.  My accountant (i.e. Erik) can and it drives him crazy that I have to get out pencil and paper (or plywood) or trust a handy calculator for basic calculations.

We traced the template on the main piece of plywood.

Then we cut another "template" from 2x4 (these would be the missing pictures!)

Next I pulled out the foam, and we figure out how much we're going to need to build up what I will refer to as "the border"

We cut a bunch of blocks to support the arch.  Perhaps overkill, but I wouldn't be able to convince my dad of that.

I learned how to use the nail gun.

Then my dad finished off the bottom.

At this point it was starting to get dark, so we packed up.  I hope to get over there this weekend to finish up the base and get the headboard upholstered.  We will be partially building the base and finalizing it when Erik and I officially close (six weeks from today!!!).  In the meantime I figure the upholstering and nailhead trim are going to be the most time-consuming part of the process, so I want to get that done.

A close-up of the fabric and nailhead trim I'll be using.

And the faux-silk drapery panels I'm considering.



Hopefully I'll have more progress pictures soon, so stay tuned!