Painted Headboard

I talked about the hows and whys of changing the boys' room in this post.
 
Today I'm just going to explain how I made the red stripe on the painted headboard without measuring.

I did use a level to make the navy rectangle. Pretty standard stuff. But I wasn't about to measure and use the level and mark to figure out my red line. Too much work.

First, I bought one and half inch wide painter's tape because that is about how far in from the edge I wanted the line to be.

Source

I placed the tape right on the edge of the navy blue all the way around. Then to get a crisp edge I burnished the tape with my finger nail, but you could use a tool such as a popsicle stick. Just rub down the edge. I don't have a picture because it hadn't yet occurred to me to do a post on this when I did that stage. Oops.

(Walls aren't smooth and painter's tape is designed to grip very lightly, so you burnish to force the tape into all the mini divets in the wall.)

I settled on a 1.5" stripe of red, so I tore bits of tape and spaced them out around the first tape line. I lined the edge of the tape bits to the edge of the tape line.

Then it was time to take advantage of the straight line quality of tape. I simply connected the dots, so to speak. My next tape line was placed carefully along the edge of the tape bits.

I used an x-acto knife to trim tape that when over.

Once in place, I removed the tape bits which were now sandwiched between my long tape lines. I then burnished the tape.

For such a small space I just bought a sample size of red paint. It did take five coats to go over that dark navy color. But red usually takes at least three coats anyway.

Once the paint was dry, I pulled off the tape. I pull straight off. Not at an angle either way, just straight.      

Oh, Boys.

 Messy. Messy. Messy.

First, the begged to share a room. Weird, I know. Don't most kids beg for their own rooms?

So I said okay. We bought some bunk beds and put them together. But the mess just multiplied. The nice open floor space for playing just became a pile of dirty clothes and abandoned toys.

Enough. New plan. Un-bunk the beds, eliminate floor space and add storage.

If they aren't going to use the space for play, they don't need it at all. So, let's take a little tour.

Not only did we un-bunk the beds, but I painted a headboard on the wall with navy paint and a red stripe. 

Their names are wood letters that were spray painted silver. (They helped hang them, so don't judge the wonky placement.) Gabe likes blue and Malachi likes red, so it's been easy to work with.

They have a cute little roll top desk that we snagged at a church rummage sale. It makes a great spot for a lamp and clocks.

Opposite the beds is the wall of storage.

 Boys' toys are either tiny pieces or huge things that don't fit anywhere. For the small stuff, on each side, the bottom is a 6-cubbie storage unit from ClosetMaid. 

We have randomly selected colors over time because the companies change the colors all the time. This way when I need to replace one, I don't have to worry about matching what we already have.

The middle shelving unit was built by Matt.It has a twist due to a warped board that he didn't notice until it was almost done.

It's more obvious in person than pictures, but you can see it pull away from the wall in this shot.

 He hoped he could just anchor it to the wall, but it didn't work. So, this is temporary. He's building a better one.

But it is easy for the boys to see and select a bigger toy and slide it back on the shelf when done.

 The 3-cubbie units on either side of the shelves are also ClosetMaid, but these have adjustable shelves.

Great for the books, but we also drilled a hole in the backing to fit the cords for their DS chargers. A little container holds the games and they can store and charge their DSs now.

I painted the wall behind the storage navy to tie it together and tie into the hanging space. We added a double hook to each side so the boys can hang their coats and backpacks.

We put their dressers in the closet. They don't have much hanging stuff anyway. 

And yes, you can open all the drawers. The curtain add a pop of red for Malachi.

The walls are just a hodgepodge of favorite posters and their own art work. We left some space so we can add more.

I think the Charlie Harper alphabet above the storage is my favorite.

Malachi has had it since he was three and I was glad he still loves it because I do too. They are actually flash cards which I just hot glued to the wall.

 
So far they love it and want to keep it clean. I don't expect that to last forever, but I hope this arrangement keeps it all in check better.

Almost forgot. We have storage bins that slide under the beds which are storing things like Legos and art supplies, so those are handy too. Un-bunking the beds actually made more room for storing things!

Heads Up

For a very long time I have wanted a wooden headboard. And if not wood, I considered natural tones of linen, perhaps tufted.

Sad bed with no headboard. :(

So, I found this

and thought, headboard, of course!

(Actually, I thought pillows, but then soon realized that the colors were brilliant against my wall.)

I figured I'm not out much for trying it. If I don't like it, I can still keep the frame and replace it with linen or something.

Oh, I almost forgot, the fabric. It's actually a tablecloth I found at Marshall's.

Ugh, I hate to iron, but it needed it.

So, Mateo built the frame for the headboard by screwing a 60 x 29 in. piece of plywood to a frame constructed from 2x2's.

I laid out my tablecloth, good side down. Then laid batting on top. Now I got bamboo batting which I thought was cool, but it pulls apart too easily. Like it started shredding as I tried to unroll it. It was uber soft though and would make great fill.

Once that was laid out, I centered my wood frame and then it was time to break out the staple gun.

I pulled it really tight and then stapled on the back of the frame. 

I did this all the way around, treating the corners like I would gift wrap.

Mateo hung another 2x2 on the wall as a cleat and then we hung the headboard.

Dresser on the left is Matt's, and that is relatively clean for him. :)

It is a lot of pattern for someone who originally wanted a neutral headboard, but I am really loving it. It looks great with the wall color!

 A little before action there; and then after...

I think I'm going to change the pillow cases to something that pops a little more.

Switcheroo

Our room layout wasn't working for us. Matt and I are both clutter-y people and a bit lazy. But I can't stand messes, so I'm always trying to come up with new organizational tricks that help out while just working with who we actually are.

Remember when there were all those organizing shows on TV awhile back? Yeah, I love organizing, but no matter how great a system is, if you have to completely change, it's never going to last.

 We needed  hooks for clothes, and the old layout didn't allow for it, so clothes were left wherever, just looking messy. The truth, when I wear a pair of pants to church for a couple hours, or when I wear a pair of jeans, I'm not going to wash them right away (it's really hard on your clothes), but I'm too lazy to put them away too. So, many years ago I realized hooks were the way to go.

So all that over-sharing was leading up to switching the bedroom around. We were worried that furniture might only fit well the way it was, so here's a little trick if you want to move furniture without moving it.

Make a scale drawing of the room and cut out scaled paper models for the furniture. Then you can rearrange the room to your heart's content without any heavy lifting.

Occasionally I think an arrangement works on paper and then I don't like it in real life, but overall it's a nice little helper. Plus the kids will be entertained for quite awhile too. :)

In this case, it worked out really well.

We actually like it better. We have our hooks now.

The spacing is a little tight between the dresser and the bed, but it's not bad at all. The drawers can still open fully and I can walk normally through the space.

(Tight spaces don't cause much fuss for us. In Boston, we had an apartment with a long, skinny bathroom and you had to turn sideways and shuffle past the tub to get to the toilet.)

I keep debating about whether to make an upholstered headboard or a wood-slat headboard. One day I'll decide and get 'er done. I know exactly what I want for new bedding...I saw it two years ago...and of course I can't find it now! So, I'm just waiting to find something I love.

(Please note how messy Matt's dresser is. Yeah, there is no hope. I've been trying for 11+ years now. Really, I've given up and just come to terms with it. It's who he is.) :)

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Master Bedroom Color Wow

The power of paint never ceases to amaze me. We hadn't touched our bedroom since we moved here, and in fact, hadn't done much for our room in many years.

So here is the before:

The green walls were there when we moved in. It was nice and bright, but I really wanted something deep and dark and cozy.

I bought that quilt 9 years ago with the plan that we would have a dark room. But we rented for so long was never practical to paint.

Gabe actually found the perfect color. He collects paint chips every time we go to a home improvement store. :) 

 

The moment I started I knew I loved it. That doesn't always happen, you know?

Love it! I can't stop admiring it when I'm in there. 

It even makes the door and closet doors look great and I figured I needed to paint them or something. So glad I did the walls first.

The color is French Gray by Glidden. Which incidentally I also really liked the low VOC formula.

We still need to actually decorate. And just ignore Matt's messy dresser. After 11 years, I have given up. I have come to terms with it. :) He needs a new dresser, I need a new night stand, we need a headboard and I'm thinking new sheets and curtains.

But for now, I just love going in there and snuggling down.

This post may be linked at the following parties (for their Blog Buttons see my Link Love page): (M) C.R.A.F.T., Amaze Me Monday, Sumo's Sweet Stuff,  (T) A Little Birdie Told Me  Stories of A to Z, The Blackberry Vine, How To's Day , Type A, Amaze Me August, , Show Me What Ya Got,  (W) Wow Me,  Blue Cricket Design, What I Whipped Up, Wicked Awesome Wednesday, Sweet Peas & Bumblebees (TH)   Creative Juice, Thrifty 101 , Smilemonsters , Everything But the Kitchen Sink, Shabby Chic Cottage, Thrifty Thursdays, House of Hepworth's,  (F) Fingerprints on the Fridge, Furniture Feature Friday,  Lovely Crafty Weekend , Remodelaholic, For the Kids Fridays, , Craft Goodies, (Sat) Tatertots and Jello , Anything Goes , Funky Junk Interiors (Sun) Creative Blog & Hop, Sundae Scoop, Under the Table and Dreaming