Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Our retreat

Oh, that Nester gal.  She does get me thinking.  I have to admit, she has influenced me in more ways than one – all good, mind you – and as completely and utterly corny as it sounds…..my life is different because of her blog.

I don’t know if she listed these in order of offense, but if she did, then the Nester has admitted to us that her number one decorating mistake was failing to make her master bedroom a priority.

Those are some pretty strong words, coming from a home style maven like she.  So, I took note.   After all, when her final results turn out looking like this, you tend to listen to her.  And seriously?  When she takes the time to write a manual on how to get stunning results for $200 or less….well, how do you come up with an excuse to put off this room any longer?

So, with the Nester holding my virtual hand, and with my browser windows open to this post and this post, I began.

Here is a glimpse of the bedding:

home improvements 005

All the linens on our bed, except for our Nautica duvet, came from Home Goods and cost less than $60 for a queen sheet set, extra white pillowcases, quilted pillow shams, and two new pillows.

The paisley print in the middle is what the sheet set sports, and the Nautica duvet that sits at the foot of the bed is that taupe-y/khaki/tan color in the front print.

Once the linens were chosen, I felt the freedom to begin looking for window treatments.

Even with how easy our dear Nester gal makes her mistreatments seem, I was still scared to attempt them myself, so I continued to waste my time look diligently for pre-made curtains.

No surprise that I didn’t find any that I liked, let alone loved.

So, on a whim, I dragged my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law and Seth to JoAnn’s, and headed to the interior fabrics.

Wouldn’t you know it?  I found a decorator fabric that I adored that would make perfect drapes.  And wouldn’t you know it?  The fabric was $39/yd.  And wouldn’t you know it?  I needed between 10-12 yards.  People, there was NO WAY THIS SIDE OF HEAVEN that I could justify that cost to Jim.  Especially since I don’t sew, so I was already going to have to sell him on the whole mistreatment concept anyways.

I wandered forlornly to the clearance section, browsing quickly over the fabrics that need no explanation for their presence in the cheap bin.

And then.

Golden light shone down onto a bolt of  gorgeous material.

And wouldn’t you know it?  It, too, was $39/yd.  Le sigh.

BUT.

It was $39/yd. marked down to $15, marked down to $6.

And that day they were having a green tag 50% off sale.

My fabric was only $3/yd.!!!  At this point, I wished the Nester were holding my REAL hand so that we could have done a little booty-shaking happy dance around the cutting table.

Despite the fact that the sales associate cut my fabric wrong (ahem, ma’am, have you not heard the phrase “measure twice, cut once?”), causing me to drive my posse 80 miles round trip out of the way to another JoAnn’s to pick up the last 3 yards I needed, I returned home that day with the perfect dressing for my two master bedroom windows.

I was on such a high from my fabric find, I decided to ride the confidence wave and get right at clipping-and-poofing.

home improvements 003

I don’t have trim yet that I love, so the edges are still raw and unfinished.  But you can hardly tell.

home improvements 004

The inner edge kind of folds in on itself, and the outer edge…well, see for yourself how great that looks:

home improvements 002

What’s that you say?  What is that pretty egg print?

Why, it’s more Nester inspiration, of course!

Remember when I won the L. Herbert prints from the Nester herself back in February?

Well, here they are between my beautifully imperfect windows:

home improvements 001

I LOVE how our room is coming together.  It’s not 100% done, which is why you are only seeing snippets of the finished product.  But I’m picking up some more items very soon, so a full reveal should be coming later this month.

But so far….what do you think?  Would Nester be proud of me?  I sure am!

37 comments:

The Nester said...

Writer Chic!

do you know how much I lurve you?

now you have inspired me. We moved 6 weeks ago and my room still looks like it did in this post:
http://nestingplacenc.blogspot.com/2009/06/flying-monkeys.html

HELP! The mirror is still tilted up against the wall like that. Preach it to me sister, it is time for me to get crackin'

Oh yeah, this comment should be about you and how WONDERFULLY, GLORIOUS your room looks!!! I bet your man is happy too.

And as soon as I hit publish I am going to stand up and do a little dance for your $3/yard fabric. it pays to be patient...

WELL DONE!!!!

Sara said...

What an improvement already, Mon! I loved the master suite before, but I can already tell that THIS is going to be phenomenal! WTG!

Audrey said...

Coming out of lurkdome to say it looks great! Our bedroom is a mix of random, unmatched furniture.

Mom to 2 Angels said...

The window treatments look great, or what I could see of them :) Very relaxing.

Jessie Weaver said...

It's so lovely. I am WAY guilty of doing NADA to our master bedroom (tiny as it may be).

Hopefully when we move, I will get a little more decorating oomph! I think I need to start studying The Nester.

mandie lane said...

I LOVE where you're going with this! And after this, you're going (coming) to Austin, where you're doing my poor, neglected, hideously ugly master bedroom.

But seriously- nice work! Love the fabric, love the prints, love the wall color.

Meredith said...

Monica, that looks beautiful! You manage to pack as much personality into a post as the Nester herself. I like your sense of humor and the way your room is shaping up.

Mrs. Frogster said...

wow I love love love your choices! I am especially swooning over your bedding and am immediately going to try to convert my hubby to "girly" prints...

and way to go on the fabric sale! I always seem to like the most expensive fabrics - but sales rock! And the window treatments look amazing.
You're right about the master bedroom being a priority - I unfortunately am sitting in mine now, a half-decorated wasteland of a room. I need to finish it!

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality said...

Great job, Monica, dropping over via Nester's tweet & wow, what a great job. Love it when a plan comes together so inexpensively. Master bedrooms are important to us & yours looks fantastic now.

Victoria Hayden said...

It is turning out beautiful! I too love Nester and L.Herbert Designs! I have in fact just ordered some of my own prints. Love the blue in your room and the fabric...Yay!! $3 a yd...that is a fantastic price and the fabric is gorgeous! My first time vist here, but will add myself to follow and be back often!

Hugs to you,
~Victoria~

Stacey @ The Blessed Nest said...

Came over from Nesting Place :) & wanted to tell you that I LOVE that fabric that you chose!! And $3 a yard, girl you really did good!! Your bedroom looks beautiful :)!
Blessings,
Stacey

diana@thedevinehome.com said...

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together AND at such deals that you jump for joy??? It's a beautiful thing!! Fabulous job. Beautiful!

Valerie said...

Next time you make a trip back home, can you stop by Pittsburgh and do something with my master bedroom? I have no decorating skills whatsoever, which explains the bare walls and bright blue carpet that was there when we moved in. ;)

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

What beautiful fabric. I love the treatment that you are doing. The prints are also beautiful. I look forward to seeing the completed room. Hugs, Marty

Di said...

Love it! Don't you just love when you score beautiful fabric? Now, my question is ... what is the name of the color on your walls and who makes it? I'm re-doing my bedroom and I love your walls.

Chris said...

I can't begin to tell you how envious I am over your $3 fabric! AND it's gorgeous! Now I'm so anxious to see the rest of the bedroom!

Melissa Stover said...

they're beautiful!

Gena said...

I love your room, too! It is gorgeous.

I'm with Di - I love the color of your walls. I must have 450 paint chips, all blues, and I can't decide what to use. I am also in the process of painting/redecorating my master bedroom. Would you share your color with us?

Michelle Whitlow said...

wow, looks great!! that's funny, I just bought material to do those curtains! but I'm a little confused, doesn't the top of the material pop forward?? i'm still trying to figure that one out...

Audra Laney said...

What awesome fabric! And you did a fabulous job on the mistreatments! I, too, have struggled finding the perfect fabric which won't cause me to take out a fat loan. But you've inspired me to continue looking and not settle for the faux silk Target curtains. Hooray! Terrific job!

Unknown said...

Came here from the Nester's. Love that wall colour and the fabric is gorgeous. What a deal~~~3 bucks a yard. Send some fabric luck my way please ;) Looking forward to seeing the rest of the room reveal.

Kelly said...

Love it! I especially like the paisley sheets, and it all looks amazing together!

Magic Brush said...

What's the wall color? It looks similar to what I just put on mine... per the Nester's suggestion...Oyster Bay!

Tina said...

Those window mistreatments look fab! :) And I do so love those eggy, nesty, whimsical photos that you won. They look wonderful on the wall between those gorgeous curtains.

I'm a newcomer to your blog, and I just spent the last hour reading old posts and crying at my desk here at work. (Don't worry - it's been a slow day! ^_^) I'm following you. Because you're a fabulous writer who writes from the heart. That sounds so cliche... but you do. You seem to have a knack for allowing what you're feeling to come pouring from within you into what you write. And that's not easy to do. I'm inspired by your bravery and moved by your story.

My husband and I are expecting our first child in Feb of 2010, and I admit this to you with a considerable amount of guilt, despite the fact that me being pregnant is a joyous circumstance for my family, myself and my husband. But on the off chance that you might have clicked over to my blog, I didn't want you to see the news and wonder why I didn't mention it. There's no way for me to even be able to fathom what you've been through. But you're in my thoughts and my prayers. And I'll be reading along eagerly to see how you're fairing - whether good or bad.

Cindi said...

Hi Monica! I am totally and utterly impressed with your decorating skills!! And your writing skills! And your lovely blog! I may just hop on over to Design-her for some help, myself.

Really, it is good to be checking back here; thanks for your sweet comment on my own pitiful blog. Though I have much catching-up to do, I plan to do just that; seems you've been through very much since I last checked in.

Life is hard and hectic sometimes, and setting this computer aside is often the first thing I do when things become overwhelming. I hope to grab it instead, and begin to write...

And on a Master Bedroom note: I am so frustrated with ours. (in a nice, thankful way.) It is just awful. The last room we ever attend to. I have just lately been building up the determination to change that, and plan to do so. AFTER I paint and redo our dining room, living room, and office. Which is the mess that I'm into as I type this.

Kendra said...

I am proud of you!!!! It looks GREAT! I love those colors...can't wait to see the finished product!

Hillary @ The Other Mama said...

I'd trade my lunch date for your bedroom!! haha!!
Love it! And especially love the prints! beautiful!

Had a great time today!! Can't wait to do it again soon. :)

Anonymous said...

I love it! Great job on the bedroom design, so far Monica! Have you ever read the Young House blog? Visit www.younghouselove.com. Great ideas! Great love story! Great house!

abeachcottage said...

oh I love these window treatments, in fact it all looks wonderful

great inspiration and thanks for that...

Sarah

Jaime @ A Place Out West said...

I love it! You've inspired me, too. I've been toying around with some thoughts of sprucing up my bedroom — now I want to get started.

Kelly @ Sufficient Grace Ministries said...

Looks great Monica...I am wanting to start re-decorating my (very small) master bedroom soon, too. Thanks for the inspiration. I need to visit this Nester that you speak of. She sounds amazing. I think I've been there once or twice. But...I need a refresher! Hope you are well, sweet friend...

Sabrina said...

Lovely! I adore your paint color. What is it?

Anonymous said...

When does the matching flat screen go on the wall?

Our room looks great!

"There's only one four letter word that will do Love you"

Anonymous said...

Everything looks great so far! What color are the walls? I think that is the color I'm looking for!

Thanks,
Dawn

Anonymous said...

Oooops! I just returned to your blog today (I came from Nester's place) to read your other posts and see that you've already answered LOTS of questions, including paint color. Thanks so much and you're in my prayers.

God Bless,
Dawn

MBRox said...

The blogging world is a small world! I just came upon Nester's blog yesterday trying to find a paint color and got linked to you. Thinking "wow, I remember writer chic and lawn boy blog from the SAL board" and sure enough, it's you! My son is 15 mo and I remember your story well. Hope you guys are doing great! Blessings, Maribel922 :)

MBRox said...

P.S. Love what you are doing in the room! I gotta get on our master bedroom :(