My Country/Cottage Guest Bedroom

I haven't posted in over a week-  I just started a new job, and I have to start at 6:00 a.m., so I've been very busy and very exhausted.  I have to get used to a whole new schedule, after being a stay- at- home wife for a year.  Don't get me wrong, I loved being at home and doing all the projects and things that I just never had the time or energy for, when I was a Retail Manager, but I really missed the social interaction and of course, the money is an added bonus.  I am working on the Merchandise Execution Team for Home Depot-
 ( this is there own in-store team of reps, that service different departments within the store).  The great thing is, it's Mon - Fri, no nights or weekends ( yippee!!!!)  Anyways, that's why I haven't had time to post anything until now.

 This week, I'm going to do a post, mostly pictures, of one of my decorating projects from several years ago.  We have a basement apartment in our house, which we used to rent out, but now we use the extra space for ourselves.  I have my art studio/sewing room/craft room, in what used to be the kitchen, a
 rec- room ( yet to be remodeled),  a spare bathroom ( which my husband was banished to, as soon as it became vacant- I think separate bathrooms is a great thing in a marriage), and a second guest bedroom. 

The spare bedroom in the basement has gone through many transformations over the years- I lived in the basement apartment many years ago, and it was painted a bright turquoise blue ( this was in style in the early 1990's). Before that, is was white, with little butterflies cut out of wallpaper , pasted all over the walls.  This was not my decorating idea, but that of the former owner ( I'm sure it was a little girls room).  Then it went back to white, after we rented it out to a nice young man ( turquoise just wasn't his thing- I wonder why?)  When we finally stopped renting out the basement, I had a great time decorating this bedroom- I decided on a cute country/cottage theme, in cream and shades of blue.  Unfortunately, I don't have any before pictures, but I'll share the after pictures with you here:

The bed in this room was my first ever trash-to-treasures project.  My husband found the bed, abandoned at a favourite walking spot in the valley near our home.  He came home one day and told me there was a wrought- iron bed just left in the field- it was dark green at the time, and only had 3 of the 4 finials.  I told him to bring it home, and I new right away I wanted to spray paint it in a nice creamy white.  It took two cans of spray paint, because I didn't use a primer on it (I've since learned that you can save lots of time and money by using a spray primer first).  It was so dark, I didn't think I'd ever get it covered, but it turned out pretty good for a free headboard and footboard.  Then we bought a really inexpensive wooden frame and mattress from Ikea, and bolted the headboard and footboard to it.  It's actually a really comfortable bed.

I bought the quilted bedspread at Sears for $70.00, and made all the decorative cushions myself.  The front one is a very recent faux grain- sack cushion that I made with canvas and acrylic paint just last week. The little side table is a wooden t.v. tray from Ikea as well.

The rocking chair was mine, as a young girl, and I added a wooden applique, and stencil to the top.  I also distressed it, and made the plaid cushion for the seat.  The cute painted sheep and cow on the back wall are two of my original acrylic paintings.

The room is quite small, so I had to take pictures from all different angles to get  a good view of everything.

The wicker chest is from Pier One Imports, the frame leaning against the wall was made by me from decorative molding I bought at Home Depot.  I painted it blue, then dry brushed a cream color over it.   I also love the cute mirror from Winners/Homesense.

One of the best features of this room is the wall-to-wall,  built in closet.  It's way bigger then the one in my master bedroom, and therefore, I use this for storing off-season clothing, and other items.

Here's a better look at the side table, and I keep a wicker basket with back-copies of Country Living Magazine for my guests.  The rug is also from Ikea.

I made the Roman Shade with a contrasting blue striped fabric and but some blue glass bottles along the window ledge to catch the afternoon sunlight.  A sweet blue vase with white lilacs ( not real), adds a touch of casual country elegance to the painted radiator-cover box.These radiator covers are a great place to put accessories, and hide an unsightly radiator.  This along with 3 others were already in the house when we bought it.  They were all stained wood, so I painted them in the same color as the wall to make the room look bigger and more cohesive.

This is a close-up of the roman shade pull-cord that I made.  I macrame'd blind cording, added 3 clay beads, and then frayed the end after knotting it- it's pretty cute I think.

Well, that's my cute little Country/Cottage Guest Room.  Hope you like it. 

 P.S.- my trash-to-treasures armoire makeover is almost complete.  Watch out for the final reveal very soon.  It turned out soooo cute.  I can hardly wait to share it with everyone. 

Antique Store Finds

I finally made it out to my favorite Antique Mall, "Southworks", in Cambridge, Ontario,last week They have 100's of vendors under one roof, and I always find lots of stuff that I  love. I literally have to restrain myself from buying too much.  The hard part is that they have" runners", who cheerfully take your selections to the front for you while you continue shopping.  Not only does this deter theft, but it keeps your hands free, and you forget how much "stuff" you've accumulated.  Of course, when you hit the cash register, it all comes back to you, but they are very nice if you change your mind about something.  This trip did not disappoint, and since I had some birthday money in my wallet, I knew I'd be doing some spending.  I forgot my camera, so I didn't get any shots of the mall, but you can see it in my link above.They have a beautiful virtual tour that you can take to see how great it is.

Some of you have seen  my "Antique Flow Blue China"  here,that comes from this mall.  I also found many of the items from this post "Some of my Favorite Things", here. It's well worth the visit and their prices are unbeatable.  People go there from all over Canada and the United States. I can't say enough good things about them.   But anyhow,  I'll quit yapping and post some pics now:

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 This is a copy of my grand-parents wedding photo from France. It is circa 1920, or even  earlier.

This cute litttle stool is an antique camping chair, which cost $40.00, but I just loved it!!!!! I love that it folds up, and it's curved to fit your "bum".  And the bonus is that the green looks really good in my bedroom.  I'm not sure what I'll end up displaying on it, but I posted a few options, none of which I'm" in love with". Oh well, I'll just have to shop my house for something to display there.

Next I found these great antique linen handerkerchiefs and hand towels- One bundle of 12 was only $6.00.

The lace runner is absolutely beautiful, and my mother bought that for me at $16.00.

Here's a clos-up of the edge detail.

I tried it in my bathroom, but ended up using it on my bed, over a sage green throw blanket.  I think that's where it will stay.

Then I got this pretty tea towel with blue edges,for $2.00, which I put in my china cabinet with my blue and white china.



Here's how I folded it in my china cupboard.

This is how I'm displaying it.

Then I used these pretty monogrammed hankies in my bathroom.  It's hard to tell if the monogram is an "I" or a "T", bit it doesn't matter, because neither letter is part of my name- they're  just pretty to look at.

Then I put this pretty scalloped hanky on this tray on the coffee table.

All of the pieces,except the lace runner are linen, and they washed up just beautifully.  Some were a little dingy, so I hand soaked them in hot water with Oxi-clean for 24 hours, and kept adding more hot water, as the water cooled down.  Then I gently rinsed them, pressed out the excess water with a towel, then  layed them flat on a dry towel until almost dry , then ironed them while stil damp.  They turned out beautifully.  You can also use a little vinegar or lemon juice on the whites ( it's a natural, yet gentle bleach), if you have some stubborn stains, but mine were in pretty good condition.

The rest of my "bootie" is rolled up in white acid- free  tissue paper, in storage until I find a place for them.

Well , that's my little antique "fix" for today.  I',m almost finished the transformation on my trash-to-treasures armoire, so check back in a few days for a look at that.  It's turning out pretty " fab"