I told you I had something up my sleeve! It all started when my husband had to go on a two-day business trip to Dallas. After he left on Tuesday morning, I got to thinking... what if I could pull off a mini master bedroom makeover before he returned on Wednesday evening? You see, our master bedroom has been neglected big time! Because nobody goes up there, it's received no attention whatsoever. I wanted my husband and I to have a nice place to retreat to at the end of the day.

Let me preface this by saying that it was a "mini" makeover. I had less than 24 hours and two children to care for at the same time! I have many, many more plans for this space, so look for "master bedroom makeover 2.0" in the future. :)  Without further ado... introducing the final product:

And for comparison, this is what our master bedroom looked like before.

Does this look at all familiar? Since moving in, we just placed our furniture in the room and walked away. Have you done the same thing? Notice how the cords are stretching to plug in all our "necessities." And one of our lamps were moved to the guest room to accommodate out-of-town company. Tacky, I know... it's embarrassing.

First things first, we needed an actual bed frame -- or in the very least, a headboard. Since upgrading to a king-size bed, our pretty queen-size Z Gallerie bed that we had been using moved to the guest room. I've seen DIY headboards all over the internet, so that's what I set out to do. Fortunately, Home Depot stocks 6' long pre-cut boards for about $5.50 a piece. I used six boards, stained them, and screwed them to the wall using a course drywall screw.

We also needed some lighting changes, so I picked up these nightstand lights as well as the ceiling fan and called a very generous friend to come install them last-minute for me.

I brought in Hayden - the antique cedar chest to frame the foot of the bed, and also picked up a few nightstand accessories...

...including this super-cool motorcycle statue that I couldn't resist for my husband's side of the bed.

To keep it practical, I used books that my husband actually reads topped with a couple vintage, old-looking books.

And finally, I purchased this rug to frame out the space and add a little texture and dimension.

Now that this much is done, I want to do more! (Oh the lack of time and resources). Until next time...

**Update: I have recently posted a tutorial specifically dedicated to the headboard portion of this project. Click here to view.**


Lots of love,
Mary


Linked up here:

Let me just say... I'm so tired! Between the Christmas rush and the fact that our house has been hit with a cold, which brought on the discovery of my precious little 4 year old's battle with Asthma (or Restrictive Airway Disease)... poor baby, I'm exhausted! Needless to say, I haven't been doing anything crafty and have nothing new to show you. I'm re-posting my DIY Rustic Christmas Star tutorial just in-case you missed my guest post over at TypeA last week. I do however have a few surprises up my sleeve and will be sure to share all the details and pics with you in a couple days.

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This project is one that I did last year after seeing one at my local Pottery Barn. I'm not sure if they sold the stars or if it was just a part of the store decor for Christmas, but as soon as I saw it I said to myself, "I can do that!"

It's quite simple, really -- just how it looks. Off I went to Michael's and purchased a couple bundles of their pre-packaged sticks. Note: make it a point to get the straightest ones possible. Curvy sticks are hard to tie together and it will be harder to achieve the straight lines you need for your star.

Make five even piles of the straightest sticks possible. Just use your judgement to determine how many sticks per pile. Those piles will become the five lines to your star. Lay them out as you see they look and fit best together. I used a standard twine that I had on hand, but any sort of twine-like string will work just fine.

Wrap the twine around each point of the star as tightly as possible. Then, tie a double-knot around the back of the star and secure with a dab of hot glue. Repeat this process until your star is complete.

I found it was easiest to tie down the star points first before securing the middle sections. Once your glue is dry, you may add any other decorative finish that you desire. I chose simple white lights and I have to say -- this is one of my favorite decorative pieces to pull out each year.

The best part is that this is an indoor/outdoor project. What about a front door wreath alternative? Hung above your outdoor nativity set? Or maybe three different sized stars hung above a window?


Lots of love,
Mary


Linked up here:

Drumroll please... introducing "Bennett."

Remember a week or so ago, I picked this little guy up at Goodwill? Let me remind you...

Yes, Goodwill is a bit messy!

I used a homemade chalk paint recipe out of Behr Midnight Dream. Like I said before, I have plans to complete a more thorough chalk paint comparison in the future. I'll keep you posted. I don't really have enough info for a thorough analysis yet.

After two coats of the blue, I distressed, applied Annie Sloan clear wax, then taped off the white stripes. I used Behr Off White for the stripes.

After distressing and waxing again, I added the AS dark wax to age it up a bit. That's when the piece really popped!

I kept the original brass hardware and just polished it up a bit.

I'm really happy with the results. Perfect for a boy's room or even a bachelor pad! He looks rich and sophisticated. 

Bennett has already found a home. He was sold before I had a chance to place the ad. And the best part is that he is staying in the family, so I can visit him anytime I want!

Lots of love,

Mary

I'm linked up here: