More time needed here. Preferably between 11pm and 7am.

Folks, it has been 10 years in the making, but I think I finally have a stylish, calming oasis from which to be woken 2-3 times a night by a screaming child. A couple projects from the last week (and a few done Much, Much earlier) provided the finishing touches.

Here, let me give you a tour!


Starting from the left, a Billy bookcase from Ikea, lamp and chair from Target, white throw from Ikea, and 2 accent pillows handmade by moi and detailed further later in this post. The wall hanging is comprised of fabric purchased at the Bay Window Quilt Shop in Perham, MN and artist's canvas stretcher bars from Hobby Lobby. A word or several about the bars - these things are awesome. They come in various lengths, and have fancy corners that hinge together so that you can make a rectangle or square of any size. You can even take them apart later on and do something else with them! To make my wall hanging, I used my handy-dandy staple gun to attach the fabric to the other side of the bars. DONE!

On with the tour: The nightstand and lamp are also Ikea, bed was a wedding gift from my parents-in-law, duvet set (by Echo, but no longer on their website) whose search I detailed here. The bedskirt I ordered online from somewhere. I was struggling to find a fitted white bedskirt, but now I think I was looking in the wrong places maybe?

Aaron and I made the headboard together a few years ago. It is basically an extension of the memo boards that I have made in the past - Aaron cut the basic shape from particle board, I wrapped it with quilt batting and then pleather, and stapled (man, I love our staple gun!) it to the back. I even used some other fabric to cover up all the mess back there. In the front, I wanted the upholstered look, but couldn't figure out how to attach covered buttons through all that material. So I got out the trusty hot glue gun. After stapling the fabric where I wanted each button, I glued the button over the top of it. And this worked very well.

Until we started finding the buttons laying on our pillows. After a few days, there was only one still attached. Aaron was all, "I TOLD you that hot glue wasn't going to hold!" And I was all, "Yeah, whatever...don't know why it didn't work..."

And then I walked in one day to see Ben in the process of pulling off that last survivor. I asked him, "Did you do this to the others?" And he nodded yes. (This is in those pre-speaking days.) VINDICATED.

The other lamp and the matching nightstand are of course from Ikea, also.

We are so, so lucky to have a large bedroom with an extra large window. Even though the window faces north, we still get quite a bit of sunlight in the room, and that plus the size makes the dark brown walls seem cozy, not oppressive. I am a big fan of them, and so glad I chose to go with the neutral instead of the blue. Also, it will be way easier to redecorate in the future, since I won't have to convince Aaron to repaint. Hopefully.



The lamp in the corner is one of two Ikea floor lamps that have finally provided enough light when the sun is down. Plus, they have that wonderful crisp, modern feel that I love. Another two wall hangings made from the same fabric and stretcher bars as before, except that these are square. The chest and boxes on the floor are not permanent, although they may remain there awhile. Also not temporary, the nasty Berber carpeting. It has GOT to go. Alas, Aaron is not so horrified by it, so it may be hanging around a while longer.

Here's a closeup on the fabrics. I love how the small graphic print of the wallhangings plays off the big print of the duvet cover. The larger, square pillow's fabric is this stuff, and the floral is from Hobby Lobby. That ball fringe on the square? FROM HELL. Yes, I so DID say that. It took me about an hour to sew that very simple pillow case together, and that was my second attempt. The flange-edge on the oblong pillow was MUCH easier, and I highly recommend it for an easy way to dress up an accent pillow.

Yes, the square pillow is reversible to a more masculine print. If there is such a thing.

There! I hope you like it as much as I do - I hate to throw my ugly orange cardigan on the chair, but it so much more convenient there when I have to go to Adam's frigged room for his 1am meal. But if you come over, I promised I'll throw it into closet, so as to not ruin the lovely effect for you.

What room are YOU trying to polish off? Is your bedroom an oasis or a...not an oasis?