Lights Out in the Bedroom

I'm loving darkly painted bedrooms right now. 

I don't know that I would want my bedroom painted a dark color (my furniture is a dark wood already), but a guest room would be a perfect place to try it out.  After all, it's not a room you typically use everyday and guests don't stay in it for longer than a few days at a time.  Plus, it's just so cozy looking. 

Here are some I love...

 

  

  

  

You might expect dark walls like these would result in a cave like or masculine look, but that's not the case.  Possibly it's because they all contrasted the dark walls with crisp white bedding, but they look very cheery, sophisticated and feminine.

What do you think?  Would you ever paint a bedroom in your house this dark?

Finishing That Wasted Space

First, thanks to Ballard Designs Style Studio for posting a photo of my dining room makeover.  It wasn't the best of the two I sent, but I'm sure they chose that one because you can see the table base a little better and it is their table after all. 

On to today's subject: Finished Attics.

While it certainly isn't anything I can afford right now, I've always imagined some day finishing my attic.  One thing that stopped me in the past is that while the entrance to my attic has a perfectly normal staircase, it can only be accessed through my bedroom.  There is probably another way to open up access, but creating an opening versus using existing would no doubt greatly escalate the cost. 

If I maintained just the entrance from my bedroom, that would rule out a guest room - unless I want guests traipsing through my bedroom (not so much).  I have always admired what Martha Stewart did with her Bedford NY attic.  It's kind of a craft room on steroids.  Take a peek:

 

  

Of course, no matter what I would do with it, it would have to have a bathroom - even if very small.

 

 

A little sitting room to relax and watch TV or read would be nice too.

  

 

A gym?  I would have no excuses to skip the workout so I would have to pass on this idea, but it is impressive.

   

 A home office...

Or just stick with the obvious...a bedroom.

 

 

  

  

I'm going to go buy a Mega Millions ticket so I can finance my big ideas.

“Have nothing in your house that is not useful or you believe to be beautiful.” William Morris, leader of the Craftsmen Movement. If you want a golden rule for what to purchase and what not to purchase, this is it.  William Morris also said that the most important things in life are love and work and the true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in the details of daily life.  I think he has a point or three. 

Tuesday Tips - Wisdom For Everyday Life

One More DIY For My Dining Room

After pulling together my new dining room, I left one wall sadly blank while I pondered what to adorn it with.  Here is the lonely wall (below).  You can see why it needs somthing right?

None of the art work I already owned really did the trick, so I decided on another mirror.

After a brief search at Home Goods (of course), I found what I was looking for in the form of this mirror (love the arch):

 

It was priced at $29.99, but the wood frame was badly scratched and even gouged in spots, so some haggling later, I got a $5 discount.  Not what I was hoping for, but I really liked the mirror and knew the size was perfect for the wall in question.  

BTW, objects in mirror are not nearly as fat as they appear - that was a bulky sweater - it's very cold in Cleveland right now.  Just wanted to make that clear.

A major dose of sanding and three coats of the same glossy black paint I used on my other dining room mirror and the tray table and my new mirror was ready for its close up.

Here it is occupying the formerly lonely wall.  My original plan was just to stain the mirror a dark brown as I feared it would look to "matchy" if I used the same glossy black paint on the tray and the mirror, but I do like the overall effect.  

The one big disappointment was that after I cleaned up the mirror, I realized it was covered with fine scratches (visible in the photo below) that were not noticeable when I bought it because of the tape marks, dust and paw prints on it.  Anyone know how to get rid of those scratches?  

Still, in spite of its imperfections I'm quite pleased with my new mirror and at a recent get together with the girls (before I purchased and hung the mirror), I turned the tray table into a drinks station and it worked really well and kept the main table free for the food. 

That's my DIY for the week - unless I get another burst of energy.    
Wealth Consists Not of Having Great Possessions but Few Wants. Epicurus We Americans are drowning in stuff we don’t need.   Buying things you don’t need takes up a lot of life energy that could be used to buy your freedom from debt, among other things.   Next time you go shopping, ask yourself if what you are purchasing is a want or a need.  If it’s a want, think twice about what it’s actually costing you. 

From TUESDAY TIPS - WISDOM FOR EVERY DAY LIFE