Button Upholstered Bedhead

It's great to have a project finished that really began before Christmas..... l bought the bedhead below as my Christmas present on ebay. It was only a few hundred dollars, even with delivery..... l considered it a bargain.. but hubby..mmm not so much.
It looks a bit Italianate doesn't it......and in desperate need of a makeover, it took ages for me to even begin....l so didn't want to tackle that button upholstery having never attempted any before, l even tried to paint the velvet to avoid pulling it all apart, but that was a total disaster, so it just had to be done. THEN it somehow had to be attached to the bed....l didn't want a bed end so there was nothing to hold it in place. (that bit was hubby's department).

l watched a tutorial on utube which sorta helped but at the end of the day l just fiddled with the fabric till it worked. Recovered all the buttons and glued them on over the button base.

 

Here it is finished with it's new upholstery and a couple of coats of whiteish paint. So far the buttons haven't popped off...which l thought they might.
l bought a new doona cover for a whole new look. It has ruffles all over the place...nice:-))



The lovely frenchy cushion at the back was also a Christmas present (thanks Sis). It finally has a place.

 

l took the pics of my market finds in the bedroom.  Japanese Lady head vase from the 50's which was a bit exy at $20, she also has a couple of chips but since you don't see these around much any more she came home with me. Also a little cup that reads " love the giver"... the guy that sold it to me was a giver...cost just a $1.00. The  satin covered ballet slippers were worn by my daughter when she was a flower girl. l've never been able to get rid of them....way too cute.

 

Lastly l found these awesome boots...never worn as far as l can tell and only $2.00. l'll sure be glad of them come Winter.

Old carved picture frame and priests rosary beads.

Well as if l hadn't messed around enough with the bed......I saw this photo in the new Country Style magazine   l LOVED this floral valance. l've never seen one in the shops but thought it couldn't be too hard to make one.

Really just made a large frill which l did in three sections and sewed them all together when gathered, as l figured otherwise the gathering thread might break if too much length and weight strained it. l also used the fabric inside out as the "right" side was too bold.... a subtle effect was more what l was after.

After edging the frill with lace l sewed the entire length onto the existing valance. You might notice l've made it a little shorter than the original so that it shows through to give a double ruffle effect.

 

The shelf above the bed also got a new display...and the roses were added for colour.

Hopefully you'll enjoy my pinterest pics this week. Lovely old table...2.bp.blogspot.com

elegantlyuntamed. Gorgeous!!

laughingwithangels. Mirrored doors make this room extra special.

 

Lovely everything....lovefrenchbulldogs.

 

l hope you all enjoy the coming weekend....for most of us Daylight Saving ends and we gain an extra hour....( and just a reminder not to let anyone fool you on Sunday haha!!)...we hope to make good use of the extra hour travelling to Geelong for the market which is usually pumping and with any luck this week will be no exception:-))

Til next time,

Bron.

A fresh new look

For many people white/nuetral walls are the norm and they wouldn't consider having anything else, but l only recently realised that l've NEVER had white walls, they've been every colour of the rainbow and then some, but not white..... So when deciding on a change, it seemed a little OUT there for me......l'd been tossing the idea around in my head for a while and when l came across Lyn Gardeners' house in a mag ( here ) l was thinkin'... YEHH that could work for me, and with Winter almost upon us, l really liked the idea of a lighter, brighter space.

 

So this is what it looks like now. You can see how it used to look here (though the colour's not quite right- it was more yellow). The new paint colour is Dulux Hog Bristle- quarter strength. (It's a warm white).
There's nearly always a bit/lot of junk laying around, you know what l mean books, papers and  projects of some sort, but mum and sis were coming for a cuppa so l tidied up and thought it was also a good time to take some pics......

The timber table top, wooden architraves, skirting boards and timber kitchen add a bit of warmth and depth to the space. l haven't shown kitchen pics cos' it's so outdated looking.... but not yet old enough to be considered vintage ;-)) The bench tops were changed a couple of years ago and match better with the white walls.

l also painted the dresser that l was NEVER gonna paint.... but what's the sense of it sitting in the spare room cos it's the wrong colour for the dining room. (You can see how it used to look here).
The backboards of the dresser were painted in a warm greenish grey to bring out the colour of the dinnerset.

 

All the bits and bobs were rearranged......the morning sun through the dining room window gave a nice play of light.

 

So then l was all inspired to put a few things together and take some pics to share. Vintage millinary flowers and carnival glass beads.

Sis bought a gorgeous bunch of Lisianthus (Eutoma)...pink of course. 

Some rose stems were cut to length and popped into the cups - prrrdy.

And now for our pinterest pretties.

This pic and the two below are from Tricia Guild.   

I hope you all have a fun weekend. Thanks for stopping by.

Til next time,

Bron.

Random rambling.

This week the house looks like  rampant teenagers have been on a trashing spree...but l doubt even THEY could make the mess l HAVE......you see l've been repainting the kitchen, family and dining rooms....it's still a work in progress and hopefully pics next time... but l tell you this 'cos there's not been much time to take pics though l hope you enjoy these few l've put together.

Vintage hat from the hat stash....l love that it's smothered in hydrangeas. In the foreground, lucite butterfly cuff with aurora borealis diamentes.



Found this pretty tin at the market yesterday not real old... but a perfect size for storing the smallest of things.



Moodboard from the back room.......Still don't have it all together but thought you might enjoy a sneak preview :-))

Found these lovely pics at  jeanne d'arc living magazine. 

These pics were taken ages ago and l've shown similar before, but l shopp'd these and was happy with the their "new" look.

Photo of a photo.Country Style   magazine. 

Just for a change of pace....my son travels to remote areas in his work and about a year ago he took a pic of a landscape that had the back section of this truck in it...."where's the rest of it" l ask.  Ohhh mum l didn't think you'd be interested in THAT .... any way long story short....when he rolled by again recently he snapped it in it's entirety for me.

Such an iconic Ozzie landscape isn't it.

Taken about 70 ks north of the Victorian/NSW border, near Barham.

Hope you all have a wonderful week...thanks for popping in.

Til next time,

Bron.

A mixed Bag.

Hope you all had a great weekend. It's been an enjoyable one here... the weather gods were kind for the Ballarat Begonia Festival which is held in Ballarat each year. The antique fair is a highlight for me and l spent a blissful couple of hours wandering up and down the aisles there Saturday..... and as l did l couldn't help but notice how much collectibles have changed over the years. When l first started going to the fair some 15 years ago, it was all gold and crystal jewellery, chintz and carltonware china, carnival glass and silverware . Not to mention zillions of dolls and teddy bears, but nowadays l'm seeing a lot more retro stuff from the 50's to 70's.... bakelite and plastic jewellery, art glass and oriental pieces, so l guess even when you sell old stuff it has to be old stuff people WANT...Any way... just an observation..

l spent some down time last week making this bag. l was thinking it'd be nice to get the doyleys out the cupboards and off the tables and turn them into something a bit funkier. The bag (above) is what l decided to construct. The bag itself is made from a supper cloth (lace edged) folded in half. Then all the doyleys were sewn on.... just a little around the centres so that the lace would hang willy nilly. Didn't want anything too fussy. Popped a drawstring around the top and attached another doyley at the top to form a flap.....but it just may be too white....????

 Today as promised l'm fulfilling my obligations in accepting the Leibster award. This means thanking the person who awarded it and linking back to them. (Thanks again to the lovely TAM over at a treasuredpast for awarding it to me).
Then l have to tag 5 blogs l love that have under a hundred followers.....So (after some fun research) here's my list.


1. Shel at mdinteriordesign For anything you want to know about colour, and beautiful photography.
2. Shelly at LUSH for her gorgeous fashion and interiors ideas...she's also an awesome blog buddy.
3 .mymanymoments. who shares beautiful interiors and tells a lovely story about adopting a child.
4 Karen at Only things l love. who shares her fantastic travel pics and also has gorgeous interiors pics.

5. Simone and Bec over at melbourne vintage girl. jam packed with awesome, interesting finds.

Then l need to let all the recipients know about their selection.

Yep the white had to go.......way too impractical for a cloth bag........ so decided to dye it. Since l'm very much a jeans person l figured denim blue would work well. l bought a packet of Rit  and it worked a treat. Just dissolve the dye in boiling water, then add enough warm water to cover and stir.  Pop the item in and leave for half an hour, rinse well when you get it out..dry it and voila!!!

Here you can see where l've not been too fussy about the doylies being sewn on properly.

Blue jeans white shirt and slouchy bag.... Good market gear....

Here l was wearing a good white Tshirt when l dyed the bag.....and even though l KNEW l should go and get changed l DIDNT..... so when l got splashed.... l just threw the bloody thing into the dye. At least it matches now :-))

The Sunday market was great this morning. l'm pretty sure this book's already a movie, but DO love to read.

Also found this new retro style T-towel.......Little angel cup.

A pic l took ages ago but have'nt shown. Vintage clothing with roses.
And a few other pics l put together.

Now for a couple of Pinterest Pretties. Lots of vintage hats andreasingarella.com 

Sewing room vignette. flickr.com

Flowers from last Spring......on my window ledge.

Hope you enjoy these pretties l put together.


Thanks again for stopping by and have a wonderful week,


Til next time,


Bron.