Adorned for Autumn...

Some people think it's expensive to change the look of their bedroom, but changing your bedding does change the whole look and it can be done very cheaply.

I think it's odd how some people have the same bedding ensemble for years ~ why is that?
I change mine constantly...

It's not expensive to get a change, if you're cheap and smart, think outside the box and you become a hoarder like me~!

I switched everything over in my room yesterday for the Autumn Season...

Let me give a rundown of how cheap you can do it...

The rose bedding; a king size bedspread and 2 king sized shams were $6 from a thriftstore. And, they were brand new...

The burgundy, crocheted set is a full size bedspread and 2 standard size shams and they were $8 from a thriftstore...

That's just $14 for a complete change... 

Cheap, huh???

Throw in the 3 throw pillows for $1 a piece and we're up to $17 for a complete change~!

The vintage, dusty rose, chenille coverlet was $1 at a thriftstore and it looks brand new. Not even a mark on it. It is one of my favorite treasures and rarely leaves my bed, even when the bedding changes...

Hello~~ how do you like that bright orange boot box under the bed ~ duh! 

Yes, I hide stuff under my bed ~ would you believe there's lace, or curtains in there? 

*Big smile!*

(=

I admit, there are 2 expensive things that are always on my bed... 

I'm a lover of expensive sheets (Ssshhhh - don't tell the 'Man-Child' - I just won't admit what I pay for them ~ lol) And, that antique, hobnail, cotton crocheted layer with the fringe, over the platform / under the mattress. It was an antique store acquisition. But, it came with a damaged, crocheted coverlet and they both cost me $50... I do splurge (cheaply) once in a a while. And, I like 2'fer deals~!

(2'fer = 2 for the price of one... antique dealers are sometimes easy to talk out of stuff...)

The 'damaged' antique coverlet I got with the hobnail bed spread hangs on the linen cabinet as a decoration and only gets hand washed occasionally, to try to avert any further damage to its beautiful self...

The bottom, scalloped bed skirt is really window valances that I have safety pinned underneath, to the mattress platform and they were $4 from a yard sale~

The HUGE, antique tablecloth draped over the bottom, side of the bed was a yardsale find for $2...

So, everything on the bed right now, including the antique lace and antique crocheted items is under $75~! 

(Not counting the sheets, of course - we're not going there in case the 'Man-Child' reads the blog *wink*)

I love layers, on top of layers, on top of layers, on top of layers ~ 

I love lace and I LOVE ANTIQUE FRINGE ~!

I throw them all together and drag out more and more and more... 

And yes, it ends up in a wad on the 'Ohhh, La,La Chair' (the vintage tufted chair in my bedroom,) if I don't beat the 'Man-Child' into the room first when it gets late... 

At least he's kind enough to wad it up and stuff it in the chair, instead of just plopping down on it...  

I admit... I have quite a collection~!

Can you see that stack there next to the linen cabinet? And, the linen cabinet is full... 

And, there's an armoire at my other house full, in my other master bedroom at the barn. And, there's a ladder hanging in my hallway upstairs, at my barn house full and there is even more hidden and shoved here and there and everywhere~!

I hoard bedding and blankets as well as lace & linens~~ 

I got issues and my issues got issues~!

Some women collect and hoard shoes & clothes ~ I wear old holy jeans, boots and tank tops, t-shirts, or hoodies... I'm a boring person, but I have fantastic furniture, lace & bedding~~~

I would ask you to keep the secret & not tell the 'Man-Child,' of my linen issues, but he's been well aware of my fetish for years. It must not bother him, or he would gripe. I think he just lets me have my passions, so he can have his - his include large, heavy equipment. My issues are CHEAP compared to his. And, some women's closets are stuffed full of clothes & shoes. Mine are stuffed full of lace, linens & bedding!

And, a really nice thing about him...

For being such a big, tall, masculine contractor, he has never, ever, griped about a lace layered bedroom ~ go figure. 

He does occasionally get in trouble for having his boots on some old piece of lace. He just gets a scared look on his face when confronted and hurries and moves them. Other than that ~ once in a while I hear, "A bed is suppose to be slept in, not adorned. But, when I get that ~want to challenge Jen~ look on my face, he backs way off ~ quickly...  

Who listens to men anyway???

So, if you get bored with your bedroom and want a change ~ consider doing it cheaply & wisely and you can have dozens of changes... Just make sure you have a place to store it all, once the bedding / hoarding bug bites~!

I'm going on a road trip this week for a couple days, through WY & CO... Yes, the 'Man-Child' already knows he's going to end up at an antique shop, or two if we have time ~ perhaps, I'll find some more bedding?

(=

Gosh, I can't wait until I have stairs ~~ 

I can't wait to use some of my excess amount of bedding in the other two bedrooms hiding above me right now~!

***Sneak Peak of my other, gorgeous furniture set that will go upstairs, when I get stairs...***

These pics were taken a couple years ago, with a crappy camera, at my barn house, so they're not very clear ~ You get the idea though. I have another complete, King sized set of beautiful, distressed, carved oak furniture waiting to come to this house. It's still sitting at my other house. In my other master bedroom ~ oy' vey'... Yes, I am a furniture hoarder too~~~!

I think I need a couple more houses, to fill with more furniture, bedding & lace, maybe... lol

Would you believe this 'Monster' heavy, hand carved, distressed oak bed cost me $350 years ago... I bought it from a 'scratch & ding' store, before everybody else discovered scratch & ding and it became over run with the herd. Seriously, it's a $3,000+ bed. It was just a fluke I got it - I brought it home and used some antique medium to cover the scratches and dings and you can't even tell it was ever damaged~!

And, look ~ more bedding~!

(=

Another linen cabinet / armoire full of bedding ~ 

(sorry for the blurry pics - I just had them on my jump drive from a couple years ago)

Oh, I have issues~!

Everybody have a great week~!

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Amaze Me Monday

Cracked???

Yes, she has a few "Cracks"... 

But, everything has a crack in it ~ that's how the light gets in...

 Side view... Who could not see beauty in what this will become...

View from the back... Yes, the block wall has been around this old girl for years and I can't even fathom what it would cost today to build something this big...

She has such promise, although the inside is where I've devoted my energy through this last winter and she is turning out 'Gorgeous' and "One of a Kind"~!
=)

So, a "Begining" & "After" tour, starting with the living room to date, is in order...


To some, she would be an 'awful colored' old house, of which she was and would require alot of work, of which she does and their wish would be to make her look new. My aim here is NOT to ever make her look new. But, just to change some colors, fix some fixes and make her look rich and, 'farm-housy' and of course, well cared for... I know, that's not a word, but it is the one 'not-a-word' that describes my goal and passion here ~ "Farmhousy"... I just want her to have a face lift. To make her warm and inviting. To make her mine and to give her some class, but not change what she is... I want her to look like we've lived here our whole lives... 

Living Room Now...

Living Room Before...

Oy' Vey'... !!!
Oh my, oh my...

You have to look through the ruckus and look past the color to see the beauty...!
I admit though, it took me months and months of thinking on it to figure out how to make that salmon fireplace fit in with some color scheme that would fit my personality. I love the 'French Flair' and I'm attracted to the pics and the beautiful decorating schemes, but I'm such a "Western Chic" at heart. I knew, if I went with something "too feminine," I would regret it~! 

In the end, she has to be deep and rich and welcoming and yet fit a certain personality type ~ MINE...

This poor girl needs a "Makeover"~!

To be honest, I couldn't stand to be in the interior of this house before, with the color scheme I inherited. It made me nauseous... Believe it, or not, my better half paid top dollar, years and years ago, for this crazy peach and sponged nightmare... I think it was back in the days of when they were all "COLORBLIND"

Of course, that was before he met me. Had he done this while with me, he would have been shot!

So, I snapped a few pics and I spent hours and hours looking at them. I copied the pics and hung them on my 'idea' wall in my office and mulled and thought and dreamed and pondered. Unfortunately, this is one of the better 'hit and run' pics I took - look past all the busy'ness of the furniture "in storage" and look past all the insane, mismatched chaos and you will see beauty...

I did...

And, we didn't live in this home, we lived in my home for 11 years, so this old house was just our makeshift, mismatched, furniture storage unit... My house has 2 bathrooms, this old farmhouse has 1, so we lived at my house until the kids were raised (2 girls). But, this old, turquoise, farmhouse called my name at night, in my dreams, it yearned to be redone. To have someone live in her again. To have someone love her again. She longed to be cared for...

It took me 11 years to plot her redo, to plan my attack, to get brave enough and most of all, to tolerate the peach walls long enough for a recolor~!

My, oh my... How to fix this?

From the begining, I had my mind set on leather walls. How in the world does a woman go about fulfilling this want? Is there a special paint? Could I do it with plaster? Just a flat, faux, glaze job? Would that give me the look and depth I dreamed?

No... None of those would pacify my insane need for 'leather perfection', so I spent months longer trying to figure out a way, a means, a simple procedure to get the texture and look I so longed for...

My better half was at the paint department at Ace Hardware one afternoon and came upon some Suede paint... hmmm... I studied the procedure, the reviews, the drawbacks, the look... It wasn't suede my heart desired at all. It was deep, rich, textured, old type book leather. Wow, as if a leather wall treatment wasn't hard enough to figure out, I had my mind set on a leather wall treatment only my mind could envision ~

Nothing generic ~ it had to be a 'Lace Crazy,' one of a kind, leather wall attack!

Then, one day while surfing pics on google ~ seems to be my favorite past time~ I came across a 'faux' leather treatment that would fit my needs...

You can view it yourself here ~

Thanks for the idea Karen~!

http://www.wuvie.net/brownbagwalls2.htm

Why the hell not... It only involved crumpled paper bags, wall paper glue, some type of colors and polyurethane. How simple, or hard, could that be?

It took me 2 weekends to do the leather and took my better half a week to paint everything prior to my paperbag adventures <And, this time, I PICKED THE COLORS>...

Not bad time input for a complete living room and entry way makeover~!

Living Room Current ~ but still under construction!

Please don't take notice to the white, 5 gallon, butcket on the floor with coal in it ~ duh!

                                                Entryway                                North Wall

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT'S THE SAME ROOM???

The process~!