We made a bed!

Alright well just a headboard - but a king sized headboard. 

We used this plan for the reclaimed wood look headboard from Ana-White and these dimension mods for a king. We used lots of tips from Create and Delegate who made the same headboard last year. You can click on the photos below to see it larger. The bed plans were inspired by the Mason Headboard from Pottery Barn. All of Ana's plans are super easy and many of them (including the one we used) require wood cuts that you could have done at the hardware store or in our case do at home with something simple like a compound miter saw. 

The Construction Details: The plans were perfect and we had no complaints there. The finish came out a tad bit darker than I had planned but it probably works better with the other furniture. It also looks a bit darker in the photos (especially in the one below) than it is in reality. We purchased the least expensive pine available at Lowe's. The only other materials were screws, finish nails, glue, wood filler, sand paper and two cans of stain. We didn't use pocket hole screws or a jig, instead we used a countersink bit and just filled the holes. Also we added some supports down the back using the scrap wood that aren't part of the plans.  After construction we filled the parts that didn't line up correctly because of the cheap wood we used. Then Ava and I used different tools and hammers to bang it up like crazy. My favorite tool was a textured hammer it made the edges look great. Next we sanded it like crazy with a power sander. Finally we finished it in three coats of stain applied with wide foam brushes. The first two coats were done with 'Minwax Wood Finish' in 'Dark Walnut' after each coat I used a rag to wipe the stain and wiped the most from the center of the boards. The final coat was 'Minwax Polyshades' in 'Antique Walnut Satin' and it was pretty stressful because is dries so fast and can get so gummy and drippy. In the end we found that one person applying it and one person following behind with another foam brush to make sure it was even worked best. If I was doing it again I might have used a Polyshade in 'Early American' to warm up the base 'Dark Walnut' with a little red. 

We haven't hung any art yet but there are some other fun details in this room. 

This table was an antique from my husband's parents that we re-finished before we got married. The knobs are from Anthropologie and I made a slipcover for the little stool below the table last year. 

The tall mirror in between the windows was an amazing find from American Signature Furniture. The edges are antiqued and it is 7ft tall. The curtains are shower curtains I found on clearance at Target same with the bedding. 

We have had all of the other furniture for five years or so. My mercury glass collection is on top of the armoire. 

The Playroom

So the rental house is large, 4 bedrooms and three bathrooms large. There is the master bedroom and a huge bedroom over the garage but then two small front rooms. I guess this is pretty much the way it is with newer houses. My girl's just had too much furniture (did I ever mention Joe works for a furniture company) to fit the two front rooms and the bedroom over the garage was so cool! So I put them both upstairs together and used the decor from Lilly's room to make a playroom downstairs. I totally love having the playroom. Ava still brings toys into the living room but mostly they stay corralled in one super fun area. Especially nice when she has friends and cousins visiting! I picked it up some and took the pics below. Even though I will say that when playing alone Ava is pretty tidy with her things. However, add one other person and they totally destroy the room. Good thing it is pretty easy to clean up! Ava spends a lot of time in this room and she has all kinds of cute little habits - it is like her little world. 

---------------------------------------

The Playroom

The first thing you should know is that there is a dress code. 

 Second, you must thoroughly enjoy your imaginary cup of hot tea (the hostess is offering you) or you will not be allowed to play. You might have to enjoy six or seven cups. 

 Every single time you enter the room you must walk over to the 'monkey jungle ball thing' and put at minimum three balls in the spiral. 

 You only read books in the tent. 

Finally, and most importantly, you have to be very, very silly. 

-------------------------------------

 My favorite part of the playroom is the closet where I can put all of the things that need to be played with one at a time like puzzles, games, play dough etc.  The large clear bins from Ikea roll and stack! Three of them have baby toys in them. When Ava was little I would just pull one out for a few days and when she lost interest in the toys in it I would just put it up and pull out another one.

Where do you put your kid's toys?

Karma Living

So I am in search of some really adorable pillows for our new bedding and today on HauteLook there are some gorgeous ones from Karma Living. Along with a whole bunch of cute accessories. Check it out.