Guest Bedroom Queen Headboard with Nailheads {home decor}

With our roommate moved out (Ryan we miss you!!) and two of our best friends coming to visit, the guest room needed some tlc!  We decided not to use our Ikea Malm queen bed anymore since it was from Paul's bachelor days and not really our style anymore.  So of course I searched for DIY solutions and came across this great option that inspired me:  http://tenthavenuesouth.blogspot.com/2012/03/new-drop-cloth-headboard.html

It looks just like this one from Potterybarn but costs MUCH less:

So here's our journey trying to recreate this and what we learned along the way....

We used some old foam core board that we had around the house and I hand-drew the pattern that we wanted.  We made the bed about 5'-4" wide, so that pattern was half that width and we just flipped it over so the sides would match.

We traced the pattern on the 3/4" MDF we bought from Home Depot.

Here I am using a circular saw (for the first time!!) to cut the board to the correct width.  Paul decided this was an acceptable project to allow me to learn to use the saws :)

We doubled the thickness at the top and sides.

We used an 1-1/4" brad nailer and wood glue to attach the second pieces of MDF.   (Another first... Paul taught me to use the brad nailer with the compressor!)

Here is what it looked like prior to cutting the top curved piece.

We used a jigsaw in order to cut the curved pattern at the top of the headboard.  Can't lie, I wasn't the best at this saw and I was pretty slow with it.

This shows the cut I made with the jigsaw (prior to Paul cleaning it up)...

Paul used a sander to soften and even out the cut that I made.  Thanks hubby!

I bought 1" foam from Joann's Fabric, which was 50% off, and used spray adhesive to attach it to the MDF.

We bought these legs at Home Depot and I stained them with some Minwax Wood Finish stain that I had left over from another project.

Here's the adhesive I used for the foam.

I used a manual staple gun to wrap the foam around the edges and attach it.

The batting the I bought from Joann's as well.  I bought the queen size and it allowed me to cover it with two layers of batt.

The batt complete and wrapped in two layers.  Quite the workout on the hands and arms using the stapler...

We bought a dropcloth from Home Depot and wrapped it around the batt and again stapled it in place.

Front view of the drop cloth covering.

I was unsuccessful at finding the nailheads locally, so I ordered them online here: http://www.diyupholsterysupply.com/ZN52.html

Paul ended up placing the nail heads since he was more detail-oriented about it and he ended up using a nail and some thread to make sure the line was straight (a beer helped him along the way because this process drove him nuts!)

He did a GREAT job getting them straight!  We placed them 1.5" apart.

We drilled holes in the bottom for the legs.  By wrapping the fabric around the bottom which we agreed was needed, it also hurt the structural integrity of the legs (oops!).  But the look was more important so we figured a way to resolve the issue.

We used wood glue to attach the legs (on the first try...)

 It looked great until it COLLAPSED!

I came up with the idea of adding the board at the bottom that you see to take the majority of the weight rather than the legs.  We also added the horizontal wood to attach the bed to the wall as additional support.

The headboard attached to the wall.

The legs held up! ... with the support of the board.

Luckily the board will never be seen once the bedskirt is in place.

Here is a view with the headboar and the bed in place.

Current status picture of the guest room... still working on setting it up and still deciding on the lamps which I think will work better for the boys room than this one, but we'll see!

Neighborhood Party Decor {home decor}

Along with my other neighbor (also a Katie), we decided to host a "Neighborhood Get Together" to meet all the neighbors on our new block!  I was excited to host our first party and decorate the new place....  here's how it turned out!  (I am not that crafty when it comes to baking, so I tried hard to learn before and make a decent attempt).

We had SO much food and so I think it was slightly overwhelming on the table display so I will probably separate the foods onto more tables next time, but overall I think it turned out well.

Hand-painted Wallpaper in the Dining Room {our home}

On my last post, I gave a sneak peak at my idea for the dining room walls so now it's time to reveal the final product!

Here is the inspiration again:

   

The first step was painting the walls white for the background of the pattern.  We chose Benjamin Moore's Moonlight White after reading great reviews about it online.

I found a stencil online here (http://jonesdesigncompany.com/decorate/painted-wallpaper-a-tutorial/) that I printed on 11x17 paper to enlarge it and then traced it on a box we got from shopping at Costco.  Using an exacto knife I cut out the shape on a cutting board.

Then the tracing started..... and continued.

I decided to trace a little and then paint a little rather than do ALLLL the tracing and then ALLLL the painting.  I started using one of my larger craft painting brushes... but after a few minutes I started having some doubts (see bwloe image).  Eventually I tried a smaller brush and was WAY happier with the results and so we painted over the first try and continued on with the smaller brush (about 1/4" wide compared to 1/2").  I also thought the paint was too dark, despite it being the same exact paint that was already on the rest of the walls, so I bought another quart that was a primer + paint that was 25% lighter than the rest of the walls.  It ended up being a better combination, I think!

Honestly this project took quite a bit longer than I anticipated, but I am so happy with the result.  I worked extra hard to complete it prior to the party we were hosting for our new neighbors and luckily I finished just in time and managed to put the room back in order in time.