It Always Starts with Interesting Textiles

I love fabric. I love bargains. I love design. 

Add them all up and they equal my newly redesigned bedroom. I love the thrill of the hunt when shopping. I collected and gathered things for the room over a long period of time by cruising clearance racks, Homegoods, TJ Maxx, Pier One, JoAnn Fabrics, and digging amongst gifts and stockpiles. I am the forever patient shopper when I am decorating. I will wait forever until I find what I want at a reasonable price. It takes awhile. Probably longer than what most would consider reasonable. In the end I am always happy with the end product.

The bed spread fabric was the starting point for everything. 

It whispered when I walked by and caught my attention on a JoAnn's clearance table.. It was out of my normal taste but it was so interesting that it inspired to me. It is a jacquard where the flowers are the only thing that weaves through from the other layer. I considered a duvet but settled for one layer that can be used for all seasons. I didn't use any kind of pattern but just based it upon bed measurements and where I wanted it to end. That fabric was some bratty stuff. It wanted to refuse to stay in place. Those interesting layers shifted and shimmied with no shame. The walking foot and miles of hand basting brought them into submission.

Design is in the details. A good bargain leaves room for indulgence. Hence the roped piping, whatever you call it, trim cost as much as the fabric.  It just wasn't enough. I decided to put two layers of trim together. I could have gone with just the piping, but there was something about the top layer, its colors, and pattern that just added an extra element in a needle bending breaking kind of way. I can't let things be easy. Where would the fun be in that?

Close-up of  curtain basket weave

I didn't have to make curtains! Did you hear me giggle just a tad insanely as you read that? I have made a lot of curtains this spring. It was so nice to pop my super bargain clearance that matched the bedspread perfectly curtains from
Target onto those rods.

Color is the soul of a room.

All those warm colors just wrap around me to create a peaceful place, but it needed just a little bit of cool to shine. From the beginning I decided the room needed some turquoise or teal so things didn't get monotonous.There was enough of it in different shades throughout the room I don't think I need to recover my glider. I learned last weekend that Kandinsky thought color and shape evoked emotional qualities. It was a reoccurring theme in his work. It must be why I have always like his work. Colors have a powerful effect on me and personality of a room.

My taste in art runs a huge gamut of style and content. 

Dropped in JoAnns, fell off wall, dented desk, not even a chip

I would like to say there was a master plan to the accessories, but in reality it is based more upon colors I like together, along with the pattern and content that captures my attention. My walls are covered with a gift from Zimbabwe, a shadow box that has been collected since college, pieces I acquired in our travels, a big glass platter that is impossible to break,(ask me how I know this) prints and plates from HomeGoods. They were all collected disparately and at different times with the curtains and bedspread as a reference point. It just always seems right to me that family pics should be in the bedroom. They remind me of what has the highest value in my life. They are the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing at night.

I like my clear based lamps amongst all of this. However, they open and you can put things in them. It will be interesting to see what makes their home in them eventually. At this point, I haven't identified anything that needs to be there.

All the other "stuff" are things from our families or personal past.

Furniture with memories.

The furniture represents a lot of relationships from our lives. Our bedroom set was a wedding present from my husband's wonderful parents. The antique cedar chest was passed on from my fabric loving hoarding aunt. The glider was originally bought for the nursery. Since then it has migrated though different rooms in my house and represents so many good memories.The vintage table the monster TV is on was purchased at rummage sale and refinished by my sister long ago. Do you think my husband would notice if I put the TV on the curb? That monstrosity is not my friend. My beloved roll top desk from my childhood is a little crowded but

needed a safe home. That is my Raggedy Ann from my

I love all the roofline angles but it furniture placement is limited.

childhood and my husband's Raggedy Andy from his. I think it is fun to see them together. I have wanted a mirror jewelry armoire for a long time. Last, Christmas my husband surprised me with this one. The bookcase is new but a total necessity. It will always be packed with books that I want to keep and a ton that I want to read. My books always overflow unapologetically.

I have always liked putting a bunch of things together in a room and see what emerges. It was fun to unpack those boxes where I had kept everything gathered along the way and bring that mental muse to fruition. Bonus, a sewing project mixed in to create something unique.

 

Click here to see more photos of the room.