The Makings of a Headboard

I thought I'd walk you through a really easy project I finally completed. I had made a smaller headboard for Beck's room, and loved the way it made the room feel a bit more "done". I took all the measurements, headed to Home Depot for 3/4" plywood and then to Joann Fabrics for the grey felt and batting. I double up the batting for a thicker headboard. I first thought I wanted wool felt, but it was so scratchy so I went with a much softer thick felt.

The plywood comes in 4 X 8 sheets and since I wanted my headboard to span 9' I had to add on and here you can see the band aid strip of plywood to join the 2 together. I mounted another one on the opposite end to make even distance once hung on wall. The batting is folded over for 2 X thickness.

I cut the corners at a diagonal.

Fold in one side and staple in place.

Overlap the other side until it is a tight corner.

Then go to the center of each side pulling very tight and stapling as you work your way around.

Here it is ready for the felt layer, which is stapled on in the same way.

Holy crap this thing is so much heavier than I expected. I would have used 1/2" plywood, except I didn't want it to warp over time since it's so long.

I had to change the way I had planned on hanging it due to the weight. My father suggested this way: cut a long strip of 2 X 4 at 45 degree angle. One piece is mounted into many studs along the wall....

and the other to the back of the headboard. He's pretty smart. This technique could hang an elephant from your wall. Be sure your screws do not go through to the other side.

Before.

After.

PS- 1. The mirror is only there because it fell off of Beckett's door and we just haven't gotten around to re-hang. It wasn't a design decision. 2. I still have to patch the holes just below the window from the track lighting the previous owner chose to hang. I have nightmares spiders crawl out of them.

My Art Room is Done!

I finally finished my art room. The only thing left is the flooring. We'll install cork tiles and baseboard trim when we do the rest of the basement. As I was setting it up it reminded me of when I was around 10 years old and I was obsessed with playing school with my sisters. I was determined to set up an entire classroom in my parents dank, moldy cellar. I brought down staplers, reams of paper, a broken telephone, chalkboard, and old school books. We'd take turns being teacher until someone would quit and we'd all scramble like hell out of there. No one wanted to be the last one left in that scary basement. We'd return down there a few days later to find all the supplies warped and moist from the moldy air. Pens stopped working and everything was musty. We were out of business and our classroom was eventually abandoned. Home Depot is delivering a huge dehumidifier this week and hopefully that will save my supplies and keep the moisture at bay. Until then, I managed to entice the kids down to test it out. They loved the space, made a mess, and split. Later this evening, I'm going to geek out, pour myself a glass of wine and use the space to finish Petra's baby book- until I get spooked out and run upstairs.

Next Project

Looking for some upholstery fabric in orange for the dining chairs. If you've ever attempted this- let me know any helpful hints. Looks like you just unscrew the seat, pull off the old and get to work with the new. I have my staple gun ready and I'll replace the ancient layer of batting. As far as the fabric- I have to order online. Can't seem to find stores that carry many solids. Will Scotch Guard for sure. Judging from how disgusting the current tan fabric became within months of my kid's spills- it's worth the extra step. I'll post some finished photos. Here's the nasty 'before':

Where is Everybody?

Photo: "Empty Backyard" Darien, CT

My dear friend, Denise moved from NYC to VA a few years ago. I imagined her meeting all sorts of fun suburban moms on the playgrounds or walking past their yards say hello to neighbors playing outside. I was wrong. She told me she is often the only one at the playground as her sons wander around in shock coming from the loud, crowded jungle-gyms in the city. Meeting mom friends or new friends for her kids would take some digging around. 

For years I wanted a country setting for my kids to run around in, play with kids down the block and explore the outdoors. We're finally here. Surrounded by woods- not too deep - but just right for exploring. My kids do play outside. I kick them out constantly and they don't complain. Every so often Beckett asks if he can come in, take a break and watch a show. No prob.

Here's the thing- there aren't really any other kids that play outside. All of the houses around us within a three street radius have loads of kids ranging in ages up to high school- but we never see them. As I drive around and peek into the beautifully manicured lawns of Darien and New Canaan, there is not one person in sight. It's spooky. It doesn't matter what time of day it is or season. No one is ever outside. Today just made me sad. I drove through New Canaan today. It was 6:00PM, well after day camps were let out. People should be arriving home from work, it was sunny & not too hot. Backyard jungle gyms, gardens, and pools were completely vacant. The mass amounts of money spent on landscaping and outdoor kitchens with deluxe gas grills seems so wasted. I'm assuming many kids are inside playing video games, but is that really it? I'd love to knock on the door of a house with a killer jungle gym and ask when the last time the kids used it. No kids OR adults to be found. Doesn't anyone ever pick up a hose and I don't know- spray the driveway?

The best memories of my childhood were in my backyard, all the neighborhood kids over, on their bikes, on our swing set, in our kiddie pool, chasing our dogs, drinking kool aid, making mud pies, catching fire flies, jumping rope, hiding and seeking. Grandma & Grandpa would always set up the lawn chairs and watch the chaos, mom would set up the radio on the back patio blast some Rod Stewart and start us dancing and Dad would eventually throw burgers on the grill....and nailed to the tree in the corner of our front yard where all the cars passed by was a bright yellow sign that said:

"CHILDREN AT PLAY".

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Little girly things for Petra

I've been on a glitter kick for some time now. I'm trying to find interesting taxidermy to glitter, but for now have settled on plastic animal figures. I would love to glitter a deer head with huge antlers. Keep a look out for me- would ya? I keep putting them in Petra's room and she loves them, unfortunately it's a bit of a look-don't-touch situation. I also recently picked up this Ikea rug thinking it's super sweet for a girly touch. After all, as you can see in the photo below, Petra embraces her femininity as she works outside in her pink boot, Hello Kitty undies and of course, a tiara. 

Breakfast in bed

Last night before Beckett went to bed he reminded us since it was his birthday in the morning, he would like breakfast in bed. Ok. He saw me have breakfast in bed for Mother's Day, so he'd like to be treated right on his big day. I woke up a bit early, scrambled some eggs and buttered cinnamon bread, melon & OJ. What I really loved about this moment was when we went in to wake him and remind him breakfast in bed was on it's way, he immediately said, "Go get Petra!" He didn't want her to miss out on it. She stumbled in and ate breakfast with him as the Beastie Boys played. They sat there and chatted, eating and laughing. Good start to a great day. 

Oh Credenza- where art thou?

A major piece of furniture I would love to find next is a credenza for the dining area. It doesn't have to match anything, so that's good. I would hope for a danish piece, low and long to throw some little decorative items on. I have to get on ebay / craigslist, and get crackin'. Here are some inspirations:

Sick Day Sculpture

Beckett stayed home today with strep. Josh stayed home with him and said he basically watched so much TV his eyes bugged out. As soon as I got home, we put the laptop, DS and iPad away. We broke out some cardboard boxes and Beckett started to get the brain working again. He dug through the recycling bin, grabbed tin foil, straws, tape and scissors. He was so excited to built something from scratch, and design it himself. Best part is, he and I worked together without butting heads. Typically, we start fun projects like this and not too far into it, things fall apart and the results are drab.

Beckett turns seven this week and I think there are little signs like this pointing to him maturing and our relationship getting a little closer. I was so proud of him today, he stuck with his idea, made it happen and actually spent the evening playing with his battleship. Happy Birthday Beckett.

Ok- Here's what I really want:

This is the obvious choice for a deck set. We will eventually work our way up to a set like these. They will go much better with the style of the house and as we sip our gin & tonics, we'll feel much more Mad Men. 

1950's Patio Set

We bought this 1950's set on Saturday from a dealer up in Redding. We needed small, round, 4 chairs and wanted a vintage look. It looks good on the new deck, but it's more for a garden setting. We'll keep our eyes open for better set later, we were just excited to get something out there. At first we were skeptical it was 1950's, but then found the same set online from another reputable dealer painted turquoise (below). I'll post deck photos this week- waiting for the rain to stop so they can install cables.

We have room on the other side of the deck for 2 chairs & small drink table. They don't have to match since they are far away from each other and the tree will separate the spaces. We want color and were thinking of these 1950 butterfly chairs. Any ideas?

I need a low maintenance backyard:

We did a ton of yard work yesterday. I focused on ripping out a huge patch of pricker bushes along side the driveway = success. My efforts right now are to make the entry to the house cleaned up and planted for spring, while Josh is focused on overall leaf removal. Petra is on stick pick-up detail Beckett seems to think he can skip yard work if he's playing outside running wild. Honestly, I'm ok with that for now. Nothing makes me happier than seeing him playing hide and seek with the neighbor's kids or climbing a tree to check out a squirrel's nest. As far as home improvements, the back deck will be torn off & rebuilt next month, so the backyard project may have to hold off until next spring, but here are some photos that have me thinking. What I love about these is the low-maintenance factor, little grass if any, gravel, blue stone patio, and fire-pit combo. As for furniture- not sure yet. What do you think? Maybe to make me feel better, I'll start preparing the space by ripping out the rectangular patch of pachysandra where we will eventually create this.

Love the built in seating & no-mow gravel:

 Just love the fire-pit and fun atmosphere in this one:
I would never do a circle though. God forbid.

 This is about all the grass I want to deal with: You can pass a football on gravel- right?

I'm all about the ability to play bocee ball.

 Love the firewood storage, fire-pit and seating. We would have the pachysandra 

surrounding this patio, not cactus:

 Again, love the fire-pit, built in seating, but the separation 

between slabs of stone would be a pain:

 Too much going on here. Too many things to care for, but there are parts I love:

I gave in to the wall stickers

Despite my knee-jerk reaction to sticking things to my bare white walls, I gave in to these super cute stickers in Petra's room. The sheet rock has these grooves I thought would be problematic, but I just went right over them. There is a branch on either side of her window. Looking for fun ones for Beck right now...will post once installed.