Young House Love

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Spray Painting Mismatched Frames

We all know I have a pillow problem. And true to form, I couldn’t resist grabbing two of these boldly striped 26″ x 26″ euro pillows for just nine bucks a pop when we came across them at HomeGoods. In my defense, John walked off and came back holding them, so he might have a pillow problem too. But come on, $9? For giant 100% cotton euro pillows? Sold. In our house, pillows are definitely nomads, so these guys could end up doing a little tour (hitting up the guest room, the playroom, and even the sunroom or living room). But right now we’re loving them in our bedroom with the similarly toned flower & berry prints from Alaska that we hung a few weeks back:

Bedroom Pillows

It’s sort of like adding a completely temporary boldly striped headboard without doing anything more than spending $18 and tossing them on the bed. No muss, no fuss. And no commitment. We really like how they work with everything from our garage sale botanical art and the lighter toned greeny-gold curtains to the green potted plant on the other side of the room and even Sir Ram. Because when you stop to think about it, what really works with a giant ram head over your bed? Am I right? Oh and as for the smaller greeny-gold pillow, it’s sure to pop up in other places too, so it’s not always destined to be layered with the new striped pillows for those who object (although in person it’s really nice pairing that further ties in the curtains). Here’s a wide shot of the very unfinished side of our bedroom:

Bedroom Bed Side

I know, I know. That picture looks crazy. So check out all the doodled changes that we’re planning to make as we go:

Bedroom Bed Doodles

To further expound upon my doodles:

  1. We hung the twig & berries art on the same center-line as the ram (just so they wouldn’t look like they were riding high and because the lamp shades only overlapped the written flower/berries names and not the illustration) but once we get new night stands that are hopefully taller (since those old living room side tables are way too low and don’t have any concealed storage) we’ll probably scooch everything up a bit.
  2. The ottoman is necessary for Burger to get in and out of bed (yes, we pander to him, although we refuse to buy doggy steps) but it’s a little short and chunky and dark (although it does tie into our leaning mirror and dark chair) so we might get/make something lighter and longer (perhaps with dark legs but a lighter fabric top).
  3. The wheat colored lamp shades sometimes read as a little dirty since the bedding, trim, light fixture, and door are so white. Mehaps a little makeover or upgrade is in order.
  4. We’d love some sort of big chunky cabinet to the left of the bed for function, balance, and to make sense of the odd little nook there.

So that’s the long-term plan in there. And just as new additions to a room often inspire some tweaking (ex: in a surprise turn of events our twig & berry art spurred us to lose the ol’ printed duvet cover), the addition of the new striped pillows sparked a little art tweak on the other side of the room. Ever since we added the matching framed botanicals by the bed (along with the matching wall plaques on either side of Sir Ram and the matching new striped pillows at the head of the bed) the horse art somehow slipped from feeling nice and balanced (since it had two different items under it – a chair and a dresser) to feeling a little too balanced and mirror-image since it was one of many things that were now in pairs…

Bedroom Final1

So because we were itching for a little less symmetry (while still wanting to maintain some semblance of balance to help the new-ish chair and the very old dresser relate), we decided to play around with stuff that we already had to see if we could come up with a free alternative:

  1. Down came the horses above the dresser (which now reside in the playroom but will hopefully find a permanent place somewhere else down the line).
  2. Up went two differently sized old Ikea frames that we had sitting in the playroom, waiting to be hung for almost 8 months.

We immediately liked the less symmetrical arrangement but the oddly mismatched frame colors weren’t doing it for us (one was a clashy reddish brown and one was white). And since the botanicals looked so good with a little oil-rubbed bronze spray paint I decided to quickly pop the glass/art out of them and give them a few thin and even coats of leftover ORB. You know, so they’d tuck into the room a bit more and look more integrated with the stuff going on across the wall. So outside I went with my sexy spray painting socks (see those here)….

Frames Before

… and soon enough the frames were bronzed and beautiful…

Frames Sprayed

Then I needed something to put in them. So I dug through the old art stuff we already had and found a simple little green dandelion print from Ikea (it used to hang next to our front door in our first house). I also decided to make some always-appropriate-for-a-DIY-couple’s-bedroom “paint chip art” with old Ralph Lauren swatches that I had in my basket (yes, I have a paint swatch basket since I hate throwing them away, which is also where I house all of my paint decks except for my favorite one that hangs in the hallway). Home Depot doesn’t even sell Ralph Lauren paint anymore, so I figured “recycling” the old swatches was better than hoarding them or just trashing them, so I pulled out all of the little colored squares…

Swatches 1

… and just used tones that reoccur in the room so it would tie in (I didn’t need something that screamed since that would compete with the botanicals and the remaining horse photograph over the leather chair). I was left with a little pile of browns, grays, blue-grays, greeny-yellows, soft sand colors, creams, and whites. So I just arranged them in a gradient from darkest to lightest (this photo was still a work in progress since I switched out a few of the chips that stuck out too much or looked out of order).

Paint Swatch2

Little loops of scotch tape on the back of each one held them in place on four pieces of card stock that I taped together to create a big 16 x 20″ background to fit the frame. Ta-daaa.

Paint Chips

We love that the paint chip art looks like a pixelated photo and the dandelion pic is a nice little “neutral” touch in the room as well (so it all layers in nicely without conflicting too much with anything else on the walls). Yay. We’re fans. Although we’ve learned that art posts are definitely the most not-everyone’s-boat-is-floated-by-the-same-stuff kind of thing. But we sleep in that room and we like it mucho. Hurrah! Clara’s favorite part? The pig of course (she runs into the room squealing “piggy!” and pointing while oinking). Very cute.

Dresser New Frames

For another version of paint swatch art, check out what we did with leftover swatches in our old office (on our postcard ledge) and drop in on Jessica Jones’ awesome paint chip art project here on How About Orange.

Oh and since I’m in a doodling mood, here’s a bit more about why we did what we did:

Dresser Doodles

See, it’s not as perfectly balanced and mirror-image-ish. But it still kind of goes. And it’ll work a lot better after some tweaks over time (get ready for more doodling)…

Bedroom Other Side

… like this…

Bedroom Other Side Doodles

We really like that the white mirror in the nook relates to the glossy white window trim, and the art hanging on either side of it is dark enough to feel balanced but not exactly the same size/shape anymore. So that’s where we are.

Who knows what else we’ll change as we go though. We’re definitely fans of the trial and error method (since we never seem with it enough to get things right on the first try, haha). Although this corner view is still my favorite for some reason. Probably because the mirror reflects a ton of window-light and the big chandelier is floating overhead with the neutral-ish-but-not-white curtains, the dark moody leather chair, and the horse art in the background.

Bedroom Corner

So anyway, it’s nice that something as simple as two cheap-o pillows and some fast & free art swappage (I must be in a free art mood this week) could add a bit more interest while taming the super-symmetry that seemed to build and eventually boil over as we added art and accessories.

Have you guys bought cheap-o pillows lately? Or decided to switch out art and accessories as you toss in other additions and slowly build a room? Any favorite pillow sources in general? Oh and has anyone out there gotten it totally right with everything from the furnishings to the accessories in one shot? That must be amazingly serendipitous. We’re more of the learning as you go slash bumbling along type. Haha. But at least we didn’t break anything this time…

Comments

  1. Margaret says

    I know this is the World’s Most Annoying Comment on a home improvement blog but:

    That dresser is soooo pretty as is! I hope you don’t refinish it!

    There, got it out of my system.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yeah, we’d love to work with it as-is, so we’ll have to see how it looks when we refinish the floors. I think the odds are pretty good that it could stay untouched because it’s from John’s parents and although they’re all for us making changes, it’s kind of a nostalgic thing as-is, ya know?

      xo,
      s

  4. kelsey says

    that looks great! i love the paint chip idea – and who doesn’t love a botanical – i did the same thing at home goods the other day, bought two pillows because they were $7 each for my daughter’s room – totally didn’t need them, but dang they were cute.

    Reply

  5. Joanna says

    I love the new art! I think it’s easier on the eye now. Keep up the good work!
    ps.You could also add a desk nook to left of your bed. Have you though about that possibility?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We considered a bunch of stuff for in that nook but so far we’re the most into adding some concealed storage. Not sure where we’ll end up though!

      xo,
      s

  9. MissPinkKate says

    I am TOTALLY going to try my hand at some paint chip art! A cheap, easy way to add a dash of color to our living room.

    Reply

  11. bridget b. says

    i actually like the 2 prints over the dresser better than the 2 horse posters from before. even though the posters were different, they still seemed a little matchy-matchy. the paint swatch art and dandelion picture are a little more quirky and have that collected over time look, which is SO you guys. love it!

    quick question: on your bathroom nook to-do list, what do you mean by “add doors to balance vanity”. are you going to cover the seating area of the vanity with cabinet doors?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yup, if you sit down you can’t see the mirror, so it’s really not functional at all. We plan to add shelving to the other side and then add doors so it’s a completely built-in nook with lots more space to stash things (since we don’t have the typical medicine cabinet).

      xo,
      s

  12. Maureen in NY says

    How have I not seen that at Ikea?? That is my Mecca. I have an orange bedroom that was our sons and we have switched his room, so I am now determined to have a girly room up there! White will be the color to calm that orange down. :)

    Reply

  13. Shannon C. says

    The art change up is absolutely fabulous! Of course art is really personal, and I like both horse prints, but they’ve always looked a bit too matched for me. The dandelion and paint chips are great!

    Reply

  14. Dugi says

    I love the stuff you do. The pillows and the wall art are lovely. But it’s the Ram and wall plaques on either side that totally throw me. Some how tacky. :( Don’t hate me. I love you guys.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      No worries! We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we’re total weirdos to love sleeping under a giant ram head. We’re just happy to let our freak flag fly. Haha.

      xo,
      s

  20. sangeetha says

    Oh the paint swatch art is uber cool! Looks so abstract and elegant. I am curious how you hang your art. For some weird reason I am afraid of making holes in my walls = so I just let my art sit there even if I don’t like it!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Those frames are super easy! We just use Ikea’s picture wire and place one nail in the wall and loop it over it. There’s always spackle and a ten second paint touch up if you mess up, but it’s worth it for art instead of bare walls! Good luck!

      xo,
      s

  21. Christina says

    Oh, Sherry! Yes! The pillows are great but I’m so happy with the art swap. It looks great. I like it so much better than both horse prints together. Well done.
    I really love that you show changes like that- that the first or third run aren’t always homers. I change stuff at my house all the time and find that the more you monkey the better things become, or maybe, the better we become at it. Either way, love the new look.

    Reply

  23. Christina says

    Oh, one other thing. I just got two gorg plants at lowes last week on clearance for $7.50 each. I’m 5 foot 3 and they are both as tall as I am. HUGE savings.. may wanna drop in! (im Ohio though)

    Reply

  24. Erica says

    When we were moving into our new place, I wanted some new pillows to change things up some, but we were on a really tight budget. I found a Dwell Studio pillow at Target that was perfect and had a regular (not sale) price of $6.24. The only problem was that they only had one. I went to another Target and picked one up. The price? $19.99. When I told the lady about the other Target she said it must have been a mistake. But two weeks later my Target had restocked them still with a regular price of $6.24. Best pillow purchase ever.

    Reply

  25. Meagain says

    Have the same pillows in red…love them…but paid 15 bucks each, if my memory serves me correctly.

    Also…could you not ditch the other horse print and do the same kind of paint sample collage (which I may very well copy). Really, the horse prints do absolutely nothing for your room. Glad to see one gone.

    Reply

  27. Megan says

    Before you showed what you all want to do on your bed side of the room, I was picturing a dresser and mirror combo or an armoire that was in the same dark color family as the ottoman and giant mirror. I really like the contrast of the dark colors with everything light in the room and few touches of dark in frames, tables, whatnot. And I love the worn feel of your dresser but that may just be me – I have one that is very similar in our TV room and it’ll be the one thing that stays (besides all of my daughter’s toys) when we get new furniture and rip out the hideous carpet. I think they are great for any space – warm, matches a lot of other furniture, etc. Good job on the pillows – love the bright punch of green and the price is unbeatable!!!

    Reply

  28. Nicole says

    Love those pillows – we got the exact same ones at our local Home Goods almost two weeks ago. They sure help when you want to sit up in bed, too.

    We also only bought two, but then I realized I wanted one more so I went back to get it, and they were all sold out. Fortunately I found a Tommy Bahama euro pillow for $10, too. We are planning to put pillow cases on all of them.

    Reply

  30. Katie says

    Haha the paint chip art cracks me up! So creative! I have a ton too – I actually just blogged yesterday about how I’m wondering if there might be a rule about taking SO MANY from Lowes/Home Depot every time I want to paint a room. I just got a bunch to paint tone-on-tone stripes in my bathroom using your tutorial from the first house. It turned out so well and everyone loves it…thanks for being such an inspiration!

    Reply

  35. Paulina says

    I love watching your progress on projects. The art work looks great. So creative. I also love the wall color in your bedroom. Could you share what color are you walls painted?

    Reply

  36. Megan says

    Looking at the post again about your comments for the vanity remodel at some point – what if you put a piece of furniture there, even the dresser you have in your bedroom and place a nice sink on top? Or half sunk in so it doesn’t cover the window? It’d look less like a bathroom vanity and more like a nice element of the bedroom.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      That could definitely be a down-the-road thing! We just want to work with what we have for now since buying a dresser and converting it into a sink takes a bit more moolah then we have right now. We also worry that the room might look too dresser-heavy with two dressers that are practically next to each other (so something about the white built-in look feels like a nice element in the middle of that wall). But you never know!

      xo,
      s

  37. Sandra T says

    Love, love love the paint swatch art!!! I love what you did, and the metamorphosis of this room (although I still miss the duvet, sorry but I loved it). Btw, while at my local small town hardware store the other day, I was looking at spray paint, and guess what color they were out of?? Yep, ORB! A coincidence?

    Reply

  38. Ami says

    Love it. And thanks for the not-so-symmetrical lesson. I’m a little type-A and have a tendency to line and match up things. Also, can’t wait to show the hubs your giant paint swatch basket. I have 2 big document boxes full of paint chips. I had it out and he said, ‘think you have enough now?’ Then, same day on a trip to Home Depot picked up a few more. Yes, got the stink eye. But now I can show him I’m not the only one!

    Reply

  39. Erin @ One Project at a Time says

    Hi guys- speaking of Master Bedrooms, I tried to ask a question about our strange interior-windows-in-the-master-bedroom situation to your Facebook community, but for some reason it wouldn’t let me post. We really need help figuring out what to do with our odd little bedroom situation, any advise that you or the group has would be greatly appreciated! Who puts windows into the Living Room from the Master Bedroom?? I’m totally stuck! http://oneprojectatatime.blogspot.com/2011/08/window-shopping.html?utm_source=BP_recent

    Reply

  43. heather s. says

    I like the pillows but I’m not sold on them in the room yet. They seem so graphic and bold while everything else is more muted. Also LOVE the asymmetrical arrangement above the dresser (especially since I was one of the few readers who didn’t like the horse art) and I’ve always enjoyed a good paint swatch art. In fact, that was one of the first things I did to my room in high school (oh, 18 years ago) to make free art.

    Reply

  44. Leah says

    Love it! Especially the paint chip art. Such a cool idea!

    I change my mind all the time about my house. In the middle of painting our bedroom, I turned to my hubs and said, “Yeah, I’m not liking this color.” We did finish painting it and now I’m kind of OK with it, after repainting the trim twice.

    And our kitchen and hallway have yet to be painted (we’ve been in our house for two years now) because I can’t decide on a color. I’ll think I have a decision and then change my mind again. It’s so dumb. It’s not like it can’t be repainted, right?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      All signs point to leaving it as-is, as long as it doesn’t look crazy when we refinish the floors. It’s a lot less red than the flooring, so I bet it’ll be ok!

      xo,
      s

  46. Andrea says

    I love the striped pillows. I think it would look great to add some luxurious fabric behind the bed to soften that side of the room! I bet you could find some good examples of this on Pinterest;-)

    Reply

  47. Ann L says

    Love the new artwork, definitely looks a little more “fresh” and a little less matchy-matchy than the two similarly colored horse photos. I’m a little angry at the price of your pillows though! I got the same ones at Homegoods yesterday and they weren’t $9 each! Think I could bring in a print-out of your blog to use for a price adjustment? ;)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, you could try calling them and saying you saw them at another HomeGoods for $9 and see if they’ll honor it by price adjusting or something. I wonder if their pricing is regional or something?

      xo,
      s

  48. Jennifer says

    Question….in all your surfing the WWW from start to finish and back have you seen lamp shade covers that are simple circular cuts of fabric with elastic on top and bottom. I have wondered if this design/method is even possible. Just something in my minds-eye. I have several lamp shades I would love to recover but have not yet come across something that is more interchangeable and not so permanent like glueing fabric to a shade.

    Just curious if you had seen anything like what I describe or what you thought about the idea.

    Thanks!!

    Reply

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