Monday, September 20, 2010

Seagrass is In!

Ok, so I know you've seen a million pictures of my bedroom before, but I'm finally feeling really good about it because we got our wall-to-wall seagrass installed this weekend, so be patient with me while I show you more pics! 

Here it is when we bought the house last year:

{yummy!!}

It has wall-to-wall cream carpeting and it did not fare well with our family & lifestyle.  So as you might remember from this post, we painted the paneling & added a chandelier and cheapie roman shades and curtains.  (Both of which I'd eventually like to upgrade...  But I also want to replace the back window with a set of steel french doors and a little balcony too so there's always something, right?)  Anyway, we found the antique brass headboard on the side of the road near our house and it's still to this day one of my best trash picks.  I used a lot of what I had to put together a white room that I could just "not think" in (ie completely relax).  Anyway, we're still mnissing a few things like a bedskirt and the perfect massive white hide rug but here's what it looks like now:







My $13 repainted Gustavian chair moves around the room:



And I think it looks best like this:



We are loving the seagrass!!!   We've had it in our basement family room/ office for over a year so we knew what we were getting into.  Typically, it would hurt my feet late at night & really in early in the morning.  BUT, now that it's been in the bedroom for a few days, I guess I've gotten used to it.  Seagrass is hard & rough but not scratchy.  (For more detailed info on seagrass & other natural rug materials & my thoughts on them , check out this post here.)  I plan on adding a soft white cow hide under the bed so when our feet first hit the floor it feels super-soft but I'm honestly surprised at how okay my feet are now.


Christian doesn't mind it either... 


I added thse old orange velvet striped pillows I made a bunch of years ago because I wanted to warm it up for Fall.  (Our dog uses them more than we do & her usual spot it curled up between them...  rough life.)

Here's a picture of what it was like before with the big body pillow & some other white bedding. 


(I switch it up all the time & am very weird about clean sheets/ bedding. We usually change our sheets at least twice/ week but I'm happiest changing them every other day, but too lazy to actually do it most of the time. I love the smell & feel of just-out-of the-wash-sheets and it's kind of one of those little free luxuries we can provide for ourselves... well, really me because I think dave could care less. (And, since our dog loves to sleep on the bed-- and in the bed when it's cold-- it's not unusual for met to come into the room to find paw prints on the bed. However, (and here's my little white bedding arguement/ rant: Some people say that white bedding isn't practical when you have dogs & kids & I couldn't disagree more. You see, I want to know when there's something dirty on my bed, not camoflauge it. I'm not saying that you have to have white bedding if you have dogs/ kids, only that if you do want it, it's great for germaphobes and people like me who don't mind washing the bedding frequently... But the white quilt and duvet only get washed every couple of weeks which is basically whenever the dog gets dirty paws on them.) Sorry for that! :)


And now onto the not-so-pretty (but oh-so-wonderful) dark secret of our bedroom.  WE HAVE A TV IN OUR BEDROOM.  (gasp!!)  I got it for Dave for his birthday this past May and since we don't have cable, it only works to watch movies from the dvd player or online.   We installed it behind the door when you first walk in.  Most people don't even notice it when they're getting a tour until we point it out, but when we close the door at night, it's prefect for watching movies in bed.  I know all about all of the "no TVs in the bedroom" rules and the supposed effects on people's love lives & all of that, but we love it.  I love snuggling up in bed and watching a good movie... especially when I'm sick. 



We rigged it so that the dvd player and laptop station are hidden in our closet which, as  you can see, runs right behind the TV. 


I'll show you more pics in here when I get some wallpaper and a chandelier up.  (hahaha which will be a good long while!)

Here's a quick pic of my jewely on the wall which is so insanely practical.  I'm thinking of adding more of this near the vanirty area in our bathroom because I really only wear the stuff that's out.  (Except all summer long I've been wearing my Kayce Hughes wooden beaded necklace and pretty much nothing else.  I'm going to do a post on it soon because it's one of the best pieces of jewelry I've ever owned and you probably need it ;)



And here's one last pic of my room as it looks about 1/3 of the time:


But, I'm working reeeeeally hard on making my bed every morning.  (Skillsets for 20-somethings- I should teach a class! ha)  I've done it every day since Thursday, which is when the new seagrass went it...  I find it's so much more satisfying to make your bed when you like your room.  Hope you enjoyed the tour and don't be surprised when I show you every angle & then some again when I finally find my hide ;) 
Have a beautiful day!!!

xoxo, Lauren

*Paint is FreshAire Choice's "Beach Pearl" (the no VOC brand @ Home Depot)
*Seagrass is available through Lauren Liess Interiors and was installed by the Tolvin Carpet Customizer (he's the best!!)
*Brass apothecary lamp- Robert Abbey
*Bedding-a mix of custom, Target & West Elm
*Nightstand dressers & Curtains- Ikea
*Roman Shades- Sears
*All else is vintage/ antique

If you want to know more about seagrass check out this post 
If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.