Aurora House

Monday, September 10, 2012

DIY Roman Shade

It's been almost two years since we moved into our house, and I feel like we are still unpacking and updating here and there. It is such a work in progress. When we moved in, our kitchen windows were adorned with the below Home Depot (not knocking it!) bamboo roman shades:

We've all either seen them, or had them at one point, and they are a very cost-efficient way to provide shade. I've been staring at them for almost two years trying to decide how to replace them without breaking the bank. I appreciate custom shades, but honestly at $700+ (depending on fabric and shape) per window and 4 windows, there had to be a better way. Enter the DIY roman shade. One shade cost me $30 in fabric and glue and took about 30 minutes to complete.

Picked out a playful stripe.....mixes well with the greys in my home, and really wanted a stripe. Love the yellow polka dots too. This was actually in the children's section at the fabric store, but I kept coming back to it. Picked up some spray glue, but ended up not needing it.

First step was to cut the fabric so the stripes matched up vertically across. I cut the fabric face up to make sure the pattern was even.

Ready to go

Flipped over the shade

Used staples to attach fabric to bottom rod and cut excess fabric

Instead of Fabri-Tac, I decided on Scotch Maximum Strength Adhesive....it isn't as sticky as Fabri-Tac, and dries quickly. I pulled the sides tight and glued to edge of the shade's lining.

Cut fabric to match up the stripes on the top of the shade

All finished. Considering that it truly is a "recovered" shade, I think it looks pretty cute ;). I have three more windows with shades that will be recovered this week. Will post pic when they are finished.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

DIY Faux Sheepskin

I'll let the pictures tell the story. A $40 Target 3x5 white shag become my "faux sheepskin-looking throw". Materials included said rug, a marker, and scissors. Needed a little accent under my coffee table...... and had 10 minutes to kill :).

BEFORE

THE RUG

THE TABLE

TRACING THE "SKIN"

EASY TO CUT :)

LOOKS TOO MUCH LIKE A GHOST...trimmed down the curves

THE END RESULT

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Love Chairs

Hubs calls these "love chairs". They are vintage, and they are petite. As my previous photo tease showed, I found a pair of vintage Century love seats at a local consignment store. Our formal living room is really a living "area" centered with a fireplace. Because of the narrow walkway in between our staircase and the fireplace, we've needed a smaller scale solution as far as seating. A sofa and two chairs have done the trick for a while, but their scale was entirely too big for the space. I've been on the hunt for some time for a pair of love seats to fix the problem and make the space more useable. Enter below love seats.

To the untrained eye, these were hideous....and there were TWO of them!

Nope, the angle doesn't change the look much! But, they measured PERFECT for my space. Oh, the potential.

Furniture used to be much more well made.....was excited these were made by Century

Bought both for a total steal and had fabric already chosen....was been loving this grey velvety modern print from Fabric Factory.

Voila! completely re-stuffed, re-upholstered, skirted, and tufted on the back and arms.

Was the most excited about the tufting. It was a last minute decision to add it all around. I think it looks more modern, but soft. To offset the traditional feel, I put our chrome x-based side chairs on either side of the fireplace, and next to the love seats.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Hiatus

Yes. I've been on one. The sun still managed to rise and set every day without my snippets on decorating and design. This summer took a wild turn when my 4 year old son broke his elbow the last week of school. It derailed our world, or rather mine. The nature of his break required pins to hold bones together at the growth plate. After two months, two surgeries, four casts, one splint, and physical therapy(every hour, on the hour), he is healed.....And I'm just now feeling relaxed enough to share focus on other things. So, if you're reading this, thank you for doing so. I'll be back soon with more snippets and DIY's :). In the meantime, I'll leave you with a photo tease of my next project.

Vintage Century Loveseat (s) at a local consignment store

Hellooooo Fabric :)

Sunday, May 27, 2012

50 Shades of Grey

This is the reason you have seen zilch from this blogger. This book series has caused me to ignore my family, forget play dates, fall behind on email and phone calls (blogging too!), and stay up all hours of the night just to get through one more chapter. In its honor and all the ladies who are reading the series, I have pictures of "Christian's Penthouse" in the Escala in Seattle. If you've read, the previous sentence makes complete sense to you. I pictured the penthouse a little different, but the modern amenities, and sleek lines seem fitting. Enjoy.

Escala at night

Escala Foyer

Foyer of Penthouse with service elevator

Penthouse Breakfast table

Penthouse kitchen

Penthouse Wet Bar

Penthouse Great Room & Piano ;). Check out the view of the Space Needle

Penthouse Master bath....the bathtub:)

Penthouse Master Suite with Balcony and view

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Pre-weekend Inspiration

So may things to adore in this home for sale in North Dallas....the architectural details and decor are so incredibly sleek! I LOVE the door knobs (and the drawer and cabinet knobs) in the middle of the door....will have to add those to my dream home wish list! Happy weekend & enjoy!