Feature in the Houzz!

Hey there....I just learned that my laundry room was featured a few days ago on Houzz!! It was part of a post on how to store an Ironing Board and mine is the ninth image from the top. Pretty cool! Check it out!

Iron It Out! Storage Solutions for the Ironing Board

Houzz- Kitchen Remodel, Bathroom Remodel and More»

Browse Home Office Products on Houzz- For Example:

Desks · Task Chairs · Bulletin Board · Desk Accessories · Filing Cabinets And Carts · Cable Management ·

Oops! I did it again

OK, I really had no idea when I posted this project that it would turn out to be pretty much the *only* reason people visit my blog. I'm talking about my tablecloth turned floorcloth idea that has garnered quite a bit of attention...I'm not complaining mind you, far from it! I'm thrilled that people are visiting my blog and I get most of my traffic from Pinterest these days. I have gotten lots of questions about this project after the fact and tried to answer most of those questions in an edit to the post I linked to above. Some questions I didn't have answers to, so in an effort to answer those questions, I made another floorcloth! I did things a *bit* differently this time around, though.

Using a plain white, round tablecloth instead of an already printed one like I used before, I stenciled a design on the cloth.

I know one of the reasons the other floorcloth was so appealing was that there was minimal effort involved; Buy a cute printed cloth, roll on some polyurethane and be done with it. I like, however, knowing that this one will be unique because I painted the design myself. Food for thought for those of you thinking about doing this and making it 'your own.'

Once I finished stenciling, it was on to the polyurethane. As I said previously, it is VERY IMPORTANT that you use WATER BASED poly. Trust me.

It goes on milky, but will dry crystal clear. This time, I coated the front AND the back, two coats each. I plan on using this outdoors and wanted to make sure it had a good water-resistant surface. I recommend two coats on each side regardless of where you will use it. Once dry, it has a nice low luster sheen to it.

I have mine on my patio now in Arizona summer heat and so far, so good. Before I put it outside, I tested it in another spot. I had alot of readers asking if this would work over existing wall-to-wall carpeting. My answer: I don't know! BUT, I do now, because my good friend was the willing guinea pig in a three week long experiment that leads me to say YES! This can work on carpeting IF you follow some guidelines. First, an extremely plush carpet with a very long pile or really thick foam padding would probably not work. My friend has your ordinary, standard wall-to-wall that you see in pretty much every home that has carpeting. She has kids, she has pets, including a male Bichon that is a prolific pee-er! We tested the floorcloth in her TV room.

If any furniture will be placed on top of the floorcloth, prevent indents by folding up a piece of thick paper and placing under furniture legs and such. If it can be avoided, all the better.

Some puckering did occur after the three week test period, but I used a warm iron (not too hot!) and a pressing cloth and the puckering came right out.

It held up really well to frequent male visitors playing x-box games and walking all over it with their big shoes. These were grown men mind you, big, burly, grown men, friends of the family. It withstood three weeks of several times a week foot traffic by these guys. It's a pretty good test run!

I also did a water test. I poured some water on the cloth..........

 and let it sit for 15 minutes..............

20 minutes......................

45 minutes...................and it just sat there on the surface, waiting for me to mop it up.

After 45 Minutes

I have since made several other floorcloths using different fabrics and shapes and they all turned out very well! I will share those with you too, later. Another reader asked if these could be folded. The answer is no, I would not recommend folding, it would leave a crease that would most likely be permanent. For storage, I would recommend rolling and storing in a heavy cardboard tube.

So, there you have it! A bit more effort this time around, but another beautiful floorcloth as the end result. Don't you love the possibility? Thanks for visiting today, see you next time.

Oli Oli Olio........

Thanks to this post by Kristi at Addicted 2 Decorating, I now know the joys of the 'Olioboard!' Oh what rapture to discover *another* time sucking addiction because facebook and Pinterest weren't enough!! I'll see you all in October.........just kidding, I'll be back before October....maybe. Meanwhile, here is my very first ever attempt at creating a moodboard using Olioboard. This is seriously dangerous....

A Word to the Wise...

*IF* you are going to be doing an experiment that requires dipping fabric in a vat of polyurethane and *IF* you don't wear gloves and the polyurethane dries on your skin, it will look like this.........

Blech!! I scrubbed for twenty minutes and it still won't come off all the way! It looks like I have some kind of weird skin condition. So, wear those gloves people!

Beautiful Illusion

My twelve year old son came running to me, shouting "Mom,Mom, you *have* to see this!!" He had been on youtube and I was pretty sure he was about to show me another 'annoying orange' segment (get it....orange...segment!! *snort* No? well, ok) Anyway, I really wasn't interested, but to humor him, I dutifully followed him to the computer and stood there as he prepared the video he wanted me to see so badly. Sometimes kids surprise you..................



I am a sucker for optical illusions and this one is great. What's not to love? Candles, classical music, a cute guy (I think...it's hard to see him clearly!) and an illusion all rolled into a fifty eight second clip of visual splendor!! Made my night. I'm easily delighted. You can probably tell :-)  Have you seen any good illusions lately?

Canopy Dreams

I must have been royalty in a past life. I absolutely swoon at any bed with something swagged, hung or swathed with fabric overhead, leading me to believe I spent a good deal of time luxuriating in draped canopy beds dripping with rich silks and gauzy cottons. Perhaps I was an Indian Princess or maybe one of the Hapsburgs of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Present day has me eying these beautiful canopy beds with much admiration. Easily dressed up or down, and in a wide range of styles, they are the perfect bedroom addition to make anybody feel royal.

Here

Love the delicacy of this beauty from Oly Studio. It's so light and airy, yet has a glamorous finish and would look fab with super crisp, white linen panels hung all around. I can see this in a room painted turquoise blue.

Here

I'm super intrigued with this bed from Ironies. Love the brushed silver finish. Actually love this whole room, but don't think I could live in there very long without wanting some color somewhere. I think the bed makes such a strong statement, I would keep the canopy really simple. One single piece of super sheer white gauze draped up, over the top and down the other side at the headboard. Super easy and call it a day!

Here

I have long wanted this bed from Ikea. Someday I will have it! I chose this one simply because it's priced in my comfort zone and (sorta) realistically attainable. Also, it's solid wood and I can paint it! And you know I would, too! I can also see turning this into an art project....gluing little mosaic mirrors all over it to match my disco ball, or painting ever-trendy chevron stripes on the posts. Hey, Nate Berkus didn't call me the "Glamazon" for nothin'!

Here

Of course who doesn't love Anthropologie's Italian Campaign Bed? I adore the bare skeleton of this and would probably leave it un-adorned. I have seen this bed outfitted with yards and yards of fabric with ruffles and frills galore and it looks very romantic and pretty that way, but definitely not me. I think the shape of the canopy speaks for itself and should be left bare.

Here

Rounding out the selection leads us to this substantial wood platform bed from MASHstudios. I.Love.This.Bed! I really like low-slung furniture and this is a gorgeous example of form and function. You could dress this bed just about any old way and it would always look good!

These days, you don't have to be royalty to enjoy a canopy bed, but isn't it fun to imagine yourself in a faraway land, on a beautiful bed draped with rich fabrics and drifting off to sleep under canopy dreams.....

Sleep tight,