Welcome! This blog is all about working with what you've got - and improving upon those things if necessary - to make the best space you can.
Perfect example: We recently moved into our sublet in Brooklyn, and one of the things about subletting, at least the way we’re doing it, is that you use the stuff your sub-lessors left you. In our master bedroom, that means two red dressers.
There's one...and here's the other. Note this picture also serves as the "before" on my desperately-needed closet organization:
I probably wouldn't have picked out those red dressers myself (I like them, I just may not have chosen them - but they're the Ikea Hemnes if you're interested) but who doesn't have a Papasan or their parents' basement furniture or something you bought because it worked for a previous place and now just doesn't anymore?
So I figured I’d experiment. The point of this blog is to make the best of what you’ve got – and if you’ve got red dressers, you gotta work with them. I thought I'd make it a real exploration - just how versatile could these red dressers be?
I set about gathering materials - mostly window dressings, throw pillows and artwork, and kept my receipts. I had two goals in mind when gathering up materials. 1) Stay within budget. I only bought things I'd be comfortable keeping, cost-wise, and I have a pretty low ceiling (Read: I'm super cheap). 2) Be willing to consider options I might not if I weren't exploring. So here’re the goods:
1. This duvet cover set is the first thing I bought (you can see it in the before picture here), and I knew it was staying because I liked it (though I'm slightly over the whole pin-tuck thing, I liked that it feminized all the chunky stuff, and I like the color. I'm still a sucker for cafe au lait). It's originally from Target, but I got it new from Goodwill (which sells unsold Target merchandise) for $15.
2. These knit poufs are just so cute. And, if you have a kid, really, really handy for getting down to their level without having to make it all the way to the ground. I actually bought these for my daughter Lou's room for $12 each on clearance from Target (there are 2), but I loved the color so much I swiped them for my room. (PS - I saw this how-to on Pinterest for making your own).
3. This pillow is also from Target. Theme here, anyone? I am not sure this picture does the pillow justice though: the colors are really saturated and the cafe au lait in the pillow picked up perfectly on the duvet cover I already had. This pillow is $24.99 - and that's seriously pricey for me, for a pillow, from Target. But, in the spirit of adventure, I picked it up. I do love the colors, and I love the global vibe from the ikat.
4. These are also from Target. They're table cloths. Table cloths are some of the cheapest fabric you can get your hands on, and are already hemmed! These are long - 104" - and cost $20 each. As curtains go, that's a steal. Of course, they don't have rod pockets or grommets. But that's why they invented drapery rings (like these) - so I also purchased three packs of those.
5. And here's some more table cloths. These are from Marshall's, and I fell hard for the flower print when I saw it. It's a bit hard to see in this photo, but I also liked that the red in these curtains was more of a Nantucket Red than a true red, which I thought could tone down the dressers. These are 120" and also $20 each. Again, a freaking steal. Like the other table cloths, they're not lined, so to use as curtains down the road, it might be worth it to line them with blackout fabric. But for my fooling around phase in the bedroom, no need. Plus, these are long enough to serve as bed coverlets - so for the purposes of mixing and matching to see which combo I liked best, they were perfect.
6. These are actual curtains - Tahari!- from Marshall's. I love them. I just really like coffee color, I guess. But I liked their neutral-but-textured appeal, and at $30 for 2 96" panels, they were an incredible bargain. Not that I haven't done better - I have. Way, way better. But still, for new, that's pretty good.
7. I bought these - a red-checkered table cloth and a set of taupe-striped place mats for $10 and $8, respectively, from Marshall's, thinking of possible throw pillow covers and bedspreads.
8. These throw pillows are originally from Target, and via Goodwill for $8 each. Same for Number 10.
9. Some white trays and a teeny class cube that spells Love out. Had to have. A couple bucks per tray and $1 for the Love cube from Goodwill (the thrift, not Target overflow section).
11. A rug, new from Target via Goodwill, for $20.
12. These are place mats - again Target via Goodwill, I think for $5/2.
13. This pirate ship came from Goodwill. There was, oddly, more than one there, but I don't think it's Target stock. I had to have it for my daughter, who loves her some pirates, so here it is.
14. Some picture frames - one from Target, the other Ikea, both via Goodwill for about $5 each.
15. More Target curtains, also via Goodwill. These are from a Goodwill in Morgantown, PA, so they cost $4 per panel.
16. I love these cheery 20" x 20" napkins from TJ Maxx. I knew they'd be perfect throw pillow covers, and at $9.99 for 4 (so 2 pillows) I thought they were worth a shot.
17. This throw, from Target Threshold line, was $10 at my local Goodwill in Brooklyn.
18. More tablecloths! I love the mustard-y color of these. They're 84" long and were $13 each from TJ Maxx.
19. And one more shout out for bringing the kitchen into your bedroom: these napkins are amazing. That teal chevron is actually a raised velvet, and it coordinates beautifully with my poufs. $7 for 4 from TJ Maxx.
In addition to what’s shown here – what I actually purchased – I also plan to ruthlessly pillage the rest of the rooms in my house. (And I promise, I do own things that hail from some place other than Target's dining section.) Anything is fair game - I figure if I really love it in there, it deserves to stay there.
So will you join me as I set out to makeover our sublet bedroom and its red dressers? Look for the first master styling on Friday. In the interim, we'll do some organization and just general craftiness. Up tomorrow: the first in the What's for Dinner (WFD series).
Thanks for stopping by!