Rustic jute and hemp tassel for new backyard gazebo

Good afternoon on a rainy Burlington Saturday.

For my birthday (29th) my mom bought me a garden gazebo from Canadian Tire. It's 10 x 10 with mosquito netting and privacy curtains. The only problem with it is that it is brown. I dislike brown immensely. However, I'm making the best of it.

Here's a pic of the gazebo:

Now I'm thinking about how I can pretty it up.

This morning I made a rustic tassel of jute, hemp and beads. I purchased everything from the dollar store,  and paid probably .75 for the tassel. It took at the most five minutes to make.

Here it is:

I think it looks pretty cute. I'm going to hang it at the entrance or maybe make more and hang them from all four corners.

Next I am going to add little sparkly outdoor lights and maybe some gauzy curtains and will post a pic when I'm finished.

Take care and have a great day everyone!

French Country upholstered headboard - finished

I received a few comments that I didn't show the entire headboard, so here it is.
It works well in our bedroom. Next I'm painting a wall mirror to match.

Oh, and here is a photo of the new valance I made to go with my curtains. Apologies about the quality of the photo - I'm not an expert in photography.

French Country Upholstered Headboard using Annie Sloan Chalk paints and Waverley Fabric

On Monday I decided I would finally paint and re-cover my king size 60's French Provincial headboard. I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, waxes and gold wax for the headboard to give it a distressed French finish. And I used Waverley Fabric - yellow and blue toile - for the padded portions of the headboard. I found a fabulous deal on more than 15 yards of Waverley La Petite Ferme toile fabric for $55 at a consignment shop.

When I first saw the headboard it had tufted white brocade inserts which I hated because it gave it a sort of Hollywood-glam look, but I saw that the headboard had potential and I kind of had an idea as to how I wanted it to look.

Enter Charles Faudree

Another great purchase I made last Christmas was for five amazing Charles Faudree French Country decorating books:

In Canada, each book sells for more than $45. I bought all five for $14 each on eBay! I use them for reference and found the beautiful headboard on page 48 of Charles Faudree Interiors (see below) which is where I got the inspiration for my headboard design.

I photographed as I went along - so here are some pictures of the painting and re-covering project. Hope you enjoy looking at them. It is so easy to do and the whole project took less than 12 hours.

Painting the headboard

Here's a photo of the original headboard. It had a dull walnut finish.

After the first coat of Annie Sloan Old White Chalk paint, it wasn't looking too good.

 

After three coats of paint and the lavender Martha Stewart paint applied.
Please excuse the unmade bed - when I'm on a roll, nothing else around the house gets done!

 



Here's some photos of the finished headboard, after paint, gold leaf and wax have been applied.

Gold wax has been rubbed on.

And some pictures of the final headboard - with the new padded inserts added. To make the inserts, I just glued the Waverley La Petite Ferme fabric onto the old padded inserts and applied piping.

Yet another shot:

And the final - this time the bed is made (sort of):

So that's the end of this project. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. It matches the lined curtains that I made last week. Apologies for my bad photos .

I'm still working on our bedroom. I have blinds to make, throw pillows and a bench yet to cover. I'll start that today and post more pictures.

As usual, your comments are appreciated.

French Country painted bed using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint - Courtesy of Charles Faudree

I purchased a mid-60's French Provincial bedroom set a couple of years ago with the intention of painting it using Annie Sloan paints. The wood is so good that I am hesitating, although I've decided to paint the king headboard based on a photo from Charles Faudree's French Country Designer books. Here's a picture of the bed. I am starting today - if I am ambitious enough - and I hope that it will turn out as nice as this one. I will post a pic when it's completed. Thanks for looking. As usual, if you have any comments, please let me know.

French Country Style done cheap!!

I'm usually pretty thrifty when it comes to buying stuff for the house. I search for good deals on Kijiji, Craigslist and items on sale at HomeSense and other decorating shops.

Here's a photo of my latest creation - wanted something to put on our plain white slab master bathroom door. Went to Dollarama and found a little lavender bouquet for $1.25. I wrapped some beautiful yellow wired ribbon around it and tied a bow - cost about $.05, so for $1.30 I have this great door décor. The pic below shows it on the door. Took less than five minutes to put together. Let me know if you like it.

 

 

Provence Mon Amour

Provence Mon Amour Facebook page has some of the most beautiful photographs of the French country living and lifestyle that I have ever seen! Check it out here:
Provence Mon Amour