Antelope in our bedroom

I have had a long time love affair with Stark's Antelope Carpet.  You've seen it in all the design magazines especially on stairs and it is nothing short of stunning.  Seriously, years later I do not tire of it.

image via here

After a whole lot (and I mean a LOT) of convincing, I finally got it in my bedroom.  Not the Stark one, mind you, but Ballard Designs makes a pretty good copy cat version:

The price is still much better than the designer version but after I shared with you my new favorite rug resource a few weeks ago here, you can imagine that my husband pushed back at the price tag when I insisted we needed the largest one they made for our space.  In the end, it was a battle that was well worth fighting.  And, while I am not sure he would ever admit to me being right, I'm pretty sure deep down he agrees with me.  Really.  :)

It's a work in progress but it sure feels amazing to have a bedroom large enough to accommodate a king size bed and two full size side tables after coming from our tiny DC house.  Before we moved, my husband's bedside table was a tiny (and I mean TINY - like 6 inches x 6 inches) PLANT STAND as it was the only thing I could find to fit the space.  Baby steps...

#cameronjonesinteriors #anteloperug #ballarddesignsantelope #ballarddesigns #raleighdesign #homedecor #bedroomdecor #moderntraditionalmix 

Bold Rug...now what?

My friend Diana has a beautiful floral rug in her bedroom as a jumping off point.  She wants to incorporate color and potentially pattern but the question is, how do I do it without it looking too busy?  Can I still incorporate color and pattern in the bedding if I already have a patterned rug on the floor.

Yes, I say!  Yes, you can.  It is all about a happy medium.  I struggle with this whenever I look at rugs but truthfully in my opinion you need to view your rug as a neutral base.  That's not to say you don't want to coordinate and pay attention to the fact that your rug needs to mesh with the rest of the things in your room but just that you don't need to worry so much about incorporating things to be totally matchy matchy.  Now that I've totally confused everyone, I think it is easier to demonstrate with pictures.  These rooms have a lot going on but yet feel totally cohesive in my opinion.

All images from here.

Sweet Dreams

Haven't been feeling super creative lately but decided to try my hand at a mood board to see if I could get the juices flowing.  It is interesting that what I finished with is nothing like what my initial vision was.  Anyway, here is a gold inspired bedroom for this Sunday.  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

DIY Pom Pom Trimmed Curtains

I have been loving the look of custom curtains with pom pom trim for some time now. I don't have the funds for custom drapery right now but I am so pleased with how my latest project turned out. It is the look of custom curtains for much, much less.

 I started with a set of Ikea RITVA curtains in gray. They aren't anything special but they are relatively thick and I like how they are not tabbed or grommetted on the top so they look more custom to me. I tossed the tie backs aside. These bad boys were $34 for BOTH panels. I haven't even been able to find a deal that good at TJ Maxx or Home Goods (trust me, I've been trying).

Here's what the curtains looked like out of the package:

Then I ordered some pom pom trim from Etsy.  I got mine from Frog Feathers and they were great.  Affordable and quick and they were able to set up a custom listing for me so that I got the exact amount I needed.  So, about the amount...I ordered 5 yards and literally had JUST ENOUGH for this.  I recommend that you order a little extra so you aren't pushing your limits like I was.  Here's what the trim looked like before.  It's upholstery pom pom trim so that it can be sewn on.

Then, because I cannot sew, I took the curtains and my trim down the street to my dry cleaner.  There was a slight language barrier and I know she thought I was CRAZY when I was asking her to do this.  I drew a picture to make sure we were on the same page...it is important that the trim is (obviously) on the INSIDE of the curtains.

My dry cleaner seamstress may have THOUGHT I was crazy but now she THINKS I am a genius.  Every time I go in she wants to talk about my beautiful curtains...and aren't they??

Here are some close ups so you can see the detail.

Here you can see the inside of the curtain:

FYI - my dry cleaner charged me $94 for the curtains.  This included hemming the curtains so they were the right length for my room (err on the side of longer when you buy the curtains so you don't end up with high waters...) as well as adding the pom pom trim and pressing them.  You'll definitely want to have them pressed so they don't have the creases from the package.

So, there you have it...custom looking pom-pom trimmed curtains for under $140!!!

Affordable Art Project

This was a crazy affordable project and not to mention easy. I think the end results looks pretty great. I framed some fabric to hang over the huge, bare wall space above our king sized bed.

For a long time I've been looking for something to go over the wall above our bed.  It's a big space and I was wrestling with what a mirror would look like because I was afraid it would look disproportionate to the size.  I am also sick of having lots of little pieces of artwork around because I can't afford larger pieces that make a bigger statement.  Not to mention, larger mirrors were crazy expensive too.  The end result of this project gave me some substantial size for an unsubstantial cost.

I started with the Ikea Ribba Frames.  These were I think $19.99 each.  They're huge so not a bad cost.

I spray painted them gold.  I think the can of spray paint was under $5.  I like this because it has some sheen but it is more of a darker, brassy gold than cheap and chintzy looking.  And then added some ikat fabric that I ordered from here.  It was $23/yard and I only needed 1 yard to complete this.

Note: 1 yard is plenty to fill up both frames but if you are trying to repeat a large pattern, you need to be careful about pattern repeat so you can get the look you want.

Bedding and Pillows = Works of Art

I saw a pillow that I adored recently in a magazine which led me to the Ankasa site.  The bedding and pillows are so beautiful that they are like works of art - seriously.  Too bad their prices are like original works of art as well - the cheapest pillow I saw was $410 and most are well into the $500 range.  Regardless, it is still fun to look.  Don't you just adore them?

[WARNING: There are a lot of pictures in this post.  I tried to narrow down to just my most favorites but it was virtually impossible.  And, this is just a small percentage of the ones they have.]