Sunday, June 26, 2011

One panel down...

Here's my one curtain panel up! The other is sitting on my fancy new ironing board with my fancy new iron waiting for me to have another hour or two to finish it. But, the good news is that even with my less-than-perfect ironing abilities, the panel looks pretty good with the fusing tape! Don't look too closely, since you'll see how wonky some of the lines are, but whatever. That color is just so so good. I love it with the wood of the dresser. And I think it brightens up the whole room quite a bit. I also think it looks nice with the sheers I got at Target. I even think the length is pretty good. I'm a fan of a little bit of pooling. Oh, and I know you are supposed to have your curtains hung close to the ceiling, but there is some old water damage close to the ceiling in this room (from when the roof leaked, which we have fixed since then) and now that it's all painted over and won't be leaking anymore, I didn't want to deal with trying to screw the curtain rod in anywhere near it. Plus, I think with the sheers hung on a tension rod inside the window, it would look weird to have a big gap in between, and I'm not about to spend the money to get a double rod. Long story short, this is how it looks, and I like it. :) The other great thing about this fabric is that it's pretty heavy, so when it's pulled closed, it actually blocks out a lot of light. Great for baby naps...

I promise to catch up more soon. Summer classes, work, pregnancy, family, bla bla bla. Things are crazy!

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Nursery Lamp Table

Once again, my mom is my hero. We all went to St. Simons Island for a Memorial Day trip (although my mom and her family got to stay longer than we did... jealous). The antique festival was going on, and although I didn't stop by (my husband will not allow hours of antiquing on a tight 2.5 day vacation schedule, and I can't really blame him) my mom did. She called me about a super cute modern side table. I've been half looking for a table for the baby's room. Only half looking since I'm currently overwhelmed with summer classes and work and being pregnant. Speaking of which, if you notice this post is riddled with typos, my apologies. I have half a brain these days... So anyways, my mom sent me a text photo of the table, and I immediately responded "Yes, please!" At $20, it is a pretty good price for such a pretty piece. It needs a little TLC, but I think even just cleaning it and polishing it will do wonders. I love the little tiles on the top, and the size ended up being absolutely perfect next to the chair. I hadn't planned on putting a table here, but we realized that we couldn't fit a lamp on the changing table dresser because we'd have to run the chord across to the opposite wall, and I just don't love that idea. There is an outlet right behind the chair, so this works perfectly. Thanks again Mom!
Here is the little table after I reassembled it. The legs screw off easily, which made for perfect transport. It's also surprisingly sturdy considering it has three legs. It doesn't feel any different from a four legged table, which I guess shouldn't surprise me.
You can't see them, but there are subtle gold flecks in these little tiles. The white part is just laminate but is in great shape.
See what I mean about the chair/table height? Perfect! This was my first lamp option. I think this lamp is just too tall though. Sad, because I love the ceramic and the color and the texture. But this is just not the right home...
Here's lamp option number 2. I think this is better. Justin griped about how it takes up the whole table, but I reminded him we have two dressers in there if we need to set stuff down, etc. I really don't want much on this table aside from a lamp and a glass of water. Maybe a book? The shade is the best I could do... Target carries a TEENSY selection of lamp shades that will work with a lamp that has a harp on it. This was the only white option. I think it's OK. I'd rather it be smooth and not so tapered up. I was dying over these amazing barrel shaped ones at Target that were brown burlap, but alas, they were not for vintage lamps with harps. I've been checking the thrift stores, but nothing has come up there either. I'll keep the wrapping on and the receipt for a while, but I do think this shade is OK. Just not as perfect as it could be.
I think it looks nicer when the lamp is on... This just looks cozy to me. I'm really happy with how everything has been fitting together. We've only got about 9 weeks left to get everything together! To that end, I bought an iron and ironing board today, and some fuse tape to try and do the curtains myself. My grandma has very very kindly offered to help me sew them, so if this doesn't work, that's my plan B. But I realized that not having visible stitches would actually be a really nice thing on these curtains. And, I'm 27; it's probably time for me to own an iron...