Pantry Fun

Wouldn't it be great to have a walk-in pantry like one of these? I would definitely include it in my dream house...

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What would your dream pantry include?

Master Bedroom Curtains: A Whole New Direction

Warning: This is a long post. Stick with me.

Well, I've come to a decision regarding our Master Bedroom curtains. And much to my surprise (or not), I didn't choose any of the options I laid out for you in Friday's post (click HERE to review).

You see, once I was in the store, I realized that they had most of their "Home Essentials" brand fabrics on sale for $6.99 a yard - the cheapest option possible. And they had a great variety of patterns and colors. And only 1 of the fabrics I pre-selected fit this category. So, most of the fabrics were eliminated as soon as I decided I wanted to limit myself to these Home Essentials fabric options.

Now, I'm not lying when I say that my friend Chelsea and I spent a whopping 2 and 1/2 hours browsing fabric choices at JoAnn Fabrics on Sunday afternoon. And when we walked out, she had fabric to make curtains for her kitchen, and I had NOTHING! I mean, I got a lot of ideas to think about, but the fabric that really liked best didn't exist in large enough quantities to make the curtains. Boo.

Last night I made a second attempt and went to a different JoAnn Fabrics to see if they had the same fabric that I really liked, but in a larger quantity. The answer? Negative. Apparently everyone else likes that fabric as much as I did.

Hence, I came to a fork in the road and had to make a decision: Do I settle for my 2nd/3rd/4th favorite fabric that has the same color scheme (blues/green/whites), but different amounts of color, different patterns etc? Or do I go a whole new direction? I decided to walk the plank and take a leap of faith and go a whole new direction. I came to this conclusion as I was walking up and down the aisle with my handy little paint swatch (color "khaki") in hand, and I asked myself what colors just naturally looked great with the wall paint color. And certain fabric just jumped out at me over and over again. And I went with my gut reaction.

But before I show you the final fabric choice, I wanna take a quick look back at the other fabric options I was originally contemplating and explain further as to why they were not an option for the room.

Fabric 1: This was one of the Home Essentials fabrics on sale for $6.99/yard, and the store had large quantities of it, but the colors were completely wrong. What appears to be a white/cream color in this fabric is actually a light yellow color in person. And the green color is a very yellow-green in person. It looked like puke next to the wall color. Not good. I nixed it.



Fabric 2: $39.99 per yard. Eeek. Way out of my budget. Nixed.



Fabric 3: Also $39.99 per yard. Nixed.



Fabric 4: $34.99 per yard. And didn't really coordinate well with the wall color and scheme of room. Nixed.



Fabric 5: $34.99 per yard. Plus I decided stripes were not the way to go. I looked at a lot of striped options in a variety of colors and got bored quickly with all of them. Nixed.



Fabric 6: $74.99 per yard! OUCH! This is actually my favorite fabric I saw in person. And I would love to custom order a comfy chair in this pattern - if I had a lot of money. Nixed.



Fabric 7: I never could find this pattern in the store, but online it costs $29.99 per yard. Nixed.



Now that you've seen the bad, here's the good(s). My new crazy curtain fabric choice is officially called COURTYARD PUMPKIN! That's right, I'm going orange on you.

I couldn't find a picture of the fabric color on JoAnn's website (probably because the color/pattern combo is going out of print), but here's a picture of the fabric I was able to locate online.



Why do I love this fabric? Let me tell you:

1. I just love this orange color. We used a paint color similar to this in a little house we rented for a while and I tell Joey over and over that I wish I could remember what paint color it was that we used because I LOVE IT.
2. It's warm color. I like using warm colors for the bedroom. It adds the cozy factor.
3. It's the perfect mix of masculine and feminine. The pumpkin orange is a bit more of masculine color, but the scroll pattern gives it some girl charm.
4. It's all one solid color (two if you count the "white/cream") instead of a bunch of colors mixed together. I can mix-and-match a lot of other colors in the bedding/pillows/decor during the different seasons to coordinate with it.
5. It just looks great with the khaki walls and dark brown bamboo shades. I couldn't get over how the colors draw themselves together.
6. It's a bit modern, eclectic, unexpected. I'm branching out.

In addition to the curtain fabric, I bought a little extra pumpkin fabric to make a coordinating pillow cover for a pillow on the bed (not sure how to do that yet). And I bought a complimentary green fabric to make a another pillow for the bed. The green is a pretty shade (feminine), but has a geometric pattern (masculine) - another good compromise. I do want Joey to like the bedroom after all.

So, after hours and hours, I finally check out, went home to look at the fabric in the room, and I still love it.


I can't wait to see the curtains hung next to the brown matchstick shades...


Cost?

Courtyard Pumpkin Fabric: approx 6.5 yards @ $6.99 per yard = $44.66
+
Geometric Green Fabric: 1/2 yard @ 6.99 per yard = $3.50
+
Tax
=
$50.81 Total

Do you get the new direction? Is it making sense to you at all? All I want to say is... Don't hate! Appreciate!

Next up? Curtain making time. This is where it gets interesting...

Hook, Line, and Sinker

Does that picture grab your attention?

I tell you what, it grabbed mine! I saw the front of this house on Julia's blog, Hooked On Houses, and the moment I saw it, my jaw dropped. I was hooked. Seriously. I couldn't wait to see more!

As it turns out, this house was built by a company called Clay Chapman Architecture, and from what I've seen on their website, they build houses I dream about! While they probably cost a bazillion dollars, they have the most beautiful architecture I've seen in current homes.

This particular house is called The Elias House, and I just had to give you a peek at the online tour. It has the beautiful craftsman architecture I just can't get enough of.

The porch is what drew me into this house to start with. The brick columns and archways are stunning. I love the brown wood door and hanging lanterns, and the potted flowers are so charming!


The porch roof is covered in wood planks with wood beams. It compliments the brick beautifully.


The gables of the house are covered in cedar shake siding (which I adore) and I love how the eaves under the roof line are exposed. Even the chimney has a stunning design to it.


The back of the house has a great deck and walk-out basement. Perfect for entertaining. The brick is arched above the basement windows to add even more detail.


The Kitchen, Dining Room, and even a Hearth room are all open to each other. I love the coffered ceiling in the kitchen. Another great space for entertaining guests.


For a little kitchen detail, here's an up-close picture of the cabinets. Although I normally prefer the painted-cabinet-look, these stained cabinets are gorgeous. I love how they paired white crown molding with the wood cabinets and beams. And there appears to be a butlers pantry through that doorway.


This picture is looking from the kitchen to the hearth room beside it. Check out how the brick is stacked to make a seating area right by the fireplace opening. I would love to sit there on cold winter nights. And those high windows add extra light to the space.


The dining room detail is also beautiful with the white board and batten moldings and transom windows above the doorways.


Here is a preview of one of the bedrooms. I love the windows in this house with the different sizes paired together.

The bedroom also features a built-in bookcase, high molding above the door frames, and more transom windows. Again I like the pairing of the wood doors with the white trim.

The master bath is perfect. Who would complain with this as your bathroom?


Here is a detailed picture of one of the coffered ceilings in the house...

...and a set of the custom sized windows in the house. The nice thing about having high windows is that you can still have privacy and wall space for furniture but not lose much light.


Isn't that house to die for? I wish I could tour it in person. Amazing.

Want to see more of this house plus some other beauties? Check out Clay Chapman Architecture's website to see more pictures like this...


...and this...


...and this...



...I could go on forever.

Master Bedroom Curtain Options

I've been thinking, thinking, thinking about curtains for our Master Bedroom. I've looked at all kinds of options at standard places like Target, JCPenney, and Bed, Bath, & Beyond. Even stores like Lowe's have curtain options. I've found some curtains choices that I like, but nothing that I swoon over. I'm beginning to come to the conclusion that I might try to pick out some custom fabric and make my own curtain panels (*shock*).

Now, I don't own a sewing machine, and even if I owned one, I would have no idea how to use it. BUT I've seen bunches of tutorials on other blogs of how to make your own no-sew drapes! And I may try this option.

However, the first step is to actually pick out the fabric I want to use. This is tricky only in the sense that there are a million options to choose from when talking about custom choices. I've started by doing a little searching on the Joann Fabrics website. I found a few options I like. So, I thought I'd share 'em with ya and see what you think.

But before we get to that, here's a picture of our Master Bedroom windows with our newly installed matchstick blinds...

...but it just looks kind of sad with no curtain panels.

So, here are a few options I've selected (no commitment to any of them). You'll notice a color them of greens/blues/browns/tans. I'm previewing a large picture of the fabric plus a side-by-side picture of the room and fabric - just for helpful visualization.

Fabric 1

I love the variety of greens. I love the browns which will coordinate with the tan walls and brown blinds. I love paisley patterns.

My fear? The paisley pattern is too small and will appear "busy" when hung in large quantities.

Fabric 2

I love this particular blue in the background. I love the combo of blue, green, tan. I love the pattern.

My fear? Not versatile enough for decorating for different seasons. Is it too feminine?

Fabric 3

This is almost identical to Fabric 2, but with more muted tones and a creamy background instead of blue. I continue to love the fabric pattern and color combo.

My fear? Colors are too natural and won't stand out enough against the tan walls and don't coordinate well with the darker blinds.

Fabric 4

This is a pretty bold choice. I love all the colors. I think it will add a richness to the room.

My fear? I will get tired of it quickly. It's not versatile enough to coordinate with other fabrics I might use in bedding, pillows etc.

Fabric 5

I love stripes - gives a very clean-line appearance. Again, I like the blue/green/cream color combo.

My fear? It's too boring.

Fabric 6

I love, love, love this pattern. And the colors. And everything about it.

My fear? It doesn't fit the look of the room. Too traditional of a pattern maybe?

Fabric 7

Of course, I had to thrown in a bird-option. I love that the colors are simple - just green and white. The pattern would add some whimsy to the room.

My fear? Not the right color green. Not colorful enough.





Well, that's all (7) of them. I just don't know. After looking at them over and over, I think I'm most drawn to Fabric 1, 2, and 6. But I'm very much a see-it-in-person type of gal, and I think a trip to Joann Fabrics is in order this weekend. I gotta "feel it" if you know what I mean. Plus I can bring my handy paint swatches with me to color match better.

Which fabric choice would you pick if you were me? Shout out a number!