It's so refreshing to see a company that sells great products {ie great buyers} up their game by pulling out innovative new marketing. I feel like Land of Nod has done a little 'reinvention' this year. I have always been a big fan of the company. Jack still has LON furniture in his bedroom {I promise Jack that we are redoing your room this year} that is 10 years old...but, it's so well made that it's been hard to part with.

 

 

 

Last months catalog came and I knew it looked different...but then I opened it and I was like 'this is goooood!!!' It felt more like a magazine than a catalog. They have started a new monthly feature called Real Families/ Real Kids where they visit bloggers {!!} homes and shoot their catalog photos from here. Great. Great. Great. idea.

 

     

 

We get to watch as Rachel Myers of the sweet blog, Finding My Feet, transform her daughters room with the help of  accessories and textiles {and stylists!} from the Land of Nod.

 

 

 

 

February's catalog arrived over the weekend and I got just as excited. This month they visit the home of Trina McNeilly of LaLaLovely. 

 

 

 

 

It hasn't made it to their website yet, so you will need to get on your bifocals and check out my photos :)

 

 

And they even got the talented chalkboard artist, Dana Tanamachi {remember this post} to personalize the space.

 

 

Trina also helped to redecorate the home of her friends, the Lyons family, with some LON love.

 

 

 

 

Not only is the catalog full of LON products but, they are combined with the homeowners lovely existing items which make it so much more personal and believable. There are also links to learn tips and how-to's to create the accessories made by the bloggers. Did you know LON had their own blog???

    Very, very impressive Land of Nod. I hope this will be a series that they plan on continuing with each catalog this year.  

 

{I am in no way connected to or endorsed by LON--just giving kudos to a well deserved creative company. BUT, if they want to work with me...}

 

 

 

I am thinking about new furniture for Jack's room {poor Jack...I have been *thinking* for years...} and I have been playing around with the idea of incorporating a non-traditional headboard. Upholstered headboards have certainly had the spotlight for many years, but a headboard can be repurposed from such a variety of different materials.There are some pretty creative ones out there.

 

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 I love the lighted headboard {last image} -- Jack, not so much. Maybe a fun client will let me do something similar...

Have you ever made your own headboard? Do share.

  

 

It seems that there is a lot of cleaning up, reorganizing and revamping that happens in January, right? As you know, I love decorating kids rooms. One of the challenges that goes into designing a teenagers room is finding a place for all of their stuff. One of my favorites, designer Beth Keim of Lucy and Company, just shared a fantastic install of a teenagers room. 

 

There was so much stuff that needed to be stored in this small 12 x 12 room.

 

  

Beth's vision: "a bit Parisian, a bit Bergdof Goodman, a bit Audrey Hepburn and a dash of Vogue"

 

 

Her twin bed was traded for a queen bed which is nestled in a custom built wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling storage unit. perfect!!

 

 

 

Even the new vanity is flanked by it's own floor to ceiling storage. But my favorite part of the room, is the collection of photos above the desk/vanity. Originally, Beth was going to use a series of shoe sketches, but she wanted to go for something a bit more personal. Beth works with a fabulous photographer, Mekenzie France, and they decided to take shots of some of the teenagers 'pretties' as well as have her pose for a photo shoot. They were then displayed in simple black frames. The collaboration was perfect. What teenager doesn't want to have her own photo shoot?!?    

 

 

A few close-ups of the photos.

 

 

To see more of this project visit Lucy & Company here.  

 {images via Mekenzie France via Lucy & Company}

 

I tried to search for an end of the bed bench for the girls room I installed last week. I had hoped to find an old one that I could give a little love to, but it wasn't happening. I knew I would need to reupholster anything I found because I wanted a soft 'certain' shade of pink. After finding a few new ones, adding the price of new fabric and the whole makeover, it was soo pricey and we were on a tight budget. I decided that making one would be the most affordable option and it would be exactly the size and style we wanted.   

 

48"x 16"x 20"tall Bench:

2 48” 1x4’s

2 14” 1x4’s

4 legs

4 table leg top plate attachments

48” x 16” plywood

48’ x 16” foam

Batting and lining

4 4” square scrap wood pieces {optional}

Drill

Electric stapler

Spray adhesive

Primer & paint

 

  We had all of the wood {combo of MDF and pine} 1 x 4's left over from other projects. Nail all the sides together.  

Glue and then nail one 3" square of wood in each corner, lining it up level with the top {or really the 'bottom'}. This allowed the leg to be attached. I could have attached the legs to the plywood top, but I wanted more of the decorative part of the leg to show.  

 

 

Flip it over and attach the 16" x 48" piece of plywood with a power nailer around the edge.

 

 

Spray the top of plywood and the bottom of the foam with spray adhesive and lay it on top of the plywood. 

 

 

 

 

Stretching it tight, Cover the foam with batting and attach by stapling around the bottom. Then cover the batting with a piece of lining/muslin/sheet {whatever you have}. Attach it the same way. The extra piece of lining isn't necessary it just adds an extra smoothness and makes it a bit easier to remove the slipcover.

 

 

Cut the bulky fabric that is left in the corners close to the staples. Then flip it over and admire your work.

 

 

 I cut off the top 2 1/4" from each leg. I redrilled a new hole to allow the top plate to attach. {My Lowes only sold 2 sizes of legs and so I needed to improvise a bit}

 

Prime and paint the legs with several coats of paint. 

 

Attach a table plate to each corner with the 4 screws it came with. I wanted my legs to be as close to the edge as possible.

 

 

Screw the legs on. Bench is done! Now to make it pretty.

 

 

Using a pink duck canvas and a 1/2" seam allowance, cut out the pieces. Sew all side pieces together along the short side edges, right sides facing. Attach the side 'piece' to the top {right sides together} and sew. Iron a 2" seam allowance along the bottom edge. Flip it inside out and press seams.  

 

 

To add a little embellishment, I added a 1 1/2" pink ribbon to the top. I ironed HeatnBond to the back of the ribbon. I penciled a line 4" from the seam on top. This was my guideline to follow to iron on the ribbon. In each corner, tuck and miter the ribbon and press. End the ribbon in the tuck of 1 corner.