Home decor

Simple and Cozy Fall Home Tour

Hello everyone! I’m back again and sharing my Simple and Cozy Fall Home Tour as part of the Seasonal Simplicity Home Tours hosted by Krista from the HappyHousie If you’re visiting from Jenna Kate at Home, Welcome! I love participating in these tours as they’re basically a one stop shop for all your seasonal decor inspiration. Simply follow the links at the bottom of the post to visit all the other blogger’s tours!

I really wanted to keep it as simple as possible with my fall decorating this year but still make it feel cozy. I didn’t use a lot of the usual fall decor but If you look really close you might find a pumpkin or two! Lol. I changed out the vintage rug in the foyer to this pretty pink and brown one, I love the look and character vintage rugs bring! I used my favourite colour blue, along with mustard yellow and some browns for my colour palette this fall.

The leaves on the trees haven’t changed around here yet so I kept the same green branches out here from spring and summer.

A bit of blue and some branches and a little blue pumpkin. I made this lumbar pillow from a throw rug, you can find the tutorial for that here.

I love this baby blue le creuset dutch oven and it reminds me that fall is a great time for getting cozy and cooking warm soups and stews.

I found these mustard yellow dried grasses at Michael’s and they’re mimicked in the mustard yellow throw cushions in the living room and the napkins I used in my fall tablescape. I love how well it plays off with the blue!

I kept my usual runner out here in the kitchen and it has the blue, brown and mustard yellow that I’ve used for my fall colour palette.

I used some tall pampas grass as well as a fall faux flower arrangement full of fall flowers and leaves here in the dining room. My daughter says it looks like something from the 90’s Lol!

I kept out the faux eucalyptus that I had used in my fall tablescape. It can be kept out all the time with plenty of room for plates as well as food dishes on either end of the table.

Here’s a photo from my fall tablescape post.

We used mustard yellow and navy blue velvet cushions in the living room along with more pampas grass and a hydrangea flower arrangement. We switched out our rug for this vintage rug with shades of brown and beige. The beautiful linen slipcovers in “natural” were custom made for our farlov sofa and chairs by Bemz who make custom slipcovers for Ikea furniture. If you want to find out more about Bemz and these slipcovers you can check out the posts here and here.

I’m loving the new slipcovers. They’re machine washable, fit perfectly and make our fall living room.

Boo tried to get into most of the photos but this is the only one where he stayed still and wasn’t a blur 🙂

I hoped you enjoyed our fall tour!

Next up on the tour hop is the lovely Summer from Summer Adams, you can head over to see her tour..

Blessings,

Kim

This week is Fall Home tour week! All week long talented bloggers are sharing their homes dressed and ready for fall to help inspire you with all kinds of ideas for your own fall decor. Just click on the links below the images to see more…

Sharing with me today…

Wednesday

Home Made Lovely // Craftberry Bush // The Tattered Pew
Town and Country Living // Shabyfufu

A Pretty Life // Amber Tysl // Jenna Kate at Home
Kim Power Style // Summer Adams Designs

And sharing the rest of this week…

Simple Fall Tablescape

5:00 am by kim 10 Comments

Happy Fall everyone! Today I’ll be sharing how I created my Simple Fall Tablescape and when I say simple I mean SIMPLE! I’m also joining together with some fellow bloggers who’ll be sharing their Fall Tablescapes, so be sure to click on the links at the bottom of the post for more fall Inspiration!

This was a simple tablescape to do and I used for the most part, items that I already had on hand. I’m using a bit of mustard yellow in my fall decorating this year so I carried that into the napkins. I left out the pumpkins to show you that you can use simple ingredients to create your tablescape no matter the season. You can see how I decorated a previous fall tablescape using the same elements here.

How I set my Table

Rattan chargers I used rattan chargers to set and highlight my plates but you can use other chargers, placemats, or even table runners. Whatever you have on hand!
Blue Plates I love using white dinnerware because it’s simple and goes with everything (if you can only afford one set of dishes make sure they’re white!). Every now and then I like to throw a punch of colour in the mix and these plates go with the blue that I use in most of my home.
Cloth Napkins Cloth napkins are like the throw pillow of the living room and can add colour and pattern to your table. Even if all your dinnerware is white and you use simple greenery, napkins can add personality. They can be found at every home wear store as well as thrift stores. Instead of using napkin rings, I simply tied a knot and laid them over the plates.
Faux Eucalyptus I bought this faux eucalyptus a couple of years ago from Ikea and I use it all the time. I even used it as part of the floral arrangements for my daughter’s wedding last May! Any kind of greenery along the centre of the table, whether real or faux, adds a focal point and gives your table a festive look. You can use pumpkins or fruit as a focal point and/or adding some fresh greenery/fall leaves from your garden works well too!
Tapered Candles, Votives and Fairy Lights Any kind of lighting elevates your table from the everyday to an event! They’re also budget friendly and easy to find. Even fairy lights can be found at the dollar store. I used these brass candle holders I found from the thrift store. They add height without blocking the view from across the table. The votives were budget friendly and I buy them in cases so that I’m ready for every occasion! I also have multiple fairy lights both plug in and battery operated..they add such sparkle to everything.
Bubble Glasses I call these everyday water glasses my “bubble” glasses! You can use any glasses you have on hand. Wine glasses look pretty and can be used for water too.

Adding all these elements to your table in any form can elevate an ordinary table setting to something special. Even if you only have a few candles and some branches from your garden, you can make it look special! Use your imagination and what you have on hand. It doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive to make a lovely tablescape no matter the season.

I made this faux flower arrangement using some faux fall coloured flowers and leaves from Michael’s, along with my faux eucalyptus. It’s a big arrangement, so I placed it on the sideboard instead of the centre of the table. Nothing is worse than trying to see above or around an arrangement to have a conversation across the table!

Along with the faux fall flowers, I added some tall dried pampas grass. It reminds me of all the fall grasses you see growing by the side of the road this time of year. The fall colours, flowers and grasses combined together, add an elegant fall feel to our home. Now all I need is my favourite fall candle lit up and I’m ready to enjoy the season!

Thanks for popping by. I hope you were able to find some useful information and inspiration today. I’ll be sharing my fall home tour next Wednesday so stay tuned for that.

Don’t forget to check out the links below, there’s so many talented ladies sharing!

Blessings,

Kim

Nick + Alicia | Sincerely, Marie Designs | Craftberry Bush | Clean and Scentsible

Home Made Lovely | The DIY Mommy | The Wood Grain Cottage | The Turquoise Home

Rooms FOR Rent Blog | Kim Power Style | The Wicker House | Caitlin Marie Design

Lolly Jane | The Learner Observer | Satori Design For Living | Summer Adams

Taryn Whiteaker Designs | This Is Simplicite

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Custom Slipcovers for my IKEA Sofa

7:00 am by kim 5 Comments

I partnered with Bemz for this post.

Hello friends!

If you know me, you know I love a good slipcover! This white/neutral loving girl has been using them for almost twenty years. You can’t beat the ability to take off your covers and throw them in the wash. It’s like having new, clean furniture all the time. So, I’ve partnered with the wonderful people at Bemz again to make a custom slipcover for my Ikea sofa. Bemz had made me two beautiful slipcovers for my my Farlov Ikea armchairs and I was so impressed with the fit and quality of their covers I knew I needed a new cover for the sofa! You can click Here to see the updated Ikea armchairs.

For those of you who haven’t heard about Bemz, they make custom covers for Ikea furniture that are machine washable and made to order in Europe. If you want to personalize and update your current Ikea furniture, simply go onto their site, find your type/series of furniture and then check out all the fabrics you can choose from. To help you to decide, you can request samples of the fabrics you’re interested in (This will be the hard part because you’ll want them all!) and Bemz will send you up to five samples for free.

The samples above are the gorgeous fabrics that caught my eye but in the end I stuck with the same beautiful 100% Linen in “brera lino-natural” that I had chosen for my Farlov chairs. You can see it up there in the right hand corner. (The struggle was real though folks, aren’t they all swoon worthy?!)

Once you choose your fabric and place your order, your new slipcovers will come in a box in a few weeks. Seeing the mailman drop that box off at the front door is kinda like Christmas morning!

I love this beautiful 100% linen fabric. It comes pre-shrunk and is machine washable…which comes in handy with a grandson, dog and cat!

It looks and feels so much cozier in here now.

When I walked into the living room today I was struck again at how much richer and cozier my sofa looks. It’s made such a difference to the whole space!

Be sure to tune in next week as I’ll be participating in a fall home tour along with 4o other amazing bloggers. I’ll be sharing the living room and more of these beautiful covers just in time for the fall season!

Blessings,

Kim

Coastal Farmhouse Summer Home Tour

5:00 am by kim 24 Comments

Hello friends and welcome to our first Coastal Farmhouse Summer Tour in our new home! If you know me, you’ll know I’ve included my summer go-to blues, comfy white slipcovers along with some natural elements to create a cozy, simple and summery Coastal Farmhouse look.

This week I’m joining along with nearly 40 bloggers who are opening up our homes as part of the Seasonal Simplicity Summer Series hosted by Krista from the Happy Housie. If you’re visiting here from Amber Tysl, welcome, I’m glad you dropped by! Stay tuned for more links below to continue on the tour… You’re in store for so much summer decor inspiration you’ll want to grab some sunscreen and a beach towel!

It’s the first summer in our new home and we’re still adding things here and there. I love having more of an eclectic look and mixing old pieces with new. I want our home to look like something that’s been curated over time in a thoughtful way and have been fighting the urge to have everything now! We’ve yet to add any art or hang pictures as we’re still trying to figure out how we want each room to look and feel. We still need to get a fireplace mantel and I think that will be next on our priority list. You’ll notice that practically all the summer decor items we’ve used are things we’ve already had and I’ve used before. Transitioning your seasonal decor doesn’t have to be difficult or costly! Use what you have and look to the outdoors to bring in some of nature. Simple and easy is my motto!

In our entryway we have this awesome pink and tan vintage rug that welcomes you inside. The side table is a great rustic wood piece to store all the stuff that you need coming and going. Some greens (via faux branches, fresh yard clippings and/or plants) with blue, white and wood, really add to the summery feel in here.

You’ll find a few vintage rugs interspersed in soft summery pinks and blues. They add such history, character and texture to a space.

The kitchen stayed pretty much the same as our spring tour minus a few tulips. I’ve had these faux greens along with our old vintage dough bowl out for a few weeks and they add so much life and texture amidst all the white. Simple and easy.

Most of my ironstone collections is still packed away in boxes until I can make some shelving to hold it all. It’s too pretty not to be on display. I’ve taken out a few pieces here and there along with some of the vintage pitchers. They’r great for holding flower arrangements.

My fiddle leaf fig is looking a little sad in this pic! I have to say that they really have had a difficult time with the move. They don’t like to be moved around or be in direct sunlight ..which we get tons of here.. so I’m trying to keep them happy and nurse them back to life. Adding greenery whether fresh or faux lends itself to a pretty summery vibe. I simply love this vintage painting of Peggy’s Cove. The colours in it are amazing and it reminds me so much of PEI where my parent’s are from.

I love setting a pretty coastal buffet tablescape. Simple, natural elements such as the seagrass chargers with white dishes along with blue hydrangeas are my staples in the summer. It’s a simple and classic coastal farmhouse look.

I found these large ginger jars years ago at a garage sale and use them every summer in my decor. We have a few more blue and white pieces that we’ve collected along the way.

I just noticed that the TV is on in the background in this photo. My battery died while I was photographing for the tour and I sat down while it was charging and got hooked into a Hallmark movie. It fits right in though because it’s about June brides and summer weddings! Lol.

In the living room I added my signature blues in the fabrics, blue hydrangeas and tons of texture with all the jute, rattan and seagrass.

You may have noticed that we removed the glass shelving on either sides of the fireplace. I was either going to put in wood shelving or add some firewood. The firewood was easiest to do and I love the look of it! I may still put some wooden shelves in up above the firewood but this works for now.

I still need to put up a mantelpiece! I’ve been trying to decide between making my own or getting an old barn beam. My only concern with the barn beam is the weight, so stay tuned to see what I decide on. I know it will really help finish this room off.

Nothing says coastal farmhouse to me more than inky seaside blues, crisp whites and some rustic wood! If you’re looking to achieve a coastal farmhouse look, I’ve written a post on the basics that you can find here.

I hope you’ve enjoyed our tour and thanks so much for joining us today. For more summer decor inspiration, you can check out all the other amazing bloggers and their summer homes below. Next up on today’s tour is the lovely and talented Rachel from Maison de Pax

Blessings,

Kim

Nearly 40 bloggers are sharing their summer home tours this week! Sharing with me today are…

Thursday

Kim Power Style // Maison de Pax // Jenna Kate at Home // Two Twenty One // Just a Girl and Her Blog

Summer Adams // tatertots and jello // The Tattered Pew // Aratari at Home // Crisp Collective

And sharing the rest of the week…

Monday

The Happy Housie // Rooms FOR Rent // Shabbyfufu // Maison de Cinq // My 100 Year Old Home

Southern State of Mind // All Things with Purpose // Grace in My Space // Love Create Celebrate

Tuesday

Town and Country Living // Taryn Whiteaker Designs // Designthusiasm
// This is Our Bliss // My Sweet Savannah

Rambling Renovators // The Turquoise Home // Clean and Scentsible
// She Gave it a Go //Lemon Thistle

Wednesday

Modern Glam // Craftberry Bush // Setting for Four // Inspiration for Moms // Zevy Joy

Life is a Party // Tauni Everett // Finding Silver Pennies // Sincerely, Marie Designs // Amber Tysl

New Year Update..Life and Decor

7:00 am by kim 20 Comments

Happy New Year everyone. As I write this the first blogpost of the New Year I’m wondering where the last couple of months have gone? It’s been a crazy time for our family and I’m only coming up for air now. Life took us down a path I didn’t see coming and we’re still trying to get our bearings. Here are some updates.

In the middle of November as the hubby and I were finishing up our bathroom for the One Room Challenge, he started feeling unwell. We were to later find out that he had suffered a bleed in his brain that was causing stroke like symptoms. After weeks of hospital stays, constant monitoring, a brain drain and risky brain surgery, he’s now in a rehabilitation hospital focusing on getting well. It’s been such a traumatic and exhausting time for our family and we’re looking forward to better times ahead.

There were so many friends and family praying for us and if you’re one of those people, thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. We could feel God’s grace along with the love and prayers, it held us up and helped us through many tough times.

After spending long hours at the hospital, we wanted nothing better than to come home, shower and rest. My daughters, son in law and I would cozy up in this room with blankets and the fire going and a cheesy Christmas movie playing in the background. It was simple and it refreshed and refuelled us providing us with some shelter from the proverbial storm. My home really was a place for us to find some peace, rest and to recharge, I’m so grateful for it.

My children are gone back to their own homes now, the Christmas trees are down and I’ve made a few little changes to transition from Christmas to winter decor. I added some twinkle lights to the ladder to help add some warmth and there are lots of blankets and pillows to cozy up with. It’s been my little haven while my husband’s been in the hospital.

Before my husband got sick I had decided to get another ragdoll. I had sworn I would never get another cat after Jack died, but I was missing the pitter patter of kitty feet in our home. In the midst of his sickness I had second thoughts about getting the cat as the future seemed so uncertain. My husband told me I had to get him as it was going to be his Christmas present to me. I couldn’t refuse that!

Here is the newest member of our family as he makes his first blog debut. His name is Baloo and he’s a fourteen week old, blue bicolour ragdoll and we’re smitten. He’s added a lot of life to our home!

I’m sure you’ll be seeing a lot more of him on the blog.

If all goes well, my husband should be home at the end of the month where he’ll continue with his therapies on an out-patient basis. We know that the journey of healing has it’s up and downs, but we’re remaining hopeful and praying for a complete and speedy recovery for him.

Thanks so much for bearing with us during our absence. Your support has meant so much to us and we’re looking forward to sharing some great content with you this year.

Blessings,

Kim

White Christmas Tour

6:00 am by kim 27 Comments

Hello Everyone and Merry Christmas! I’m joining some great ladies today for our 2nd annual Joyful Holiday Home tour. If you’ve been following along in order you’ll be coming from Marci from Lemons to Lovelies Marci has a beautiful home and is the host of our tour. I hope you’ve enjoyed all the gorgeous homes and found plenty of inspiration for the season! I’m the last stop on the tour so grab a beverage and join me as I share my White Christmas tour!

White Christmas Tour

Today I’m sharing my White Christmas living room. I wanted to make decorating a little more simple this year and decided to go with my basic white. We usually have a real tree in the living room but I wanted a flocked tree and they were so pretty I got two, one on either side of the sofa. To make it even more simpler this year, I didn’t add any decor to the trees. They’re so pretty on their own!

I found these great wicker baskets at Homesense and the stands fit inside them perfectly. They hide all the unattractive bits and finishes off the trees nicely.

I added a little bit of colour in a couple of the throw pillows.

The coffee table holds some vintage bowls with my Christmas balls along with some candles and waxed pinecones that I’ve had for years. They’re scented and still smell delicious!

For the mantel I used a faux eucalyptus garland along with some birch logs in a vase. I found these little led porcelain houses that light up and I’m smitten with them and I’ve set them all around the house. I’ve had these wooden candle holders for years and love the way they mimic the look of the birch logs.

The flocked wreath is gorgeous and mirrors the look of the trees and pulls the room together creating my little version of a white Christmas!

The minute you pull out a comfy throw or fluff a pillow, Butters is right there ready to nestle in and take a nap!

It’s so cozy in here with all the Christmas lights on and the candles lit in the evening. It may look a little bland to some but I’m enjoying the White Christmas look. In case you think there’s a lack of colour, don’t worry, I’ve added plenty in my wrapping paper!

I love red at Christmas time and I’ve used it in my wrapping paper and ribbon.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this peek into our homes. I love doing this tour as it’s a chance for me to peek into some of my favourite bloggers homes sharing their Christmas decor too! In case you’ve just popped in and haven’t seen the other bloggers, there are links to all of them below!

Blessings,

Kim

Haley – The Mountain View Cottage

Jordan- JorDecor

Rachel- The Porch Light Cottage

Natalie- My Vintage Porch

Laura- Meaningful Spaces

Stephanie- Belle Amour Blog

Kate- White Lane Decor

Lisa- Farmhouse On Boone

Marci- Lemons to Lovelys

Kim- Kim Power Style

Bathroom Makeover | One Room Challenge Week 4

4:17 pm by kim 14 Comments

Hello everyone and welcome to the Bathroom Makeover One Room challenge week 4! I’ve heard that week 4 is one of the most difficult weeks of the challenge. I think I’ll hold judgment on that until week 5 is over! If you’re just tuning in now, the One Room Challenge is hosted by Linda from Calling it Home. A challenge where designers and bloggers make over one room in their home in 6 weeks. You can follow along on with everyone’s progress here and my (somewhat) bathroom makeover progress here:

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Bathroom Makeover One Room Challenge Week 4

Before:

Lets take a look at what we started with:

(After everything we’ve been through the last few weeks, this before doesn’t really look so bad anymore!)

Progress:

It took nearly a week to demo this whole bathroom.

We changed out that insulation behind the tub after this photo was taken.

I explained all about our drywall issues in last week’s post.

We finally got to tiling the surround and it took a lot of time due to uneven wall issues.

Before we could apply the floor tiles, we had to apply the cement board which required some thin set to adhere it.

The cement board is down and now we’re ready to tile the floor and then grout everything.

Where we’re at now:

Hooray! All the tiles have finally been applied but still need to be grouted. We’ll have to wait 48-72 hours before we can do that because we used the longer drying thin set mortar. The hubby and I will not want to see, measure, cut, saw, chip and glue another darn tile for a loooong time!

Inspiration:

This is my mood board and inspiration. At times it’s hard to believe it’s going to resemble any of this!

Shea from Studio McGee has the most gorgeous bathrooms on her site. You can see some of them here. They’ve been such an inspiration to me. When you’re in the thick of a messy reno, you need to keep the pretty pictures in front of you to remind you why you’r e doing this!

(source)

Still To-do List:

Grout floor and wall tile
Paint ceiling
Apply trim to door
Apply Metrie shiplap to remaining walls
Assemble and Install vanity (Pray it fits!)
Add shower/bath/sink hardware
Install toilet
Install/add accessories!

Thank you everyone for joining me as I share our long and hard fought for progress! Just a little note to let you know that the ORC will be extended for one more week. Due to all the natural disasters happening, many participants have had difficultly in getting their products in time etc. So for the first time in ORC history this challenge has been extended by a week and the final reveal will be on Nov. 16th. That gives us all one more week to get this done!

blessings,

Kim

Thanks to my sponsors for helping to make this makeover possible!

Fall Tour in the Breakfast Nook

7:00 am by kim 32 Comments

Hello everyone and welcome, I’m so glad you’re here! Today kicks off the the first of my fall home tours of the season and stay tuned as I’ll be sharing more in the next couple of weeks.

I’m joining in with some blogger friends for the Fall Decor and Entertaining Blogger Home Tours hosted by Angelina at Peonies and Orange Blossoms. Be sure to check them all out at the bottom of this post.

If you’ve been following along with this week’s blog hop and you’re coming from Rosemary and Thyme, thanks for stopping by. Janet has some scrumptious fall desserts over there and I hope you’ve found some creative inspiration for your own homes!

Fall Tour in the Breakfast Nook

Fall is one of my favourite seasons. I love the cool weather, wearing boots and sweaters, hearty meals and nights by the fireplace. There’s something about fall that causes us to want to nestle in and enjoy all the comforts of home and I love making our home feel cozy, warm and inviting.

I’m starting my fall tour in the breakfast nook. It’s kinda central to everything so this is where I first start bringing in the fall decor. Nothing says fall like pumpkins and I love to use them, fresh and faux. There are so many different kinds and colours to choose from now so you don’t need to stick with the traditional orange colours, although I love those too! I’ve kept the decor in the breakfast nook neutral and chose these wooden pumpkins to place on the shelving as well as these sweet little white baby boos on the table.

The blue and white curtains have been switched out for these brown floral ones from the Pottery Barn. I’ve had them for years and still love them come the fall. They look great with the burlap table runner.

I love using greenery in my decor and fall is no exception. I swagged some faux silver dollar eucalyptus along the shelf and used some fresh stems with some cabbage florets in a vase. You don’t need to buy any greenery if that’s not in your budget. You can always cut some branches and put them in a vase, they’ll look great. Investing in some life-like faux greenery is another idea and it pays for itself eventually and you can use it year round.

Another thing I love about fall is the baking. The fall harvest yields all kinds of goodies for us to use and when the temps go down, you don’t mind turning on the oven again. There’s nothing more comforting than the aroma of cakes and muffins baking. If you don’t have time to bake you can always pick something up from the grocers. Displaying it on a cake stand or platter makes it look homemade and welcoming, great for when company comes by.

Thanks for joining me for my fall tour in the breakfast nook. I hope you were able to get some inspiration for your own fall home. Next up on the tour is Back to the South and In case you’ve missed any other tours from this week, I have the links down below.

Blessings,

Kim

Monday

DIY Beautify || Raising a Farmhouse || Unlikely Martha || The Welch House || Life on Shady Lane

Tuesday

Frazzled Joy || North Country Nest || A Purdy Little House || Hood Creek Log Cabin || Peonies & Orange Blossoms

Wednesday

The Whimsy One || Polka Dot Poplars || A Home to Grow Old In || Virginia Sweet Pea || Lincluden Cottage Life

Thursday

Semigloss Design || Keys to Inspiration || Reinvented Collection || Of Fairies and Fauna || Rosemary and Thyme

Friday

Kim Power Style || Back to the South || Living Large in a Small House || From House to Home || Centsably Creative || Life is a Party || The Organized Mama || || Our Crafty Mom

Bedroom Update with BEHR MARQUEE Paint

6:00 am by kim 17 Comments

We Partnered with BEHR® for this project. All thoughts, opinions and project ideas are my own.

My master bedroom has been due for an update for a while now and although I love white, it was time to inject some colour. Dark and moody paint colours are really on trend right now and I’ve wanted to take the plunge and try something new for a while now. But as much as I love making a design statement, the thoughts of diving headlong into a room full of a dark colour scared the heck out of me! I tried out BEHR MARQUEE® Interior Paint & Primer in One, it was just the opportunity I needed to tip-toe into this new world of colour.
I had applied board and batten in my office last spring and knew I had wanted to try it again in my bedroom. It really lends to the coastal cottage vibe of my home and works perfectly for those of us who want to try a more dramatic colour but are a little timid to commit to a full room of it.

Bedroom Update with BEHR MARQUEE Paint

Here is the bedroom before… kind of blah right?

Here is the After… amazing what a bit of paint can do! Follow along and we’ll show you how we did it.

Board and Batten:

You’ll need:

MDF boards in the size of your choice
Brad Nailer
Table Saw
Jig Saw
Level
Wood filler
Latex Caulking

The hubby and I removed everything from the room so we would have space to work.

We started by removing the existing baseboards, a bit of a pain I know but we wanted all the board pieces to match up evenly and this base trim was just too thin.

We used the 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ MDF pre-primed base boards in the valupak from the Home Depot. They come in 8′ lengths and there are 10 pieces in the valupak. This was used for all the board and batten in the room, approximately 3 valupaks.

Next we applied our MDF baseboards all around the room using a brad nailer.

Once the baseboards were applied, we rested the vertical pieces on top of the baseboards starting in the corners. Making sure they were level! Our vertical boards were 59″ in height. You can decide how tall you want your board and batten to be. It was roughly 2/3 of our 8′ walls.

This next part can be tricky and includes that four lettered word “Math”! My husband was the one who figured this part out. We started by laying our boards against the wall to see approximately how far apart we wanted them to be. Not all of your walls will be the same size so you may find that on one wall your boards are 21 inches apart and on another they are 19 inches apart. As long as they look uniform and there isn’t that big of a difference from wall to wall. Remember to measure twice and nail once! Make sure that each board is level before you nail too.

For outside corners we just butted the joints up. We didn’t bother with tricky angle cuts as we’ll be filling in all the joints with wood filler and/or caulking. We then laid the upper horizontal boards across. Don’t worry if there are some small gaps, you’ll be filling them in with wood filler.

When all our boards were applied we used wood filler to fill the nail holes and gaps where MDF meets MDF. Once it was dry we lightly sanded to a smooth finish.

We added latex caulking wherever the boards met the wall. This is time consuming but finishes the job off so nicely. Caulking covers a multitude of sins!

Painting:

For paint we used the BEHR MARQUEE one coat coverage interior paint from Home Depot. We applied Compass Blue to the upper walls and Cameo White for the board and batten. When my husband saw the first brush stroke of the Compass Blue applied to the walls, he was a little shocked! I told him not to worry, it was going to look great, “I know what I’m doing”. Inwardly I was asking myself what the heck was I doing and trying not to let my own panic show! It didn’t take long till I realized It looked great and I had made the right choice. That happens all the time.

We started with the upper portion of the wall and applied Compass Blue. I taped off the ceiling using painters tape to avoid any mishaps while I used a brush to cut-in. A quick roll was all that was needed to apply this super thick paint to the walls. I had to touch up a few places where I cut-in otherwise this really is one coat coverage!

For the board and batten we used Cameo White. I used a brush to do all the trim work and then used a roller for the wall.

It turned out beautifully!

The after…I painted the “blah” out of that room!

The hubby was so impressed, he kept walking around the room saying “wow!”

I’m so glad we decided to try something that was a little out of our comfort zone. The room has a dramatic edge to it but still has that simple, cozy cottage look that I love. I hope this gives someone the courage to step out and try something new!

Blessings,

Kim

Custom Slipcovers for my Ikea Armchairs

6:00 am by kim 17 Comments

Custom Slipcovers For My Ikea Armchairs

I partnered with Bemz for this post. As always, all thoughts, opinions and Ideas are 100% my own.

Last spring I was on the lookout for a couple of armchairs for my living room, I never dreamed I’d be getting custom slipcovers for them! We had already replaced my ten year old Ektorp Sofa with a new one and I was about to replace my one Ektorp armchair for two new ones when I found this, the Farlov! It wasn’t even in the showroom yet but it was in the catalog. I loved the clean lines and it came with a white slipcover..so, I bought two, without actually seeing them in person! I was a little surprised at the size of these chairs as I was assembling them (they’re big), but the bigger surprise came when I opened the box to get at the slipcovers. Not to offend anyone who has these and love them, but I was so disappointed! I had expected a white cotton similar to my sofa slipcover but these had the appearance of a creamy polyester tweed..not the look I was going for at all. That’s when I decided to try out a company I had heard of who make custom slipcovers for IKEA furniture called Bemz.

I went on their site to see if they were making custom slipcovers for the Farlov yet, seeing how it was fairly new. I was so happy when they were and when I saw all the fabric choices, over 25o+ colours and prints to choose from, I was doing my happy dance! This is just a small sampling of what you’ll find on their site.

Bemz will send you 5 free samples to help you to decide on a fabric of your choice. This process may take a bit of time because there is so much to choose from.. and you may change your mind.. a few dozen times! I placed all my samples on the chair to see if that would help me to decide. I eliminated the greys and charcoals, as much as I loved them, they wouldn’t go with the rest of my decor. I also eliminated the stripes, it would have been too much pattern in such a small space. It also would have made it difficult for me to change/add different colour pillows with the seasons. I needed something a bit more neutral.

I ended up with these six, but I knew the denim floral would be too much in my small space.

I came up with a mood board using colours and textures I have in the room. Wood, white and brass together with my favourite blue and white paisley pillow covers.

I finally made it down to three and this is where I had to ask my friends on Instagram to help me! I asked everyone on IG stories for their top pick and most people chose the “brera lino duck egg” linen (the sample on the left). I decided I’d go with that one since it was in keeping with my coastal farmhouse/beachy vibe I love. But…you guessed it, I changed my mind! At the last minute I realized that although I do love the colour, I wasn’t sure how it would look come fall and then Christmas. How would I style it and work other colours around it? I decided to stick with my trusty neutrals and I went for this beautiful 100% linen called “brera Lino-natural”.

I love the natural linen! The custom slipcovers fit perfectly and are so comfortable to sit in. For those of you who want to try living with neutrals but the thoughts of crisp white slipcovers are a little scary, this is a great option. They come pre-washed and are machine washable. If you’re looking to cover a new or existing sofa, chair etc., they have something for every style.

The farlov comes with a lumbar pillow and they made a cover for that too. I also had them make a couple of throw pillows in the” brera lino duck egg” fabric that I had initially chose. I think they look great!

I think the slipcovers on my two farlov armchairs turned out beautifully and I’m loving the fabric choice…although I think any of those fabrics would have looked great! I’m kinda rethinking my sofa cover now..hmmm.Lol.

Blessings,

Kim

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Custom Slipcovers For My Ikea Armchairs

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