Dresser Makeover, Simple Decor & Photo Wall – ORC Week 4

It’s week four of the One Room Challenge! If you missed the previous weeks, check them out to see my design plan, ikea dresser hack, and painted bench.

 

I’m so excited to have this room almost completed and ready for the reveal in two weeks! This week was pretty simple – the majority of my time went into painting our headboard to match the bench I completed last week. It took several more coats than the bench, but the process was just the same. Get the tutorial HERE.  You can also see some before photos of our bedroom in my home tour and HERE.

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This looks HORRIBLE – I know. This was the first coat, and even so I was having a little bit of heart palpitations at this point. I wasn’t sure how I was going to explain to Joe that I had completely ruined our headboard and was even looking online to see how fast I could get a new one in time for the reveal.

 

Unlike, with my bench project –  because this fabric is more of a linen blend, I sprayed each section with water before painting and it helped with keeping the fabric a little softer. But also made the first coat a lot more blotchy. I noticed using the water also made the process so much slower because it required more coats.

 

 

After the second coat, the headboard was looking a little better but not great. I did this little project early morning while watching TV and even though it was time consuming, it was worth it!

 

 

Then FINALLY with the third coat it was looking much better. I took my time working on each section and making sure the paint was even. By this step I had also stopped spraying the fabric with water first. It was starting to stiffen up and the water wasn’t doing much. Ps it took 12 bottles of paint and 6 bottles of fabric medium for this king sized headboard – the paint and medium I used are in the first tutorial.

 

 

Here is a sneak peak of the completed headboard. Just like with my bench, after the paint was all dry I added a top coat of wax for a smooth finish. The wax definitely makes the fabric feel soft again, but to be honest it still doesn’t feel like fabric. Since this is just our headboard, I’m not to worried. If I ever use this technique on a piece of furniture that I actually sit on or use, I would try doubling the amount of fabric medium.

 

I also had plans to paint the nail heads black, so I tried it on a few and it was ugly! 🙂 But for now I actually like the monochrome look of having the nail heads the same color as the fabric. I think this will help when I bring in our ikea dressers and keep the space from appearing too busy.

 

Update: Joe never even noticed the painted headboard when he got home from work! When I told him I painted it, he says “wasn’t it already that color?” Haha.

 

 

Another project I worked on this week was our old dresser. Actually, this was Joe’s dresser and it became ours when we moved in together. It has always been strategically hidden from previous photos of our bedroom because I hated it. Ok maybe hate is a strong word, but I really didn’t like it. And lately, neither did Joe.

 

 

I originally hadn’t planned this for the One Room Challenge, but the more the rest of the room started to come together the more this dresser became an eyesore. Luckily, I had some left over paint from my friends at Mudpaint so this project took less than an hour. I wiped it down with a wet rag, removed the old hardware (I’ve ordered new hardware too), pulled out the drawers, and started painting.

 

 

It took two coats, but I didn’t have to sand anything! That’s my kind of project – quick and easy. I applied the same wax from the painted headboard and bench, to seal the Mudpaint and give the dresser a smoother finish.

 

 

I also removed the old shelving that was in our room and replaced it with a photo wall. Notice, I didn’t call it a gallery wall. With my borderline OCD, I can’t handle gallery walls in our home. Too busy and cluttered for me.

 

I installed the shelving last summer with big plans for multiple “love” themed signs, photos, art, etc. But after my new outlook and wanting to simplify everything in our home, the shelving had to go.

 

 

 

These frames are equally spaced and all lined up, just like my OCD loving heart wants. I am waiting on some custom photo mats for some black & white photos. I scored the frames at Michaels during one of their big sales for $6 each plus an additional 20% off! I edited some candid photos of us and Scooby from my iPhone and had them printed at Walgreens for about five bucks. Tip: Even if you don’t have professional photos, make your phone photos black & white for a chic and cohesive look.

 

The white vases are similar to the ones in my design plan, but for half the price! I found them at Target and they were the perfect shape and size, but wrong color. I knew a little spray paint would fix that. 😉 I added some faux fiddle leaf stems because I wanted some greenery in our bedroom, but this corner gets pretty dark and honestly I’d probably forget to water a real plants anyways.

 

I still have one more project to finish for the reveal and its a big one – the feature wall. I’ll be working on it this week, so if you want a sneak peek be sure to follow @ahouseandadog on Instagram!

 

Okay, I have another project that I’ve been keeping a secret for awhile. I have been lucky enough to collaborate with a huge flooring company – Pergo! In just a few weeks, we will be getting rid of the carpet and installing some gorgeous laminate flooring. So stay tuned!

 

Don’t forget to check to see how everyone else’s rooms are coming along in the One Room Challenge!