Dining Chair Slipcover

I have been wanting to attempt to make some slipcovers for my dining chairs for a few months. Now that my daughter is walking around, I worry about her scratching up my chairs with her toys. I also love the look an upholstered dining chair. Well, I finally did it and it wasn't as easy as I thought. The process consisted of  A LOT of guessing and trial and error. I am really surprised with the outcome though.

I had originally bought the fabric for my bedroom about a year ago, but when I got home from the fabric store it was definitely not going to work in my bedroom. So, I needed to use it for something.

The ruffle detail at the bottom was actually the result of me cutting the fabric too short. I had to come up with a solution. I really like it though. It gives the square lines of the chair a bit of a feminine touch.

It took my so long to make just one slipcover that I am not ready to make three more. I might decided to tackle it another day. It's not perfect, and I not going to even begin to describe how I did it because honestly I don't know how it came together at all.

DIY Striped Curtains

I have been seeing striped curtains everywhere lately, like these lovely ones in this fabulous dining room.

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I love the bold yet sophisticated statement they make. I knew I wanted to do them somewhere in the model home. I didn't even look into purchasing them, because I knew they would be pricey, so I decided to make them. I have had several people interested in how I did it, but I didn't take any pictures of the process, so I am going to attempt to just tell you how I did it. First of all, I decided how long I wanted my drapes. The ceiling in the room is a standard 8', so I decided to try and get close to 96" so I could make the curtains floor to ceiling. I wanted 7 stripes, 4 orange and 3 white. I figured out that I needed to make each stripe 13" wide. With 7 stripes this would give me a 91" long curtain panel. I cut all three of the white stripes and 2 of the 4 orange stripes 14" wide to give me 1/2" seam allowance on either side. For the top and bottom orange stripe I added an extra 3" so I could make a large 3-1/2" seam at the bottom and top. I think drapes just look better with a large seam at the bottom and top. I used drapery rings to hang mine, but if you are not going to do that then you will want to make sure you have that large seam at the top to slide the panel directly onto the curtain rod. After all the fabric was cut I started sewing. If you can sew a straight line the rest is super easy. After all the stripes were sewed together I hemmed the bottom and the edges. Then I started all over again and did the second panel the exact same way. I didn't line the curtains, which you might want to do to protect them from the sun. The entire process probably only took me around 3 hours. Here is a graphic I quickly put together to hopefully explain the cutting process better.

I hope my math is right but total you would need 3.5 yards of one fabric and 2.5 yards of the other color of fabric. But, if you are like me and not completely confident that you won't make any mistakes, then I would get 4 yards of one color and 3 yards of the other just to be safe. Anyway, hope that all made sense. I love the way mine turned out in the nursery. They were a great focal point in the room and definitely gave it the look I wanted.

Involving Color Feature!

A few rooms in my house are being featured over at Involving Color. It's a great blog all about paint colors! Check it out by clicking on the button.

Parade of Homes

Here is the exterior of the home I decorated for our local Parade of Homes.

It's a townhome built by Guardian Homes. I decorated the two story one on the right. A few details about the home, it's 1645 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms. So not huge, but a great starter home for a young family. My cousin is the builder and he told me about a month before the show that he wanted me to decorate it. Well, at that point the house basicley just had walls. No lighting, plumbing, paint, flooring, or cabinetry. It had a long way to go before I could really start decorating. I selected the paint colors, and started coming up with ideas. I wasn't able to start putting furniture into the home until 4 days before it was suppose to be done for the show. It was crazy, but it did come together. My budget for the home was $7500. That's including mattresses, sheets, towels and all. I shopped around A LOT, trying to find the best deals. I don't think that's bad at all...furnish an entire home for $7000...heck yes! You can buy a sofa for that much. :) Anyway, I am proud of how it turned out. (Sorry about some of the pictures. They don't do it justice.The lighting was terrible.)

View when you walk in the door.

Pictures above the built-in coat rack.

Living Room

The main paint color throughout is Chintz by Columbia. It's a warm taupe/gray. Very nice. The sofa and end tables are from Downeast Home. The accent chairs and coffee table are from Pier 1.

Dining and Kitchen Area

Landing at the top of the stairs.
Accessories and chair from Ross and TJ Maxx.

Master Bedroom
Paint color is Luna Light by Columbia

Headboard is from Pier 1 that I found on super clearance. Nightstands and bedding are from Target.

Dresser is from Funiture Row. Mirror is from Lowes.

Art is from Kohls. Chair is from Downeast Home.

Girl Room
Paint color is Origin by Columbia. Bunkbed is from Downeast Home. Bedding is from Kohls.

The plastic flowers I got at Bed Bath and Beyond and the Magazine are is from Michaels.

Dresser is from Fred Meyer.

Nursery
Paint color is same as master-Luna Light by Columbia.

I made the striped curtains and the art above the crib. The ABC flashcards were a free download I found online here via Pinterest.

Crib bedding is from TJ Maxx.

Here are some ways I saved money. First of all, like I said earlier, I shopped around. As you can tell I bought stuff from everywhere!! Another way I saved money was I made some of the art myself, like the "sunshine" art above the crib and the "pink" art in the girl room. If you have Photoshop or a similar program it is easy to type up a quote or song, add some color, and have it printed for inexpensive at a local print shop. To save money I took advantage of sales and coupons. I shopped on Labor Day and found several items on sale. Michael's always has sales and great coupons. All of the picture frames I bought were 40% off, then with my coupon I received an additional 25% off! If you can sew, that can also be a great way to save money. I sewed a few of the pillows for the sofa. Fabric for each pillow was about $3 each. Then, I used the insert from the pillows that came with the sofa. I sewed the velvet drapes in the living room, and spent about $40 on fabric. Pottery Barn velvet drapes are $150 a panel!! I also sewed the curtains in the nursery and got a great custom look for $35. Hope those tips help!

P.S. Both of these townhomes are for sale, so if anyone is looking for a home in Southeast Idaho and is interested, you can contact Guardian Homes for more info.

I Changed My Name!

I know, this is making things a little confusing, but it will be for the better. When I chose the name Cal and Amber's House it was a quick, off the top of my head, pick. I didn't know that people would actually want to read my blog, so now that I have (had) followers, I decided to change it. My new name is Numbered Street Designs, which comes from the name of the historic area in our town that we live in. When people ask what part of town we live in we say, "The numbered streets!" I am excited about my new name. I am also offering design services now. I received a lot of attention at the Parade of Homes so I decided it was time to put my name out there. The layout on this new blog is still a work in progress, so forgive me if things are a little out of whack for a while. Again, I'm sorry for the confusion, but thanks for all your wonderful comments and support. I really had no idea if this would turn into anything, and I'm glad to see that people actually like it.

P.S. I am going to post pictures of the parade home tomorrow, so come back for that!

I'm Still Here

I am sure you have realized by now that I am not very consistent with my posting. Being a mom keeps me busy, and I only have one kid!! I can't imagine what it's going to be like with more. I also have started working on a little project. I am in the process of decorating a model home, and I am so excited! It is going to be in our local parade of homes. I only have three weeks and a very small budget, so my mind has been going crazy trying to figure out the best options. Here are a few of my inspiration photos:

Living Room:
Dark wood tones and navy blue drapes.

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Always love a beautiful tufted chair.

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Master Bedroom:

The room has wainscoting and windows just like this.

(via pinterest)

Kids Room:

Loving striped drapes these days.

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Great color.

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The Kitchen Blues Could Use a Little Color

I have been seeing a lot of interiors lately with the combination of light blue and orange...

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Cute right?! Well, these got me thinking about my kitchen. My light blue countertops have always been a design issue. When I chose my wall color for the kitchen I tried to think of a color that would not clash with the blue but still flow with the living and dining room colors. I came up with dark brown and I felt good with my decision, but the countertops still just don't go away like I want them to. So, what if I added orange accents to my kitchen?!! Like a cute orange patterned shade or valance in the window and some orange dish towels. Here is what I came up with on photoshop.

I don't have a lot of bright colors in the rest of my house, but the kitchen could be a fun place to start!