Master Bedroom: Dressing up the Dresser

We upgraded our sloppy-queen-matress to a Cal-King Mattress, along with a Bed - Headboard and Dresser set. Technically the bed and dresser are not from same collection. The bed was from Perspectives collection by Legacy furniture. It was solid wood and we liked the dresser in that collection as well. But it was too wide for the corner in our bedroom that we wanted to put it in, so we picked another piece (can't remember the collection/manufacturer) with clean lines and matched the rich espresso finish of the bed. It wasn't solid wood, particle board I guess, but it was cheaper, matched the bed and right size, so we bought it. This is how the dresser looked with wrought iron knobs.

I liked the modern shape of the dresser though knobs were not my favorite. So I changed them with clearance priced brushed nickel knobs from Target. And just like that, $15 worth of knobs have dressed up a $300 dresser.

I placed the oval shaped knobs vertically, instead of the usual horizontal way, just to break the routine and it does look better. By the way, that door next to the dresser is to the master bathroom. You can see how exact the dresser width is. The other dresser would have blocked the way a bit. I actually like the look of this dresser better than the other one, except the fact that its not solid wood.

We would have probably saved a lot by buying a used dresser on craigslist and refinishing it, but I was full term pregnant and we are novice when it comes to DIYing furniture. But I would like to do something like that for another dresser that I plan on for our Master Bedroom. Ladies huh... we can never get enough storage.

Quick & Easy Wall Decor

Before we moved in to our house, I had big plans to decorate it (may be not concrete ones). I was so eager to make it look pretty. I knew making it perfect will need some time, but I couldn't control the itch. So I did some interim decoration before I figured what I want to do in each room - paint or not, modern or traditional, blue or green, custom or out of the box ......
Coming from a 2 bedroom, 1100 sqft apartment to a 3 bedroom 2200 sqft house meant, I needed new things to put on walls, make Mr. Perfect buy some basic furniture and some inexpensive accessories. When I mentioned about my interim decorating thought to Mr. Perfect, he said "I will give you $100 per room, use your creativity and make them look pretty". Uhh... $100 per room? But we are not including furniture in this budget, so it may be possible. I must say, he makes me creative with challenges like this. Are you glowing with pride reading this honey?
Anyway, I am not planning on stuffing each room just yet. So a wall art here and a vase there should fit into the tiny budget. I used everything I had from our apartment but I still had some blank walls to fill. One of them was in the Master Bedroom. We didn't have a headboard for our then queen sized bed, so something substantial on that wall was an obvious choice. So I resorted to my good 'ol canvas. At 40% from Michaels, they were cheaper than any art I could find in that size. I am a little artistic, so I could paint something on a big canvas. But I have already done it twice and they are hanging in 2 other rooms (Guest Bedroom and Family room). Doing it again will be monotonous. So I went to Jo Ann looking for a fabric with bigger prints, in colors Blue/white/black/brown. Plan was, you got it, cover the canvas with printed fabric. I first strolled through the pricier drapery fabric section, which made me think - no point in spending $20-$40 a yard to cover a canvas. So I moved to $2-$3 and found a graphic pattern on a satin type fabric (may be not, I am a sucker when it comes to fabric types). $2.50 a yard. SCORE!!! That's how this baby shaped up. Just fabric stapled over a canvas.

I loved it so much. The scale was right over a queen bed (sorry I don't have pictures with it hanging over that bed). Colors were perfect. It served the purpose for 1.5 years, then, we bought a bigger bed in espresso finish with headboard. Now it doesn't fit in over the bed anymore (it is blue and black and the bed is walnut), but I am not quite ready to let it go. I will have to figure out what to do with it.

I may not be the first one to get this idea. Is anyone out there who has done similar things? Did you create wall arts with fabric or stretched canvas?

Quick Dresser Update

We bought an Ikea dresser for our baby but the look of it didn't fit in for a baby room. So I decided to change the knobs to give it a quick update. I bought 6 drawer knobs from Anthropologie, 2 in Yellow and 4 in Red (I would have liked them in pink, but they didn't have. They have a green now which I would have picked if they had it then), changed up the black metal knobs that came originally with the dresser and it instantly makes the dresser look modern and fresh. To me, it looks like a whole different dresser. It may not seem so in the picture (Sorry the picture is a little dark), but believe me, it does.

Did you dressup any basic ikea furniture? Do Tell.

Frame + Fabric = Wall Art

I wanted to put an art on the entry way wall in our living room. Since I was going for Orange accent in this room, I looked at many framed pictures, paintings, different wall decors, what not, that had a strong punch of Orange. But none of them fulfilled my criteria: "Beautiful and Economic". So I decided to make my own. First I thought of some freehand painting on a canvas. I couldn't find the right size I was going for. I needed something long and narrow so I can hang it horizontal and put a console table underneath (may be not in near future, but someday). While I was looking at canvases and strolled through picture frame aisle in Micheals, I spotted a collage picture frame. It has brushed nickel finish (matches our dining table metal finish, it is a living and dining room), long and narrow (matches my vision for this art) and 40% off at $15 (Cheap!!). It can hold 3 pictures and I thought I could put a bold designed card stock in those picture slots. So I bought it. I couldn't find any card stock I like, so just bought the frame. On my way home I got this idea. Why not take out the collage mat and put an orange fabric with nice print in the whole frame? Then I remembered a fabric I saw at Ikea that I wanted to buy for a throw pillow case. Perfecto! I did a happy dance in my mind. By the way, did I mention I LOVE Ikea? Following week I drove to Ikea during my lunch break (no I am not crazy, it's just closer to work) and bought the fabric. I don't need a whole yard if I could use it vertically, but the print on the fabric was horizontal so I had to buy a whole yard to show it properly in the frame. So I did, @ $7 a yard. Here is the end result.

$15 Frame + $7 Fabric = $22 Beautiful, one of a kind art work

Bonus: If I am bored of the art or decided to change the color scheme, I can change it up by replacing the fabric. I can even reuse this fabric for something else, since I just folded up all the extra fabric inside the frame instead of cutting it to fit the frame.

If you have done any similar DIY art work using frames and fabric, I would love to see, and even try it myself. Please share.