MASTER Bedroom wallpaper makeover

May 19, 2025May 20, 2025 | Heather

Believe it or not, not every DIY goes to plan. In fact, I find most do not. And even when you feel confident in your planning or taste or choices, sometimes they just don’t work out. This is such a tale.

I bought this great Ruggable rug for my kitchen with a fantastic William Morris pattern, Blackthorn in Forest Green. I loved the pattern and immediately started thinking about what else we could do with it.

Meanwhilst, I was working on painting and planning decor for our master bedroom. In our last house, Ryan graciously allowed me to paint the walls a lovely cameo pink. And while I still love that color, I thought it might be his turn to have a favorite color, green, grace the walls. We chose a Magnolia color, 1905 Green. Their website describes it as “a slightly jeweled forest green.” I would say that is totally accurate. We both absolutely love the deep moody color. Our room gets a lot of natural light so the dark color works well. Home decor bloggers would tell you to pick your inspiration words for a space, mine were moody, romantic, and elegant. I tell you, waking up to this room drenched in sunlight, is just lovely.

Ok, so back to the rug pattern, I found the William Morris Blackthorn pattern available at Spoonflower and immediately started obsessing over just the right pattern and color to choose. (If you don’t know, Spoonflower has nearly an infinite number of patterns in just as many variations and options.) It’s dizzying to try to find just the right thing.

FULL STOP: This is where I should have ordered samples. But didn’t. Mistake. Always, always, always order samples of wallpaper. Did you hear me? Always order samples, no exceptions, no buts, no what ifs, always order samples. Please, learn from me.

I showed Ryan (who trusts me on these things) the wallpaper, and feeling slightly impulsive, ordered the wallpaper. It was impulsive and a mistake. I knew better, but just didn’t want to wait. It arrived and I didn’t love it. But I tried to convince myself I did love it. I tried so hard, I told myself if we put it on the wall I would love it more. Yes, just put it on the wall, that’s the solution.

So, we put it up on the wall, the whole wall. I did not love it, the colors weren’t right, and the pattern felt too “cartoony” compared to the inspiration rug. I also did not love Spoonflower’s Peel-n-Stick. It was easy to put up, but started unsticking almost immediately. Weeks turned into months and I still did not love the wallpaper. And, it started coming up in several more places. I thought shamefully about the hasty, impulsive decision, completely my fault. And then, I remembered the wallpaper I originally wanted from Rifle Paper Co. I had decided it was too expensive, but it was the wallpaper I really loved.

ANOTHER STOP: It is worth it to wait for something you love, and invest a bit more money than to settle for something you don’t love and end up paying even more for it in the end. Which is what I did. Paid twice for wallpaper. Twice.

The more I looked at the wallpaper on the wall, the more certain I was that it wasn’t right and had to come down. I waited until Rifle Paper Co. was having a sale and splurged on the beautiful, dreamy, perfect wallpaper. AFTER I sampled several of their wallpapers in the room. The choice was unanimous, the Hawthorne wallpaper is gorgeous! Confusing right, Blackthorn vs. Hawthorne. Ha!!

When I hung the right wallpaper, even though I had to add paste to it and it was much more challenging, it felt right. Every strip and every swipe of glue was worth the effort for this beautiful paper. When it’s right you know. And when it isn’t, the same is true. Trust your gut. Listen to it on creative projects (I can’t speak for it on bigger stakes, but on DIYs, yes ;-)). Ryan added trim to the windows, and we added trim along the bottom edge of the wallpaper for a finished look. (We always have little helpers hanging around, especially if there is a ladder involved, like a moth to the flame.)

We are so very pleased with the outcome of our room makeover. We included some fun Facebook Marketplace finds along the way, like a four-poster bed and a brass chandelier. I found artwork that coordinated well at Target, Hobby Lobby, and Etsy. And of course, pillows and bedding (Pottery Barn, sadly, they don’t have this quilt anymore).

And for those who love good before and after:

All this to say, not all DIYs go the way you want them to. In fact, in my experience, most do not. Maybe patience is the lesson? Maybe sometimes admitting defeat and starting over? Maybe you don’t have to be a DIY genius every time? Maybe always sample wallpaper? Or maybe just don’t get discouraged if it isn’t Pinterest-Perfect or Insta-worthy, trust what you love.

XO,
h

SOURCES:
Target
Portrait
Floral
Floral with gold frame
White leopard pillow
Green embroidered pillow (which gave me the idea for my next DIY, stay tuned…)
Sheets

Hobby Lobby artwork
Floral
Bow (actually in our bathroom, but too cute not to share)

P.S. The kids may be loving this makeover too. 😉

How to Create a Beautiful Dried Flower Wreath

March 12, 2025March 12, 2025 | Heather

I’m learning more and more about how to enjoy the fruits of the garden year round. For example, we have been eating home-canned green beans all winter and it has been lovely to have a go-to side that we know was grown in our garden. Not to mention the dilly beans, strawberry jam, pepper jelly and more! I’ve also shared a simple pressed flower DIY, you can read about it here. The garden produces so many gifts.

I decided to grow statice this year. I chose the Forever Happy variety and it did not disappoint. I grew statice because I have fond childhood memories of my mom buying a dried statice bouquet each year from the local farm. I still remember how the bouquets hung beautifully from the ceiling, and how much she enjoyed picking out just the perfect one.

When the statice plants started blooming, I harvested them as they were ready. Then I hung them upside down in a dark closet to dry. Great news, statice is very easy to dry and keeps its color nicely. (You’ll see I also dried some of my hydrangea blooms and celosia.)

I knew I had to make something with the statice for my mom, because she inspired me to grow it and she loves all things purple. A wreath seemed like the perfect craft.

This DIY wreath was pretty easy, except, I will note that dried statice is prickly. You could use another method to create a wreath before it dries, and depending on the look you are going for, that might be the way to go. But here’s what I did…

Supplies:

Wreath form – I used Styrofoam
Ribbon – for wrapping the form
More ribbon – for creating a hanger and bow, this could all be the same ribbon too
Hot glue – the most evil yet highly-practical invention
A bunch of dried flowers of your choice

Directions:

Line up all your dried flowers somewhere with pretty light and take no less than 50 photos to admire them. Sooo pretty!

2. Next, I wrapped the ribbon around the form to cover the Styrofoam. I added a dab of hot glue to the ribbon every few times around. Once it was covered, I also used ribbon to create the hanger.

3. Next, I painstakingly cut off stems and glued and glued and glued and glued and glued and glued and glued. Then I glued some more. Then more. Then I hung the wreath up, stared at it, and glued some more. I tried to use the beautiful variation in the colors of the flowers to the best advantage, spacing like colors around at first. It should feel intentionally random. You’ll note I also mixed in some white statice I got from a friend (thanks, Adrienne!).

4. When I was happy with the shape and distribution of the flowers, I tied a bow and hot glued it to the front of the wreath. It was pretty and feminine and just needed a bow. There you have it, a simple DIY to enjoy the garden all year round.

XO,
h

P.S. I wouldn’t hang this on the front door or outside as the dried flowers are pretty fragile. But if you have a window or interior door that needs some cheer then this wreath is perfect!

DIY Pressed flower art

March 1, 2025March 1, 2025 | Heather

Sometimes you just need a sweet project to break up all the major projects. Or maybe you just need something to do with all the dried flowers you pressed with your daughter, with zero plan but lots of possibilities.

Over the last two summers, Kyrie and I started picking and pressing some of the flowers we’ve been growing. She kept asking me, “Mom, what are we going to do with all of these?” I have grand illusions of about a million projects, including creating a gardening journal complete with pressed flowers inspired by @missmustardseed (but that’s for another day). Instead, we picked and pressed to our hearts’ content without a real goal. We used parchment paper tucked into stacks of the biggest, heaviest books we have. It only takes a couple of weeks, and they are dried and ready to use.

I find the best ideas come from happenstance. I was at an outdoor antique fair this fall and found a few vintage frames for about $4 – $5 apiece. Again, with no true plan, I bought them because they were cool and you never know when inspiration might hit. When I got the frames home, it hit me, we should frame some of the pressed flowers! And no ego involved, I promise, but I had to start with heather.

Supplies:
-vintage frame
-pressed, dried flowers (DIY or you can find some on Etsy)
-scrapbook paper
-hot glue
-velvet ribbon (via Amazon)

Directions:
1. I measured the scrapbook paper and cut it to match the size of the backing of the frame. I used black paper because I love the contrast.

2. I then played around with arrangement of the flowers until I found a pleasing look. Typically, you would arrange in odds, but this art piece was just begging for one more stem.

3. Once I was happy with the arrangement, I used hot glue to secure the ends of the flowers. The frames I bought did not have glass, so I had to do something to secure them. Hot glue, while treacherous, does the job well.

3. The ribbon comes next, and yes, it is 100% to hide the hot glue. Nothing but honesty on this blog. I also thought about creating a little tag or using some lace to hide the glue, but the velvet ribbon won this time!

4. I assembled the paper and frame, and voila, done! I even found a spot to hang it that already had a nail, win/win/win.

This project took all of 4 steps (5 if you add pressing the flowers), and maybe 15 minutes!

XO,
h

DIY – Reupholster a Dining Room Chair

March 30, 2019March 30, 2019 | Heather

When Ryan and I were first married, my parents spent a weekend at my grandparents house getting rid of some clutter. One of the items that was on its way out was an old dining room table and chairs that originally belonged to my great grandparents.

Thankfully, my mom couldn’t bear to see them go. So, she called me! Yay!

I’m always up for a little DIY challenge and Ryan and I just so happened to be shopping for our first house. Perfect!

Mom saved the set from the landfill, Ryan and I bought a house, and the set was ours. We lovingly refinished the chairs with dark cherry stain and I re-covered the seats with a tone-on-tone red damask fabric. Gorgeous! We ended up having to buy a new table because the tabletop wasn’t salvageable (good news, we did save and reuse the legs).

Every time my parents come over for dinner, my Dad remarks fondly how glad he is that we saved the chairs. He remembers the “heart” shape backs from his own childhood. My grandmother has also been tickled to see them in our house. I love the history and stories these chairs tell. All the warm fuzzy feelings!

Now we have three little ones of our own and the stories continue. Sadly though, the red damask hasn’t loved the spilled oatmeal, applesauce, milk, ice cream, yogurt, syrup… you name it, those chairs have gotten doused in it.

I was wandering around Hobby Lobby looking for inspiration, and this is what called my name!

The chairs! Yes!

Materials:

1 yard home decor fabric (Mine was from Hobby Lobby)

6, 1″ foam chair pads (Hobby Lobby again), measuring 15″ x 17″

Tissue paper

Staple gun, staples

Pliers and screw driver (for removing old staples)

Directions:

I started by removing the seats from the chairs. (Let’s be real, Ryan did that part. Thanks babe!)

I used a combination of the flathead screwdriver and pliers to remove the old staples.

Then I used my pattern to cut out my fabric. I also had to trim the chair foam just a bit to fit the seats.

Assembling the seats is as simple as fabric face down, foam centered on the fabric, seat (face down) on top. Then staple, staple, and staple some more. To staple, you want to pull the fabric tight, actually pressing down on the foam. Start in the center of one side, and work to the edges, leaving the corners until all four sides are done. Do the corners last, making a nicely finished edge.

Ryan put the screws back in and… voila!