Tour VHHQ

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am moving. But before my sweet little ranch is bought by some person with fabulous taste, I thought I'd show you some of the stuff I've made around here.


Arts-and-Crafts-inspired valance.

This valance, in the master bedroom, was the first thing I sewed using a pattern. It has a mate on another window. The home decor fabric is inspired by William Morris (whether it's a reproduction of an actual Morris pattern, I don't recall; I ordered it at Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts years ago).

Complementary colors.

Here is what the valance looks like in the bedroom. The color scheme is a riff on the bold colors and textures of the Arts and Crafts and Victorian decorating styles. A friend said it's a red-and-green room that doesn't look Christmasy. I call that a success!

The headboard has an interesting story. It's actually a door turned on its side. There was a house on the other side of the block that was being gutted. The door was in the trash pile, and I convinced MVH to help me carry it home. We cleaned it by wiping it down with mineral spirits, and MVH put some legs on it. It's a little banged up, but I like the patina.

Hello, gentlemen.

Who are these handsome devils, you ask? They're the Catalog Men. These postcards hang in the master bathroom on wire stretched between eye hooks. (You will see that I'm a fan of non-traditional wall hangings.)

I had to share the guy in the dragon robe with you guys. He thinks he's the hottest thing in chest hair.

Moving right along.

Bathroom vanity.

MVH and I, with help from Ma and Pa VH, redid the main bathroom in February 2009. The room was repainted, the bathtub was retiled, and new linoleum was installed. We also put in a new vanity with storage. (The cabinet replaced a pedestal sink.)

The sink itself came from a Habitat for Humanity ReStore outlet (for a tidy $10, I believe), and the vanity was ordered at Menards.

Decorative feet.

I am particularly pleased with how the vanity turned out. It was unfinished oak, and we stained and varnished it. As you can see, it's pretty basic. To give it a more upscale look, we added faux feet to the toe kick. This inexpensive addition adds visual interest to an otherwise cookie-cutter piece of furniture.

Know your famous trees.

I hung this old classroom poster in the bathroom on a skinny branch I found in the woods near VHHQ. I had the poster laminated to protect it from moisture. The poster has a mate (I think it describes tree varieties; I haven't looked at it in a while), and I got the posters at an antique store in Tomahawk, Wisconsin, for less than $10. (Not only do I like unusual wall hangings, I like cheap wall hangings. I'm a thrifty gal.)

Dining area of the kitchen. I made the yellow valance. It was my first sewing project!

To fill a long wall in the kitchen, I hung a collection of postcards that features vintage movie posters. I put the postcards in cheapo IKEA picture frames, and I used a chalk line and a level to make sure the frames were even and straight.

Detail of one of the mini posters.

This project was easy and cheap, cheap, cheap! Plus, of all the things we've done to VHHQ, I think these posters have yielded the most compliments. They're great conversation starters (I like to ask guests how many of the movies they have seen). I hope to repeat this collection-of-small-things decoration scheme on a larger wall at my new house.

Peacock pillow.

I made two pillows for the living room from fabric MVH bought me at Mood in New York. I've been thinking about redoing them. They were some of my first sewing projects, and I didn't know about the wonders of interfacing back then. I think some stiffness around the edges would perk them up nicely.

Though I made these pillows probably four years ago, the peacock print is showing up again in home decorating: check out these pillows from the Liberty of London line at Target. I want to buy one when the line goes on clearance! It's nearly the same colorway as my pillow.

Utilitarian coat rack.

MVH and I built the coat rack when we lived in Milwaukee. Our flat didn't have a convenient entrance coat closet, and this was the solution. Making it was a fun process. We bought wood at a fancy wood/builders' store, and we used tools in the shop at MVH's alma mater to cut pieces down to size.

For me, installing the coat rack at our new house will make it feel like home.

And now, because you've stuck with me this far, I present to you the first Sie macht video!

It's a tour of the craftorium/office, my biggest project to date.

I must mention, though, because I didn't in the video, that MVH's dad and brother, who are home builders, helped us lay out the room, frame it, and run the electrical system. We also collected some sweat equity from dear friends.

Enjoy my movie, friends! I hope you have found some of my crafty doings inspiring!

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