{DIY} Custom Sized Headboard From Twin Bed

For some reason, my bedroom is consistently the last space in my home that I finish. I believe it is because I am so used to moving, that I try to get the areas in my home that I will be entertaining in completed first.     

Since I have been renting the same place, my loft, for a couple of years now and I plan on staying here for a bit. Now, I finally finished my bedroom, and oh boy, it is so important to have a "finished" and peaceful place to sleep, shut down and unwind in...Let's be real, in my home, a room is always a work in progress. I am loving the bold mix of modern with ultra traditional.                          

I scored this 100 year old, Louis XV, twin headboard in France for $100 right before leaving Germany, and finally had my master plan for this piece executed. Since I won't be having kiddos anytime in the near future and larger European bed sizes don't convert to our American bed sizes, I decided I would butcher this gorgeous thang and give it new life. I am typically not a fan of modifying antiques but knew this bed would get FAR more use and would be appreciated and honored more if I did cut it, than if it just sat in my garage, waiting for a kid to come along who wouldn't appreciate it's beauty as much as I would anyhow. Sorry (not sorry), future, unborn child.

I want to encourage you guys to not be limited by what/how you "should" be using an item for but to re-imagine or re-engineer how a piece can evolve and be used. I only have a full mattress at the moment and wanted this headboard to fit that but to also potentially fit up to a king sized bed in the future. In order to make that happen, us antique-loving, Europe living expats have been known to slice a twin footboard in half and mount each half to either side of the headboard. It makes for a ridiculously dramatic bed and at a stupid-cheap price. The best part about it, is it looks great with ANY size bed and is totally custom and unique looking. 

Thankfully, my footboard had a line down the middle, so it was an easy line to cut on. This is helpful for lazy folks. 

In order to make it as flush with the headboard as possible, I had the moulding on the back of the headboard's feet cut off vertically. 

By the way, do you ever wonder why fake antiques have all the little holes in them? It is trying to emulate the wood worm damage in real antiques as seen below, to make it look more authentic. Wood worm is not a good thing and will shred your gorgeous wood. This piece along with all my antiques were treated before bringing it back to the U.S.

 In order to attach your footboard halves to the headboard, you will flip your headboard over and mount each half to either side (from the back). This will make the centerpiece protrude a little bit more but it adds a dramatic effect. These were attached with long screws. 

 The finished product is stunning. I like the look of having the nightstands in front of the extra large headboard as it gives it a "hotel look". When I eventually get a king bed, I will mount the headboard higher on the wall and know it will look spectacular. This incredibly, inexpensive headboard is quite possibly one of my favorite pieces of furniture in my home. 

As you can see from my coffee bar armoire, I like to do unexpected things with my antiques and use them in ways that are totally different and unassuming. If you missed my Christmas decor (which you totally did because I was ultra late posting pics, because of a technical problem), click the image below!                                      

I want to thank Rachel and Ari from Ari and Faye Photography, for taking these beautiful images of my bed!

I am off to sip some coffee and get more work done. So tell me, dear friends...What pieces in your home can be reworked or reimagined??

Heartache, Loneliness and the Holidays

The holidays are a time of year where loved ones come together, people seem a little bit more blissful and magic and miracles seem to pour in. Still, this can be one of the hardest times of year for a ton of people out there. When you are separated from family, living in a foreign place, have a family member who is deployed or you have lost a loved one, it sometimes can seem impossible to get through each day with a positive attitude, especially when beautiful pictures are flooding social media, showing you everything you are "missing out on". A zillion articles have been written about how most of that is just a staged highlight in someone's life and that every person has their problems and issues, so I am not going to cover that in this post. I have experienced a great deal of loss and loneliness, in a foreign country and without ANY family in Germany, so as blessed as I am, I know a thing or two about "making the best" of this often difficult time of year. I have been wanting to write this post the last couple years and after lots of thinking and marinating on things, I finally feel as though I can open up and put my thoughts and feelings out there. 

YOU AREN'T ALONE IN THIS...

First of all, you are not alone...well you are (HA!), that's why you are reading this...but you are not alone in being alone. In fact I think you will find that tons of people around you are in the same boat. I guarantee everyone around you is either overwhelmed because they are overbooked and over-tired or they have an underwhelming and lonely schedule. Here are a few things that have helped me and loads of friends who have been through some kind of loss or away from loved ones during these festive times of year. Remember...you are a grown up... and no one is responsible for creating a magical holiday season for yourself, but you. Also, the more you take the focus off of you and think of ways to bless others and bring cheer to them, the happier you will begin to feel.

IT WON'T BE THE SAME-LET IT GO (CUE OVERPLAYED DISNEY SONG)...

Stop trying to make the holidays what they "used to be", when you were a kid, before you lost your home in the recession, before the divorce or loss of loved one, before... well, I will let you fill in the blanks. It WON'T be that. Seriously... It will NEVER be that again. Let it go, whatever "It" is for you.  I am not saying that the pain or loneliness will be gone but let go of what the HOLIDAYS were. Life has changed and the holidays will always fall short of what it "used to be" if you are constantly trying to make it what it used to be. Honor and be grateful for that time in your life, that person, that place and store it away with all your happy memories. Embrace where you are now and create new positive memories, that I guarantee you will miss when life goes on and changes again. If you have lost a loved one, honor and celebrate their life, create a new, positive tradition to remember them by. Old traditions are wonderful and are there to make you happy, however, If we are so solid on our traditions and aren't flexible with them, they can cause upset and ruin the day. I have seen people have falling outs with family or hurt peoples' feelings all because "it's tradition" to do it this way, on this day. Let. It. Go. 

CREATE NEW TRADITIONS AND BOOK YOURSELF SOLID...

Seriously guys, you will find that so many people have to work, are transplants, are alone and can't afford to go home for the holidays. Start a new friend-family tradition. A few years ago, many of my friends' husbands had to work on Christmas Eve, other friends had family events that were on different days-so they were alone, or had family that they were estranged from.  We all would get together, play games and eat and drink. The group has shifted and changed over the years as peoples' families are growing, but this has now become one of my absolute FAVORITE Christmas traditions. It is hard to imagine a traditional Christmas Eve on Christmas Eve anymore. While living in Germany, ALL of my friends over there were away from family or had spouses who were deployed, so I would have them all over and would have them bring their favorite Christmas dish that they ate growing up. We would laugh, share stories and would have the best of times. Christmas Day was spent with my best friend, snuggling with our pups on the couch, watching our favorite childhood Christmas movies, indulging in everything we "shouldn't be eating" and watching the snowfall from my barn window. We would book every weekend with trips to the Christmas Markets or embrace the traditions of the German culture and soak it all in while we were there... We knew with our ever-changing lives, it was going to be a distant and precious memory soon. Quickly, our days were filled to the brim with fun and festive events...we didn't have time to be lonely or feel like we were missing out on things at home. In fact, I started feeling bad for people who were imprisoned by their traditions and didn't get to experience all the other wonderful things the world and other people have to offer, if only they were open to it. It was a Christmas tradition that developed out of extreme loneliness and now that are my most missed holiday traditions. I have peppered in some pictures of Christmas overseas so you can get inspired to get out there and see new things. Like I said above, I appreciate it and honor it and remember it with love, but am enjoying where I am now, with the people that I am with...NOW. Only realizing now, that had I sat alone in Germany missing Christmas in California, I would have missed out on these incredibly precious memories. The same could be said about me not enjoying where I am in this moment and longing for Europe again. 

I am almost positive that after talking to your friends and family, there is someone who would love to invite you to a meal, or coffee... or just invite them, sillies! In fact my best girlfriend and I decorated our homes together via Skype this year because we didn't want to do it alone... It was such a fun day! If you have tons of family plans, reach out to those that aren't so lucky and invite them... You have no idea how much it means to someone who may otherwise be alone. Will it really ruin your tradition so much that you can't make someone else's holiday????? When I was completely alone in Europe,  I had so many acquaintances reach out to and include me. They are now some of my closest friends in the world. You really have no idea how much including someone else in your family events can mean to them until you have experienced being alone yourself. 

HOW CAN YOU SERVE OTHERS

Still have no plans for the holidays? Find out all your friends who have to work that day, make them cookies, bring them coffee to work, stop by and visit. Drop gift packages off at peoples' front door to wish them a Merry Christmas. Do the obvious and volunteer to feed the homeless or visit people in the hospital or at a retirement community. Call your local Base or church and see what is needed. When you remove yourself from the equation and bless others, you will be so "filled" with gratitude and joy... It's a biblical and universal law. End of story.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST...

Stop making excuses as to why the holidays are crappy for you. Create your own dang traditions and magic... Sleep in, watch a good movie, take your pup for a walk with your favorite holiday drink... collect items from the forest and create a bomb-diggity forest scene in your home, I don't know, but get off your fanny and choose to make the best of the season. It took me a couple years of dealing and coping with some difficult and very real things in my life to learn and realize all of this, but it sure has helped now that I have. The real reason for the season is the birth of our Lord and Savior. Focus on HIM and you will NEVER be alone. 

Fawn-Hide Wallpaper and a Tucked Away European Cafe

One of my absolute favorite things about living in Europe, was visiting quaint, little cafes in Germany and France. There is something so unique, special and endearing about a "folk" looking cafe or bistro in Bavaria or the French Alps that is warming to the heart and "oh, so comforting" to the soul. There really is nothing like it in the world. Many are laden with antlers, folk painting, oil paintings, wood beams and paneling, and of course, mouth watering coffee and pastries. 

When I moved back home from Europe and into my petite loft, I needed to utilize every inch of my place so that my home could store all my goodies, look good and most importantly, be functional. I needed a place to hook up my espresso machine and coffee bar and the Louis armoire that I found in France, was the perfect piece to create a tucked-away French/ Bavarian fusion cafe. When I open its doors, I feel swept away to a little "folk" coffee shop in the European countryside. It's a great centerpiece for entertaining as well!

I came across this gorgeous and incredibly real looking faux, fawn hide wall-paper from Walls Republic and I knew that I needed to use it somewhere in my home. It is unique, classic, timeless and reminded me of something I would have seen in the German Alps. You guys, you seriously would not believe the quality of this stuff. It is heavy, textured and looks absolutely real in person. Walls Republic sent me a few samples of the coverings that I liked and I absolutely fell in love with the fawn hide (along with the other four samples that I am madly searching for a place in my home to utilize).  To my surprise, when the wallpaper arrived, it said it was "made in Germany"! I was so elated! Not only did it have the look that I was going for and appeared completely authentic, but it was also from the magical land of adorable cafes! 

And here is the after! Look at what a difference the wall-paper makes!

This print looks awesome with all of my vintage and folk pieces that I brought back, but I am also looking forward to styling it with some clean, modern accessories in the future to switch up the look. 

I wanted to line the inside of my armoire with this stunning paper without ruining the integrity of the armoire, so I will be sharing with you how I created this semi-permanent design without touching the wood. I would love to eventually get a few different papers so that I can swap the backing or "backdrop" of my cabinet in and out and I can use my armoire for all different things and I can adjust this accent wall as the seasons (and my tastes) change. 

Yes, that's a super studly German dog, wearing a hat and smoking a pipe with a fox on it...

Even if you can't afford an entire room or wall in a fabulous, high quality wallpaper, you really should consider using it on an accent wall, niche or piece of furniture to add richness, texture and interest to your space. I was blown away by the quality and by the wonderful customer service that was provided by Walls Republic. The pictures of their items online don't do justice... you really need to get some samples for yourself! Not only does it look and feel great but it was easy to match the seams and it didn't show any bubbles or air pockets because it is so thick and textured. I am definitely putting the remnants to good use as well, and I can't wait to show you 

what I have in store for that!

I never imagined that wall paper could cure my intense homesickness for my little German Barn and village, but it does the trick. My tucked-away espresso bar is a great little spot to drift away, get inspired and start my mornings off right. I can't wait to entertain and open its enchanting doors to take my guests to a "storybook" cafe, like the ones I cherished while living abroad. I can almost smell crepes and hear accordion music when I enter this lovely little space (probably because I have French accordion playing on my playlist and a constant craving for Nutella Crepes). Do yourself a favor and check out Walls Republic and all the awesome papers they have to offer, you won't be disappointed. 

Stay tuned for more posts on how to make a space like this in your home! Tutorials and DIY's coming this week! 

In case you missed it, click here to read about what I have been up to!

I am off to enjoy some coffee! 

Tchüss!

Oh! How I've Missed You So!

I am sure you have noticed that I have been missing from the blog the past few months... If you follow my Facebook page, you know that I have had a bit of a difficult and chaotic summer. I have gone through some pretty big changes in my personal life and have recently arrived back in Northern California. While my blog has been quiet, my life has been busy. As I have been adjusting to these major changes, I have been working on some incredibly fun design projects, traveling, and getting my business re-set up in California!

I am absolutely thrilled to reconnect with you all and to start taking on more design clients, both locally and virtually. I will be sharing pictures of my barn before it was packed up, some design and DIY projects I worked on and plenty of photos from my European travels. I will also be designing up my new space here in California and am excited to share that process with you.

Here are some photos that I took of my village and local area before I left Germany. That beautiful land will have a piece of my heart forever...

 Thank you so much for your patience, love and support and keep your eyes peeled for some new posts this week!