Changing Up the Mistress Bedroom

Hola darlings!

More snow is on the way but, for now anyway, the forecast has been downgraded from 6 to 10 inches to 2 to 5 inches, hooray!

This weekend I decided I wanted to change up my bedroom a little bit.  This is what it looked like in January:

Oops!  How embarrassing.  I was certain I took several photos of the red/black/white floral print comforter on the bed, right around January 1st or so.  But I checked both laptops and can't find them anywhere.  I have no idea what I did with them -- and that is very very scary, eek!  Maybe I didn't take them like I thought I did???  So, no "before" pic.  This is the print, though -- because I had put up the matching valances earlier in the season -- check out Readying the Bedroom for Winter from October, 2012!  Wow, I got ready for winter early. 

That's the pattern of the comforter, trimmed out in the lovely red/black/white mini-check - pleated!  It really is a lovely comforter, and quite heavy.  It took a great deal to get it folded properly and stuffed back into its plastic storage bag, I'm not going to take it out and put it back on the bed in order to get a photo of it, LOL! 

And this is what is what the bedroom looks like now (try to imagine the red/black/white floral pattern on the bed, before):

I took down the red/black/white floral valances and put up the Waverly toile curtains on the windows (black toile pattern against an antique white or ivory background); also swapped out the heavy (and uber-warm) red/black/white floral comforter for this lighter quilt in cream/taupe/grey.  I've been waking up with the night sweats again, it was time to change out my blankey since the temperatures have moderated outside.

The curtains were purchased in 2007 on clearance from Penney's, as was the comforter.  I don't remember what I paid for them but I wouldn't have bought them unless they were a good deal :)

They totally change the look of the room.  Lighter and brighter, ready to move into spring. 

I tried to take a close-up of the toile pattern, but rather difficult to do when the curtain won't stay spread out flat, LOL!  I think I need another hand.  Amazingly, because I never save stuff like this, I somehow managed to save the original packaging these curtains came in.  The pattern is Wellington Country Toile. 

Here's a close-up of the floral "basket" pattern on the quilt:

Mother Goddess still on her pedestal :)  She approves of the changes.

Not the best photo (above), but I love this frame!  I found it at TJ Maxx a few months ago and it was very inexpensive,  like $4.99.  It's picture size is small, only 4 x 6, but I remembered three beautiful hand-made note cards I had purchased in December, 2011 -- still sitting in my desk waiting to see the light of day!  This is one of them.  It's a little short but width-wise it fit perfectly.  It's a lovely graphic of koi, in Buddhist philosophy they represent good luck. The graphic adds an important touch of red (Feng Shui Principles 101) to the room and the good luck symbols are powerful attractors of positive qi (chi) that you want circulating in your sleeping space to renew and restore you and stoke you up for the next day.

I was thinking at first that I would keep the white mesh canopy up, but maybe fold it back so it's "in half" and tack up the top to the ceiling half-way back to the hooks above the bedstead and then hook what is now at the foot of the bed on the hooks at the head of the bed. But I'm not enamoured of the very white color with the cream/ivory tones of the curtain quilt and the curtains. So, for summer I am thinking of going with one of those little mini "tent" canopies.  I'll see.  It depends on whether I can get a good deal on a cream-colored canopy in the style I want.  I may also move the furniture around, just to switch things up.

I love feeling like a princess every night when I go to bed.  Some form of canopy will be present for the foreseeable future. 

Swapping Out Beds

Oy, I really must be insane.  Really.

This morning while I was washing dishes, all of a sudden I heard this little voice telling me something.  Now let me tell you, darlings, that little voice is almost always T-R-O-U-B-L-E! 

And what, you ask, was that little voice telling you, Jan?  Well, it was telling me to do what I should have done back in February when I put up my mesh canopy in my (mistress - no masters in this house) bedroom.  It was telling me, rather insistently (how rude!) that I should swap out the beds in my room and the guest room.

What?  I cried!  Are you nuts!  Things are pefectly fine the way they are.  And, indeed, they are.  Here is a recent pic of my bedroom (showing the top sheet of the slippery red striped satin set I scored at TJMaxx -- the set I'm now only using pillow cases from because the satin sheets were too slippery!):

I have been very happy with my bedroom since I got serious in February and rearranged it, added the canopy, jazzed things up, cozied it up, made it altogether much more liveable.  And, true to my pledge, I have faithfully made up my bed every single morning, even on the weekends, ever since!  Ta da!  Isn't it pretty!!!

And so, you may well question my sanity.  I snorted at the little voice and kept washing the dishes.  Then I cleaned up the kitchen, fed the squirrels, and settled down to read the Sunday paper.

Didn't do any good.  Once that little voice speaks, I may as well be a zombie, totally in control of something or someone else.  Spooky! 

Hmmm, maybe I am a zombie...cuz sure enough, about 10:30 a.m., I headed upstairs and proceeded to tear both beds apart!

The first thing I did was take down the canopy in my bedroom.  It has been shaken out a few times but not washed since having been installed in February.  It was time!  So, down to the washing machine it went while I tackled disassembling the beds!

Of course, it all took much longer than I thought.  I kept thinking to myself the Packers are coming on at 3:30 p.m.  The Packers are coming on at 3:30 p.m.  And I was nervous about this game -- more about that later.  Better to keep myself occupied.

And ohmygoddess, I sure kept myself occupied.  Worked up major sweats and really got a work-out. And here Heart Doctor #2, who told me under no circumstances should I ever lift a snow shovel again (HA!), neglected to warn me about the dangers of tearing beds apart and putting them back together again.  HA!  Well, I didn't keel over from a heart attack, Doc.  HA HA!

My bed already disassembled and on the left you can see the footboard of
the guest room bed leaning against my dresser.  I carried the bed frame into
the guest room.  Fortunately, I was NOT swapping out mattresses!

Guest room bed, partially disassembled.  Do you see those thing wire-
thingies?  Those will play a starring role later on...
 

The headboard from my former bed, waiting to move into it's new digs.
 

And here it is, in its new home.  Oh, I decided to switch up the bedding
too, while I was at it.  This is a set that I used in the guest room years
ago, when it first became a guest room!  It's been in storage for years!
Hmmm, I'm liking it all over again, a real change from the black and cream.
Oh oh, what am I saying?  Those are the colors I have in my room...

The beds came apart easily enough, it was getting them back together again that took be FOREVER!  Ach! 

My bed, moved to the guest room -- the box spring didn't quite fit into the frame, no matter how I heaved and shoved.  Whew!  Talk about working up a sweat!  So I thought to myself, what would B-I-L Fred do?  Of course!  He'd hammer the damn thing into submission.  So I dashed downstairs to the junk drawer and pulled out a hammer.  Fred would be proud of me!  BANG BANG BANG!  I also took the precaution of loosening up the nuts and bolts on the screws before I started banging away :)  Voila!  Worked like a charm, and I didn't ruin the bed frame.  It's from the 1970's, and although it's got a non-terminal case of rust, it is still perfectly functional, the wheels work and it's very sturdy.  The box frame popped into the widened-out frame perfectly; I tightened up the nuts and bolts, quickly ironed-up the bedskirt and placed it on the box spring, and then arranged the mattress on top. 

Being as this is a guest room that isn't used very often, these are not very expensive mattresses, but they are comfortable, as I tested them out for about a week back in 2009 when the mistress bedroom was torn apart, wallpaper border removed and the walls painted from bubble-gum pink (what WAS I thinking???) to "powder puff" white by Sears Easy Living.  As you can see, though -- in comparison to what this headboard and frame looked like in its former setting, this mattress set is a good two inches lower than the set I use in my room, and the 14" drop bedskirt fits okay. 

And then, it was on to my room, a snap, I thought.  HA!

I got the frame into the headboard and footboard in no time at all.  And then, I had to reattach those thin wire-thingies -- you can see them in the two photos above.  I think it took me at least an hour to do it, and a more frustrating, exhausting hour I haven't spent in quite awhile, let me tell you!  What a work-out, heaving and shoving, trying to "stretch" those little metal hooky-things into the matching hole in the frame on the other side.  Just was-not-happening! 

Not exactly sure when it occurred to me to try loosening the two screws in the middle of the frame on either side, but that was a chore too, because one screw on each side refused to budge!  And so I fiddled and faddled and putzed and putzed and eventually, I succeeded in forcing the frame together sufficiently to get the metal wire-thingies into their respective holes.  Then I tightened the screws back up.

Fortunately, the box spring fit just right into the frame, no further messing around was necessary.  Good thing too, for I was just about spent physically by then, and when I realized it was like 3:25 p.m. and I'd miss my 2:00 p.m. blood pressure meds, DAMN!  Now I'll have to wait until 10:30 p.m. to take my final blood pressure meds for the evening, when I'm ready for bed NOW (6:25 p.m.)  LOL!

Not content to wear myself out putting the beds back together, I decided to flip this box spring and 200 pound mattress -- all by myself.  I succeeded.  OUCH.  Here the mattress is "resting" while I dashed downstairs to iron up the 16" drop bedskirt, since the old one would no longer be long enough.

And here it is, all put together:

I see I need to do some further tugging adjustments to that bedskirt.

Issues:  The canopy, fresh from the washer, was a twisted-up mess!  I got it straighted out, and thought better about putting it into the dryer.  Can't hang it outside (only 24 F outside), and don't have lines strung in the basement.  So, what to do, what to do.  I hung up the wet canopy in the bedroom.  LOL! 

Well, it's mesh and is drying as quickly as I can type this.  Turns out the footprint of this bed is SMALLER by 3 inches length and 3 inches width than my old bed.  Go figure.  So the canopy looks HUGE hanging from the ceiling.  It may look weird tied to the posts, which was my original plan.  Drat!  The old bed didn't have a footboard, and the canopy curtains hung straight down, whether tied (during the day) or let loose (at night).  Tied and floofed up, they looked just fine.  But with these posts and the footboard, it will now be obvious that the canopy is too big.  Well, it was designed to fit from a full size to king size bed.

So, not sure what I'm going to do, but nothing more tonight except to make up the beds.  I think my Packers lost, by the by.  I couldn't watch the game.  Every time I clicked on it on the t.v. something disastrous would happen. So I turned it off.  The last I knew, it was a tie score, but I think they went into over time and Minnesota was threatening to score a TD.  DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN!

Okay, I'm going to watch "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" on commercial t.v. and feed myself.  Starving!  I'll worry about canopies and such on New Year's Day (a day off, woo woo!)

10:07 p.m.:

Beds are made up.  Laundry done and bedding packed away.  Here's the guest room - bad photo.  Some things yet to do to make this room more inviting.  I have a NYC poster to put up behind the bed.  My Bombay Company small bullseye mirror used to be hung above the bed, but I borrowed that earlier this year to use in an arrangement above the fireplace in the front room downstairs, and didn't put anything up to replace it.  I was hemming and hawing about what to do.

This has been a "New York" room in the making for years now, ever since my first trip to NYC in 2005.  A water color of the lovely fountain outside of Bergdorf's on 5th Avenue and Columbus is in the room (bought in 2005, along with a photo that Mr. Don took of the same fountain during out return trip in 2009.  It's on the eastern-most corner of Central Park.  A stroll up 5th Avenue to (I think), about 97th Street or so puts one outside the grand facade of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where I have spent much time.  It is rightfully known as one of the best museums in the world!!!!!

 

 

Some other photos and souvenir prints are already in the room, along with little miniatures of the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty that Mr. Don gave to me some years ago. I just need to pull it all together.

 

If you look carefully, you can see Mr. Don's miniatures on top of their respective images on the wall beside the window. The bottom photo is Mr. Don, our friends Georgia and Michelle, and me, taken outside the Statue of Liberty. Above that photo is a framed print of a view of the Empire State Building that was given to me by Michelle after our 2009 trip. The large poster that will go behind the bedhead is a print of the Empire State Building from the same vantage point as Michelle's gift, but taken from Central Park during the winter of 1960. It is absolutely stunning in black and white. Hmmm, maybe I will need to put back the black and cream bedding after all... Geez!

 

And, my room:

 

 

 

Didn't turn out so bad after all, but I think I may need to get a step to help me into my suddenly much taller bed, eek!  Look how far above the cross bar at the foot of the bed the mattress is!  The canopy looks okay, even when tied to the bed posts. Whatever dust was caught up in the canopy is now gone, Thank Goddess, and many of the bothersome wrinkles (but not all of them) have disappeared.  Seems I really must get serious and pull out my steamer to get rid of the rest of them.  How does one steam mesh? 

 

One last look:

 

 

 

As you can see, I banished my red satin pillows.  I was not able to bunch up the feather pillows within them the way I can do with 100% cottom pillows.  So the pillows are now covered in black and white gingham check.

 

Geez Louise!  The mattresses are so high that you can't even see the head of the bead with the back pillows up!

 



And I really must go to bed. Packers DID lose.  By a field goal.  Three points.  Yeah, right. Tomorrow, just in time to greet the New Year, our windchills in Southeastern Wisconsin will be plunging below zero. Great. Just Great.

We will be meeting those fricking Vikings in the first round of the play-offs at LEGENDARY LAMBEAU FIELD (imagine echo effect while reading that...) next weekend at 7 p.m. We are going to KILL THOSE SUCKAS. They play dirty. They do not deserve to be in the play-offs, let alone again the Packers. I think the fix was in, though. A good way to juice up ratings and improve the line in Las Vegas. But, as Harry Potter knows, Good Always Prevails Against Evil, even if we lose an occasional battle or two. 

Readying the Bedroom for Winter

This is going to be a long post, photo intensive, just cuz I took lots and lots.  Settle in with your beverage of choice and hope you enjoy!

Brrrrr!!!!  It's been COLD here the past four days, since having two days in a row earlier in the week where we got above 70!!!  My buddy Ann and I took advantage of the warmth by walking over our lunch hours on two consecutive days, probably the last we'll enjoy until Indian Summer arrives (if it arrives).  Typical Wisconsin weather in the Fall.  Sigh.  Lots of rain too, which we need, but now my grass has been going nutso.  Cut last week and cut again today before the Packers game came on!  Today I wore my wool beret and gloves while cutting the front lawn.

Back yard is still a mess.  Here are a couple of pics taken today when the sun was playing pee-a-boo in the clouds:

As you can see, grass needs cutting, leaves need raking (seriously!), crashed down tree limbs during the last storm that I stripped bare still need to be cut up and hauled away.  I still haven't stashed the patio table and chairs, nor did I plant the plants I intended to -- they will have to winter over once again in the garage and who knows if they'll survive another season?  I didn't expect them to survive last season, actually, but they somehow did, and surprised the heck out of my in the spring when, one day, I noticed green sprouting through the dead leaves!!!  Lo and behold, all three survived and thrived on the deck all summer.  I really should plant them before the ground freezes...

Must be the "nesting" thing taking me over full force once again. Lately, I've been obsessed with all things bedroom.  The past few weeks I've been spending much time online looking at all of your master suites and guest rooms.  Yesterday and today I spent much time putzing around in my bedroom rather than taking care of things that need to be done (like laundry, vacuuming, dusting...).

Probably in early 2009, or possibly even late 2008, I purchased a queen-sized comforter and two matching valances from J.C. Penney on clearance for a steal of a price.  My bed is full size, so the queen-sized comforter is gigantic on it, gives me plenty of coverage.  It's heavy and very very warm, too.  I don't pull it out until January, usually, when the temperatures are apt to drop way below zero around here and the house feels cold and drafty despite having the heat set at a constant 64 degrees F.

It's far too early and too warm yet to pull out the heavy-guns Penney's comforter (which is red on one side with a black and white floral pattern on one side in a smooth cotton finish, and a black, red and white plaid pattern in a comfy, cozy flannel finish on the other side!)  I've got a photo of it somewhere, but not on this computer (I'm using the Acer in the dinette today, sitting at the back of the house to take advantage of the sun coming through the patio doors, nice and warm!  I'll put it up later when I switch back to the laptop in the front room.)

While I've used the comforter since I first purchased it (whenever that was), until yesterday I have not even opened the two valances!  Talk about delayed projects, darlings!  Geez, Jan.

Ironed valance, patiently awaiting installation.  See the
tie-up on this side?  it's black/red/white check.

Anyway, yesterday I pulled the valances out of their packaging at long last, determined to put them up in the bedroom to add the look of some cozy comfort even if they do not, in fact, add one whit of insulation to the room (which they don't).  They sure do look pretty, but I tell you, darlings, it was a struggle, oh yes, a mighty struggle!  Alas, not many photos were taken of me going up and down the chair I used to do things in front of the two bedroom windows...must have made 100 trips up and down, up and down...  my legs got a work out, for sure.  Couldn't hardly sleep last night for achy hip bones, girlfriends... Anyway, it's rather difficult to take a photo of oneself going constantly up and down a chair...

I pulled out the ironing board and iron. You read that right.  I still own such things :)  Ironed up the valances and discovered that they had tie-ups on them, stationed either side of the middle of the valance.  Yep, had clean forgotten those...

I didn't iron the tie-ups, just pulled them out of the way.  Then took the valances upstairs and began the switcheroo dance of the curtains.  First, I had to remove the lace curtains hanging on the "behind" rod; then I had to remove the full-length semi-sheers hanging on the "front" rod, shake them out on the patio, toss them into the dryer to remove dust, and then rehang them on the "behind" rod; and then, finally, thread the new/old valance on the "front" rod, even out it's two-inch tall header across the rod and then spent far too much time fussing and fighting with the ties to get the perfect swag effect.  Geez! 

Eventually, I decided enough was enough and settled for what I'd done.  They're GOOD ENOUGH, darlings.  No, not perfect, but GOOD ENOUGH!  I was mightly tempted to just cut off those ties and let the valances hang straight across, they're pretty enough against the creamy colored curtains and the powder-puff colored walls and since I'd forgotten all about the ties, that was the look I'd expected.  But I was a good girl, instead, and installed the valances as the Goddess of Decorating had intended they be used.  I used the tie-ups!  Shaking my fist at the Heavens, I used the tie-ups...

The larger window, on the south wall, faces the door into the bedroom.  Look, got the ties nearly
matching in length on opposite ends!!!
 

Here's Window 2, it faces west and is narrower than Window 1.  The ties on this window didn't turn out
nearly as well as on Window 1, but overall I am happy with the look.


As you can see, with the removal of the lace undercurtains the semi-sheers let in a lot more light.  Right now that's okay but in the depths of winter they're going to be looking somewhat flimsy, me thinks.  I have much heavier woven toile curtains that I used to hang in the room during the winter, but, unfortunately, the background of those excellent curtains is decidedly antique white and clashes horribly with the colors in these valances.  My options are limited: (1) remove valances which, after all the trouble I went through to get them up after 3-4 years of owning the suckers and never taking them out of their packages, just ain't gonna happen; (2) tack something up behind the semi-sheers cuz I'm not going to add yet another curtain rod, I've already got a double up there and that's enough as far as I'm concerned; (3) get heavier curtains for the winter.

Ding ding ding ding ding!  The winner is number (2).  Right now I'm laundering the Shari pattern lace lace undercurtains (purchased from Penney's many moons ago) that have been hanging in the bedroom windows since the February re-do. They will be tacked up with push-pins into the wood trim across the window underneath the semi-sheers.

Other changes to the room:

(1) The Jaclyn Smith comforter set from K-Mart black and white toile is back on the bed.  It's so pretty and despite the color, it's much heavier than the summer-weight coverlet in cream, beige and grey tones I use during the summer.  This time around, I actually did change out the bed-skirt for the one that came with the set. It's a true black and white in a narrow stripe; the tan and wide black striped bedskirt I've had on my bed the past several years that actually goes with the comforter set I use in the guest room has been dusted out and put away.  The guest room bed sits higher than the 15" drop of the matching bedskirt covers and some years ago I purchased a black gathered bedskirt with an 18" drop to go in that room.

As you can see, the wrinkles have not "fallen out of" the canopy, despite what the instructions said would happen!
Sooner or later (probably wayyyyy later), I'll have to attack the canopy with my hand-held steamer.

(2) Black and white gingham check sheet set now in use; the cream-colored floral toile sheets (you can see it on the bed in the 4th photo above) just does NOT go with the white and black of the Jaclyn Smith toile comforter set.  I have a plain white sheet set that I alternate when one is being laundered; am looking to add something in red, for some winter punch.  Both sheet sets are 100% cotton purchased from Penney's many moons ago and are wearing like iron! 

(3)  Added the "Good Luck/Good Fortune" symbol in woven red silk with a cast bronze "bi" that one of my brothers gifted to me years ago.  He bought it when he was serving in the Army in South Korea in the late 1970's, I've had it since then.  According to the principles of Feng Shui, every room should have a touch of red in it, to attract good luck and good fortune, if properly oriented vis a vis doors and windows.  I believe I've got mine hung in just the right spot.

(4)  Slightly rearranged the top of the triple dresser.  The large photo that used to be behind my treasure chest blocking out part of the mirror and bringing a smile to my face every time I looked at it (which was often) is now hanging in the "gallery wall" in the dinette downstairs.  I'm thinking about adding a bronze colored lantern to the dresser but haven't decided on it yet, or where it would be placed if I do.  Removal of the large framed photo has opened up more mirror overlooking the bed -- not good!  The photograph deflected negative energy from the "dark water" of the mirror at night.  So, I will have to rearrange things in my bedroom or find something else to block that mirror energy if I want to keep the room in its same configuration (which I'm very happy with). 

Oh, since writing the above, I took a slight break (okay, a large break), and added the brass lantern that holds a flameless candle.  The sun was going down when I took my photos, and only one came out clear and without me caught in the mirror, duh:

As you can see from the photos, short of removing the mirror from my dresser (which I don't want to do), there is no way to arrange my room where the bed will not be reflected to some extent within the mirror; so the dark water effect of the mirror at night (akin to having black furniture and accessories in one's bedroom, NOT good) is countered by the candles and the lit flameless candle; lots of metal and earth colors, and lots of wood also counteract the effect of the dark water, as does veiling or otherwise shielding the bed -- hence, my canopy.

Just because I took them, more photos of the bedroom as it presently looks:

Bird print above the bureau; the print is cut out of a print from the internet; the background is a toile pattern in black and white that I dyed in coffee water in the kitchen sink (I don't have tea in the house :))  Notice the red in the berries - they are in my bedroom year-long.

Another bird print from the bedroom - the "inspiration piece" for the put-together print above the bureau, actually.  This one was ordered online years ago from K-Mart.  Notice, it also has red berries in it :)

And this little beauty is actually the front of  Christmas card from years ago that I fell in love with, and have saved ever since:

Of course it has red berries in it, and you can just see the red and gold border.  Seems I've got a thing for chickadee dee dee dee dees...

I'm thinking about painting the chair with black fabric paint; the black slipcover just doesn't fit well and gets out of shape every time I use the chair, which is often.

Still lots to do in this room including replacing those white rope ties that came with the canopy with something in black or black interwoven with tan and white, and getting a larger and better print and frame for the Goddess of the Beasts who presently hangs between the south window and the mirror.  I've also been thinking about something for behind the bedstead - hiding behind the veil, so to speak.  Just not sure what would work.

Here's the final photo for this post:

I really love sleeping under my canopy at night.  What is it about the "cocoon effect" that comforts us so much?  Does it really hark back to distant prenatal memories of being safe and secure, warm and gently rocked within the waters of our mother's womb?  To block the mirror, I let down the end curtains at night, and re-tie them every morning, as part of the ritual of making up my bed for the day, one of the things I do that makes me feel good. 

Feng Shui Principles of Bed Placement

Hola darlings!

I want to talk to you about feng shui and the bedroom.  Now, I'm sure no expert!  This is a complicated subject that has many layers of knowledge and many nuiances, like any cross between "art" and "science."  It is also very old, grounded in geomancy principles of the Daoist philosophy of ancient China.  Some people swear by it.  Me - I'm open minded on the subject, but I have to tell you that something I came across some weeks ago while looking at bedroom design sites on the internet rattled me enough to induce my fervor to rearrange my bedroom!

What I read - paraphrasing - is this:  If you don't want to be carried out feet first through your door, don't sleep with your feet pointing toward the entry/exit of your bedroom! 

Well, there was my bed, and while my body and feet were not directly aligned with the door to my bedroom, it was close enough for me to go "hmmmm....." 

A "before" bedroom photo.  This was taken from just inside the entry to my bedroom -- there is a little "entry hallway" before one is in the room proper.  Notice the position of the entry to the bed.  As a restless sleeper, it is not uncommon for me to wake up in the morning with my body stretched out diagonally across the bed - with my feet pointed right toward that doorway!  Eek!

So, I did some additional reading on the subject of feng shui principles specifically applied to one's bedroom, and learned some interesting things:

1.  Best not to have any mirrors in your bedroom at all, but if you do have a mirror, make sure it's not reflecting the bed.  Oh oh.  Before photo below: triple mirror directly across from my bed!  Eek! 

2.  Other than a soft canopy, have nothing hanging above your bed (ceiling fan, beams, chandelier).  A-okay in that area.

3.  Don't have your bed aligned with the entry door.  Best position for a bed is called the "command" position, which is a location farthest away from the door but where you can still see anyone entering.  A bed placed diagonally in this position is fine.  Because of the configuration of my room, I've got my bed in probably the "second best" command position.

4.  Don't put your bed underneath a window.  A-okay there.  If bed is near a window, it should preferably be on the right hand side of the bed.  A-okay there.

5.  Have a wood or upholstered headboard attached to your bed for a "solid backing."  A-okay there, although I do have some "plastic" wood trim in addition to actual wood making up my headboard.  I think it's the thought (intent) that counts :)

6.  Do not block the flow of chi (basically, invisible energy created by all things in the universe) around your bed - so make sure your bed is elevated off the ground and there is room around any canopy and below the bed for the chi to flow freely.

7.  Close all doors to your bedroom when you are sleeping, including doors to en suite bath, closet doors, and entry door.  This restricts the flow of active chi energy from entering into the room and disrupting your sleep.  Hmmm... not a habit I have -- when alone in the house I sleep with my bedroom door open.  But for no reason, really.  Closet door is always closed except when I'm getting dressed or undressed and moving from bedroom to bathroom (outside off the hallway). 

8.  Even if you don't have the best designed room to achieve maximum beneficial chi flow, you can use elements of feng shui to mitigate not so favorable aspects and increase the favorable aspects.  These principles involve the use of metal, wood, water, air, and "fire" (usually represented by candles and fire-like colors), arrangements of art, floral arrangements, use of books, and other decorative objects strategically placed around the room to create a well-balanced and yet soothing environment in which to regenerate yourself. 

9.  Remove exercise equipment, computers, televisions, and even your clock-radio (oh no!) from your bedroom, if possible.  These objects are conducive to "work" and not to rest and regeneration.  They obstruct the chi you need to recharge during sleep. 

10.  Soft lighting - use a dimmer switch if you have a central light fixture and make sure your bed is not situtated underneath it.  Candlelight is conducive to creating the flow of regenerative chi.  Several different levels of light is best for bedroom use.  No harsh, glaring lamps.  With flameless candles readily available, one can now fall asleep with battery-operated candles "flickering" without worrying about burning the house down! 

11.  There should be balancing tables or nightstands on either side of the bedhead.  Oh oh. 

There are many more principles involved, but these are the ones that I recall. 

Which leads me to my redone bedroom.  While the new location of the bed was better as a "command" position in relation to the entry to the bedroom, part of the bed was still reflected in the triple mirror!

This "after" photo was taken on February 13, 2012.  Notice how much of the bed you can see in the mirror even though the canopy obscures part of it! 

What to do, what to do?  I could remove the mirror from the dresser, leaving a big blank wall in need of decorating!  The mirror is detachable, but I'm not sure it's a project I could tackle by myself.  I could see headlines "Woman Found Crushed by Fallen Mirror..."  And not sure that is something I'd want to do.  I like that mirror!  It adds light and substance to the room. 

So, I did some more reading yesterday and found some excellent advice.  I can use an artificial floral arrangement placed in the center of the dresser to block (deflect is probably the more correct concept) a large portion of the mirror.  I am thinking about what to use from around the house.  I do have many silk flowers stashed away here and there, plus the bouquet of silk roses currently adorning the dinette table -- they look so pretty there!  It was also suggested that photographs and artwork could be used on the dresser to block the mirror, as well as book arrangements and other accessories.

The first thing I did was change the angle of the bed in relation to its corner, so that now not quite so much of it is reflected in the mirror. In addition, I experimented with raising the height of the two end corners of my canopy during the day, so one can see "into" the room better, and lowing them at night -- even lower than shown in the above photograph from February 13th -- you can see the canopy in the mirror and that deflects the "water" chi flowing from the mirror. 

Last night the ties were moved far down, to a few inches below the top mattress level, which resulted in the netting material ballooning out and gently blocking most of the view in the mirror. I can also simply untie the cords holding back the netting, thereby "enclosing" the bottom half of the bed at night while still leaving plenty of room for the good chi to flow around the bed.

After adjusting the position of the bed, I then "shopped my house" as the saying goes.  When I put my eyes to it, I discovered many cream-colored accessories that I moved to and arranged on the triple dresser.  I put more stuff accessories on my dresser than I've ever had on it - ever!  There are now multiple "layers" of items, all designed to deflect the view of the bed in the mirror, thus deflecting the water chi of the mirror.

Here are a couple of "after" photos of the dresser taken after I did my changes yesterday.  Notice how, even with the bottom half of the bed canopy tied high up, the view of the bed has been substantially blocked in the mirror:

"After" photo of dresser top, applying feng shui principles to deflect mirror energy from bed.  Added elements included (1) two sets of candlesticks (one brass - a "metal" element, one carved soapstone - an "earth" element) and candles ("fire" element) flanking (2) large (11 x 14)  much loved photograph taken in Chicago in 2007 - framed in wood (earth element, the opposite of the mirror's "water" energy); (3) perfume and cologne bottles now removed from plastic bucket and displayed on shined-up brass tray (adding metal element to counteract the "water" element of the mirror); (4) two decorated ginger jars added to either side of the dresserscape (made of ceramic, an earth element (clay), to counteract the "water" element of the mirror); (5) two other special photographs added to dresserscape, one framed in metal, one in wood.  All elements were "balanced" across the surface of the dresser, while not stricly symmetrical.  Prior elements to counteract the "water" chi of the mirror include wood lamps, ceramic music/trinket box, metal-framed picture, and wood/metal trimmed jewelry box.

Now, perhaps it was just psychological, darlings, but last night I slept pretty darn well for me.  I did wake up a few (4-5) times but was able to fall back asleep quickly, and felt generally well-rested this morning, until I tried to walk around with my bum right ankle!  Ach!  Tonight I'm going to experiment and untie the canopy draping at the end of the bed so it encloses the bottom half of the bed.

Still to be addressed is balancing either side of the bedhead with tables or nightstands -- they do not have to match.  Right now, I figure that The Mother Goddess with her subtle but powerful presence on the right side of the bedhead on her wall plinth balances out the energy of the nightstand with lamp on the left side of the bed.  But I really do want to add a second nightstand.  Which means I need to shop - and also find a second lamp.

Oh my, here I go again...

Doing an "Artsy Craftsy" Framed Bird Wall Art

This is one of the photos of my bedroom redo "reveal" earlier today, ta da!

I am very proud of the framed bird print above my 52 or 53 year old Lady Buxton jewelry box atop the bureau.

Here's a close-up - sorry it's not cropped:

I had purchased the frame off a clearance table at TJ Maxx about a month ago.  Paid well under $10 for it.  The outside dimensions are not quite 12 inches by not quite 14 inches, LOL!  The inside dimensions are 8 x10 OR, if you want to use the "mat" that came along with the frame (just the photo cover page in not quite white) a 5 x 7 print or photo would fit over the center area of the "mat." 

I had orginally intended this frame to hold a picture of Mr. Don and I taken in Toledo (Spain) during our January, 2012 trip, but I was not able to do anything with the poor quality photo that was taken of us there (unfortunately we were cast in deep shadow), and even though he is really a graphics genius, Mr. Don wasn't able to improve that photo, either.  So - nix that idea. 

There was the frame - sitting empty on my dinette table. Forlorn. Lonely.  Crying out to me.  "I am USELESS," it wailed.  "No, you're not!" I yelled back.

What happened next I can only blame on too much reading of blogs by women who spend the equivalent of my full-time job each week and more decorating their homes.  Damn - sure wish I could afford to stay at home and do that! 

I already had bird prints that I wanted to use in my bedroom redo.  Four of them are just greeting cards (mostly Christmas cards from past years) that I saved and framed in 5 x7 frames because I thought they were so beautiful.  And this big framed print (about 24 x 24) - that used to hang above the bed in the guest room and then moved to my room after it was painted ts current "Powder Puff" (Sears Easy Living Satin) in 2009 - this photo shows its location prior to my bedroom redo (see prior post for "after" pics to see where it is hanging now:

Not the best photo, that's for sure!  But you can see that the bird pic itself is framed by a square of colors that acts as a sort of "mat," set off by an even darker narrow border, and finally framed by a creamy-colored "mat" inside the frame.

I was aiming for a similar effect in my much smaller TJ Maxx frame.

First, I hunted online for prints of black-capped chickadees because, despite looking, I could not find a suitable greeting card.  I settled on one print from an old book that had been hand drawn and colored.  It had just the "look" I was after!   I saved the image and then printed it out on mat photo paper.  First, as an 8 x 10 and then as a 5 x 7 colored print that I cut down to size with scissors (not exactly even, unfortunately) and laid over the 5 x 7 area of the "mat." 

I decided I liked the scale of the 5 x 7 print better in relation to the size of the frame.  Sorry - no "before" photos while I was experimenting with all of this. 

I hung up the framed 5 x 7 print on the nearly white "mat" and was happy with it. But, it was missing something.

So, I decided to see if I could add some drama around the print.  I took my cue from the inner-most colored area in the 24 x 24 framed bird print:  it's tan/gold/cream brocade-looking (not real brocade).  I didn't think I could replicate it exactly but I did have an idea to try.

I printed out an enlarged image of a beautiful black and white toile wallpaper that I'd saved a few days before.  Unfortunately, when I printed it out, it came out sort of dark grey and light grey, not black and white! 

Even if it had printed out pure white and stark black, it probably would not have worked the way I wanted, because the background of the 5 x 7 bird print I snatched off the internet is very white.

I decided that the wallpaper print needed a "tea-dyed" effect.  I didn't want to bother with making tea, so I made up a strong brew of instant coffee, added hot water to the sink, dumped in the coffee, mixed it up, and then dunked in the photo paper printed with the toile pattern.

I tore off a part of the paper while fishing it out of the hot brew in the sink!  Left it in a wee back too long I guess and it started to turn to mush, eek!  Managed to splat it onto some newspaper and blotted it off with some paper towels.  Turned it over and did the same thing, then set the thing aside to dry. 

This morning, it was a little crinkly looking, but dry.  And a very nice sort of "aged" light coffee color!  I cut it to fit the frame.  Then I took my 5 x7 bird print and after several tries, got it more or less to a satisfactory position on the new "mat."  Here's a photo of the completed look:

The coffee-stained toile wallpaper print that acts as a "mat" for the 5 x7 bird print turned out pretty good!  The coffee-dyed "mat" coordinates very well with the antique gold inner part of the frame and mates this put-together print well with the colors and "feeling" of the professionally created 24 x 24 bird print that hangs on a neighboring wall in my bedroom.

I seriously need to do this cutting stuff on the paper-cutter at the office!  I can't cut a straight line (even a drawn-on straight line) with scissors to save my life!  Wobble-wobble...  I did think about trying to add a black border around the bird print, but couldn't think what to use that I had on hand and thought - leave well enough alone!

Bedroom Redo - Grand Finale!!!

My bedroom is finished, at long last, to the point where it is presentable!  And so, without further ado, here are more photos than your probably care to look at!  I don't care, this is my blog:

I fancied things up a little by borrowing the square cushions from the family room sofa just for these photographs and 'arranging' them on the bed.  And I see my staging was off center, damn!  So much for being a fancy-pants, LOL!   I'm very happy with how the canopy turned out. It perfectly disguises the "dead" space behind the head of my angled bed.  The toile comforter and pillow shams are very white and black.  I made a wise decision in purchasing the "very white" mosquito net canopy rather than the ivory color.

The sheet set presently on the bed was purchased in 2009 in anticipation of this eventual re-do and was, along with the toile curtains and other bedding, all bought online over a couple of months.  Thus, I unfortunately ended up with several different shades of what was supposed to be black and "white" toile! (I also bought what was supposed to be a coordinating red/black/white toile comforter and valances -- don't get me started on the "white" that looks "pink"!) These pillow cases, as you can see, are decidedly "yellowy."  The black and white gingham checked sheet set (Penney's) that I photographed in my last set of photos of this room during its transition is in the wash.  Guess I need to buy another sheet set to "go" with...

For this photo and the one below, I tied back the curtains on the window facing west that overlooks my backyard and gardens.  I just love how the sunlight is streaming in today, and how romantic and cozy everything looks.  Even though these photos look dark, the room was filled with beautiful light and shadows about 3 p.m. when I took these photos.  The view is toward the southwest.

You can sorta kinda peek 'through' the lace undercurtain and see the outline of my leafless trees, asleep over the winter.  Because this window is very "private" I could keep the overcurtains tied back like this at night, but I do like the cozy feel the closed curtains give to the room.  I also how the daylight (it doesn't even have to be sunny) shows a hazy pattern of the lace undercurtain through to the semi-sheer overcurtains.

My bureau! I took this photo while sitting on my bed, thus part of the canopy is in the scene.  The light streaming in from the right is from a southern window -- I did not use a flash but I did have the lamps turned on. This photo gives you a pretty good idea of the various "views" I now have from my soft, comfy bed through its canopy! The bureau is on the east wall and its left side faces the entrance and hallway.  She looks pretty darn good, doesn't she, after my touch-up/refinishing/clean-up/polishing/buffing frenzy of yesterday.  Maybe you can see why I fell in love with this set way back in 1977 or 1978 and am still in love with it, all these years later.  She's got great bones, even if part of her is plastic wood :)  More about that bird picture in a subsequent post.  Sitting atop that old Lady Buxton jewelry box from my Daddy, a gift from many many moons ago, is a black soapstone carved Bast (or Bastet), the "Cat" Goddess of ancient Egypt.  She's really beautifully rendered.

My chair corner, southeast corner of the room.  The window faces south.  Through that door is my walk-in closet which is large enough for me to use as a mini-dressing room.  I angled the wing chair so that it mirrors the angle of my bed, upon which I was sitting when I took this photo, LOL!  The chair color has changed from "woodrose" to black through the magic of an old slip-cover that I borrowed from the guest room wing chair. 

I keep the heat set pretty low in the house during the cool/cold months and I can get cold, thus there is a nice plump down throw over the back of the chair to wrap up in if I need it, or layer over the bed at night for "extra" if needed.  All my chair corner lacks for total comfort is a footstool -- must look for one that will fit the tiny space...  The old pharmacy lamp that used to light the nightstand in my old set-up now lights my reading chair, and I added a little metal "garden" side table (a purchase from some years ago stashed in the garage) to hold my wine glass when I sit and read.  Not shown in this photo are the books I subsequently stashed "inside" the lower frame of that little table that will be my reading material for the next few weeks -- former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov ("How Life Imitates Chess") and Dan Brown (a re-read of "Solomon's Key").  This photo was also taken while seated on my bed, this time at the end of the bed -- thus you can see a small part of the net canopy to the left, LOL!

Well, some photographer I am!  I got myself in the photo, duh!  The triple dresser is on the south wall of the bedroom.  I will explain about all the stuff accessories on it in another post.  I was on the other side of the bed to take this photo, and you can see parts of the canopy.  Again, very representative of my "view" when lounging underneath my canopy feeling like Cleopatra.

My Chinese trio of ideograms for "good luck, good fortune (money), and long life."  They are solid brass and beautifully rendered; a little tarnished (I used up the last of my brass polish on the brass tray now sitting on the triple dresser holding my various perfumes and colognes) but still lovely.  This is one of two sets that were gifted to me by my sister Yvonne in 1990 when I moved into this house.  This set had been in storage for some time; the other set has been in constant use in my living room since 1990 and presently signs horizontally on the wall above the fireplace mantle in that room. 

Here is The Goddess relocated to the west wall, between the window that streams in warm afternoon sunlight and my bed. Notice how she now appears to be "curtained" on both sides (by the window curtain on the left and canopied bed on the right).  She is much happier in this spot!  In both ancient Egyptian and ancient Chinese legends, the "West" was the land over which She Ruled and where the dead went to live again in various versions of "Paradise" and also to be reborn back into the world every day.  While in a prior post ("Lonely Goddess") I had placed Her on this very same plinth on the east wall of my bedroom (sun rising position/birth/rebirth) above my bureau, She just did not "feel" right there, and I "knew" that She was not happy in that location, either.  Okay, call me crazy :)

Now, when entering into the room or when lounging in my bed, I see Her through the "veil" of the canopy.  Only fitting, since one should get up close and personal with The Goddess most intimately to make oneself and one's petitions know to Her.  One now has to walk into the room, orient one's self, and then walk through the narrow pathway between corner of bed and triple dresser to reach the Goddess' perch on the west wall and see Her clearly and not through a "veil."

The north wall of my bedroom.  We're nearly finished with the tour. You can see the exit from the bedroom at the far right.  There's that "brown" lamp I bought on clearance at Penney's and that's how I decided to put up the wall art.  When I took this photo, I forgot to add in the important "Three Goddesses" photo taken of my honorary sister, Georgia, her daugher, Michelle, and I taken in August, 2008 by Mr. Don. It's one of my favorite photos of the three of us together.  You can see it in the photo below.

There are still many putsy things to do.  Cleaning and restoration-wise, I want to give the triple dresser and nightstand a good going over with a sanding block, spot refinisher and a touch-up pen and give the bureau a second going-over (I worked on it yesterday for a good hour, sanding, buffing, polishing and touching-up the finish with various products). For the time being, though, this is it!

The carpeting will be cleaned in May (when it's usually warm enough to keep windows open to get rid of the chemical smells and speed dry time), it needs to be replaced (it's 21 years old, eek!) but that's not in the budget this year.  I would like to get a 5x7 area rug in an "oriental" pattern with a black background. That will add some color to the floor and also cover up some of the worst of the worn areas in the carpet and be a welcome accent on future new carpet.

I would like to have the wing chair that's presently in the guest room reupholstered in black brocade or black microfiber and move it into my room.and donate my current bedroom wing chair to the Goodwill.  It's 25 years old and despite my best efforts, it's sagging after much use and ready to be retired - or picked up by some clever thrifter and painted or otherwise utilized.  Don't get me wrong, it's still very comfortable, I just sort of "sink" into it now, LOL! 

I would like to move my Chinese good luck, good money and long life idiograms horizontally on the wall above the mirror on the triple dresser, and put some nice bird prints in their place.

I would like to finish off the space "behind the veil" at the head of the bed with a few wall shelves and some battery-operated candles to add to the ambiance.

Ideally, I would like to have a nightstand or end table with drawer(s) on both sides of the bed.

So, I still have work ahead of me...

October 31, 2013 -- Happy Hallow'een!  I'm sharing this post at Glitter, Glue & Paint's Throwback Thursday.