August 2017 – Page 2 – Dust Bunnies and Dog Toys

Another quick update we did after our trip to Portland was switching out the guest room headboard. While the old one the Hubs DIY’ed back when we lived in Kodiak was nice (see it here), I was ready for something a little brighter in this space. I still wanted something upholstered and had a few earmarked online but they were ranging from $200-600, which was a bit more than I wanted to pay for something that’s only going to see use a few times a year. Luckily I stumbled across this one at Walmart as part of their Better Homes and Gardens line for $90!

It was only available online but I could do site to store shipping. Unfortunately they didn’t offer that for Alaska stores so I had it shipped to the store near my Mother-in-Law’s house so we could pick it up while we were visiting back in May.

It’s definitely not perfect. The nail heads don’t line up quite right in a few spots, but it’s hardly noticeable. And at a third of the cost of similar ones I was considering I’m ok with the little imperfections. I plan to sell the old one, which will likely pay for this one, so the change will be low – no cost.

We got it set up just in time for my sister’s visit last month along with the new dresser we added in here. The two pieces work well together and give the space a calm, simple tone.

Because it’s neutral I can change up the bedding or other furnishings without an issue. I’ve got plans to add faux shiplap to this wall like we did in the dining room but that’s a project for the spring when it’s still to cold to be outside. Once we do that I think the headboard will really pop against the white and the space will be even brighter.

Now I just need to get the laundry room sign I want made so I can bring the tobacco baskets currently in it’s spot in here to decorate above the headboard. Then once I refinish the dresser this room will be about done.. for a while anyway. 🙂

I’ve been wanting a rug in our Master Bedroom since the day we moved in almost 4 years ago. But I was in no hurry to disassemble our large captain’s style bed to put one down underneath of it. Luckily reading another blogger’s post about creating an area rug with FLOR carpet squares sparked an idea – why not create a rug AROUND the bed using carpet squares?! I posed the idea to the Hubs and he was on board so we figured out how much material we needed, selected a pattern and had them shipped to my mother-in-law’s house due to Alaska shipping costs.

The Hubs drew out a diagram for the layout and put them together one afternoon while I was out with photography clients. He said it went together relatively quickly and easily. You just line everything up using the markings on the back of the tiles to keep the pattern flowing correctly and then connect them in each corner with the adhesive squares FLOR provides.

You only notice the seems if you look really closely, which I’m pretty sure no one who is in our bedroom does. 😉 I LOVE the traditional neutral coloring in the pattern we picked out because it will go with so many things, even if I change up the colors in this space in the future.

We also bought enough extra tiles to create a runner in the closet over the crawlspace access panel. We haven’t added the adhesive corners to this set up just yet, as we’re still trying to decide the best placement for a break in the joints so it’s easy to move when we do access the crawlspace.

But even without the adhesive corners it stays together pretty well and looks good. Plus it’s nice and soft under foot, which I appreciate when I’m getting dressed in the mornings.

We’ve still got a little stash of extra tiles just in case we ever need to replace one, but the best thing about these are that if one gets stained you can pop it out and wash it in the sink! That’s the perfect choice for a household full of pets like ours.

I’m loving the look so much that I’m considering ordering more to do a rug around the guest bed as well and perhaps in the main living area where I currently have a large outdoor rug just inside the slider to the backyard! But those can both be projects for our long cold Alaskan winters. I’d love to hear what you think of the new look, so leave me a comment!