25 Apr One Week Challenge WEEK 4 – How to Hang Wallpaper and 8 Pillow Goddess Tips!

WOW, I can’t believe we’re over the hump and into week four of the One Room Challenge. (ORC) I vaguely remember reading somewhere on the ORC website how Week 4 is very challenging.  I get it. I’ve hit the Week 4 Wall. I’m exhausted. And I’ve had a couple melt downs. But hey, I’ve heard that’s common during the challenge.

There’s detail after detail to coordinate, like trying to put a complex puzzle together with constantly moving pieces. I’m ordering things online at 3 a.m!!! I think I finally did my last order last night. Phew!!

And, least fun of all, my husband has lost his patience, cause I’m keeping him awake at night shopping online in bed. This part is the “not fun” part. But with any major home renovation (and we’ve been through several) if it doesn’t break up your marriage that’s a good thing.

Thankfully we just celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary (which was a wonderful, relaxing distraction from ORC, and just the break I needed!) so I think we will weather this storm.

Here we are at our anniversary dinner party. He’s the sweetest husband and cooks for me every night,  but it makes everything go so much smoother when you have the full support of your spouse. (BTW, that divine cake is a strawberry/Lemon Milk Bar Cake made from scratch by my dear friend, and ORC partner in crime Kim Schlinke. Had never heard of these cakes before. Be sure to check them out on Pinterest. AMAZINGLY delicious!!!! )

We made up today and this is what he said (Remember, sometimes guys take a little bit longer to wrap their head around things….okay,  A LOT longer…like 4 weeks to be exact!!)

“I’ve been thinking, and have wanted to say this before but didn’t want you to think I was just saying it cause you wanted me to.  You were right. Now that we’ve moved into this bedroom full time, we really DID need to make it more liveable, and not like like we were camping out here temporarily. And you’re really doing a beautiful job!”

WOW, that IS an honest statement from the Mister. He needed 4 weeks to even figure out a room makeover was even needed. Go figure! But I’m happy he’s now fully supporting me and all the hard work I’m doing to make our bedroom better. I guess it was worth the wait for a truly sincere statement.

Okay, back to the Bold Blue Bedroom. But seriously, these are REAL life differences that often crop up in marriages. And it feels a whole lot better to feel “supported” versus “tolerated”.

PILLOW GODDESS TIP #1: Take it from The Pillow Goddess, you’ve got to talk things through with your spouse…and be very patient.

Did I mention my man cooks me fabulous dinners every night? Lucky wife!!

Right…I know….I need to get us back to the room.

 

 

Okay, what AM I talking about? The Spring 2019 One Room Challenge, sponsored by Better Homes & Gardens. You can catch up here

WEEK 1 | WEEK 2 | WEEK 3 |

I’m one of 300+ Guest Participants and we’re on the home stretch darlin….only 2 more weeks to go. But for me, only 6 more days…YIKES!!! Did I just really say six?!?

My photographer sponsor and friend, the talented Gregg Cestaro, is shooting my “finished” room Monday….wait, he just texted Wednesday! I am NOT going to panic…it IS coming along…and it WILL be finished, and now we have 2 more extra days…YAY!!

Now let’s get onto the exciting things that have happened since last week, including the cool graphic wallpaper I finally revealed in WEEK 3. I’m gonna share how to hang wallpaper in this post and the story behind it all. This gorgeous wallpaper is sponsored by Brooklyn designer Kimberly Lewis.

But first, I want to take a moment here to acknowledge all 13 of our INCREDIBLE sponsors!!

THANK YOU!!!

OMG, I’m pinching myself at how generous and helpful these sponsors have been. Even small businesses on Etsy and Ebay!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your support on this project!!!

1. Kimberly Lewis – Wallpaper
2. Peacock Alley – Luxury bedding
3. The Lampshade Lady – Custom fabric lampshades
4. Furniture in the Raw – Discounted chest of drawers
5. Kim Schlinke – Window seat shades, balanced and window seat sewing and teaching me how to hang walllpaper and paint furniture
6. Gregg Cestaro – Professional Photography
7. Accent Upholstery – Discounted and rushed re-upholstering of the antique cushion chair.

And now we’ve secured 6 more sponsors just this week!! The generosity of small businesses wanting to help small businesses, like my project, simply humbles me!! I am astounded at their support!!

 

In fact, Sparrow’s owners Elizabeth and Mellen said:

“Feel free to take anything in the shop you need to style your room!”

On loan of course, but WOW!!

I’ve even foraged up into the recesses of their attic with Elizabeth to find the most amazing Florentine mirror. They’ve been so incredibly helpful, letting me try things out, and Chloe (below), their sales associate, has been awesome!

1. Sparrow Interiors & Gifts – An array of home decor items for styling
2. Alexander Marchant – Brass hardware for painted chest of drawers
3. Etsy – Vintage fabric from Nicole in Gatineau, Canada of Belle Grive Supplies
4. EBay – Fenton Hobnail Milk Glass vases
5. Michelle’s Jewelry & Silver – Polishing and a crystal perfume bottle, and
6. Paper Place – Desk accessories

Yesterday was another amazing example of local support. I had NOTHING with which to style my mother’s antique desk. I searched everywhere online, remembering that years ago some business owners started making pretty floral desk accessories. I could not find even one!! Frustrating.

I was definitely not sure what to do, so I called our local stationery shop Paper Place to see if they had any ideas. They suggested I come in to see what they had. (I LOVE, and have shopped, this store often, recently having dinner party invitations made here.)

I’ve always enjoyed how helpful they are and their gorgeous products. Well, you can’t imagine the incredible customer service I received yesterday! Casey Langford literally walked me through the store to select items and then we did a mock up of my desk, styling it right there. Here’s just a peek of what’s to come.

Then here is the biggest thing I’ve learned doing the One Room Challenge.

PILLOW GODDESS TIP #2: Always ASK. Cause the worse that can happen (and my father instilled this in me) is they’ll say no.

But the owner, Suzey Ranney, said YES!!! I was thrilled because there was no way I could afford all their beautiful desk accessories.

Now onto what arrived in the mail. Literally, right after I posted last week you could hear squeals of delight upon the arrival of The Lampshade Lady custom shades and Peacock Alley bedding!!  I mean, look at these gorgeous handcrafted lampshades!!!

Below is my meager attempt, by me, to see what textiles I had that might work. Thank God Judy The Lampshade Lady had gorgeous cotton fabrics in stock, cause literally from 1st convo to delivery was 5 days!! And she custom makes every shade and she’s way up in Vermont!!

You see there was no blue in the lamps, the Limoges figurines, and it looked odd trying blue and white shades. It was this coral floral (with blue in it) and Judy’s gorgeous lamp shades that even tempted me to consider adding more color to the Blue Bold Bedroom. (But you’ll have to wait until the Big Reveal on May 7th to see if I did add color or not).

Aren’t they gorgeous? And so incredibly handcrafted with such attention to detail. The coral fabric is almost the exact coral on the woman’s dress and I hadn’t even realized the fabric had the other colors too.

Sometimes, you can do something bold and different and other times you need to stay within the scope of the time period or color wheel. I am not the kind of person to put a polka dot or loud graphic shade on antique Limoges lamps.

PILLOW GODDESS TIP #3: When in doubt, to me, classic always wins!

And while I was waiting for Peacock Alley to receive a sample of the wallpaper I sent (it took 2 weeks in U.S postal service!!) I should have just trusted Brad Cleveland because he said the colors would work beautifully. And of course, he was right. The bedding is absolutely stunning and goes so well with the wallpaper. And look how it is so bright and cheerful compared to my tattered vintage French Damask twin bedspread. (Yes, we’ve been sleeping in a full size bed with a twin bedspread.)

Could this not coordinate any more beautifully with the Wallpaper? Spot on!! Thank you so much Peacock Alley!

 

I have learned a lot about myself and how I need to let go more and trust the professionals I’m collaborating with. Kim has pointed this out to me several times, especially when I panicked about the royal blue paint. You can see all that in last week’s post on WEEK 3.

PILLOW GODDESS TIP #4: Let the experts do their job. Trust them. 

Now, before I share the story about the wallpaper….its a good one…and the 8 steps to hanging wallpaper, here’s some of the tasks I’ve accomplished since last week.

TWO MAJOR STRESSORS – that were resolved last week.

First, as of last Thursday after posting WEEK 3, I still had NOT ordered fabric for the window seat area. Of course we all wish we could afford Schumacher textiles, but what was I thinking?!? We were so busy hanging wallpaper and painting the chest of drawers, time was running out!! My dear friend Sandy came over to help me whittle down my choices.

PILLOW GODDESS TIP #5: Order early and two laptops are better than one for faster sourcing. 

But, even after I ordered them, I fretted to no end if they were the RIGHT choices. Because this is the very first time EVER trying to mix pattern. And my pattern-mixing bible has been the Madcap Cottage boys fabulous book, Prints Charming. 

I was so lucky to finally meet Jason and John #irl (in real life) at Dallas Market in January. Hearing them speak about their projects definitely inspired me to at least “try” mixing patterns.

Second, I still had NOT selected lamps for the painted chest of drawers. Saturday I went on the hunt and lucked out at Home Goods. My designer Patrick Landrum and I had purchased a few years back a wonderful pair of lamps for my husband’s and my Airbnb, The Collier Guest Room. So I was hoping to find another pair. Thankfully I brought home 2 pairs, and David (my wonderful hubs of 35 years!) and I agreed on the same pair. YAY!!

But I cant begin to tell you, just like with the nightstands, how many hours I spent looking online for the right lamps.

PILLOW GODDESS TIP #6: Hiring an interior designer helps so much. They just KNOW all this stuff AND the best places to source everything for your home. My advice, if you’re not already an interior designer, hire one!

Mainly, over the Easter wknd, I wanted to start “styling” the room to be sure I had thought through everything. The last thing I wanted to have happen was me to run around trying to find home decor for styling at the last minute. As there were a number of details to check off my list, I started immediately last Friday and shopped all through the wknd.

PILLOW GODDESS TIP #7: Note to self – NEVER shop on Saturday with the whole of America!!!

1. Brass knobs ✔ Met with one of our newest sponsors Alexander Merchant to select brass knobs for the painted chest of drawers. Owners Susan and Laurie (above) and I go way back. In fact some of the antique furniture in the Bold Blue Bedroom refinished for David and me in 1999 when we first remodeled our home. So it was wonderful to re-connect with them!!

Aren’t the solid brass knobs gorgeous against the blue chests?

2. Home Decor Accessories ✔ Borrowed some wonderful gold and white accessories, from sponsor Sparrow Interiors & Gifts, to try in the room. I’ve been determined to NOT just decorate with the classic blue and white ginger jars. While they’re beautiful, to me they are too predictable, so I wanted to try some different ideas. But the gold and white was too soft a look. It was so nice of Sparrow to let me check out product, and bring things back if they didn’t work. I went back yesterday and thats when we discovered the AMAZING Florentine mirror hidden up in the attic!

3. Purchase lamps ✔ After hours and hours of looking online, thinking I wanted one style of lamp, and then another. Reading online that since my chest of drawers were 32″ high I had to get higher lamps. WRONG!!

PILLOW GODDESS TIP #8: Don’t always believe what you read online, instead hire a designer.

Well since I’m trying to do this room w/out my designer (Lord knows what he’s going to think when he sees it!! As I’m sure I’ve broken several cardinal rules) I at least wanted to know what size lamps I should buy. And during that entire process, my whole thinking of how I wanted to style the room changed from white and gold accents to crystal, gold, and yes, blue and white accents. I just love the height of these lamps and how the crystal mimics the wallpaper.

PILLOW GODDESS TIP #9 : Sometimes its okay to let a room evolve and to allow yourself to change your mind.

Now, to wrap up WEEK 4 post, here’s what’s left to do in just 6 days!!!

• Wait for last fabric to arrive and deliver it pronto to my seamstress and right hand helper, sponsor Kim Schlinke.
• Finish deciding pillow fabrics and start cutting and sewing my pillows. (Thankfully friend Sandy came over yesterday and we cleaned up my studio so I now can see the floor.) Be sure to tune in next week, WEEK 5, when I share my process for designing Deborah Main luxury pillows.
• Saturday run errands to pick up last minute items.  Paper Place desk set, Limoges lamps that needed repairs, a possible loan of a desk clock, AND glass tops for the chest of drawers. Funny story here. I completely forgot to order them until today!!! Thankfully my memory was jogged on Instagram, just in the nick of time, by seeing this inspiring bedroom (below) designed by the ever-talented Scot Meacham Wood. I love how he mixed patterns and color here!
• Sew everything for the window seat area. Kim is in charge of the shades, valances and window seat cushion. I will help where needed.
• Hang shades I will help Kim as needed.
• Make pillows my area of expertise and I can’t wait to get sewing!
• Style and prep room for photo shoot Friend Sandy I think will help me do this on Tuesday.
• Photo shoot Ready or not, photographer Gregg Cestaro will be here at 12 noon on Wed, May 1st to do the photo shoot.

Now, to wrap up WEEK 4, here are 8 steps to hang wallpaper. Try it, you’ll like it, and it’s easier than you think! But it takes two for sure. Couldn’t have done it without Kim Schlinke’s  expertise! Thank you Kim for being such a patient teacher and am I ever glad we knocked out the wallpaper the very first Saturday in WEEK 1. (NOTE: All wallpaper images did not turn out to be the same color. My shortfalling. Please see Kimberly Lewis website for correct colors of the Beverley Wallpaper.

STEP 1: Wall patch and prep.

STEP 2: Find your plumb line. Watch this brief video featuring Kim Schlinke teaching me all about plumb lines.

STEP 3: Roll out wallpaper and measure and cut.

Oh, the backstory!! I almost forgot. You see a couple years ago I won an Insta Giveaway – one roll of Kimberly Lewis fun wallpaper of my choice.  I hemmed and hawed, but in the end selected a pattern I loved, but in the midnight blue colorway my designer Patrick Landrum knew I would want. I was planning to hang this wallpaper in my studio.

Fast forward 2 years, and I hadn’t done it. So, while thinking and planning my vision of this “floral on floral” blue and white room for the One Room Challenge,  all of a sudden I remembered Kimberly’s wallpaper!!! And it matched exactly!!

This is how my quaint floral vision radically changed to the Bold Blue Bedroom and I had to change with it. I did and I absolutely LOVE it!! Kimberly was so kind to sponsor another roll so I’d have enough.

STEP 4: Roll on the paste

PILLOW GODDESS TIP # : Roll the glue directly onto the paper NOT the wall.

It made a HUGE difference. We did that with the 1st panel. But I said, “hey let’s try rolling it onto the wall.” Boy, did it make the wallpaper all lumpy!!! Do NOT do this. Lesson learned fast.

STEP 5: Line up and apply wallpaper to wall.

STEP 6: Smooth it out with the brush and slightly damp rag.

STEP 7: Trim the edges and corner with an Exacto knife.

STEP 8: Step back and enjoy your accomplishment. (unfortunately, my husband only got a butt-shot of us….sigh).

That’s all folks! Tune in for WEEK 5 next Thursday when it will be ALL about the textiles!!! I can’t wait to get sewing!!

Oh, I almost forgot. After much searching I finally found the perfect nesting tables and they arrived TODAY!! Thanks so much for all your encouraging comments and support! XO PG

Note:  All images are mine except for Kimberly Lewis Wallpaper with lamp, ORC logo, and Scot Meacham Woods bedroom design; opinions my own.