My Corner Online

 

Retro Room Decorating

 

I've been trying to get started on decorating in recent weeks what we have finally dubbed our "retro room" because we are going to have all old stuff we find in our basement in the room for people to sit and play with.

The room is being dictated by the color of the couch was my great-grandparents and reupholstered by my grandma many years ago. My mom had the couch in their finished basement at one time and now it has been tucked away in our basement for years awaiting a new home.

I looked for a long time shopping and thinking on material. I wanted to make it more modern, but coordinate with the couch. I've also spent a long time looking at paint chips, but have not tackled that choice yet!

It took me a while to remember how to sew a pillow cover and to fill a bobbin and thread my sewing machine, especially with these bad eyes! I was actually quite elated with how the first pillow turned out.

The second pillow cover I made much faster having experience, plus it being a bit smaller, and I was happy with how the two fabrics coordinated.

Next I sewed the window treatment and because I had made a mistake on cutting the back side of the first pillow, my window treatment was a bit shorter than I had hoped for, but I am going with the flow.  I was excited to have found these Christmas stocking holders for a little over $2 each to use to hang it!  It really made the difference and the swirls matched the material.  I am always trying to do things as inexpensive as possible and these certainly were much cheaper than any rod I could have purchased.

Next I sewed a cover for the table (a coffee table that was my grandparents) with the same material as the second pillow.  I wasn't so sure how it would go making it into a circle and I did not have enough material to make it go to the edges, but I thought it turned out more unique this way.

That sun is something my mom made and hung in my room as a little girl and I think it fits right in this room!  Can you believe I still have it?  It is made of felt.

Because I made the back of the first pillow too small on my first attempt, I took the back I had already made and made a third pillow with it.  I went back to the store to get more material for the front and it was sold out!  Wow!  So fast!  So I thought for a long time and decided on some white material for the front and we painted on the name of the room.  I plan on doing some more painting on the front in orange, or having my talented friend do it, with either some strips or swirls.  The chair was in my parent's living room when I was growing up and my mom reupholstered it at one time.  I wish I had their talent!

This is the back of the "word" pillow.

I need a rug, but to find the right one!  Also, I'm not sure about the walls, but I want to paint the closet doors for sure and I've got ideas floating in my head for them.

A store-bought on-sale solid-color pillow tied it all together nicely.  I went with more of a burnt orange than the pure orange in the couch.  I wasn't sure it would work well, but I thought it a good choice.

10/7/2013