Greg’s parents are coming for Thanksgiving, and while the Guest Room was nowhere on the “moving budget” priority list, I couldn’t help but want to fix it up a bit. I went to “the bank” (aka GREG), and inquired about the balance remaining in la budget de moving. The automated recording (which sounded a whole lot like a dude I know named GREG) said, “Zero dollars AND zero cents”. Huh. I could have sworn I started out with way more than that? So I decided to shake my penny bank (also, it looks suspiciously like someone named Greg), and I did manage to find a few dollars and a few cents. “Few” being the key words in this project.

I then went to my in-residence decorator, aka Sara. She quickly pulled out her Franck accent from “Father of the Bride” and said, “That’s NOT MUCH, but we do it anyway, and it will be FABOOLUS.”

The girls and I sat in this room, awaiting inspiration. And we sat. And we sat. Finally, I dozed off, and Kelly put a duck on my head. I woke up with a 32 year old stuffed animal on my face. Pleasant. We took stock of what we had: 2 gallons of clay beige paint, left over from the first floor, and one old duck. Huh. Not much. Sara said, “I GOT IT! Textures. This room should be nothing but layers of textures. Not entirely monochromatic, but close.” Kelly said, “BORING”, and stomped out, taking my duck with her. But I immediately knew Sara was on the right track.

The word “texture” was the inspiration we needed. I’ve noticed that while many things from the old house just doesn’t match the new house, some of it DOES fit, just not in its original order. Sara and I took our little budget and headed to Target, because they sell a lot of wood, and white, and “textured” things. We rummaged through the house and gathered what we had. We felt like we were on HGTV, but that show doesn’t lie: we did have some things to use: a mirror, a bureau, a lamp, curtains, and grasses.

Primarily, we had plenty of this fabric. This heavy, horrible, almost-ended-my-marriage fabric (kidding, but I still don’t think Greg’s forgiven me for not finishing the old curtain project). I saved for months to buy just a ridiculous amount of this extremely thick decorator fabric to make curtains for our old home. I lined them and I sewed and sewed and sewed. I didn’t even get through half the project before I nearly blew out my thumb joint, which to this day, has yet to fully heal. But I’ll be darned if this isn’t the prettiest brown textured fabric…and bonus, I think it’s bullet-proof. The curtains came with us, so 2 panels went up on a new rod.

I had plenty still on the bolt, and after brainstorming with Greg, we designed a faux  fabric headboard. Greg created a sliding system using 45 degree angles and wood, so essentially, the headboard just slides onto the wall. It doesn’t have legs. and my wild plan to glue it to the wall wasn’t so great. I’m kidding…I wouldn’t have really glued it to the wall (but pre-marriage, I TOTALLY would have glued it to the wall).

Making fabric headboards is not rocket-sewing. One large piece of plywood, 4 boards cut at corresponding angles, and a staple gun. I used 3 layers of batting, wrapped the middle with the contrasting cream fabric (also bought many years ago and never used…ugh). and then made my design on the front with my brown fabric. I had to sew the edges by hand in a few places, but luckily, I still own the “world’s largest needle”, which one needs to get through this fabric. It’s less like a needle, and more like a steak knife.

Did I re-injure my hand? Of course I did.

Was it worth it? Oh yeah! The mirror was a gift from my Grandparents when I bought my first home. The bedding we bought at Target, along with the wreath and the tree pictures. The light I scored at Lowe’s, on sale, plus I used a coupon. I ordered $7 worth of risers to lift the bed. I always, always lift beds: A) you can fit things underneath them, and B) beds just look prettier lifted.

The bedside tables also came from Target, again, on sale and I had a coupon. The trays I picked up for $6 at Home Goods, because to quote my friend Sumi, “EVERYONE needs little silver bedside trays with reindeer heads”. Even though parts of this room have a winter/Xmas theme, I’m leaving it up year ’round. Antlers are a year-rounder in cold weather climates; it’s written into our state laws.

The grasses used to sit on the mantel at the old house, and after much looking around for a table to sit them on, I found this candle holder in the back of the clearance section at Home Goods. I took out the insert and turned it into a vase, because with cats, these grassed needed to be IN something (unless I want to see them in liquid form on my living room carpet).

The lamp will eventually be replaced with a white lamp, but I have always loved the one which sits there now. Greg got a good laugh when I sat it on my cutting board shaped like Nantucket, but tradition is tradition: all rooms have one antique (my Great Aunt Mildred’s bureau), and one inspiration from Nantucket (my other home). The eggs in the bowl I bought in a dead lady’s basement many moons ago. Different from the dead lady’s basement where I bought the base of Sara’s Halloween costume. Do I LIKE estate sales? In the same way everyone needs antler heads in their guest rooms!

NOW I’m ready for Thanksgiving. I’m excited about Sara’s potential should she choose to go into interior design. Sara sees colors and combinations in a way similar to her Aunt Jenny, meaning, she just “gets it”. Last week I was dressing for an event, and knew my ensemble wasn’t working. I asked for Sara’s help, to which I received, “Well, if you were trying to go ALL 80’s, just got there, that’s for sure. Take out those hot pink earrings because the embroidered sleeves of that sweater are the focal point. Put in your brown crystal earrings and switch out the hot pink shoes for your brown and black leather wedges. But keep the hot pink Chanel crossover bag. That just works. NOW you’re ready.”

DUDE. We cannot lose Sara. We NEED her MIND! (Again, “Father of the Bride”, because those quotes work everywhere.) Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I hope you are anticipating guests, good food, time spent near a hearth with a nice glass of wine, and days full of good times. Godspeed, my friends. Godspeed.