Next to Me in Bed

I got these wall lamps/sconces for next-to-nothing at an estate sale a while back:

The brass was a little tarnished....

so I rubbed em' with a little Bar Keepers Friend...

and look at them now:

I hung the lamps on either side of my bed.  It was pretty easy (just make sure to measure correctly... or else you'll end up having to patch some holes you drilled in the wrong spot...).

I used a staple gun to tack the lamp cords neatly to the wall like so:

Then, I got out some leftover wall paint and painted over the cords to help them blend in with the wall as much as possible.

I was going to try to salvage the original lampshades, but upon closer inspection, they had a few dings which bothered me, so I sprung for these new lampshades at Target for $12.99.

I was originally thinking about covering the shades in a black and white spotted fabric, but I decided it might look too busy.  Instead, I bought a green-blue linen-looking fabric from JoAnne's.  It was $9.99 per yard and I was able to cover both lampshades with just one yard of fabric.  Here's how I did it:

I taped printer paper around the shade to create a template (that I could use for cutting the fabric):

Then, I traced the template onto my fabric with a piece of chalk:

I added an extra half inch to one end of my template...

... so I could create a folded finished edge.  I glued the fold in place using Fabri-tac, my favorite fabric glue:

Next, I glued the fabric to the lampshade, and glued bias tape (which I got for $1.79, also at Joanne's) around the top and bottom edges to finish them off.  Note, instead of bias tape, I think a pretty grosgrain ribbon would have also worked well here.

Taa daaaa:

And, in addition to my revamped lamps, I hung a piece of art and added two new throw pillows to the mix.

  

The art (it's an original lithograph poster from a 1984 Matisse art exhibit) and the pink rose pillow are both from a website called One Kings Lane.  It's a site that offers daily deals on designer home stuff.  

For the pillow I paid $29 before shipping...which I know doesn't sound overly cheap, but up close, this pillow really looks and feels like a pillow that would cost a lot more.  It makes me happy every time I see it on my bed. (Lame but true.)  

The poster was... err....more expensive (about $150 I think, which doesn't include the frame which I later got from Ikea for a mere $15). It was a total impulse purchase- I wasn't in the market for a poster and I hardly ever pay that much for any one thing, but... I loved it the instant I saw it, so I quick typed in my credit card info before I could talk myself out of buying it.  (No regrets, I'm still in love.)

The blue velvet pillow is from Ikea.  I thought the pillow cover was beautiful even before I realized it was on sale for only $4.  And, even though the feather pillow insert wasn't on sale, at full price it was just $6.99.

Alert to self, POB (pillows on bed) MAX has been reached!


Yep, so this is what's been next to me in bed lately.   I hope you're sleeping next to someone or something that you love, tonight and always.