A few months ago I shared my bedframe makeover with you. Many of you commented on how pretty the “wallpaper” behind the bed was. Well, I have a confession to make. It wasn’t wallpaper at all.
Today I’m going to share with you what that thing behind the bed was and how I was able to easily warm up a room with fabric.
This is what the room had looked like for many years. It’s a spare room but also pretty stark. The “headboard” is actually a piece of plywood. I had wrapped it with an old comforter and stapled that on. And then I had covered it with the plaid fabric. It was that simple.
I did this to give the room some much needed color and also add a bit of warmth. And at the time I was trying to add cohesiveness to the beds which were not a set.
And no, painting the room was not an option. Usually my go-to solution is paint but we had painted the room and it was clean. No reason to go painting it again. I have lots of other things to paint.
Here is a photo of the room a few days ago. The pretty fabric you saw on the first photo is in fact a duvet cover. I had used it for staging only. Shhh, I’m giving blogger secrets away. But in reality, it had no business being there.
Once I had painted the bed frame and the dresser, it no longer looked right. The red clashed with the soft green. I think the only time I could get away with this combination was at Christmastime.
My solution was to change the cover of the headboard.
But that was the hardest part for me. I searched through my fabric stash and found this pretty floral but it was the wrong green.
I even tested this geometric which I had used to stage the fabulous Ikea desk makeover. However it was too bold for a bedroom. No one would get any rest with those vivid colors?
And then it clicked! Back when I first started blogging, I had made a wall hanging using a pretty fabric to place over my bed. You see, here in earthquake prone Greece we have to be careful what we put on the walls over the beds. I found some of the fabric but I didn’t have enough. Not to worry, I covered the whole piece with a neutral wool fabric, of which I had plenty.
Here you can see that I just stapled it in a haphazard way over the red plaid. No one will know what goes on in the back.
Like I said, I didn’t have enough of the fabric to cover the whole piece so I just draped it, making sure to center it. A few staples in the back and a couple on the bottom front and I was done.
And this is how it looks in the bedroom.
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Here you can see how nice it looks next to the green furniture.
It has a calming effect in the bedroom.
And you know me, if I get bored with it, I can just switch it out with another piece of fabric. Just like I will do with those striped curtains.
It even looks great next to the wooden chair.
And there you have it. A simple and easy way to add color and warm up a room with fabric, without having to paint it. Did I pick the right fabric or were the other selections better?
What is your go to solution when you want to add color to a room?
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A fun and fantastic project with pretty fabric! You always find the right solution, Mary.
Poppy
Thanks Poppy. The real trick is to find a solution without spending money! 😉
What a clever idea, you are always so thrifty, using what you have!
Yes I am, thank you. I like to be good to the environment and I like to be good to my pocketbook! 😉
What a beautiful update, Mary. And like you said, my favorite part is that you can change it up if you get the notion. Bravo!
Thanks Larissa. We all like easy solutions!
I love this! I think I might wrap the three pieces of art in my office. I am soooo tired of them.,
Anything is possible Pam. And change is always good in my book. It lightens the spirit!
It is amazing how much some fabric can change the whole room…. nice work. 🙂
Oh I love using fabric to change things up. It was so cold and stark in there before I added that piece of plywood. It was just time to get rid of all that red.
Love you for being unafraid to try new ideas!
It looks great and I kept checking this post out since you posted it.
Keep on #keepingitreal and pretty <3
That has to be the motto of the year! Keeping it real! After all we are just regular folks putting our llives out there for scrutiny! Haha!
This is so creative Mary! It looks so amazing!
Thank you Cristina. The red was looking too over the top after a while.
Such beautiful touches!
Thank you Charlene. It’s simple and practical.
I really like the color combo and the pattern.
Thank you Sandra, it’s a super easy way to warm up a room.
Good Afternoon Mary, I do understand how careful you have to be, living in Greece where you experience earthquakes as it was the same when we lived in Cyprus.
What a brilliant idea. The material really changed the look of your bedroom and the fact you can change the look of the room very easily with a different material is such a good idea.
I tend to change the look of our rooms with paint. Easy to put on the walls and easy to change the colour to create a different look…. although you now have me thinking about using material to make a change.
Have a lovely day.
Best Wishes
Daphne
Daphne I cannot paint right now, I have to do all the decorating on a budget. Although that would be a great option. But I always try to use what I have around me before running to the stores. Thanks for dropping by.
Looks very pretty!! Love your choice of fabric. I have curtains hanging behind my bed because it is in a corner and I use the space behind it for storage….
Thanks so much for stopping by!!
Hugs,
Deb
That is such a clever idea Debbie!
Wow Mary! This looks fantastic! I love the pattern and everything seem so nicely coordinated!
It’s time to get this room pulled together.
I love this Mary! The fabric is so beautiful (reminds me of Kaufman’s floral designs). And I especially love that you can easily change the fabric when the mood strikes (and reuse the current fabric for another project). I’ll be featuring your work at House of Hollingsworth Blog this Wednesday xx
Thank you so much for the feature Kate. I have to say I am really surprised that this little project is such a hit. I guess easy and simple is what people enjoy the most.
Mary, I love it, all. I love the final product, I love your honesty about not painting a room that doesn’t need it and I love your disclosure of blogger staging secrets! You would ever do something like that? 😉
Kim ain’t nobody got time for that! I try to paint rooms as little as possible. It seems like such a chore to me.
I love how you used the fabric to warm thing up Mary and I adore your green bed
Thank you Amber. To think all of this started with the wrong paint color! When I had ordered the paint I ordered green instead of white and I knew I had to use it somewhere so this was the result of an error on my part!
Such a good idea, Mary–nice backdrop for the gorgeous work you did on the headboard (and dresser). Thanks for sharing your posts with us at Vintage Charm 🙂
Thanks Diana. It is a super easy solution.
Such a great idea Mary! This is fantastic to use some great vintage fabric and display it like this – instead of treasuring it on a shelf or a box!
I agree Maya. We should use what we have especially our pretty fabrics and vintage things, and enjoy them.
Great ideas. So pretty.
Thank you Alyssa, simple and frugal!
Beautiful room makeover! Thanks for sharing @ Sew It Cook It Craft It. I love the fabric. Do you still know where you got it?
Hi Mary, just hopping back to let you know that I featured your room makeover at this week’s Sew It Cook It Craft It Link Party.