We all know I have a pillow problem. And true to form, I couldn’t resist grabbing two of these boldly striped 26″ x 26″ euro pillows for just nine bucks a pop when we came across them at HomeGoods. In my defense, John walked off and came back holding them, so he might have a pillow problem too. But come on, $9? For giant 100% cotton euro pillows? Sold. In our house, pillows are definitely nomads, so these guys could end up doing a little tour (hitting up the guest room, the playroom, and even the sunroom or living room). But right now we’re loving them in our bedroom with the similarly toned flower & berry prints from Alaska that we hung a few weeks back:
It’s sort of like adding a completely temporary boldly striped headboard without doing anything more than spending $18 and tossing them on the bed. No muss, no fuss. And no commitment. We really like how they work with everything from our garage sale botanical art and the lighter toned greeny-gold curtains to the green potted plant on the other side of the room and even Sir Ram. Because when you stop to think about it, what really works with a giant ram head over your bed? Am I right? Oh and as for the smaller greeny-gold pillow, it’s sure to pop up in other places too, so it’s not always destined to be layered with the new striped pillows for those who object (although in person it’s really nice pairing that further ties in the curtains). Here’s a wide shot of the very unfinished side of our bedroom:
I know, I know. That picture looks crazy. So check out all the doodled changes that we’re planning to make as we go:
To further expound upon my doodles:
- We hung the twig & berries art on the same center-line as the ram (just so they wouldn’t look like they were riding high and because the lamp shades only overlapped the written flower/berries names and not the illustration) but once we get new night stands that are hopefully taller (since those old living room side tables are way too low and don’t have any concealed storage) we’ll probably scooch everything up a bit.
- The ottoman is necessary for Burger to get in and out of bed (yes, we pander to him, although we refuse to buy doggy steps) but it’s a little short and chunky and dark (although it does tie into our leaning mirror and dark chair) so we might get/make something lighter and longer (perhaps with dark legs but a lighter fabric top).
- The wheat colored lamp shades sometimes read as a little dirty since the bedding, trim, light fixture, and door are so white. Mehaps a little makeover or upgrade is in order.
- We’d love some sort of big chunky cabinet to the left of the bed for function, balance, and to make sense of the odd little nook there.
So that’s the long-term plan in there. And just as new additions to a room often inspire some tweaking (ex: in a surprise turn of events our twig & berry art spurred us to lose the ol’ printed duvet cover), the addition of the new striped pillows sparked a little art tweak on the other side of the room. Ever since we added the matching framed botanicals by the bed (along with the matching wall plaques on either side of Sir Ram and the matching new striped pillows at the head of the bed) the horse art somehow slipped from feeling nice and balanced (since it had two different items under it – a chair and a dresser) to feeling a little too balanced and mirror-image since it was one of many things that were now in pairs…
So because we were itching for a little less symmetry (while still wanting to maintain some semblance of balance to help the new-ish chair and the very old dresser relate), we decided to play around with stuff that we already had to see if we could come up with a free alternative:
- Down came the horses above the dresser (which now reside in the playroom but will hopefully find a permanent place somewhere else down the line).
- Up went two differently sized old Ikea frames that we had sitting in the playroom, waiting to be hung for almost 8 months.
We immediately liked the less symmetrical arrangement but the oddly mismatched frame colors weren’t doing it for us (one was a clashy reddish brown and one was white). And since the botanicals looked so good with a little oil-rubbed bronze spray paint I decided to quickly pop the glass/art out of them and give them a few thin and even coats of leftover ORB. You know, so they’d tuck into the room a bit more and look more integrated with the stuff going on across the wall. So outside I went with my sexy spray painting socks (see those here)….
… and soon enough the frames were bronzed and beautiful…
Then I needed something to put in them. So I dug through the old art stuff we already had and found a simple little green dandelion print from Ikea (it used to hang next to our front door in our first house). I also decided to make some always-appropriate-for-a-DIY-couple’s-bedroom “paint chip art” with old Ralph Lauren swatches that I had in my basket (yes, I have a paint swatch basket since I hate throwing them away, which is also where I house all of my paint decks except for my favorite one that hangs in the hallway). Home Depot doesn’t even sell Ralph Lauren paint anymore, so I figured “recycling” the old swatches was better than hoarding them or just trashing them, so I pulled out all of the little colored squares…
… and just used tones that reoccur in the room so it would tie in (I didn’t need something that screamed since that would compete with the botanicals and the remaining horse photograph over the leather chair). I was left with a little pile of browns, grays, blue-grays, greeny-yellows, soft sand colors, creams, and whites. So I just arranged them in a gradient from darkest to lightest (this photo was still a work in progress since I switched out a few of the chips that stuck out too much or looked out of order).
Little loops of scotch tape on the back of each one held them in place on four pieces of card stock that I taped together to create a big 16 x 20″ background to fit the frame. Ta-daaa.
We love that the paint chip art looks like a pixelated photo and the dandelion pic is a nice little “neutral” touch in the room as well (so it all layers in nicely without conflicting too much with anything else on the walls). Yay. We’re fans. Although we’ve learned that art posts are definitely the most not-everyone’s-boat-is-floated-by-the-same-stuff kind of thing. But we sleep in that room and we like it mucho. Hurrah! Clara’s favorite part? The pig of course (she runs into the room squealing “piggy!” and pointing while oinking). Very cute.
For another version of paint swatch art, check out what we did with leftover swatches in our old office (on our postcard ledge) and drop in on Jessica Jones’ awesome paint chip art project here on How About Orange.
Oh and since I’m in a doodling mood, here’s a bit more about why we did what we did:
See, it’s not as perfectly balanced and mirror-image-ish. But it still kind of goes. And it’ll work a lot better after some tweaks over time (get ready for more doodling)…
… like this…
We really like that the white mirror in the nook relates to the glossy white window trim, and the art hanging on either side of it is dark enough to feel balanced but not exactly the same size/shape anymore. So that’s where we are.
Who knows what else we’ll change as we go though. We’re definitely fans of the trial and error method (since we never seem with it enough to get things right on the first try, haha). Although this corner view is still my favorite for some reason. Probably because the mirror reflects a ton of window-light and the big chandelier is floating overhead with the neutral-ish-but-not-white curtains, the dark moody leather chair, and the horse art in the background.
So anyway, it’s nice that something as simple as two cheap-o pillows and some fast & free art swappage (I must be in a free art mood this week) could add a bit more interest while taming the super-symmetry that seemed to build and eventually boil over as we added art and accessories.
Have you guys bought cheap-o pillows lately? Or decided to switch out art and accessories as you toss in other additions and slowly build a room? Any favorite pillow sources in general? Oh and has anyone out there gotten it totally right with everything from the furnishings to the accessories in one shot? That must be amazingly serendipitous. We’re more of the learning as you go slash bumbling along type. Haha. But at least we didn’t break anything this time…
bhh says
Terrific improvements — love them all! If you wouldn’t mind answering — how many sleeping pillows do you have behind the new euros? it’s a little hard to tell from the photos, are they stacked atop one another or propped up? are they covered in shams or pillowcases? thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
We each like two real sleeping pillows each, so we toss the three accent pillows onto the chair at night (or on the floor if we’re lazy) and sleep with the four regular pillows.
xo,
s
Wrenaria says
LOOOOOOOOOVE the striped pillows. But then, green is my favorite color and I am completely addicted to stripes. :p
It’s fun watching your room evolve.
Nora says
I need to practice your patience at going slow over time. We have mismatched nightstands and I want to go get new ones so bad but I have to wait until we upgrade the bed frame too.
I love the room so much better with the white duvet. It looks very fresh and clean.
heather says
I absolutely love the new art, really really love it! It’s woonndderful.
I would have bought 2 $9.00 euro pillows as well, that’s a great deal!
Kristi @ Addicted 2 Decorating says
How funny…just today, I did a round up of different ways to decorate with paint chips. They’re so much fun to use, and the possibilities are endless!
Pam Wright says
Oh please, don’t refinish those beautiful floors.
YoungHouseLove says
So sorry, gotta do it! They aren’t sealed anymore and are stained in a number of places (you can see some of their issues like lines of different colors and dark spots here and here). But they’ll look even more beautiful when we bring them back to their original glory!
xo,
s
ruthie says
I love re-using old paint chips! What do you do with the longer ones that have the little squares on the end? (I think it’s Valspar)
YoungHouseLove says
Those are still just sitting in my basket. Haha. Maybe those are good for putting on a binder ring and making a little paint deck without having to hole punch anything?
xo,
s
Amber Wallace says
Love the pillows and they paint swatch art is awesome! I’m interested to see what happens as it progresses. The twig and berry pictures are my favorite. I’ve still never hopped on board with the ram but, I love that you’ve embraced him! And I even liked the doodles!
cameron says
Okay, so not totally free, but I made art that was less than $5. That counts, right?
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.45173421995.67311.702656995#!/photo.php?fbid=10150256251081996&set=a.45173421995.67311.702656995&type=1&theater
YoungHouseLove says
Aw man I’d love to see it! Link doesn’t work for me.
xo,
s
cameron says
Hmmm, maybe this will…
http://pinterest.com/pin/101104514/
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- love it!
xo,
s
OMG Ponies! says
You guys mentioned Joss & Main the other day. I was looking there this morning and was wondering if you noticed the IMM Living sale of white animal nick nacks, in particular the Buck Stacking Game?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes- it’s so much fun!
xo,
s
Jessica Horton says
I bought those exact pillows for our bed a few months ago…. sadly, the green didn’t match the more olive green already in the room… so back to homegoods they went…..
Lindsey says
Love the paint chip art! I’ve been colecting samples to create one of my own. It looks like you chose to leave the written paint color on the chips- I’ve debated about whether I should cut mine off or just leave them. Does it bother you? I’m guessing you can’t even tell from a distance.
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, they were so subtle I left them there!
xo,
s
KLL says
Here’s a random question that may or may not have been answered at some other point and I missed it — are the white throw rugs on either side of the bed because the larger rug isn’t comfy for bare feet or are they just there to be pretty?
YoungHouseLove says
Those are just there because I’m obsessed with sheepskins so I like the pop of white layered in. But the jute rug is braided, so it’s nice and soft. Clara even crawls around on it with bare legs.
xo,
s
Sandy says
Beautiful pillows! Reminds me of Planes, trains and automobies…”Those aren’t two pillows!!!!!”
New side tables? Please let me know if you craiglist your current ones!! Love em…
YoungHouseLove says
Will do!
xo,
s
Monique says
I think your bedroom is headed in a gorgeous direction. It has a different vibe to it now, and I wonder if that will change the way you look at your other rooms. I guess time will tell!
Malinda says
Those pillows look familiar…we have the same pair on our bed! I picked them up at TJ Maxx just a few weeks ago. They really livened up our bedding situation, too. Love them!
Stacey says
i love home goods and ikea for pillows. the ikea pillow covers are fab. they’re affordable and, best of all when you have 3 kiddos, machine washable!
in a mash-up of your paint chip and butterfly diy art…i’ve seen paint chips used w/a paper punch in the shape of a butterfly to create a butterfly shadow box. i’ve also seen it done w/ scrapbook paper.
your paint chip art totally gave me a flashback to my soph. yr. of art college. we had to do a 20″ x 30″ composition using 1″ squares of colored paper. we had to have a ‘pattern’ to our design, yet it couldn’t be something as simple as a gradation. the prof wanted layers of patterns. talk about some serious ‘rain man’ design ocd!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- that’s so funny that it was an assignment!
xo,
s
Ashley @ DesignBuildLove.co says
looks great! I LOVE how two pillows changed it all! LOL I am a constant changer/mover/swapper, so I totally know what you guys mean. I somehow manage to occasionally rearrange furniture while the hubs it out of the house… when he comes home… he just smiles and shakes his head! LOVE that guy. As for pillow, I’ve gotten some major scores with Target clearance, and at my local Ross and Marshalls. I am definitely a “frequent-er” of these stores!
Caitlin @ Desert Domicile says
LOVE the gradient art!
I also purchased a set of those pillows in red and white stripes but unfortunately, I’ve nixed the color scheme I had going in my place so they don’t fit in anymore. Since they were only $9/each, I was thinking I could make covers for them though so they’d be back in business :)
Brandan WH says
Sooo stealing the paint chip idea. Just lovely!
samantha owens says
i must have missed the story on the missing duvet and i can’t find it on your search side bar. can you link me or fill me in por favor?? :) :)
samantha owens says
never mind! i found it!
love the green and white striped pillows!
Jasmine says
I’m loving the new asymetrical art, I didn’t dislike the horsey art, but this is better for sure! I kinda do miss the duvet cover, although I get it not working with the twigs and berries. Have you thought about putting the duvet back on (it would look fab with the new pillows, no?) and then folding it down so that it only covers the end of the bed, so you only see 1/4 to 1/3 of the pattern. It would still relate to the pillows, not as much to the twigs and give you (yay!) another fabric (thanks Sarah Richardson!). The only thing I can think of that might kibosh this plan is Burger-a)would he be able to make it over the folded duvet? and b)once he did make it would it become a ball of duvet in 5 minutes anyway?
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, Burger would probably love to burrow! We did try it folded on the bottom of the bed but it still looked really leafy and compete-y with the twig & berry art.
xo,
s
Kelly says
Love the updates! I’m about to move into a new apt(with a whole new world of decorating possibilities) and will definitely be attempting that paint chip artwork. Wow. You guys are such an inspiriation!
I think it looks like you left the names of each paint chip visible, is that correct? Or did you overlap the chips to cover up the names?
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, they were so subtle we just left them as-is!
xo
s
Ariel says
I love your homemade artwork (both this paint swatch one and that one you made from a Pinterest inspiration)! Have a great day!
Kat@Withywindle says
I am glad I am not the only one with an entire basket devote to paint chips.
It seems like such a waste to recycle them. It seems like many other people have the same feeling with all the paint chip projects on Pinterest! I like your square art!
Tammy says
Ah those pillows are perfection.. and add so much color to your bedroom :)
You have such a great eye for design.. and room/furnishing layouts. It’s so inspiring :)
~Tammy
http://www.bayparkdream.blogspot.com
Nadia Milagros says
We have the same bed and had a plain white comforter on it for a long time too. It was tough finding something that showed off the bed but still added something to the room and still felt cozy. I finally found the perfect quilt on Walmart.com of all places and I am soooooo happy with it! I love the eclectic, Anthropologie, boho type of look and this was perfect! It added texture without being too rigid and the fraying on the ruffles keep it from looking too granny or little girlish. The color is great too because it’s not stark white, more creamy so it lends itself to totally being mixed and matched with some color on pillows on throws. LOVE IT! (if the link doesn’t work it’s called the grorgina quilt). And don’t let the picture on the site sway you, imagine it with some fun ikat pillows and anthro shams…yum!
http://Www.Walmart.com/m/ip/Frayed-Quilt-Set/16539869
YoungHouseLove says
The link didn’t work but I searched “georgina quilt” and found it. So pretty!
xo,
s
GreenInOC says
Oh dog steps why are you so ugly?!
An ottoman is a great idea but wouldn’t work in my boudoir. I have the uber ugly plastic ones because someone gave them to me. My long, short legged heavy dog has to have something to climb or the vet bill could be huge.
The hunt is ongoing but I’ve found these that I love and of course they are in development and not being made!
http://www.urbanpethaus.com/content/profile_stair.htm
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh, very swanky!
xo,
s
joyjoy says
I’m in love with the paint chip art work! It’s so genius.
Meredith says
Love the switch!! Even though it’s asymmetrical, it feels more balanced and calm to me. Great view to wake up to… we just have closet doors in front of our bed, haha. And I agree with another reader who said that she likes the reflection of your light fixture in the bathroom mirror: it makes your room look even bigger, and it doesn’t hurt that the chandelier is already awesomegonuts.
Seeing your basket of paint decks makes me itch for a new house version of this post:
https://www.younghouselove.com/2009/04/how-ya-bin/
That inspired me to keep our dog treats in a beautiful piece of pottery rather than crammed in a closet. It’s the little things. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, awesomegonuts is cracking me up. Also, it would be really fun to do another update of How Ya Bin when it comes to the new house! Although we’re admittedly still missing some key storage pieces in a number of rooms. Soon hopefully!
xo,
s
Heather @ Side of Sneakers says
I’m just in love with that pixelated paint chip art- with all the discarded paint chips I have laying around, I could easily whip up some art. At least I could guarantee it’d be colors I like and it’d match my house!
jen d. says
I have the perfect white armoire for your little nook! It’s from Ikea and no longer fits my not-so-baby-anymore 10 year old son. We live about 1 1/2 from Richmond if you are interested ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thanks for the tip!
xo,
s
Lynn @ SafeBeauty says
I love the swatches artwork! It looks tres bien! See it’s so nice it made me pull out my French!
My best, Lynn
Sadie says
I am in love with the way the green in the pillows looks with the blue walls. So serene but also fresh and happy. The pillows add a bit of prep to the room. Is Katie Bower rubbing off on you?? :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, could be! We both loved that big striped rug!
xo,
s
Sydney says
I love the new pillows! We just did a bedroom bedding swap out (from one West Elm to another – , but now, I think I need new pillows, too. http://meplusbjohnson.blogspot.com/2011/08/our-bedroom-furniture-remix.html
Also, I’m sure the leaning mirror has been there, and I simply haven’t noticed, but where did you find it? It’s great, but the similar ones I’ve found are SO expensive; thus, my Target mirror remains for now.
YoungHouseLove says
That was from West Elm a while back (it was actually a wedding gift from John so I could see myself in my dress before heading out the back door and getting married) but we’ve since seen a similar one at Ikea for less. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
tricia says
Love the new look, especially the new art. Great job. Not sure if anyone else has suggested this, but it feels to me like the new pillows should be placed with the stripes going horizontally. But you probably already tried that.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah- they go all directions! Just depends how we make the bed that day!
xo,
s
Debby says
Completely unrelated to your post, but now that it’s past August 2nd, do you have a new coupon code for Shades of Light?
Thanks.
Debby
YoungHouseLove says
We sent them an email and are awaiting a new code. So the good news is we think a new one is coming – sorry for the wait!
xo,
s
Debby says
Too late, I already ordered the light. It was only $49, and I found a coupon code on retailmenot.com that saved me 5%. I’ll look for the 10% off when I am ready to do my secondary bathroom lighting.
Thanks though.
Debby
Amber Lee D. says
I love the paint chip art. I think this is my favorite art project from you yet. Leaves me wondering….why didn’t I think of that?
I like it so much I’m pinning it!
Christine says
Totally just my random opinion but the sconce thingys next to the ram are kinda driving me nuts. I can’t help but wonder if the ram just needs his own space to shine.=)
YoungHouseLove says
Right now we like them but you never know! You know how we end up changing things a lot….
xo,
s
Maddie says
I love the asymmetry! It works so much better in the space :).
Can I ask where you guys found that wonderful pig?
YoungHouseLove says
That was $6 at HomeGoods a while back. Couldn’t resist.
xo,
s
Dana says
I like this look better than the duvet cover. Although that duvet is really nice, I think this is a bit cleaner.
Kami says
What is that wall color?
YoungHouseLove says
Valspar’s Carolina Inn Club Aqua color matched to Olympic no-VOC paint. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Carrie says
Looks great guys! I really questioned your decision to leave the dresser unpainted but have changed my tune. It looks so nice and warm (and what do I know, thousands of people don’t look to me every day for decorating advice). Keep on keepin’ on.
Melissa K says
The art change up looks great! I was never feeling the two horse canvases, because it looked exactly like it did when you photoshopped them in, but hey, it’s your house, so I didn’t say anything! Thanks for the reminder that you don’t have to be stuck with something that doesn’t work 100%.
katrina says
I love the new pixelated art! Great job!
Would you ever place the large-scale standing mirror in the nook by the bed? (the area you have marked “something will go here someday”)
YoungHouseLove says
We thought it might be creepy to have it reflect on our heads while sleeping. Haha, thought we might get spooked. Where it is on the other wall we don’t see our faces (just feet or the window) and it reflects the window light from there.
xo,
s
Ashley says
Did I totally miss when you guys stripped your duvet cover off?
YoungHouseLove says
Check out the link in the first paragraph of this post to flower/berries art for that story! Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Christen says
Ooh, I like your paint chip art! I did something slightly similar several months about following Katie Bower’s instructions, with the chips overlapping slightly:
http://lovelifelists.blogspot.com/2011/02/all-sweetness-and-light.html
Gotta love a free and modern art idea…
YoungHouseLove says
So pretty!
Ashley says
Hey guys! This really has nothing to do with this post although I can’t even talk about the pillows because I love them so much and the art is perfect … My husband and I are cruising the web for some new fun chairs for our living room and I ran across a chair with the same fabric as your curtains in your dining room. Just thought you might want to see that fun fabric in action somewhere else! :-) Go to urbanoutfitters.com and then search for the Slipper Chair in Peacock Ikat.
YoungHouseLove says
Isn’t that funny? Love it!
xo,
s
Alison says
I love the doodles that you guys did, explaining your plans/why certain things work. It really gives people with less design experience insight into your thought process so they can incorporate ideas into their own home. I really hope you continue to do it in the future!
YoungHouseLove says
Sure! I’ll try to keep it up!
xo,
s
vicky says
I saw another blog where they made an art chip picture as well. However, they used modgepodge and it flattened the chips and made them shiny. Yours might look better flatter inside the frame (not a criticism, just a suggestion)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip! Sounds like fun.
xo,
s