Homefront: Vintage Linens in a Playful Boys Bedroom

One thing I love about vintage linens, is that they are fun to mix and match, for a warm and eclectic feeling. Many, many I have found have stains... and a lot of little cigarrette burn holes. Different time, I guess.

But, kids vintage linens are my favorite. I even found an old care Bears pillow case the other day. Now send me a My Little Pony one and I will be in sugar heaven.

When decorating for my boy's room, it is all about what I can find at a garage sale. I had it all red and blue, but tired of the boxed in feeling of two colors that called for themes such as cars or cowboys.

The great thing about boys, is they don't care what matches... they just like colors and fun. My oldest wanted to have his wooden cargo bed painted yellow, and his comfortor painted green. (I must have been doing a lot of painting around the time I asked him what colors he liked.)

Well, with some addition of vintage Sonic, Scooby Doo, Superman and Battlestar Gallactica linens, the boys pretty much love their furniture free (aka safe) bedroom.

 

And that's coming a lot from a kid whose nickname is "Sonic Boy", thinks all athletic shoes are called "Sonic Shoes" and dressed as Sonic(and Knuckles) for Halloween.

Homefront: Colorful Vintage Master Bedroom

This was our master bedroom. Yes, this is the 70's french provincial dresser we had before I was born. We had the works, dressing bench, canopy bed, nightstands, dressers, chest... it's a very popular set and I see it online, in 70's themed movies, blogs, antique malls....  this is the only piece that is left over the years.

My painted striped cake stand tutorial is here. I love how I can add depth and height with it. 

I love my mom's vintage "Merry Mushroom" cookie jar from Sears Roebuck . Too bad the lid cap broke.

I see this mushroom kitchen set all the time at antique malls, Ebay, Ruby Lane and Etsy.

Some fun vintage jewels... the heart and wheat brooch was my grandmother's

I love this mermaid mommy and son aceo by Wendy Gaffaney.

Our only printed family photo... 2 years ago. I dry brushed orange on the raised frame and matted the photo area with a fabric swatch. I used the same fabric on our tv stand windows,  pillows, lamp and other elements.

It wouldn't be our bedroom without a line up of some of our boys cars. They really love organizing them.

I used a vintage sheet to hide the storage drawers of my jewelry making and craft supplies. One day, the jewelry holders and shelving will be painted and organized better, but this is the best I could do for the time.

Many of these haven't even been added to my shop yet, but lots more goodies are at Jeweled Ambrosia.

Some of my favorite prints, from The Dreamy Girraffe and The Black Apple.

Our bedroom plate wall post can be seen here. Basically, I got tons of pretty plates from Goodwill.

Love this Misty book and my little brass owl family. I painted this letter holder a soft pink, and love it.

I painted this popular Ashley furniture headboard I got at a garage sale.

I love changing up vintage lines with our white down comforter. It's very cheerful and springy right now, 

but it can change anytime by simply switching out the linens and a few accessories around the room.

Inspired Room: Fantastical Pink Bedroom Design

Italian company Alta Moda Furniture, created this girly pink room for a Valentine's day design. While the furry touches, stuffed animals and the general aesthetic is over the top, it still draws me in. I would love to incorporate a few elements here into my own home.

From a canopy over the bed, to a dressing screen, that glorious white chair and armoire, the dramatic white tufted headboard, sequined lamp and the sweet, white deer theme, a girl could live like a queen in here. Images found via rifz10.

Homefront: Our Vintage Linen Interchangable Bedroom

 

A while back I talked about some vintage linens I have been collecting and promised a bedroom update with them. (I don't usually have this many pillows on the bed, it's just for the pictures. I think losing the blue one in the back would look so much better.)

So, while the room isn't done, I pulled out the pillowcases out to show you. I have a few sheets, but I mostly collect pillowcases since they bring the maximum change. By having neutral curtains, a white down comforter and a white bed skirt and headboard, I can change the pillow styles however I wish, swap out a few accessories to match and have a new bedroom feel in minutes.

Don't be afraid to mix and match patterns. Geometric, florals, polka dots, paisley, plaid, ethnic, lace prints... so long as you have a similar color scheme or mood you are trying to achieve, and  simple non pattern thrown in (like the plain comforter) pattern groupings don't matter. That is the appeal of a shabby chic room. I made a few grouping as example of how they can look together.

 The top pillow case is the same as a set I had as a little girl that is long gone. I was thrilled when I found this at the thrift shop, but sad because it has stains all over it. Maybe I will turn it into a garland or something.

Our room is usually in more modern blues as seen here at our old place when I painted the headboard, so this orange/yellow mash up is cheerful for now.

Because our bed is positioned in front of half a very large window, it created some challenges. I nailed up some old curtains to cover that wall for a little bit of balance. They weren't long enough, nor lined enough to make it seem like a seamless wall, but being unemployed means making do, so I just pinned a pillow sham on the bottom corner. It's not very noticeable once the table is put there anyways.

And by the way, isn't this vintage metal enameled daisy chandelier adorable? I found it at an antique mall for an incredible price ($11.50). I would rather not have in in the bedroom, but it was the best place for it, and the main reason our pillows are orange/yellow today. I've thought about painting it white, because it would make redecorating so much better, but am conflicted on keeping the vintage charm. What would you do?

I found a white one for sale here at Retro Daisy Girl so you can take a gander. If you are looking for a similar lamp to purchase, I see them fairly often at antique malls and online. Just search for "vintage daisy chandelier" or "vintage enamel chandelier". Here's some on Etsy and some on Ebay using those search terms.

*included in these link ups: Kimba's DIY Day linky, Room to Inspire, A Silly Little Sparrow, My Backyard Eden, not at Bewteen Naps on the Porch, or Keeping it Simple, but lots of other great projects are.

Vintage Toy Museum Bedroom

There is a blog called IMNC with lost of simple inspirations that I found recently. He has a lot of Asian indie film and technical video posts and such that are very interesting. Maybe I'm drawn to it in part because my dad lived in China for a few years and so I have always been fascinated by that culture. I appreciate her dedication posts to her mum as well, since I also lost my dad to cancer several years ago.

But I love his room. A vintage toy museum as he calls it, perfect. It's organized chaos it seems, yet the white walls and bedding and simple shelving makes it work. Visit the link to see larger picture of the collections.

Also, if you love this, you will enjoy visiting the Geek dress up party post too.

Inspired Room: Fergus and Me

Fergus and Me has an exceptional eye for design. She also has an etsy shop full of wonderful vintage treasures. Her pre-teen girl's room has recently been showcased on Oh Dee Doh here, where you can read about the design inspiration and see more photos of the room.

The vintage quilt and bed posts (Land of Nod) add so  much warmth to the modern decor, like the swinging chair from Terence Conran's Habitat and wallpaper which is Polar bear oilcloth by John Lewis (UK). The creme paint and turquoise walls (Benjamin Moore Jamaican Aqua) work gorgeously with the dark wood floors.

I have to say, the paper cranes may very well be my favorite piece to this room. And they were made by Caroline herself. Such a creative and spirited young lady.

I love this redwork embroidered pillow on the cozy cream couch.

Even though this is an 11 year old's room, it reminds me of Kelly Rae's colorful home and I believe, can be utilized for even us older people!