Thursday, April 7, 2011

Creating a Quiet Reading Nook in Master Bedroom on my $0 Budget

I have always struggled to get my Master bedroom to be the room I dream about. I like everything but I don't love how it works together. I can't really explain it.

We are lucky our bedroom is quite large but it has a really awkward bay area that you see when you walk up the stairs. Until now it has housed laundry baskets, our dog's beaten up bed and many other things that just have no home.
(sorry for the dot in my photos. There is something in my camera causing this and I can't find it!)
Now that we have our beautifully framed flat screen mounted, I knew I wanted to make this area into a reading nook/TV watching area. Since I am working on a $0 budget, I had to repurpose what I have in storage in the basement (aka the dumping ground for all homeless items kicking around my house).

I had a small leather arm chair that has been kicking around my house for a couple of years without a perfect spot. So I brought it up and it seemed to be the right size. I knew I wanted a place to put my feet up so I went hunting. I found two old stools (both bought for next to nothing at a thrift store) that I use to have in our bathroom for when we would spend countless hours a week watching the kids play in the tub. Well, now that the kids are bigger and I don't have to watch them as closely, I had put them in the basement.
The one stool was not the color I wanted, so I got out my handy black satin spray paint and gave it a nice coat of paint. I have to say this was my first spray painting gone wrong experience! Me being the patient person I am and not wanting this to be done the second I got the idea, I did not prime this piece first. So the spray paint just seemed to roll off the 'wood.' I grabbed some paper towels and quickly wiped off the dripping paint and stood back to figure out what to do. I decided to put on a few thin layers of spray primer and they seemed to stick well. After it dried (well not really) I tried the black paint again and this time it worked! Says a lot for priming. One step I won't skip again. My wonderful husband covered the seat with faux black leather that I had on hand.

The other stool, with the large cushion, looked like a tray style side table when the cushion was removed. So I tucked it in the corner with a basket underneath (to hide my never used exercise videos :) ).
I did the Pottery Barn knock off that is going around the blog world by ripping the covers off a few old books, darkened the sides with tea bags and securing them with twine. I added an extra special touch..my daughter made me a paper flower years ago so I thought this is a perfect spot to showcase it. I would love one of those little silver clocks with the feet to put beside the books but that will have to wait. 
 I can't say I am 100% happy with it but I do love being able to sit and read quietly.
 On a side note...does anyone have a suggestion on what I can do for curtains? Should I do one rod across the entire wall and put panels between the windows and on either side of the bay (so 4 panels). I am struggling with this...hence no curtains almost two years after moving in.

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