sewing – Cedar River Knits

Pillow covers ~ 4 more!

April 27, 2012

Just a quick post of 4 more pillow covers. I particularly like these ones. In fact, seeing them here makes me want to keep them for myself!

Yup, I sure made some alright. I went on a sewing binge recently. That tends to be how I roll. I don’t make any for weeks and weeks and then churn out 20. I figure it’s easier to cut and cut and cut, and then sew and sew and sew.

These are currently available in my Etsy shop. My favourites have yet to be listed, I’ll show them next. Reds and aquas will play a feature role!

Laundry Room Makeover

May 19, 2011

Part A: Cindy’s Inspirational Laundry Room Redo

A couple weeks ago I was surfing around for photos of board and batten and came across this laundry room transformation:

Cindy's laundry room makeover — Wowsers!

I just love how bloggers can inadvertently change a room in your house just because they shared what they did in theirs!

Part B: My Own Laundry Room Makeover

The Before

My own sad little laundry room had a very similar layout and I had an ah-ha moment. I too could put board and batten on my boring wall opposite the washer and dryer. Next thing you know I found myself at Home Depot buying mdf, and at various other places to collect up everything I needed to transform my messy neglected laundry cave:

100_0151 — Not a very inspiring room to keep clean (or finish painting for that matter!)

Right off the bat I was interested in seeing what the little room would look like if I took the doors off the cupboard. As you can see below, it was really nothing more than a big junk collector. I cut out some paper trim and taped them up into the corners to see what that would look like. If I did this, I’d want it to look finished and I figured some trim would help.

100_0003 — Paper "trim" taped up to see what it would look like

The After

Less than two weeks later, I now have a laundry room that is a pleasure to walk into! I don’t even mind my old washer and dryer.

laundry room after 1 — The paint colour is "Delicate Moss" by Debbie Bliss

laundry room three — I removed the door which helped make the little room feel more spacious

laundry room six — Taking the doors off definitely added to a feeling of openness and space

laundry room five — Handy hooks from Walmart for hangers of clothes I need to air dry

laundry room four — Cafe style curtains replaced the mini-blind to bring in more light and yet give privacy from the neighbour's driveway (and unsightly green fence!)

laundry room thirteen — A sweet vintage cut out from a children's book from Abundant Curiosities at Etsy.com (click image to be taken to her shop)

laundry room eight — I used plain old white semi-gloss paint right off the shelf

laundry room ten — A little applique design of mine to add some cheer

laundry room eleven — My daughter found this vintage recipe box in a thrift shop last summer and I couldn't help but display it here

Maybe it’s obvious to some, but the beadboard is actually paintable beadboard wallpaper. I chose to use the Wall Doctor brand by Graham and Brown, made in England, and found it at my local Canadian Tire. I compared it to the Martha Stewart one sold at Home Depot (which is NOT prepasted – NO thank you!) and found the Wall Doctor one to be of a superior quality. It was super easy to work with and well worth the money.

In case you’re wondering where the heck the laundry detergent is etc., I keep a jug of detergent on the floor, and bleach and fabric softener up in the closet in the next room (the back entry). I don’t use those much, so they don’t need to be super handy.