The William Morris Project, Week 1

Jules of Pancakes & French Fries is doing a William Morris Project every Thursday during 2012. She did this last October and I got really excited after reading through all her posts to start purging and 'projecting' based on the same standard: "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." Naturally when she announced a weekly challenge in 2012, and invited others to join her, I started planning. There are so many things to do, it can seem overwhelming sometimes, so I just started somewhere. Anywhere. It ended up being my bedroom.

{Before images are supposed to be messy right?}

The first thing I did was paint. I do not believe dirty beige paint covered with other peoples fingerprints to be beautiful, nor do I know it to be useful. I also believe that having a bedroom that is restful and a place of retreat is very handy. {Especially when it's looks good!} So, armed with paint chips and a Lowe's gift card, I went paint shopping. The color ended up being an off the shelf Valspar color called Blue Sea Salt, not what I was planning, but it turned out great. It almost looks like nothing happened at all, but the whole room feels calm and clean, and the color is neutral without being totally sterile.

{Those teeth are actually earrings I got for Christmas, purchased at Reading Frenzy. Just in case you were wondering if I normally keep molars on my dresser.}

I used a brush, and ended up only going through about a third of a gallon when the whole room was done. Granted, it's not a huge room, but still...

Next up, dealing with the dresser top, which ends up a cesspool of household castoffs, and the tangled mess of wires hanging down from my cracked TV. Oh, and something in the windows {which are difficult right? Small, high on the wall, floor length curtains would look funny, plus they might just get in the way...still pondering ideas}.

 Researching re-upholstery techniques, Alice

Week 1	Week 2	Week 3
Week 4	Week 5	Week 6
Week 7

Comments

[May]

Love the vintage feel of the room...seems so peaceful.

[Alice]

Monica, Thanks for stopping by~I am so looking forward to all these projects!

[Alice]

Pamelotta,
Picking paint can be tricky, but I love to do it. If you ever want help narrowing down your choices, let me know! It's one of my favorite things!

I felt like if I didn't do my bedroom first, it would just never get done.;)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

[Pamelotta]

I so much wanted to start with my bedroom, but I just feel like I'll get bogged down and the whole house will suffer for it. I'm hoping to gain some momentum and then tackle it later in the year. Good job with the paint. I'm impressed that you decided to do, picked out a color and went for it. All in a short span of time. I'm still stuck with paint chips everywhere trying to decide on a color!

[Monica]

Hi Alice! Thanks for stopping my blog. Like Jules said "you brought out the big guns" with the painting action. You were worried you didn't do enough and I sewed a couple of ribbons. Kudos to you. No matter how many times I paint it never ceases to amaze me what an impact it makes on a room. Great idea to start with your bedroom. That is always the room I think about last.

[Lisa]

You painted for the first project out of the gate--I am inspired! It looks lovely, and I love the picture frame on the dresser.

[Alice]

Kelly, you and Jenn and Jules are all so organized with your lists! Mine is all a jumble in my head. I will work on posting a more linear one online before next week! Thanks for visiting!

[Alice]

Jenn, Thanks so much! I love the hooks you put up in your post, where did they come from?

[Kelly]

I love blue tones, and all the turquoise accents on your dresser are so pretty. Came over from Jules blog; looking forward to being part of the WM project with you!

[Jenn]

The paint looks great! I too can't believe you painted for your first project, well done, very well done. The room seems really serene and lovely.