Handmade Bedroom Set

Update!!

When the show Fixer Upper first came out, we never really watched it. I'm not sure why, but we started binge watching it recently, and we've been inspired to do some updates to our house! Since we had this new beautiful bedroom set and quilt, we decided to start there. We updated the color to make everything pop! The white vases (filled with branches from the trees in our backyard), are from Chip and Jo's Magnolia collection from Target. We just had to incorporate something from Fixer Upper! The candle holder on top of the headboard was designed and created by Heather at Cork and Barrel Designs. It is made out of a wine barrel from Napa Valley. We also added the beautiful handmade sign from a local shop above our bed, which I just love! I love incorporating handmade things. I think that really makes a house a home.

This is the view looking from our bed toward the bathroom. We have some beautiful custom arches that we highlighted in white. We also made some cool updates to our bathroom that I will highlight in another post. I'm on the lookout for some big, white chunky candlesticks to go on either side of our wedding picture.

Below is my original post, and you can see our room before the paint. We decided to take a risk and go dark with a paint called pencil point, from Home Depot.  I think the dramatic paint job really makes the room feel calm and soothing. We are loving it!

Now that the holidays are over, I had to share some amazing handmade gifts that I got from my husband and my mom! To be honest, these were gifts from last year, but they are incredible! We finally decided to upgrade our mattress from a queen to a king, so it was time for a new bedspread and bedroom set!

This amazing quilt was made by my mother, Marilyn Gillis, from Fork in the Road Concepts. This is something that we will keep AND use forever! I can't tell you how special it is to me. Not only is this handmade gift a cherished keepsake, but it's practical too! This beautiful king sized quilt is both warm (without making us too hot) and it fits in the washing machine. Yes!

The quilt pattern is called Rippling Star from Calico Carriage Quilt Designs, and Debby Maddy is the designer. We got the quilt pattern and the fabric from a local quilt shop called High Prairie Quilts.  I came in armed with some paint samples of our bedroom colors, and they spent hours helping me pick just the right fabric combinations. If you have ever tried picking out fabric for a quilt, you know how overwhelming it can be! It was really hard for me to imagine how these fabric patterns that were completely different could "match" or come together looking like a beautiful quilt. But they did! Those ladies really know their stuff!

Once we had the new bed and the quilt, my husband and I searched for exactly what we wanted in a bedroom set for months! We needed light, something that would charge all of our technology without a lot of cord clutter, and a lot of storage space. Each bedroom set that we looked at had an aspect that we really liked, but none of them had everything we wanted. If we just settled for something, chances are we would end up buying something else in a few years trying to get exactly what we did want. Since we couldn't afford to do that, my husband finally agreed to build exactly what we were looking for. He didn't work from a plan (he created it as he went), but I'll share the special features with you in case you decide to try your own bedroom set. 

In the pictures above, you can see the lights that are built into the headboard. My side of the bed has a set of lights that can be turned on separately, and so does his. We each have a switch on the side of the headboard that controls our lights. I LOVE this! To incorporate these built-in lights, we used 4 LED countertop lights from IKEA (2 on each side of the bed). If you don't have an IKEA near you, Amazon has something that I think is similar.

This is an affiliate link, which means that I do receive a small commission if you use this link to buy, but at no cost to you.

This side view of the headboard shows you the light switch that controls the built-in lights and the cubbies in the side of the headboard. There are 2 hidden cubbies on each side of the headboard that are big enough to hold my laptop, books, phone, or an iPad. Behind the headboard there is a power strip with USB ports attached, and the power cords are strung from the power strip through holes in the back of the headboard. I pulled the cords out in the picture so you can see them, but cords are hidden inside the cubby as our technology is charged. 

These night stands are really impressive! Not only do they look like they were bought in a high-end store, but they have some amazing features. First, I love the space under the top of the night stand. I always had clutter all over the top of my nightstand, so I asked for that space underneath that could be a permanent place to keep things like my laptop.  I can store my phone and laptop in the headboard too, so I have lots of options. There is also a power strip with USB ports attached to the back of the night stand, so the cords stay pretty hidden. I just string them through that space under the top of the night stand, and I use cable clip organizers to keep the cords from falling on the ground when I unplug them. The drawer is really big, and it has soft close drawer slides so you can't accidentally slam it shut! We added some baskets under the drawer because sometimes I want to pull the whole basket out. I stay more organized when my storage is a little more flexible. We got the baskets from Amazon, but we took out the rope handle and added a handle that matched the drawer to give it a more cohesive look.

Now for the very coolest feature of these night stands . . . the hidden cubby holes! This is so amazing! They have drawer slides on the top with a very shallow cubby hole underneath. As you can see, I like to keep the remotes in my cubby hole. I always loose them! My husband (a former police officer) likes to keep a gun in his. I love these secret compartments! There is a lot of room for storage. 

I have also been working on adding a few special handmade touches to my amazing bedroom refresh! 

 

I made these coasters to go on our nightstands. The nightstands and headboard are covered with a thick coat of polyethylene, but we want to use coasters too to take good care of it! To make these coasters, I used tiles from Home Depot, and I printed the sayings on tissue paper. Just spray a light coat of Repositionable Adhesive Glue on some card stock and put the tissue paper on top. Run it through the printer, and you can peel the tissue paper off. Then Mod Podge the tissue paper onto the tile, add cork on the back of the coaster with adhesive spray (NOT repositionable this time), and you have a very beautiful and durable coaster!

I also made this pen holder using a modified version of the pattern Jute and Cotton Stacking Baskets by JaKiGu.

I hope you had a wonderful holidays season too. I would love to hear what your favorite handmade gifts were in the comments below!