Friday, July 15, 2011

To Make or Not to Make? That is the Question....

Home Made Sofa
I could really use your input and ideas.

What do you think of this sofa?
Right now I have Victorian furniture. It consists of a settee and a ladies and gentleman's chair. It is the classic design most are familiar with but for my new place, which is very small mind you... I would not mind a new look.
I love light and bright and uncluttered . Life can get too complicated . The room in the photo is placid. Needs some punch of color maybe, but over all I like it very much.
I was thinking, since my budget is non-existent, that I could build this sofa using a twin mattress as the "seat" and building a platform bottom with sides.(The photo sofa is home made also)
I could cover the mattress in a neutral fabric like the one here , then buy sturdy bed pillows, encase them in fabric and sew them up inside. Child sized pillows or even pillow forms can add for extra depth and design. I would just pile them on.
What do you think?
The apartment was a 2 car garage. The floor was raised to house height, a brazilian cherry wide board floor was placed in.
The bedroom is a tiny 10 X 10.5.. but all my furniture fits nicely. I made templates to check.
It is painted a creamy yellow toned white, Behr's Candlelight Ivory.
The 'L'shaped living room/office is done in Behr's Chilly Morning.

The living room is as small as  the bedroom but connects in the L to what will be my office.
Since the entire place is just 400 square feet, I want to keep everything light, airy and neutral so I don't feel closed in. 
 My Victorian sofa is only 56 inches long and that's good for a small room.
The sofa I would make will be 75 inches long..standard twin bed size.
I am wondering if that might be too big, or if it would look okay since It would provide better seating, and an extra bed for anyone needing it and a more modern sleek look.
After all the room in the photo isn't huge either from the looks of things.


What do you think?



I have picked out a nice lamp to replace the Dale Tiffany's I have now.
This one from Ballard Design is my idea of beachy, light and uncomplicated and I like it in the pale blue.
It is seeded glass, which creates a nice effect in  the light.
Now its on sale at  $119 but as I also have two ceiling fans to buy..
I am considering recreating the lamp as well. So I am looking around for a large glass lamp base and will add a drum shade to it if I can. I saw a base at Walmart for 15.00 but it was a dented coppery affair. Round, but, if I can I would rather stick to the glass for such a tiny space.   But Wal mart also had a drum shade for that lamp.

We will see.


The ceiling fan I selected is from  Gulf Coast and is called the Bombay.
It will go in my little bedroom. It is 42 inches so not too large and I found this on sale also for around 219. Which is pretty good as they are very expensive otherwise. Most of these real palm fans run over 400 and are too wide.

So, I have a job coming up,  and, as I said, I would tell you about it.
I am going to be  ghost writing  a novel.
The money is going to help me buy some new things but, I want to be sensible too and not spend a fortune if I can reproduce things myself like a sofa and the light.
The economy is tight now and so not a lot of jobs for what I do,  but, when they do come they often pay well.

I have always wanted a fan like this and it would be a treat to myself if I am able to buy it.
I think it will be a possibility. Right now , all of this is plans and hoping for....
I am going to probably also purchase a small 30 or 28 inch fan for the entry to the apt where there is a ceiling light fixture set up. That one is from Home Depot at around 45 dollars. So that is not too bad.
I will have their bathrooms and use the family kitchen as I will be doing the family cooking. ( I hate to cook but am a good cook nonetheless. Go figure)
I  will have a small efficiency kitchen of my own. No stove, just  a place for my crock pot and electric skillet and coffee/tea etc.  and I plan to make a  drop light from a glass or pretty jar for over the counter there. They are pretty trendy right now.

I am bringing my kitchen rolling island cart  with a stainless steel top. It has drawers, doors , a pull out slicing board and that will be the basis of my little "kitchen". Over that I will place a counter top that extends past the sides to house not only the cart but a small dorm refrigerator. I will  cover the top   in something. Not sure what  yet, or maybe just purchase a counter top in butcher block from Ikea, they are more than reasonably priced.. really cheap actually and would look nice I think.
We  are discussing whether to install cabinets for my dishes and glasses above that  or if I should make some nice open shelves in white to display things. I like that open look very much.


So tell me.. what do YOU think? Any ideas?






10 comments:

  1. Hi Annie, I am out blogging tonight. I love the ocean sound.
    I am behind again so I guess you are moving to a smaller place. We had Victorian too and then switched to a light leather with recliners. We got a large sofa and a small matching one. I think we should have gotten 2 small ones or just one big one. We don't really use the recliner. I wish we would have gotten a sofa bed. Oh well. I like your ideas. I guess you are still by the sea and the palm fan will look nice.

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  2. Annie, I LOVE your ideas for your cozy new home! You are quite handy - are you going to make the sofa by yourself??? I do hope you take pictures as you do these things, & share it with us. It all sounds so lovely, & so exciing. If I were you, I would go with a fresh start - make it your haven, & a place that just welcomes you with open arms. I am just reading about it, & it sounds so inviting & warm. LOVE your fan too! Exciting days ahead for you!

    That is wonderful news about the novel! I am so happy for you Annie. Have you done this before?

    Hope you have a lovely weekend. I'm very excited for you & all the things coming up for you. Hugs!

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  3. Hi Annie;

    Like you I like the uncluttered look especially in a small apartment. I love your idea of you creating a sofa/bed seating. With your talent I'm sure it will look wonderful. I think a brighter color would be nicer than a stark white look. I love that lamp and the Bombay fan is one I would pick out to go with the new look. I too like the open shelf look for the little kitchen area as closed cabinets would seem to look too big in a small kitchen area, but that is just my opinion. With your lovely china the open look will be a better display. I think your ideas are perfect and should reflect your style as you are the one who will be living there.

    I think it's great and exciting that you will be ghost writing a novel and when it's finished, being an avid reader I will be among the first to buy a copy.

    I'm looking forward to getting that url on Pullman palace train cars from you. Have a lovely day my friend. ;-}

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  4. Hi Annie,
    You little place sounds really cute and congrats on the ghost writer job. I like thay sofa and what you want to build sounds lovely. I love the fan and lamp you picked out.I love all your ideas! So you are the new cook! Well at least you are a good one. You know Annie some day I will be in your shoes hopeflly a lot of years away. But I know that when I retire I will not be able to live the way I do now with 2 jobs and I did not prepare enough for retirement to live the way I do now. It is all good though. Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Hugs, Dru

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  5. Hi Annie! Check Pottery Barn for pillow covers- they always ship for free and they have some great beachy-themed ones right now that are probably on sale. They are made so well with invisible zippers or else nice covered buttons. I also love their pillow forms- down blends but you can probably find them elsewhere. They would be great for your sofa idea with lots of pillows. Love the ceiling fan and the seed lamps are popular now. I've also seen glass lamp bases that you can fill with shells. Do you have Home Goods? They have inexpensive decor items! (((Hugz)))

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  6. Not sure why I'm assuming beach theme- guess because of the fan and lamp but found a pillow cover on sale at PB- it's a lumbar pillow:

    http://www.potterybarn.com/products/seaside-scientific-lumbar-pillow-covers/?pkey=cpillow-covers-value

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  7. That fan is gorgeous, love it love it, want one for myself now.
    The sofa looks great, the mattress should be comfortable to sit on, not sure if the pillows will be supportive enough though, people tend to sink back into them and have to keep readjusting them to get comfortable. You'll need to get stiff kind of pillows, not the soft downy ones.
    I'd be worried that white will be hard to keep white, I might go for a pale mushroom color instead.
    The floor will look amazing with all your ideas, and I'm sure the place is going to look gorgeous when you've finished doing it up.
    You're so brave and talented, you give us all a lot of courage to do things. Thanks Annie!

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  8. I also like the style of that couch and its versatility. I am wondering if it is very low, however? I would find that hard to get on and off of as I'm tall and my knees aren't what they used t be ;) I've seen futon couches that are similar and a little higher with the same extra bed practicality.

    I also say to try HomeGoods for lamps as they usually have a good selection. I also think open shelves for the kitchenette would be nicer and keep the roan more open.

    Congrats of the ghost writing job! That is very exciting!

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  9. I like your ideas. I think with your artistic ability you will come up with a wonderful place. Love that fan.

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  10. I like the idea of that couch, this way if you have a friend stay over, they have some where to sleep too without imposing on your family. And I like that you have a little kitchen area of your own. Sometimes you just want to hang around in jammies and have some tea or soup in private. I would keep things light in there too since it may not have many windows. You can always add color with accessories, thats what Im doing here. Light for summer, darker for winter. Since I moved here Im thinking beachy and its funny cuz I didnt think that way before I got here. Must be something in the air. :) I want to redo mine much lighter these days.

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