“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.
And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.”
It's been a cold, windy, gray, pestilent, (insert synonyms for pestilent) winter here in New York. As part of my ongoing push to create an atmosphere of "rustic beachyness that doesn't involve framed prints of seashells" in my bedroom, I wanted to do something to brighten up my bed.
| BEFORE: This was my Oatmeal Upholstered Draper Bed from World Market, not very tropical. I thought about doing a simple update with some colorful bedding but then I was out treasure hunting at Buffalo Exchange one afternoon and stumbled across this stunner: 
This feeling of YES hit me and somehow brought to mind the week I spent in Negril, Jamaica in 2010. It was for my brother and now sister-in-law's wedding: so many of my favorite people were there, for a very exciting event, and we were in paradise. It was one of the happiest times of my life.
I wanted to take that feeling and wrap it around the bed somehow, because that was the feeling I want the room to have - happy, sunshiny, Caribbean vibes. This geometric upholstered bed at CB2 helped me think going with a bold allover pattern might actually look pretty cool. I was hoping I could reupholster the bed in a similar fabric but I couldn't find one that I liked so - I decided to try and paint the pattern onto the frame.
I checked out some posts on painting fabric headboards like this one and it seemed doable so the next step was getting supplies. Luckily Blick had just opened near my office on 6th Avenue and yes, was having a SALE so I stocked up on acrylic paints.
You can always count on Astoria's crazy variety stores to have any number of useful cheap items. I found packs of foam applicators for $1. They turned out to be good for laying down the base colors but would gradually fall apart so I destroyed a bunch of those.
I would section pieces off using painter's tape (if you've ever seen me attempt to use a ruler you would know I need all the help I can get to make straight lines!) and pieced out the design as I went.
It was slow going waiting for a section to dry before I could tape off some more and do the next piece but then I started using my hair dryer to speed things along. I worked my way up from the skirt's hem onto the footboard of the bed to the skirt's top onto the headboard. I eventually just used large paintbrushes for the background and angled paintbrushes for the fine details. I freehanded most of it which leads me to:
What Did I Learn: Freehanding is tricky. It's a better idea to draw out the design first instead of looking at the space on the bed and then looking at the skirt with the dripping paintbrush in hand before making my move.
I am lazy and did not wish to individually paint each and every repeating design so I made my inaugural foray into stencil making using some thin cardboard for the bat-like shapes along the footboard.
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I just couldn't wrap my head around the spacing for this design so I ended up making another stencil.
I wouldn't let myself move onto any new projects without finishing this one so my rainy afternoons of painting to the sounds of Fleet Foxes, Led Zeppelin and this finally came to an end.
All these colors totally clashed with my white/teal/gray shabby chic bedding so the last touch was a new white duvet cover (OFELIA VASS from Ikea) because whenever I wear the skirt I pair it with a white t-shirt.
The snow and sleet continue to batter against the windows but now, when I wake up everyday, it is within an aura of invincible summer.
All these colors totally clashed with my white/teal/gray shabby chic bedding so the last touch was a new white duvet cover (OFELIA VASS from Ikea) because whenever I wear the skirt I pair it with a white t-shirt.
The snow and sleet continue to batter against the windows but now, when I wake up everyday, it is within an aura of invincible summer.
AFTER: Dancehall Queen Bed
