I am decorating my first home and want a style that's unique to me. I'm a creative, artistic type. I am also a young professional on a modest budget, so I'll need to do the work myself re-using materials instead of buying new. I'd like to start with my bedroom, specifically the headboard, and move on to the rest of the decor.
"You don't need a fancy high-priced headboard to make your bedroom look good," assures Mandy Pennington Couch of Donaldson, an interior decorator and artist who sells her creations at Unhinged Home Decor and Furnishings located within A Pocket Full of Posies Florist in Malvern.
"You can make headboards out of items that once had an altogether different purpose. A headboard made from salvaged reclaimed items can add tons of charm and a unique style to a bedroom," Couch says.
"Screens, signs, shutters and ladders are just a few of the many items that can be transformed into headboards by simply mounting them on the wall," she says.
Those who have an old chipped-up wooden ladder lingering unused in the back of their storage shed or garage can easily transform it into a ready-made headboard by mounting it horizontally on the wall above the bed.
"Not only will it add lots of character and visual appeal to your bedroom, it can also be a practical and functional piece as well," Couch says, explaining that if the ladder's wood slats are wide enough, they can do double-duty by serving as a storage place for books and other decorative items.
"A creative and unique wooden headboard, when used right, can blend in with pretty much any theme you have going -- from beach style to romantic, rustic to cozy cottage, to even midcentury modern.
"The beauty of reclaimed wood is that it adds texture and a touch of natural charm to any space and the possibilities are limitless," Couch says.
Look at antique and other items in a new way. Consider creating a one-of-a-kind headboard for a bed out of one of these:
• Picket fence panels
• Window shutters
• Reclaimed wood or rough two by fours
• Items from a beloved sport such as boat oars
• Window frame used to display art or photos in the panes or try replacing the glass with mirrors
• Experiment by using old doors or mantels as a headboard
• Curtain rod with a curtain with inspirational message
• Decorative decals
• Painting a large piece of wood with chalkboard paint can create a whimsical way to begin and end each day
• Creating a large cork board (try cork flooring, which is often less expensive than cork tiles)
• Painted and staggered folding shuttered closet doors
• Corrugated metal
Other re-purposing ideas for bedroom furniture include transforming that white French Provincial dresser -- once all the rage in little girls' bedrooms -- into a love seat bench with storage (via drawer space) below by removing the dresser's mirror, top, and upper drawers and adding in a seating platform, cushion, and trio of matching throw pillows. See examples of dresser to bench transformations here: bit.ly/1TWCCCl.
Do you have a decorating or remodeling question? We'll get you an answer from an authority. Send your question to Linda S. Haymes, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, Ark., 72203 or email:
lhaymes@arkansasonline.com
HomeStyle on 06/11/2016