Nursery: Before and After

We had great fun working on this project and sharing the steps with you.  If you missed the live webinars you can view the recordings on our website.  Here is the finished room!

Just a reminder of the room before.  See our previous blog posts for more about the process of turning this room into a nursery.  This is the view across the room as you enter, of the window and closet door.

Rendering of the proposed window treatment by Merlyn Corcoran, Minutes Matter Studio

Color blocked grommet draperies. 

Aria metal rod from Finestra Decorative Hardware: Swirl finial

The glider and ottoman were recovered.  A chalkboard was created using chalkboard paint and a frame covered in stripe fabric.

A shelving unit perfect for books and toys from IKEA.

Child size upholstered cube is cute and functional!  A soft and stable spot for little ones to pull up on when learning to walk and a comfy seat for a young child to read or for putting on shoes.  When the baby is no longer a baby, it's a cute footstool.

The changing table pad was recovered and wall art was created by laminating fabric to wooden letters.  FirmaFlex fiberboard was used for the board, making it very lightweight.

The crib is decked out with a patchwork duvet and tailored crib skirt. 

The crib skirt is adjustable with the use of snap tape. When the crib mattress is dropped down, a layer can be removed.

Happy parents Mike and Brittany Williams with their new son, Aiden. 

A big thank you to everyone who helped to make this room possible.

JoAnne Lenart-Weary, The Decorating and Staging Academy

Greenhouse Fabrics

Merlyn Corcoran, Minutes Matter Studio

Rodger Walker, Installation

 Brittany and Mike Williams 

and little Aiden Williams (the star of the show!)

 

Making Color-Blocked Draperies

The nursery makeover continues with a window treatment and decorator JoAnne Lenart-Weary has a great idea!  "Let's treat the window and closet door opening as one". 

The next task is choosing a window treatment style.  This is a boy's room so ruffles and frills are not part of the plan.  The parents also requested that the room be designed so that it would grow-up with their new son and not be too baby-looking for a toddler or first grader. JoAnne and Susan Woodcock, who will be fabricating the window treatment discussed the options.  The decision was made to use three solid color fabrics to create a functional drapery.  Several top treatment ideas were considered such as a cornice or a box pleated valance, but in the end the best option was to use decorative hardware to keep the corner from feeling too crowded.

A grommet drapery heading was chosen because the smaller stack-back will fit into the tight corner between the door and window.  The three fabrics were sewn together for each panel; green, red and blue in equal sections (when cutting add for hems, headings and seams).   In the photo below one of the color-blocked panels is being measured before adding the lining.

 

After the drapery panels are lined and hems and finished the #15 plastic, snap-together grommets from Rowley Company are set into the heading.

 

The draperies will be installed on Aria decorative hardware with a black finish.



You may have noticed that we are using a lot of black as an accent in this room.  Black might not seem like a "baby" color but the use of black in this room helps to balance out the 4 foot by 6 foot chalkboard dominating one wall.  The father-to-be, Mike Williams is a school teacher so he loved this idea!  The chalk board was painted on the wall with special chalk board paint and framed with wood upholstered in the stripe fabric used elsewhere in the room.

Stay tuned for more updates as the nursery continues to be decorated, and join us on April 17 and 19 for two live, webinar presentations showing decorating and fabrication details.  Click here to register: Bringing Home Baby

New! Decorative Grommets

Rowley Company is excited to introduce new decorative grommets.

 The design shown is called "Nomad", and will be available October 2011.

Decorative design on front and back

#12 size with inside diameter of 1 9/16"

Made of brass

Sold in packs of twelve sets

Three popular colors: Antique Brass, Antique Copper and Brushed Steel

Works with grommet press (GL) and cutter and setter (GL12C and GL12/SQ)

Antique Brass (#GRN12/A)

Antique Copper (GRN12/R)

Brushed Steel (GRN12/BS)

Use for grommet drapery headings or to add decorative flair to cornices, shades, pillows and more.

The pillow below was created by adding two rows of paisley tape over quilted velvet with grommets overlapping the tape. Small pieces of a companion fabric were added to a piece of lining which is placed behind the pillow front.  Welt cord finishes the edge.

Another Grommet Pillow to Share

We are excited to share another pillow using the plastic grommets from Rowley Company.  This design features an inset panel of material outlined with Micro Welt Cord and Antique Copper color Triangle Plastic Grommets.  A handsome and unique design.

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Everyone Loves this Pillow!

This pillow is one of the most popular new designs created around Rowley Company lately.

Everyone that see's it wants to take it home. Custom details like grommets, belt straps and the fun modern fabric make it clever and unique.

If you are looking for a summer project to share with your children or grandchildren, this pillow is easy to make and requires only basic sewing skills.

Of course, the basic idea could be enhanced with your own talents and skills to include metal grommets, welt cord, ruffles or fringe in the seams.  Imagine this on a rectangular pillow sham or a round accent pillow.  Using materials like leather, fur, velvet and metal grommets would create an entirely different and eclectic look.

Here are the step-by-step details:

Materials and Supplies:
1 18" x 18" pillow such as PJ18
6 Plastic Grommets GPT15 in the color of your choice
1/2 yard fabric for front and back
1/2 yard fabric for straps and to reveal in grommet holes

Cutting and Sewing:
Cut front and back pieces 18" x 18".
Cut 1 contrast piece 18" x 18" and 6 pieces 4" x 7"

Mark grommet holes 3" from top, bottom and side edges on the pillow front.

Cut three grommet holes along one side and then fold the material over to mark the holes for the opposite side.

Add plastic grommets.  These grommets are easy to press together by hand with no special tools required.  For a long-lasting join, add glue around the neck of the grommet before snapping together.

Place the pillow front over the contrast piece. 

Sew together long edges of the strap pieces and press with the seam centered along the back.

Put the straps through the grommets from the front to the back, with the seam down and pin in place.  Sew around the edges to secure the front piece, contrast piece and straps in place.

Place the back piece face down over the face, pin and sew around the edges.  Turn right sides out and press the edges with an iron.

Stuff the pillow insert into the pillow and hand sew closed.  A zipper could also be used.

And to keep this cute pillow company, another grommet pillow with a daisy design.

French Pleated-Grommet Panels

Do you like the look of traditional pleated panels but would like to update the style for a more modern interior?  This drapery style combines both tried-and-true French Pleats with sleek Grommets to create a traditional panel with a contemporary edge.

Here's how:

1. Make a drapery panel with a buckram heading.  Allow for 6 grommets and three 5 to 6 inch pleats for each width.

2. Determine grommet placement, cut holes and set the grommets, leaving space for the pleats to be sewn in-between.

3. Sew in the pleats from the top to the bottom of the buckram and tack to create any pleat style such as French (shown here), Goblet or Euro styles.  Install on decorative hardware just as you would for a flat grommet panel.

This style offers a very small stackback on the window, perfect for situations where there is not much room for traversing draperies.  One width stacks back to approximately 4" and when pulled out on the pole covers approximately 20".  Like with flat grommet panels, a baton should be used if the draperies will be traversed on the pole.  This will make traversing easier and prevent the fabric from being stretched or soiled.

This French Pleated-Grommet Panel features EZ-Set™ Matte Nickel Grommets #GE12/T and 4" Heavy Weight, Iron-On Buckram #BXA44 from Rowley Company.