Decorating by the Sea ~ Gizmo Tech Support

WOWZER!!!!!

Since I blogged on 12/26/2011 begging you guys to sign up and become my followers (having no shame), you have done me proud, I tell ya, proud!!!

I went from having somewhere in the 70's, to having a whopping 295!!!!!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

If you haven't become a follower (you know who you are, that's right, I'm staring right at you. Nooooo, not the person behind you..... YOU!); that's alright. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine.

Today I'm going to start sharing a showhouse room that I did on cape cod.

Traditional Home Magazine 1999

June, (my trusty sidekick, office manager,design assistant, moral supporter, and dear friend) worked with me on this room in 1998!!!
It was published in Traditional Home Magazine in 1999.
Lone agoooooo and farrrrr away.

We collaborated with my my drapery workroom, Drape It. It didn't hurt that Joe and Sally (the owners) are two more of my closest friends, so the whole project was really fun.

We started with this...............

And ended with this.............

and this.............

The walls and ceiling were crumbling plaster, so I had the brilliant idea to cover everything with blue and white ticking stripe. We upholstered the walls.....

But no.....

That wasn't enough for my tiny mind.

I wanted it to be special.....

I wanted it to be different.....

I WANTED TO KNOCK THE SOCKS OFF THE OTHER DESIGNERS!!!!!

Soooooooooooooooooo

I thought (OY, there I go again), wouldn't it be cooool, if we covered the ceiling too!!??

Joe (the good sport) said "alrighty".

There was only one leetle problem.

The walls curved up to meet the ceiling.

How the @#$ were we going to make the fabric conform to the curve.

Well..........

being brilliant!!!!!!!

I came up with a stupendously wonderful idea!!!

Since we were using ticking....and mattresses use ticking....and mattresses are buttoned....why not use a button detail to make the fabric cling to the curve.

I know right? Brilliant!!

You can see the buttoning really well in this picture.

Here's a close up.....

This is how we did it...........

(Joe figured it out.) (He is such a smarty) (Even thought he does make fun of me.)

We marked out the pattern by using big push pins..... Then he used his super duper drill, and drilled screws into the wall, replacing the push pins..... Then I used his button machine, and made a gazillion buttons. I only did the top part, (the curved part that is covered in fabric), not the shank that is used to sew them onto clothes. I covered them in the ticking fabric.

Then.....I went along behind Joe, and hot glued them over the screw heads.

We did this on the 4th of July. I remember it really clearly. Just Joe and me, fabricing the walls, and getting the buttons up. It was one of the most fun 4th's I've ever had.

I know other DYI'ers will understand that. There is no thrill, like the thrill of a project that is ACTUALLY working out.

Here's the view looking into the room from the hall...