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9.27.2010

a chalkboard headboard. (say that three times fast).


i was in the process of moving into my current apartment when i made the decision to take the three-month hiatus to utah.

it was important to me to lay out the bare bones of my bedroom, but i didn't want to put any time into really stamping the room as "my own" for fear that it would make leaving even harder.

if there was one thing my time in utah taught me, it is that i place a high premium on personal space. in my last weeks there i began dreaming of my apartment, my room, my little corner in the sky. so i scoured design-sponge for ideas.

i wanted to create a headboard of sorts because to me a good headboard signals adulthood. and since i'll be twenty-five in exactly one week, adulthood seems of the utmost import.

i wanted something cheap and easy. i thought of laying fabric over wood. or using coffee-filter pom-poms against the wall as a kind of cloth backdrop. or cutting out wallpaper in the shape of something glorious (anthro has some great prints).

instead i went with the old stand-by: chalkboard paint. it goes well with the dark-wood furniture of my bedroom and it was unbelievably easy and totally imperfect. i think it was the imperfection i found most attractive.

so here you have it...


makin' the bed

chalkboard headboard

all done up

the next step in the development of my "adult" bedroom will be finding proper pillows, the arrival of my reading chair, and figuring out a place for some coffee filter pom-poms (because i love them so). so slow and steady. slow and steady.

in the end my room may not look terribly grown up, but i have a hankering that it will reflect my personal aesthetic. and in the end that's all we can really hope for, right?

31 comments:

Unknown said...

brilliant idea!! they say it's very important to have a headboard. i don't know who they are but that's what i've always heard. it looks greatttt!

Emily said...

Love it! It reminds me of 500 Days of Summer! And we are so alike, my friend, for I highly value my personal space, the headboard being chief among the design of that space. Chalkboard paint is such a great idea!

aubry. said...

You are KILLING me! I've been proclaiming my security outside of adulthood until I get a headboard for YEARS!

Love the chalkboard.

Morgan said...

Such an amazing idea! LOVE IT!

AbbieBabble said...

Color me wowed. I love it! (And it's very, very grown up to have a headboard.)

Laura Marie said...

I love it! Oh, and I definitely have that teal pillow in my living room. (Our similarities strike again)

Missy said...

I LOVE your new headboard! I've been trying to think of something since I moved into my house 3 months ago. I hope you won't mind terribly if I totally copy you. :)

Nicole said...

Wow! It looks great!

Emily said...

BEST idea! really, meg.

hope new york is magnificent and more today.

aubry. said...

in fact, http://justlikemarypoppins.blogspot.com/2010/06/sleep-all-day.html

i've blogged about this before.

Alex said...

Love it!! I've been trying so hard to make my bedroom adult-like, and I have FAILED. I am going to give it another try, and I hope it looks very Anthropologie afterwads!

Chelsea said...

I love it. that's awesome.

I would like to post it as a link for my weekly surf if you dont mind!

xoxoxo

MissAlyssaDawn said...

looks good... i love the coffee filter pom poms... pretty sure those will be going into my living room sometime soon! its so fun to decorate! have fun/ good luck :)

Sharon Lei said...

I think that chalkboard headboard is brilliant. I love the shape you created. :)

xx Love & Aloha
***Swing by to enter my giveaway! :)

Melissa said...

Love this idea! And I love your blog. I wasn't on much all summer, so I just spent some time getting caught up again. I can relate to so much of what you wrote - the struggles and the strengths. So thank you for writing as frankly and as honestly as you do. It may not seem like much, but it means a lot to a lot of us.

Welcoe back to the city!

alisha said...

yes. headboards are vital.
love this, meg. you are genius.

i especially like imagining that you can write stuff on it for people to read while you are sleeping. like: "don't even THINK about waking me up." or "alarm clock? what alarm clock?." or you could list your breakfast order for anyone who might pass by.

or not. you know. just thinking.

Hermione said...

That's perfect. Love it.

Micaela said...

i'm LOVING it!! did you paint over a regular headboard? or cut this design out?


"i think it was the imperfection i found most attractive."

i believe in that about a lot of things... fashion and people.

i can't wait to see the rest of how your "adult" bedroom turns out.

xo

jackiek said...

love the headboard! now you can write something like "sweet dreams" over your head!!

whitney said...

You did it! It looks great! Hope all is well in NYC!

Karina F. said...

THIS IS SO COOL! I want one!

Sonja said...

Love it ! WHo cares if it's not terribly grown up hehe...it's perfect!

Sara Louise said...

Fantabulous idea! I may need to steal it :-)

kerrie elaine said...

miss meg, if you were my real-life friend, i would laugh and laugh and smile at how in awe i was of you to be able to do this, then i'd run to the little corner market and buy some champagne to celebrate you. all of precious you. xooxoxo

Jo said...

Chalkboard paint is the BEST! I used it in my kitchen.
Your chalkboard headboard is perfect!! You can jot down dreams if you wake in the middle of the night and want to remember them in the morning!! ;)

Emily said...

Outstanding, I painted my fridge with chalkboard paint. Makes something so simple so much more fun! Great job!

Bridget said...

love it.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing this link, but unfortunately it seems to be offline... Does anybody have a mirror or another source? Please answer to my post if you do!

I would appreciate if a staff member here at bisforbrown.blogspot.com could post it.

Thanks,
Charlie

Toni Tralala said...

That's rather brilliant! I saw this one show where they made their own headboard out of foam and plywood. It turned out so well because they put white cloth over it with white buttons so it looked like one of those Victorian style headboards.

This is a novel idea! I will ponder over this one. :)

Jennifer M. said...

Love it! That's a great idea. I still need to get myself a headboard (and a bedframe, too, come to think of it). I'm still working to acquire all of those "adult" items; it seems all the more difficult when you're unmarried and have never had a bridal shower to help you set up your home. Sigh...

Anonymous said...

Great post, I am almost 100% in agreement with you