Hi Friends! If you’ve been following along on Instagram you know that I’ve been working on refreshing Cayden (our 12 year old’s) bedroom. Last year when we moved in, he and Kyle shared this room, and since Kyle moved into his own room, Cayden’s room has been a little hodge-podgy. Since he will be hitting the big 1-3 soon, I figured it was time to put together a more polished and mature bedroom for him including some fun DIY Bedroom décor made from Better Homes & Gardens products.
This month, Better Homes & Gardens challenged me to create three DIYs using Better Homes & Gardens products, and truth is, this challenge was just the motivation I needed for Cayden’s bedroom update, and I was able to make some GREAT progress in this room over the past week. Check out what we started with:
I hadn’t actually planned on sharing that photo, but I’m just so excited about how far this room has come in a week.
What I’ve done so far:
- Added a simple board and batten wainscoting
- Updated the paint to a warm neutral tone
- Added a few new accessories
But I still have a few more finishing touches to add so I’ll be sharing a few snippets of my progress, along with some fun and fairly easy DIYs that you can tackle in just a couple hours or less, and the best part is that each project costs less than $30 each!
Today I’m sharing how to make a DIY Window Cornice, a DIY Pennant Flag, and a cute way to stack acacia wood pieces to create the chicest Multi-Use Pedestal bowls!
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DIY Window Cornice, Total Cost: $26 (plus tax for two)
The first project I tackled was a DIY Window Cornice. A window cornice is such a great solution for windows when you don’t want to use curtain panels, but also don’t want your windows to be naked!
Although Cayden’s windows did have shades, they were looking pretty boring. I love using long curtain panels, but I’m not a fan of them in kids’ rooms when there’s a radiator under the window or a bed next to the window as there is in our case.
To add some interest and give the windows a more tailored look (and to hide the plain shades when they’re open), I decided on some DIY Cornices using one of the great new pre-cut fabrics available from Better Home & Gardens. The fabric selection is so good y’all, and you get 2 yards of pre-cut fabric for about $11! I can’t tell you how convenient it was to run in and just grab what I needed! I may have grabbed several different patterns, because I just couldn’t make up my mind!
Here are some of the fabrics I was debating between:
But I eventually landed on the Blue Windowpane fabric. I just have a thing for windowpane fabric!
Upholstered cornices are usually seen with batting underneath so they have soft edges and appear a little cushion-y. However, I just used fabric directly over the boards. If your wood is not smooth, it may be necessary to use some kind of padding so that the wood doesn’t splinter through (this could be a great opportunity to use an old blanket).
What I Used:
- Better Homes & Gardens Fabric of your choice
- Plywood-2’x4′, 1 per cornice. To keep costs down, I used 2’x4′ OSB boards, you can use pre-cut pine boards as well, I chose Plywood so that I could get the height I needed.
- Wood Glue
- Nail Gun and brad nails (Or screwdriver and screws)
- Heavy Duty Stapler
- Staples
- Tape Measurer
- Scissors
- Hammer
- Saw
- D-Rings (optional for hanging)
What to do:
- Measure and decide on the height and width of your cornice. I decided that I wanted my cornice to go as high to the ceiling as possible to make the room appear taller, but long enough to cover the shades when the shades were pushed up completely. This gave me a measurement of 14 1/2″ for the height and the width of the window (including casing)- plus a 1/4 of an inch to accommodate the fabric for width. For the side pieces I used the same height measurement and 2″ inches for the depth.
- Cut your plywood to size. I used my table saw to rip the plywood down to size: each board was cut into 3 pieces, 2 side pieces and 1 front piece.
- Attach your boards to assemble your cornice. I used ran a bead of wood glue along the edge of my side pieces and then attached them to the main board. Next, I secured the sides with my nail gun and 1-3/4″ brad nails, but you could also use small screws. Allow the wood glue to dry.
- Cut your fabric to size. Drape your fabric over your cornice, and measure how much fabric you will need. Be sure to leave at least an inch and a half extra on all sides so that you can tuck it behind the boards and staple.
- Upholster. To upholster your cornice, you are essentially going to wrap it like you would a present. Lay the fabric over the cornice and secure it with your staple gun and staples, ensuring the pattern is even and the fabric is pulled taught. Continue stapling the fabric all around the cornice, and folding the corners under so that it’s neat. Because the backside of my cornice wouldn’t be visible from the exterior of our home, I didn’t worry about the wood showing.
- Hang. Usually to hang a cornice, one might attach d-rings to the cornice, however I just secure mine to the window trim using my nail gun along the sides of the cornice.
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DIY Pennant Flag, total cost: $10, not including cost of fabric
If you know me well you know I love a good pennant flag, especially in kids’ rooms. Since I had some fabric leftover I decided to make use of it. At first I wanted to make a pillow, but I ended up buying a few cute ones online (see below). Instead I opted to make a cute pennant flag with the left over fabric.
What I Used:
- Fabric rectangle (cut to your size preference)
- Peel and stick fabric fuse “tape”
- Scissors
- Dowel
- String, I used faux suede cords
- Iron
- Iron-on letters
What to do:
- Cut your fabric to size
- Fold sides up (using an iron to create a stiff crease works great).
- Place hem tape in the creases, remove paper backing and press edges down.
- Bring bottom corners together to create a point at the bottom, and iron to create a crease.
- Use hem tape to secure corners in place
- Place a piece of hem tape about an inch below the top edge. Remove paper backing.
- Place your dowel at the top of the flag.
- Roll the dowel down while keeping the fabric secured until you reach the hem tape.
- Cut your string/cord and tie to the ends.
- Next, follow iron-on letter instructions. Cayden and I went back and forth trying to decide what we wanted the flag to say. We landed on our last name and the year he was born, and I think it’s just so cute! I am absolutely smitten with how this came out!
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DIY Pedestal Bowls, total cost $28 for large, and $14 for small
I hope the pic above doesn’t throw you off, seeing this is a teen bedroom post and all–but for my final DIY I did something that I had been thinking about for a while now. Every time I’d see these beautiful Acacia wood pieces in Walmart I thought of how fun they would be if they were combined to make something new!
I stacked an acacia wood, large serving bowl on top of an upside down small serving bowl to create a super cute pedestal bowl.
I shared a pic of it being used as a planter in Cayden’s room, however it could be used for shelf styling or a way to elevate (pun intended) your salad or fruit!
I think the base would look great if it was painted a contrasting color too—think navy blue or black!
I used wood glue and a small screw to hold them together, but if you wanted to use it for serving food, you could easily just glue them together, and forgo the screw!
Here’s a quick little video of the process:
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I love it styled with fruit, and this fantastic fabric as a runner on my kitchen island (insert heart eyes).
Then while I was in the store I thought about creating a smaller version as well, using the acacia wood salt chamber and a small acacia serving bowl. I think this creates a really cute and stylish catch all for his nightstand!
The best part is that the lid on the salt chamber is still operable, which creates the perfect little secret hiding spot for change or whatever he desires.
These look so cute styled next to each other! You can even paint them if you like!
Alright friends! That’s it for DIYs today! Which one is your favorite?
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Other than the DIYs . . .
I made a couple of new additions to his space. First, was this super comfortable papasan chair. It’s a great size and quality. It has a metal frame, so it’s nice and sturdy, and the cushion comes in a few different colors. This chair has really helped to fill out this corner and it’s perfect for lounging, reading a book, watching tv or gaming.
Cayden has always been one who loves soft textures, so the velvety cushion on the chair was like a bonus, he absolutely loves it! Speaking of textures, can we talk about this ridiculously cozy teddy pillow?
I’ll have to order another because Kyle keeps coming in to “borrow” it. I love its gold exposed zipper with the little contrasting leather pull is such a high end detail and it’s down alternative filled which is a huge plus!
The leather and linen pillow is beautiful as well, and also has fun decorative details on the zipper which makes these two pillows the perfect combo! I love how it adds a bit of maturity to the room.
I also came across these new matted frames available from Better Home & Gardens. They are so beautiful and are such good quality–they’re perfect for a gallery wall and look extremely high-end!
They come in black metal, wood (seen on ledge shelf w/out mat), or gold metal. On the wall to the right of the chair, I plan to add in some anime art which I plan to have commissioned from one of my talented nieces. But for now I placed the frames on the wall just to get a feel for what it will look like.
What’s left to do in this room:
- Paint closet Doors
- Organize and style his desk/shelf area
- Find a new rug
- Find a small dresser for clothes and to hold his tv
- Update bedding
- Find Anime art for frames
- Install pegs on board and batten for hanging
Check back as I plan to share a final reveal next week!
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So many great tutorials! What a great teen space without breaking the bank 🙂
Great ideas! Your mind must always be inventing. Love it!