Boyish Sophistication

You may remember my friend Rachel, as I featured her on my Super Model Mom series a few months back. You also may have seen her fabulous Scooby Doo party posted on P is for Party. Well, I am bringing Rachel back to share with us her sons new GORGEOUS bedroom. Seriously, it's to die for. It's the perfect mix of boyish sophistication. From top to bottom, Rachel didn't miss a beat...

The curtains were made by Calico Corners using a Ralph Lauren fabric

The drum light is from Destination Lighting;

The lamps are "Kub" from Lite Source (Amazon.com)

The blue quilt and sham are Ralph Lauren Palm Harbor collection (which I just saw is discontinued and at a great price on ralphlauren.com)

The orange blanket is Z Gallerie

 the initial pillow is Jonathan Adler "Design Your Own"

 The bed skirt is Pottery Barn

The headboards are FabricWorkroom.com

The tray tables are CB2

The rug is JC Penney

All of the animal artwork is handmade by Rachel. She was so kind to put together her "how to" make these adorable animal silhouette prints.

The art does not require any artistic ability; the most important things are a great pair of small craft scissors (splurge on the best one - you won't regret it), a good staple gun, spray adhesive and fabric glue. Once you've decided on your subject, do a Google Image search for a silhouette. Depending on how large you want your subject, you can print it onto standard paper (like I did for the elephants) or use a projector to enlarge an image and trace it onto posterboard (like I did for the giraffe). If you can't find what you need, you can always freehand (like I did with the attached dog image which was in Will's old room)

Next, hit the fabric store - I got everything for the boys' room at Jo-Ann Fabrics & Crafts. Start with a canvas of any size from the art department. You can cover it with a vinyl or (p)leather material (like the red material in the attached) from the home fabric section, which is so heavy that it does not need any batting. If you're using a standard fabric, you'll need a thin batting (also in the fabric section on large spools) so that the fabric lays smoothly. Don't just look in the fashion fabric section - some of the more fun, graphic prints are in the home section - especially the outdoor fabric lines. If you buy the canvas, fabric and batting at the same time, the fabric department can cut the latter two to fit the frame. While you're there, pick up small cuts of the 2 contrasting fabrics for your "subject" and its background (I highly recommend a sturdy vinyl/pleather for these if your subject has a lot of detail)... and some trim to outline it (rope, pom pom trim ,etc).

To assemble, use a staple gun to attach the vinyl or batting to the canvas - pulling it taught to eliminate any wrinkles. If you're using batting and fabric, you won't want to pull the fabric quite as hard or it will pucker. If you have a busy pattern, make sure it's aligned well in front before you start to staple in the back.  If you do get wrinkles or puckers, it's easy to remove the staples and start over.

Next, cut the background for your subject (I use a plate or cup to trace a circle and I print out more complex shapes). To cut the subject, use tape to adhere the paper to the fabric and carefully cut the outline (I use lots of small pieces of tape so that the uncut portion doesn't shift at all as you go along). Use a light coat of spray adhesive (OUTSIDE! - this gets everywhere) to adhere the background to the fabric and then smooth it out to avoid any bubbles. Use the fabric glue to adhere the subject to the background - if it's a complex design with small details, use a brush to apply the glue so that it doesn't bleed. The final touch is using the fabric glue to apply the trim to the outside of the background.

ABSOLUTELY adorable! Thank you Rachel for sharing all of your resources and DIY artwork. I bet your boys are in LOVE with their new room.

And stay tuned, Rachel just had a baby girl and I will be sharing her nursery with you later this week!