Blog sponsorship. It’s a touchy subject. But the truth of the matter is, if you have a blog that receives a fair amount of traffic, blogging turns into an expense – financially speaking.
When I first created House*Tweaking, I had a free Blogger account and I was working part-time as a pharmacist. Blogging was purely a hobby. Over the years, with an increase in readership {I’m still not entirely sure why you guys choose to follow House*Tweaking with so many amazing blogs out there but I’m truly grateful that you do. Thank you!}, I’ve obtained a URL and transferred House*Tweaking from Blogger to a “meh” web host and then to a private server. Oh, and I left my day job. Those things combined have made it necessary for me to look into sponsorship opportunities in the form of side bar ads, affiliate programs, writing elsewhere and collaborating with reputable companies. I am not looking to get rich. My hope is to cover the costs of maintaining this blog, DIYing projects and decorating our house so that I can continue doing what now has become a passion.
In working with companies, I always try to feature businesses and products that I would use myself. I say no to potential sponsors ten times more than I say yes. I really want it to be a win-win-win situation. The company gains some traffic. I cover my costs. You are introduced to an inspiring and useful product/service.
All that mumbo jumbo to say I’ve been brainstorming new ways to partner with businesses. When I signed on to write for Wayfair’s blog, My Way Home, I had an “a-ha!” moment. Why not feature items from their site that I would like to use in my own home? I had shopped Wayfair before {I bought the saddler’s bench shown above} and was really pleased with my purchase. I pitched the idea to Wayfair and the monthly “Wayfair in the House” series was born. This is the first of such posts! Here we go…
I’m so ready to have a cozy bedroom. I tried capturing a current pic of the room but was immediately photobombed by three rugrats. It’s hard to tell from the image above but there are random paint sample patches painted throughout the room. There’s even painted foam board living in our closet and paint swatches propped on the windowsill. Do you spy them? My nightstand drawer is full of color swatches and paint decks. It’s bad. I’ve tried no less than a dozen colors and don’t like any of them. This northeast room with not great light is tough. But one swatch I’ve kept in the mix is Benjamin Moore’s 2126.
Namely, I’m really drawn to anchor gray 2126-30. It reminds me of my favorite jeans. In thinking about our bedroom {and I do it waaaaaaaay too much}, I really want it to feel like a room that I would wear. And I like nothing more than wearing my favorite dark jeans with a heather gray top, leather boots and simple gold jewelry. HH also wears a lot of denim and gray so having masculine navy and gray in the room feels right.
Then I found this.
Hello gold jewelry for my bedroom. And that’s when I decided to finally decide and really nail down the big stuff for the room. In every place we’ve lived, decorating our bedroom has always been the hardest for me. Why?
This is where I’m at.
1 – Benjamin Moore anchor gray & white dove After I seeing Jenny’s bedroom in anchor gray, I am sold. The trim is already white dove and I’ll be painting out the master bathroom walls in white dove.
2 – Aged brass ceiling light The ceiling in the bedroom is only 8′ and the room doesn’t receive a ton of natural light. I want a close-to-the-ceiling light that diffuses warm light into the room. Love the scalloped detailing, black trim and brass fixtures on this light.
3 – Vilas nightstand I bought these nightstands last summer and can’t say enough good things about them. They are solid and have a mid century feel. A single drawer provides hidden storage while the open cabinet is the perfect spot for books and glossies.
4 – Domino wool blanket This wool throw is already living at the foot of our bed. It provides great texture and pattern. In the summer, I can switch it out for something brighter or more colorful.
5 – Chunky bed frame We’ve had this wood bed frame for 3+ years and love it.
Nailhead upholstered headboard The curved headboard we have now isn’t working below the window. Ideally, I would want my bed on an empty wall but there’s no getting around a bed under the window in our bedroom. I bought our current headboard for a steal at an outlet and I’m confident I can get just as much for it as I have in it. I think a clean-lined headboard in heather gray brushed cotton will work much better.
Brown ikat pillow covers In a room with mostly masculine pieces, you can easily add interest, pattern and color with pillows. These patterned chocolate on white pillows will contrast against the gray headboard.
Navajo pillow cover Sometimes all it takes is one or two colorful pops to wake up a mostly neutral room. I’ve been gazing at this pillow for weeks and finally ordered it.
6 – Swing arm lamp This antique brass wall lamp is what inspired the mood board for the bedroom. I’ll be using two – one on each side of our headboard. {I am a read-in-bed girl.} They are the perfect gold stud earrings for our bedroom. I can already envision them against the gray-blue walls and I like what I see.
Surprise, they’re here! I haven’t hung them yet. I need to paint and address the headboard situation first. But I wanted to show you a real life image of them because the finish is amazing. They are definitely more “aged” and less shiny than their listing portrays.
7 – Boucle jute rug Did you notice this rug in the rugrat picture? Rugs + rugrats = my life. This rug is the most expensive rug I’ve ever bought. And it shows. It is so thick and cushy and nubby and I don’t know what took me so long. The natural fibers lighten up all the dark wood pieces and flooring in the bedroom.
8 – Saddle chair Ever since West Elm rolled out this office chair a few months ago, I can’t stop thinking about it. The shape is curvy yet clean. And you know how I feel about stripes.
9 – Willett dresser I scored this vintage dresser on craigslist a while ago. It’s still empty but HH and I think it would be helpful to have a possible worktop in our bedroom. He and I both work from home at times. Sometimes we need to retreat to a closed off room to take/make calls. My thought is to pull a chair {see #8} up to the dresser when necessary and maybe add some open shelving above. We don’t need a true desk. This just might work.
So that’s the big {and some small} stuff. I won’t make any choices on window treatments or bedding until the room is painted and main pieces are installed. I’ll be sure to share my {ever so slow} progress!
Thanks to readers like you and Wayfair for supporting this here blog. I mean that with all my pillow-and-stripe-loving heart.
images: 1-3) Dana Miller for House*Tweaking 4) Wayfair 5) polyvore collage by Dana Miller, linked within 6) Dana Miller
budget decor, inspiration, interior design, mood board