Remember the shade sail project I mentioned a while back? We finally tackled it! I realize I’m totally jumping the gun by giving you a lame sneak peek in the dark, but I promise to follow up with a ‘how we did it’ post soon, along with general changes we’ve made to the backyard and daytime pics. The thing is a few blogger friends asked me to share a favorite nighttime scene at our house, warm glowy lights and all. I had my heart set on sharing the back deck for the ‘A Night In’ series hosted by Julia and Kim. A week’s worth of rain nearly foiled my plans, but one night the downpour held off just long enough for me to quickly towel things off, bring out dry cushions, light a few candles and snap pics. Raindrops were sprinkling my lens by the end of the harried shoot and I’m not 100% comfortable shooting in such low light, but here are some of the better shots. It’s really magical in person!

Since installing the shade sails, this outdoor spot has become my favorite nighttime hangout. (Recently, it’s been way too hot to enjoy it during the day – even in the shade.) After the kids are in bed, I plop down on the sectional with some rosé and a book and listen to the crickets do their thing. One good thing about the kids’ school year starting so early is that reasonable bedtimes are back. I have kid-free evenings once again! At least until someone gets up to tell me they’re thirsty. It’s inevitable.

Three years in, the sectional cushions are holding up well. To promote longevity, I store them in the attic for the winter and stash them in the garage on a tarp during wet summer weather. The throw pillows are a mix of outdoor and indoor cushions. You might recognize a few kilim pillows from our living room. After tossing them on the sectional last minute for color, I now want to hoard etsy kilim covers, treat them with Scotch Guard outdoor spray and stuff them with outdoor inserts. The gold bulb string lights are from Rejuvenation. They create the prettiest ambiance.

It’s difficult to tell from the nighttime pictures, but the bottom halves of the bulbs are gold. I originally chose them because I like the metallic detail, but the gold actually gives the string lights two benefits: 1) The bulbs look like they’re glowing during the day when they aren’t plugged in. 2) The gold reflects the light upward at nighttime for a more diffused, less glaring effect from below. They can be used indoors or out. I’d love to see them on a Christmas tree! If string lights and ornaments had a baby, these would be it.

In case you’re wondering, the shade sails do not hold water. The smallest raindrops pass right through which is ideal. We don’t want sagging sails! They’re purely sun-blocking. At night, they give the impression of a ceiling which feels really cozy.

There are still a few tweaks to make out here. I’ve been itching to switch out the coffee table for a non-matching one. The dining table has seen better days. We need a fan for relief from the heat and mosquitos. I want to plant climbing, flowering vines (clematis?) at the base of the shade sail poles to soften them. All in good time. Did you notice I rotated the sectional to face the house? We like it so much better this way! It really makes the deck feel like an outdoor room now instead of a stage facing the darkness. Plus, it makes for a great view from the kitchen window.

If you love peeping houses at night (I do!), be sure to check out more nighttime scenes from these talented bloggers:

Chris Loves Julia
Yellow Brick Home
The Makerista
The Faux Martha
Making It Lovely
Brittany Makes

*This post sponsored in part by Rejuvenation. Much thanks to Julia and Kim for organizing!

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

Mabrey has a real bed! We actually finished the bed several months ago. Then things kind of came to a halt while I searched for mattresses. More on the mattresses in a minute, but first I wanted to share how we gave an inexpensive, generic bed a unique look.

The catalog image of the bed is horribly styled, but I liked the clean lines, trundle option and price tag. I knew it would look better with paint and different hardware. I originally shared my plans for the bed here, then changed my mind on the brass handles and opted for kid-friendly leather pulls instead. (You can see the mood board I created for Mabrey’s room here.)

When the bed arrived, Steve and I were impressed with the quality for the price. The wood was solid and the finish was super smooth with a slight sheen. We almost hated to paint it, but it wasn’t part of my vision.

Before assembling the bed, I filled the knob holes with wood putty and let it dry.

Then we took turns lightly sanding the surface with a random orbital sander to scuff it up for better paint adhesion.

We decided to assemble the bed before painting it mostly because we didn’t have a way to prop up all the individual pieces. There was no way I was painting all the slats by hand with a brush, so Steve busted out the paint sprayer. He covered the driveway with a drop cloth to protect it from overspray and applied two thin coats of Benjamin Moore pine grove (#511) in semi-gloss, mixed in the ADVANCE line. You can read more about the ADVANCE paint here. It’s a great option for painting furniture or cabinetry because it’s self-leveling and provides a high-end finish.

We let the bed off-gas in the garage for over a week before bringing it inside. Once the bed was inside, Steve and I decided our dream kitchen includes cabinets painted Benjamin Moore pine grove. It’s SUCH. A. GREAT. COLOR.

I did some measuring + math then pre-drilled holes in the trundle for the leather pulls and attached them with the provided brass screws and nuts. (Depending on what mattress you use, you may need to trim the backs of the screws so they don’t catch on the mattress.) I absolutely LOVE the leather handles against the olive green!

For the price (I spent <$350 for the bed + trundle…essentially $175 per bed not including mattresses), I am extremely happy with how the bed turned out. The one thing that irks me are the pre-drilled holes on the side of the headboard and footboard meant to be used for a bunk bed conversion. I could have puttied them, but who knows? We might need another bunk one day.

Believe it or not, the toughest part of this project was finding an eco-friendly trundle mattress. The mattress needed to be less than 8″ deep in order to slide under the bed easily. I found plenty of mattresses that would fit, but they weren’t exactly green. I really wanted to use Brentwood Home since I had great success with one of their mattresses in my bedroom, so I shot them an email to see if they offered anything that met my specs.

They promptly replied and pointed me toward their kids’ section. (I had no idea they even had a kids’ section!) The Bamboo Gel 7 checked all the boxes and it was well priced at $205. Winner! If you’re ever in need of an eco-friendly mattress, I can’t recommend Brentwood Home enough. They have lots of options at different price points for cribs, trundles and larger beds, too. They even have changing pads and nursing pillows! (Totally unsolicited.)

The trundle isn’t on a track; it rolls on four casters. When pulling it out and sliding it in, you have to keep it parallel with the bed or it’ll get wonky, but it’s really not an issue since we use the trundle so infrequently.

Slowly but surely, Mabrey’s room is coming along. (Did you spy the wall coverings?) I’ll be sharing the full reveal next month along with a complete source list, but I wanted to share the source of the sheets because they’re so pretty! Mabrey couldn’t decide which set she liked most, so we bought a set of each to mix and match. They have little tags on the long sides that read “SIDE” for easy bed-making. So helpful!

patterned sheets on top bed – Threshold performance sheet set in neutral, Target

blush sheets on trundle – possibly pink vintage washed sheet set, Target

Hope you’re staying cool!

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking