Get out! One of my DIY Tutorials Featured On TheNateShow.com!

How to Make Chalkboard Lamps

Give your old lamps a new look with help from design blogger Janell Beals.

What a thrill, I am exited to share that my post showing how to make chalkboard lamps has become a tutorial on thenateshow.com! Check it out here...




When I painted the chalkboard lamps it was on a whim. I had a pair of lamps that needed an update to fit into the new design plan for Max's room and I just happened to have some extra chalkboard paint on hand, left over from painting the chalkboard stripe in his room. Nothing like needing to figure out how to use what you already have to inspire creativity. I'm certainly happy I thought up the project now...

Okay, I promise, no more Nate for awhile! Maybe...

Master Bedroom Redesign - I've Been Distracted

Between hopping from room to room over the past several months working on DIY projects which are becoming tutorials on HGTV.com, and then the unexpected trip to NYC and the fun opportunity to tape a segment with Nate Berkus, I have been distracted! As a result, the Master Bedroom Redesign has not gotten much attention since completing the upholstered headboard wall and the lamp makeover. But I'm back (down to earth) and the goal is to complete this room...well, let's just say soon!

This is what has been accomplished in the room so far:

The ceiling height upholstered headboard wall was built and installed.

A pair of HomeGoods lamps and shades received a makeover.

A settee was brought in where an armoire once stood.

(Yes, the rug looks wrong, but I've shifted it further under the settee and it's much better now!)

And a great little directoire style table from Target was placed beside it.

Luckily the room already had a wonderful vintage pagoda chandelier, a soft area rug, drapery hardware and nightstands, which are all staying. So what is left to do?



A DIY art project using a canvas and nail head trim. I know it sounds strange, but I have a plan.

A pillow project using a textured green linen and this chunky trim for detail.

And finally drapes and bedding. Yesterday I made a few stops to source the last materials needed for the room, and the new fabrics should arrive soon. Drapes will be made from the dark taupe fabric shown above at the lower right, with the lighter taupe becoming a wide band near the bottom hem, similar to the drapery trim tutorial I posted on Monday. A tailored bedskirt will be made from the textured fabric seen at the upper right above, and I'm still thinking about additional bedding ideas. Those decisions will probably be made last, but there will definitely be a pop of color brought in through pillows!


In the meantime, look for a tutorial on how to achieve the look of linen walls with paint on Monday. In the two years since originally posting images showing this wall treatment I've gotten several requests asking how this technique was done, and have finally gotten around to putting together a step by step post.

Lastly, look for my latest Ideabook on Houzz tomorrow, featuring some very interesting and inspiring interiors using the color of this season...Orange!

Have a great weekend, Janell

My Segment On The Nate Berkus Show Airs Today!

Waiting in the Green Room...

...getting directions from the producer and stage manager.

(Photos from Home to Three Duncan Boys)

Check out my appearance on the Nate Berkus Show today.
Find your local listing here.

(Don't blink...it's a brief three minutes!)

If you like what you see,
I would love your giving me a shout out here or here!

And to see more about the room design discussed with Nate,
see yesterday's post.

Thanks! Janell

Well...I Had Fun!

Despite so many bloggers expressing disappointment with the experience at the Nate show taping, I had a great time. How could I not?! What's not to love about a quick unexpected trip to NYC and the fun of attending a show while meeting so many of my fellow design bloggers? Sounds good to me, and isn't life what you make it?

Plus, I did have a slightly difference experience. I am thrilled to say the surprise I've been referring to as part of my trip to NYC was an invitation to be a guest on an earlier Nate show taped that same day! How is that for exciting?! While I can't talk about the specifics, I had the amazing opportunity to share a room design I recently completed with Nate and the audience, and hopefully soon with you! I'll keep you posted when I get an air date...

(I'm such a dork...excited, nervous and TIRED!! Look at that clenched fist, I meant to make a "thumbs up" but my excitement is showing and are those sheet marks on my arms?! You can get those in just two hours?)

After arriving in town late the night before and getting just two hours of sleep, I showed up at the studio very early in the morning, sans makeup, to begin preparing for the segment. It was so much fun to have Lakeitha and Jade hang out with me in the green room, thank goodness they were there! They distracted me and kept me from getting too nervous.

Luckily the experience included a trip to hair and makeup, otherwise I would have scared you all on tape. The makeup artist was completely sweet...and talented! When I told her I had basically gotten no sleep she told me not to worry, by the time she was done I would look like I had slept eight hours and gotten a bit of sun! She came through on her promise. (Can you please come do my makeup for all my special events?!)

(With Beth from The Stories A to Z...)

Now I know you all love a good before and after...I think this qualifies.

I was the last segment taped and it went really well...or so I've been told! The experience was a blast and I met so many fun people working on the show: Karen, Janelle, Nathanial, Paul, and many more including Nate himself. Thanks for making it a really great experience! Then it was a quick change and back downstairs to get in line for the second taping. This part I LOVED, meeting so many of the bloggers I follow and have become friends with. On the trip out I had made a mental note of everyone I hoped to meet and I think I managed to get through the list!

Sarah, the Thrifty Decor Chick herself!

Lakeitha, Erika and Sarah

Kate on the right...

Emily, who gets the award of being the sweetest blogger in attendance...

...along with the most gorgeous eyes.

On set after the second taping with Erika.

And in the question and answer session at the end of the taping,
sitting in between Cristin and Jade.

I'll end this post with a story about Cristin...can you believe this is not the first time I've met her? A bunch of us hung out until late in the night after the taping and while talking with Cristin I learned that she was a shopper in my San Francisco boutique years ago! Crazy, it is a small world.

Wow...what a day.

I'm Off To NYC & The Nate Berkus Show!

A part of me knows I'm just a bit crazy to be traveling all the way across the country, simply for the privilege of sitting in on a taping of The Nate Show. But there was another motivating factor, the opportunity to meet so many fellow design bloggers! I hope to have lots to share when I return...

Janell

p.s. Then it got even better. I can't wait to share some pretty exciting news, soon!

image via the nate show

Master Bedroom Redesign Updates

It was not easy getting any work done yesterday, with all the emails flying around about who is going to the Nate Berkus Show next Tuesday! But I did force myself to stay on schedule (so I can go to NYC on such short notice!) and got a quick project done to write a tutorial for HGTV.com, and the Sofia Settee for the Master Bedroom Redesign was delivered.


I have had my eye on the settee for awhile, and when it went on sale a couple weeks ago I finally pulled the trigger. I wasn't the only one, apparently, as I received a notification that the piece was on backorder until mid October. So what a nice surprise when it arrived well ahead of the expected date! And, I have never seen a piece of furniture packed this well, with a cardboard framework built completely around it. Crazy, but I was appreciative.


To get ready for the delivery I realized the wall it was going to placed in front of needed to be painted. The bedroom was originally painted after we moved in and all the furniture was in place. The armoire that used to stand here was heavy, and I wasn't about to move it only to paint a portion of wall that would never show anyway. I'd forgotten about this little shortcut, so was surprised when the armoire was moved out of the room. Oops. Luckily I still had some paint leftover and it was a super fast job.

Now to get the settee moved into the room. No one was around to help, so with all the extra energy I had due to excitement about the trip next week, I moved the piece from the garage into the room myself! Thanks Nate.


The drapery panel was brought in from the kitchen nook and hung here temporarily, to help me make a decision on what drapery design will work in the room.


I also grabbed some pillows from other rooms to see what colors look good. And yes, the carpet placement will need to be adjusted at the foot of the settee. That doesn't look so good.


Lots of decisions to make, though I do have a little side table just right for this spot. I'll show you that tomorrow, and I know this is going to become a well loved little corner of the house!

Who Will Be At The Nate Berkus Show Next Week?

On June 14th I wrote this letter to Nate Berkus as part of a blogger "Nate Berkus Day", celebrating his upcoming show:

Dear Nate,

I heard a rumor that a large number of bloggers are writing posts on you and your work today and I just had to join in! Your style has inspired me tremendously and I was thrilled, but not surprised, when I learned about your upcoming show. Perhaps you'll invite me and some of my friends to be in your audience in the fall...and then they can finally stop being mad at me.

Remember when Oprah hosted the 'Knock, Knock It's Nate Contest' a few years ago? Well I was one of the semi-finalists, and though it was wonderful to be mentioned in 'O at Home', my home did not end up being one of the three you visited. My friends had seriously counted on my coming through for them and winning. They all had plans on how they would just "happen to stop by" the day you came to my house and that is all they could talk about for weeks as I waited to hear the final news. It was hard to break the bad news to them, but now that you have your own show you can make it up to me.

All the best and I look forward to meeting you soon! Janell

(yeah right...but a girl can ask!)


Well...some dreams do come true! I will be in the Nate Berkus audience next week! Just got an email invite! Now my next thought is: will you be there?! Can't wait to meet you if so!

Janell