Allana's Free People Bedroom

My cousin Allana is amazing. She's one of the most hilarious people I know, with passions ranging from cooking to yoga to traveling the world. She has traveled to Israel and will be going again for her birth-right trip, and recently travelled to Africa to visit a friend who she met while volunteering at a camp for disadvantaged children. Her snapchats and instagram posts are belly-laugh worthy, and her kindness and understanding of the world is truly beautiful. 

I've been very fortunate to have a cousin I can be so close to and would say I would love be friends with whether or not we were ever even related.

Currently a freshman at Sonoma State in California studying Anthropology, she got 'stuck' with the non-private 'loft' space in her family's new town house. Being home during vacation just isn't the same without privacy, especially after having roommates and being around thousands of other people your age for months nonstop. I knew it was important for her to have a true space of her own to make her enjoy being home, so when Hanukah came around (mazel tov!), I knew what her present would be. 

I love decorating. I have a bedroom and an art studio (shout out to my supportive parents who let me live rent free and start my own business at 19) and I still am frustrated when going to flea markets and see gorgeous vintage furniture, knowing I simply don't have enough rooms to put all of my dream-stuff in. So really, this project was a great idea for all parties involved.

Her space, though large enough to be a bedroom, has its limitations. The top of the stairs leads immediately into this space, a wide hallway nook if anything, leading to the other bedrooms.

So the goal was to keep it a manageable hallway space for the family, with elements that brought a feeling of privacy for Allana when she is home for breaks.

I started from scratch. 

(Note: the bed in these pictures is actually being replaced by a full sized bed, with neutral sheets and more pillows.)

The only things of hers I used, beside the mattress as a template for her new bed, were a dark brown-grey wooden side table to Cost Plus, a grey bowl chair which I hid under super soft white faux fur from the Down Town Los Angeles Fabric District and a crocheted pillow I had, and the string of white lights which are available at Target. 

Her favorite color is tiffany blue, a color I've never had experience with. I'm a dull colored gal, which is why her neutral 'Free People' room theme made me super excited. (My brain: "Bring on the white fur rugs!!!") So I found ways to incorporate the color subtly but lovingly. 

My first idea was to reupholster a vintage chair I found at Goodwill with a tiffany blue fabric, but after not being in love with how that looked, my mom and I ripped it up and made one of her signature chevron fabric garlands. The tiffany blue fabric, mixed with blue batik (Indonesian dyed cotton) and decades worth of vintage chenille, lace, and cotton.

Cut up fabric, throw it on some jute, and you're good to go.

~

This desk nook was created with the realization that she does not have a door, and is basically missing two walls of her room. The bed is used as a divider of sorts, which is a great way to make the brain feel safe in a space, rather than exposed, even though the walls still don't actually exist. It also has great natural lighting, and leads right back to a fuzzy bowl chair where her friends can relax nearby.

I can't even say how many Ikea tables I've bought. Simple, clean, and cheap, these white tables with screw in legs are a staple for me. I had an extra one lying around, and so was birthed her desk.

I tend to have a lot of things lying around, in fact, including what was once a black ornate frame from Melrose Flea Market. Spray paint, some jute and hot glue transformed the frame. I then printed out photos from her instagram and glued them to card-stock paper to look like crafty polaroids.

The chair, as I mentioned, was from Goodwill. Dark dirty brown and layers of stained old upholstery, we primered and painted it white, sanded it on the edges, and used an old bean/rice burlap sack as the seat fabric. A few facelifts and it's Allana-Bedroom worthy.

This picture also features a handmade chalkboard sign on some old wood hung by jute, an old tin can covered in burlap and lace, a Mason jar with rocks in it to hold up painted, glittered, and feather-adorned sticks and a 'fake-out' giant daisy, and a lovely little square mirror from Fishy Finds which is an antique store in Simi Valley.

Wandering Ikea I found some pot things (yeah, pot things) that are bases for hot pots. Literally $3 per pack or something super cheap. Nailed those babies into the wall, added some push pins, and voila! 

The mini disco balls were a fun touch from my own collection of *stuff* strung together to add some fun lighting depth to the space.

Here's a close up of the frame. She had mentioned that she loved the idea of pictures hung on string on a wall, so of course I put my twist on it to give it some extra spunk. 

So easy to make- it's all about having a cool frame (and having pictures that are as cute as Allana).

The three wooden arrows and yarn wall hanging, both Cassidy Bliss Vintage original products, were two things I knew Allana wanted, and they fit perfectly next to her window in a tiny but tall wall space. It helped add some height to the room while not cluttering the walls randomly.

More Ikea goodness, these shelves were also super cheap and came with the metal that holds them up. I white-washed the wood and dry brushed the metal to match the Fishy Finds square mirror. I also did this so that the wood didn't clash so much with the side table underneath it. 

The golden votive candle holder was in the chochky section at Target, the bottles were a dollar or so from Joanns Fabrics, and the little elephant incense holder was something of mine that I never used and deserved to be in the hands of an elephant-lover such as Allana.

The Alpha Gamma Delta sign was an idea of my mom's, since Allana had recently rushed and got accepted into that sorority at Sonoma State.

More inexpensive but amazing Ikea things: white fur rug on end of bed, cream crocheted throw blanket, and angelic white netting for a feeling of privacy. 

Pillows: The white rope-detailed throw pillow was from Target (on sale of course, I was on a budget here), and the teal elephant printed case was from a store in Santa Barbara.

To (literally) top it all off I pinned an Intention banner, another Cassidy Bliss Vintage original item, to the netting. It reminded me of Balinese or Moroccan bed textiles, crowning to netting with a pop of color like a circus tent. Intention Banners are made (by my mom aka CherPeace) with love from batik fabric, hand embroidered, swiped with some white paint and carefully stamped with words that are positive and can be used as ideas to set your intentions for the day.

~

It felt really good to get to not only create a space that I am proud of (and on a budget!), but especially to make a space unique to Allana that she can really call 'home.'

Learning to Nurture Yourself

Starting a business is amazing and often daunting.

I can easily switch on my workaholic-mode and go go go until I drop, but never quite drop because I never quite turn it off. It's a cycle of constant over-exertion in order to get everything done for myself, as well as for everyone I care about.

But going nonstop has consequences for everyone, and having Fibromyalgia, when I crash I crash really hard. And having anxiety and depression means my stresses are translated through my dreams and I often wake extremely beaten down and confused. Medication can only do so much if you're making it do all the work.

It's hard to allow myself to have a 'nurture day', since every day is part of the countdown until the next art show, the next Etsy update, the next event to plan, the next something.

Today I rhetorically asked my mom if I have time to have a nurture day today, and she simply threw the question back at me. Do I have the time? You have to know your own body, your own limits and lines. Your lines are not actual limitations, but rather markers that show you how you should go about doing things at that point. I've been nonstop for months, waiting for the crash to come every week then ignoring it and pushing through until the next one. I haven't been honoring my physical vessel in which my creativity grows- and how are you suppose to thrive and be successful if your body is rejecting simply being awake?

Throughout my childhood I rarely got sick. My mom, however, knew it was necessary to have 'nurture days' to get me back on track when I had been over exerting myself and was lacking true balance in my life. I would take a day off of school every now and then when there were no tests or any 'important' activities going on, and I would nurture myself.

Nurturing yourself includes getting the rest your body needs, eating healthy foods, drinking tea, taking a warm shower or bath, freshening up your living space, catching up on a tv series that brings you joy, reading the book you otherwise don't make time to read, and anything else that allows your body and soul to be rejuvenated.

If it weren't for Fibromyalgia I may have never truly learned this lesson. I like to 'suck it up' and push through until I physically can't anymore, and Fibro stops me in my tracks a lot faster, opening my eyes to the abuse I put myself through without balancing it with nurture. I can't say I'm stoked to have it, it's not fun, but it's a lesson for me in many areas of life, lessons I'm grateful to have learned so I can continue to better my quality of life.

Thank you for reading this. You've allowed yourself to sit still for a few minutes and contemplate a topic that urges you to take care of yourself. Whoever you are, I want the best for you. Find a time to nurture yourself- I know I will be today.

So with that, I'm going to light some incense, kiss my bunny, soak my achey limbs, drink a ton of tea, and ultimately nurture myself.

Love & Light