Blog silence... for a while...

Dearest blog readers,

Here behind our pond is where I sat down earlier tonight, with a cooling drink and some juicy grapes, catching the last rays of sun. My moment was accompanied by the sound of spring-feverish birds, singing their little bird hearts out. This is where I would love to sit, often, contemplating only what really needs to be contemplated, relaxed and serene...

My reality, however, looks very different and as much as I would love to visit 

all your inspiring blogs out there and return your kind comments, 

at the moment I am just not able to...

So, I will take a blog break for a while, to try to catch up with life.
I wish you all the best and hope to see you again in a few weeks.

Thank you...

With these flowers (here held by my oldest son, frustrated to have had to interrupt a game of football with his brother, just to do something as silly as hold a bunch of flowers...), I would like to thank all of you who take the time to stop by The Swenglish Home on your blog rounds, to those of you who leave kind comments, and to those of you who have voted The Swenglish Home into the TopTen list on www.heminredningsbloggar.se. Thank you and see you soon!

Love, 

Helena

Barn Door Master Bedroom Makeover Reveal

Pottery Barn

I've been so inspired by barn doors lately and when I found out my hubby had access to lots of old barn wood, I just knew I had to build one. After seeing a bedroom inside a barn (above) in a Pottery Barn catalog, the idea of a barn door headboard was born. It started with this pile of barn wood.

I gave it a good scrubbing and left it out to dry in the sun for a day or so. It really is beautiful wood....just needed a little TLC.

When I was ready to start putting the barn door together, I loaded up my wood and brought it all inside to my dining room because it was raining. I laid it out to find the most visually appealing look based on the patina of each board.

After that, I started measuring for the top, bottom and cross section pieces so I could start making my cuts with the miter saw. The cross section pieces were both 45 degree angle cuts and the rest were straight cuts on the saw. Pretty easy to do and every woman should learn how to use a saw. It's fun! And makes you feel really powerful!

After that, I started putting them together with my new nail gun that hubby bought for me. Yay! After being a little intimidated by it, he taught me how to use it and now I don't know what I ever did without one.

And, it's all done!

And now, the big reveal.....

I don't think I've ever been so excited about how a project turned out before! I LOVE this room. It's romantic, rustic and lovely. Exactly the look I wanted to create.

I made the duvet and shams out of a set of white hotel sheets I bought at Sam's and sewed a chocolate brown 1 inch satin ribbon around the perimeter after seeing and loving this duvet set at Pottery Barn but not being so thrilled with the price tag. So I created my own version for a quarter of the price. The beautiful white peonies on our bedside table were a gift from my good friend, who also happens to be my neighbor. They came from her peony bushes and they smell so good. A wonderful scent and sight to wake up to in the morning. The candle sconces were a gift from my boys, the fan is vintage, the chippy white bedside table holding the peonies came from the side of the road, no joke. I love the imperfections and chipped paint. Hubby's bedside table is an old sewing machine table that I painted white, distressed, shortened the legs and added an inexpensive drawer pull to.

We can't wait to go to sleep tonight in this beautiful setting!

Love it! Finding a new purpose for the old weathered barn wood makes me smile.....Have a great week!