The Red Room

Aunt Louise's Suitcases with WWII Letters

Dresser with Tuilip Prints

Pottery Barn & Target Bedding with Home Goods Starburst

Glass Lamp with Suit Cases to be made into a table

View of Target Butterfly Print which was the Inspiration for the whole room

Closer Look at the WWII Letters

Reading Chair and Lamp with Pottery Barn Accent Pillow

Vanity - still looking for the right mirror

This is the room I have put the most effort into so far. First of all, the room carries a 1940's theme. The furniture came from the 30's, and was in my great-grandparents' bedroom for 70 years! I cleaned it up with Murphy’s Oil, Old English Polish, and elbow grease. The inspiration for the room came from two canvases I picked up from Target. They had an old look - with a hint of red that I think really pops against the red wall. The curtain hold-backs, sheets, and accent pillow are also from Target. The glass on the curtain rod, black accent star-burst, blue lamp and mercury glass hurricane give the room a "glam" look. The curtains, comforter, and accent chair pillow are from Pottery Barn. The suitcases I plan on making a bed-side table out of. They were my Aunt Louise's and still have tags on them from her many travels. Her initials "E.L.G." are embossed on each case.

     The walls were still looking bare, so I decided to incorporate some family heirlooms from the era as wall art. The canvases on top of the suitcases are to go on the wall with two more to follow. This particular pair consists of a letter and envelope to my mom's mother Ruby, from her brother Julian. March 7, 1943 is the date, and the location is "Somewhere in the Pacific." I cut out my favorite parts of the letter, where he speaks of combat with the Japanese, censorship, giving his sister (my grandmother) advice, and an insistent plea for his sister to replace the class ring of a high school sweetheart. He apparently lost it. The envelope also shows that it was censored, and a stamp to buy war bonds.

     There are lots of underlying themes throughout the room. The suitcases, actual old letters, and Target Canvases represent travel. The red wall, red stamps, and red accents in the floral prints and in the bedding have a common thread. There are stamps on both the canvases I created and purchased. Dragonflies, butterflies, and hummingbirds are in multiple canvases, and in the bedding. My grandmother's name was Ruby, and the walls are red to honor her. She passed two years before I was born. The Japanese flavor of the bedding, and the mention of War with occupied Japan in the letters, also ties into the room's themes.

TO DO: I am still looking for the perfect fabric for the vanity stool. I also am looking for a mirror for the Vanity. My final task is to make the suitcases into a bed side table.

NEXT UP: My Kitchen wall creations & Anthropologie combination!