A while back, I started looking at headboards and fell in love with one that I saw on the Pottery Barn website. Unfortunately, it was more than I could afford, but I realized that it might be possible to make something similar by attaching a fireplace mantel to an old door that used to be in our old house. Making headboards out of doors is fairly common, but I used to be hesitant just because I typically thought they looked very much like doors. By combining a mantel with the door, this problem is diminished.
If you are handy, you could make your own mantel, but I am not that handy, so I purchased one from Santa Clara Studio on Etsy. I requested a custom size and they were happy to accomodate this request. I specified the dimensions of the door because I wanted the mantel to fit over the door, making it easy to attach. If you are interested in buying the exact same mantel, here is a listing of the one I asked to be customized to my specifictions:
White Distressed Wall Shelf with Dentil Crown Molding and Wooden Domes – Fireplace Mantel
I think it was also important that it is a mantel installed using a French cleat. This meant that there was a hollow space behind the shelf where it was easy to install the shelf over the door using a series of L-brackets.
In addition to screwing the mantel onto the door, it was also necessary to add some boards at the bottom to elevate the headboard and provide a place to secure the headboard to the bed frame.
Once the headboard was secured to the bed frame, it was time for the fun part, decorating the bed! I used my old Laura Ashley bedding that I have owned since the 1980s. It has been a long time, but I still love it!
I also added some throw pillows, including a personalized pillow that I also purchased on Etsy.
Happy Decorating!
Living in an old Tudor, I have a special affinity for English decorative elements and I cannot think of anything more English than a cast iron Victorian fireplace in a bedroom. Unfortunately, these are not easily found in the United States. The ones I did find cost around $1,000, definitely not in my budget! Fortunately, I was able to assemble a similar faux fireplace at a greatly reduced cost. Although we cannot heat the bedroom with this fireplace, it does add decorative warmth and ambiance to our space.
Once your fireplace has been assembled, you can decorate the inside with logs, a fireplace screen, Christmas lights, or candles. The mantle can be decorated with a vase, clock, candles, books, lamps, pictures, or sculptures.
![1[1]](https://littletudorontheprairie.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/11.jpg?w=656)
Torenia. It is a mystery to me why torenia, also known as wishbone flower, is not more widely grown. It is incredibly adaptable, doing well in both sun and shade. Heat doesn’t seem to affect it one little bit, it just keeps on trucking. I now only buy the Summer Wave series from Proven Winners. Any other cultivars have been a disappointment. The above photo was taken of two Violet Torenia plants and one double impatiens, midway through the summer; they were even larger by fall.
Euphorbia. These tiny white flowers that resemble baby’s breath are a versatile filler in both sun and shade. Don’t over water, it is drought tolerant. Euphorbia is exceptionally easy to take cuttings from and some also overwinter this plant indoors. “Diamond Frost” is a favorite.
Petunias. Petunias are known as a flower for full sun, but in my area, they seem to do well even in partial shade. Although deadheading may increase the number of blooms, I find it sufficient to cut them back about halfway once in the middle of summer. Petunias seem adaptable to a variety of watering conditions. They come in a rainbow of colors, but I am partial to the pink and purple varieties. If I could afford to do so, I would love to buy dozens of the expensive cultivars, but I am always satisfied with the less expensive plants that I buy in six packs.
I didn’t particularly like the gas fireplace insert that came with our older home, but a new one was not in the budget. My next thought was to buy a fireplace screen to cover it up, but they were all expensive, unattractive, or you could see through them, which rather defeated the purpose. When I fell in love with an old stained glass window in an antique store, I knew that I had to have it, but could it serve as a fireplace screen if I attached some shelf brackets? I decided to buy it and figure out the “how to” later.
Still, for added strength and stability, I used wood glue and secured the bond with C-clamps to dry overnight. Incidentally, I chose these particular shelf brackets because the open design would allow me to easily attach the C-clamps.
I love drip irrigation! If are interested in using drip irrigation and would like to learn how to do so, please read 
For years, I avoided using drip irrigation because it seemed entirely too complicated and expensive. My garden suffered…and died, died, died. Year after year, I would attempt to go on vacation in July by trying different systems such as cotton wicks plunged into 5-gallon buckets of water or flooding plants before leaving by using all types of stakes that attached to 2-liter bottles. I finally caved and decided that I had to either try drip irrigation or stop buying plants altogether. Within minutes of receiving my first kit, I realized that I should have started much sooner. Drip irrigation is SO EASY and it saves oodles of time and aggravation! While there are some reasonable costs involved, there are also many savings. For starters, plants live instead of dying! That means fewer plants to purchase. Furthermore, less water is needed since hydration is provided directly to the roots without wetting the foliage.
Barbed adapter connects to the tubing which carries the water out to your plants.
