The Pleated Look

Lately, I've been very drawn to pleated drapes for my bedroom. Right now, I have some basic Ikea curtains that used to reside in our living room, way back when and live in my bedroom. They were a temporary fix, that has long over stayed their welcome. Now that I've decided they've got to go, I've been thinking about what drapery style I want in on my bedroom window and french doors. I keep going back and forth between the classic look of pinch pleated drapes or inverted box pleat drapes. Either look, I plan to update my hardware with something like this [ but in black ] and use attach rings to the pleats. 

I love the look of inverted box pleat drapes, they have this classic look with modern edge. I'm totally crushing hard on this drapery style. 

image via

Pinterest

image via

Pinterest

I'm also loving the classic look on pinch pleat drapes paired with ring pulls, are have that extra air of sophistication I love. 

image via

Pinterest

image via

Pinterest

Now to decide which classic look, I really want in my bedroom, pinch pleat or inverted box pleat. I came across this image below in

Pinterest

, that I wanted to share. I also love how the Cartridge pleat looks, and butterfly pleat.....decisions decisions. 

What drapery style do you love the most for your home? 

Create: A Colorful Planter for Spring

One of my plans this Spring is to add more color on patio garden beds by using a mixture of planters along with planting perennials in the ground. I recently bought two large planters, which means a visit to our local nursery was in store. 

Using planters offers an easy way to add a burst of color on your patio. For my planter, I used a mixture of perennials and few annuals. When shopping for plants for my planter, I like to place the plants I'm considering on the ground and group them together. This helps to envision how the plants will look in your planter. For my larger planter I chose Greek Sage, Dahlias, Santa Barbara Daisy and Godetia. I'm most excited about the Greek Sage, it  has a nice aromatic smell. 

Here's my planter. It's huge right!! I threw a large beach ball inside to share a better idea of how huge it is!

Extra large planters can use a lot of soil, to cut down on the cost & fill the bottom of the planter with bark of Styrofoam peanuts. For my planters, I prefer using bark on the bottom of the planter and then I cover the bark with weed barrier. The weed barrier acts a nice flat base to add the soil and plants to, plus it still allows water to pass though and drain. 

Before, adding soil and your plants to the planter,  place them inside the planter to help you decide how you want them to grow in the space. You can add the tallest plants in the center, then add the remaining plants in ascending heights. For my planter, I wanted to create a step like feature using the tallest plants in the back, then layering in the smaller sizes. 

Here's my colorful planter for spring! As I mentioned, for this planter I used a mixture of perennials and annuals. For color, I used a mixture of lavender, pinks and white flowers in my planter. 

I'm in love with how my planter turned out! I'll share where it landed on my patio very soon. 

Quick reminder, save all the tags after you plant your flowers and shrubs this year! I'm not sure about you, but I have the worst memory when it comes to plant names. Saving the tags will also help you remember how to care for you plant, and remember which plants did good in your yard and which to skip next time your out shopping.