TOPAZ HORIZON

I've been sooooo busy with my new mommy duties that I've absolutely forgotten to show off (hell yeah) my new Ethan Allen tufted headboard!

Yesterday was just unreal! That's because Ethan Allen announced the winner of their design challenge and I won!

I've been in a cloud of happiness. That's such an apt term since Vince and I named our design as "Life in the Clouds." As I keep mentioning, the whole room was really Vince's idea. Of course I had input here and there but I am amazed at how talented my husband is! He tweaked my design, gave helpful suggestions... I'm lucky I'm married to a man with discriminating taste!
And while some people tell me that I won because I had the luck of the pregnant woman, I beg to differ. I researched rooms with tufted headboards for inspiration. Vince researched color palettes. I studied Ethan Allen's design aesthetics to come up with a room that reflects their brand. I recalled the way Real Living styled our home when they featured it twice (easy tip: always have fresh flowers). Vince planned which photos will personalize the space without competing with the headboard. I even steamed the sheets and pillows! So it was a lot of hard work. And it paid off!

Here are a few of the room inspirations I put on my mood board:
As you can see, tufted headboards seem to inspire the same room elements: mirrored chest, sunburst mirrors and white lamps! I can't wait to turn our bedroom into something like the rooms up there. Except nerdier (books are always present in our home) and child-friendlier.

I feel like this is all so surreal since we've been wanting a tufted headboard for years. I even prayed about it. And now this! I was telling Mommy Fleur today that God may take His sweet time answering prayers but when He does, oh how He does! Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd own an Ethan Allen piece. And now I do. Thank You, God, for giving me more than I ever asked for.

Thank you to everyone who campaigned for me over at Twitter and Facebook. Thank you to everyone who voted. And thank you to everyone who sent me encouraging words. I had fun doing the Ethan Allen design challenge but I had more fun seeing the overwhelming support you gave me. Whatever had been the outcome of the challenge, I already felt like a winner. Thank you!

... and Lucy loves me!


Lucy Torres Gomez reads my blogs! OMG! I am so thrilled! I can't even begin to describe how delighted I am right now. So I'll just pat myself on the back for a job well done. So stoked!

P.S. We're talking about the Ethan Allen design challenge, by the way. Lucy helped campaign for my bedroom (Thanks, Lucy!). Contest results will be announced tomorrow. I do hope I win it, but even if I don't, I'm cool. The consolation prizes are pretty amazing, too! Happy sunny Sunday!

P.P.S. Follow me and Congresswoman Lucy on Twitter!

April 3 UPDATE: I won!

It's Monday! Just one more week before Ethan Allen announces the winner of their The One Ethan Allen Challenge! I'm excited and stressed out!!! And if you haven't voted for my bedroom design yet, please do!

CLICK HERE to LIKE!

To be honest, the Facebook likes account only for 10% of the total score so while I do want you to vote for me (and me alone!), I can be pretty magnanimous and not get mad if you vote for the other rooms, too. I'm joking. Of course I'll get mad! No, I'm kidding. It really is just 10% of the score so I'm more concerned with getting the judges' approval in the other criteria, which I really tried to meet. Here they are:

CRITERIA FOR JUDGING
30% - Highlight of the One Ethan Allen piece
25% - Style (uniqueness, reflective of personality, creativity)
20% - Visual Impact
15% - Space Utilization
10% - Facebook Votes

100% - Total Score

Highlight of the One Ethan Allen piece was easy. As you can see from my bedroom set-up, the Jensen headboard is the central piece. I don't think anyone can miss that bed! It just dominates the space. So in this criteria, I think I have tough competition from Jane since she really did a great job highlighting the white armchair in her set-up.

I really designed my room around the bed:



As for the style criteria, I truly do believe the personal touches of photos, baby things, flowers, books added charm to the room. Of course, because I was designing for a family, the "personality" had to be toned down. The other rooms showed individuality better.

Visual impact category, I think I did really well here. While every room has its own fab look, my bedroom has the most comments about how the viewers liked the look, the style, and how they want to own it. That means the design triggered a response from people, a call to action of actually dreaming and wanting and perhaps even buying!

I'd like to give special thanks to my design consultants Sharon and Angel because they gave advice on how to create stronger impact. For example, they suggested that I use the mirrored chest instead of a little side table and to add a lamp on it because it will warm up the space.

Remember when I wrote about this bed?

Since then, Vince and I have been roaming Manila's furniture shops, department stores and bed boutiques looking for the perfect tufted headboard. We've found a few but they never did quite meet our standards. So when Ethan Allen announced that they had a design contest and a tufted headboard was one of the prizes, it was kismet!

Ethan Allen's rules were simple:
1. Choose one piece from their collection and highlight it.
2. Create a concept about how any space--big or small--can be made lovely with the right furniture and accessories.
3. Design an entire room around the chosen piece. I can use other Ethan Allen pieces and my own furniture and accessories.

Of course you all know what that one Ethan Allen piece I chose! I chose the Jensen tufted headboard!

Here's the concept I came up with (special thanks to the advice and active participation of my wonderful husband, the one with the real taste in design—Vince Sales!):

This is the whole setting up at the Pioneer showroom:

My little wall!

These guys are so fast and efficient!

That's Angel of Ethan Allen arranging my sheets and pillows. Yes, those are really mine!

I brought my steamer so I can smooth out the creases.

My pet peeve is wrinkly sheets and pillows!

Last few touches!

And here's the result!

Except for the major pieces and rug, everything in this set-up—from cradle and sheets to flowers and rocking horse—is really my property!

I think I want that tufted armchair and mirrored chest...

These are my design consultants, Sharon and Angel.

Do you like it? There are more photos in The One Ethan Allen Challenge Facebook page. You can also check out the other challengers' rooms. They're also nice!

But there can only be one winner!

Please vote for MY room! Make sure to like my bedroom in the album called OFFICIAL ENTRIES. There you can vote for my room (yes, my room, ha!). So pleeeeeeeease VOTE FOR ME by "liking" my room! Thank you so much!

UPDATE: I won! Hooray!