Plaid Ikea Chest

When I saw this on Scot Meacham Wood's Blog -- The Adventures of Tartanscot -- today, I had to share it because I think it's brilliant.

His post was about his office space, and while I'd seen these fabulous plaid chests on the blog in the past, I never knew their pedigree until now.  And, I'm stunned.  Ikea!  His own DIY project.  Black paint, wallpaper and bevelled mirrors on top.  I can't stand how much I love them.  I know there are a lot of Ikea projects out there, but come on, this rocks :) if your a traditionalist.

For more of The Adventures of Tartanscot, click here.

Talk to you soon...

My Schumacher Chair and Some Art

Remember that I Stole a Schumacher Chair?  I finished it within two weeks, but hadn't put the bottom cover on until the other day, so I've been dragging my feet about posting it.  Today -- the big reveal.

Here she is before, in her new spot...

F. Schumacher chair, F. Schumacher linen (maybe 20 yrs old?)

And, here she it today, on this lovely Memorial Day...

I'm going to bore you with modeling her at another angle because I am so happy with the way she turned out, and because, quite frankly, reupholstery is a ton of hard, patient work. :)

Keep in mind, my living room is in the process of a redo, hence the naked windows.  (You know how I dislike a bare window.)

I'm thinking about this ROMO fabric for a summer pillow.  Just waiting for the fabric to come in to whip it up with some great trim....

If you wonder what differences there really are between high-end upholstery and its low-end counterpart, here is one of the things to look for...

Most better quality upholstery will have hold-downs (my fancy term) on the seat cushion, with a corresponding clasp on the frame to keep cushions in place.  Here, I replicated what was on the original, and made sure to expose the clasp when I redid the decking. (Lousy picture.)

I'm kind of a freak about making sure things I do don't look homemade.  I prefer to think I am a perfectionist rather than a snob.  That said, if you are thinking about reupholstering anything that has a welt or cushion, you really do need to know how to sew (or get someone to do that part for you :)


In other news, my girls went on their first solo trips to opposite ends of the country this weekend.  As a welcome back surprise, I framed some of their artwork that I've been wanting to get done.

One did this pen and ink, and they each did one of the marker black and whites below.  I'm hoping they will love this addition to our walls!

There's nothing like original artwork, especially when it's done by someone you love.

Hope you've had a fabulous weekend.  Talk to you soon,

Carol

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Before and After: Dining Room Changes

So, in yesterday's post, I told you about the Florida living room and dining area that I worked on last weekend.  Here, again, is the living room, with the rug we were testing (and then ordered).  You'll recall that the taupe chair is leaving as is the coffee table.

Now let's look at the changes for the dining area.  I mentioned last post that my client had a stager come in for help with furniture arrangement.  Honestly, from the pictures Carol sent me, it was a page right out of "put everything on an angle so it looks interesting" book.  Please note -- I'm not slamming stagers, I just didn't think that this particular person paid attention to how my client and her husband use the space, which always trumps any arrangement.  Function must come first if you want your house to truly be a home.

Anyway, when I got there, the dining area,  behind the sofa above, looked like this...

The angle she put the table and chairs on really did work for the space, which has two walls of different lengths, separating it from the kitchen beyond.  Carol liked the way this worked, and I agreed, but it was also the second area of the living/dining room that needed to be anchored.  First, by substantial artwork, and then, with color and pattern on those walls.  Like the living area, it was floating, and needed something to dominate.

So what changed?  First came this artwork (Carol wanted me to know that the stager put the tiny mirrors there, not her).  (There, it's out there, Carol!) 

And then, this linen-looking Thibault wallpaper is going on the walls...

Thibault Manhattan Stripe in Seafoam

This will give you an idea of how it will all work together (and no, this is not my client)...

There's something I want to point out here about these walls that this paper is going to help cure.  You can see the walls have a funky cut-out, and that the "columns" pop against the Ben Moore Palladian Blue of the kitchen walls.  That pop of  BM Natural Wicker against the Palladian Blue is distracting.

In reality, the wallpaper is incredibly close in color to the kitchen walls, so that the goal is for those columns to soften and not draw your eye right to them.  The visual weight of the artwork accomplishes two things: helps bring the eye down, and detracts from the fact that the other dining wall is shorter (and will intentionally have no artwork, just wallpaper).  Just a couple of tricks to create a focal wall. (And, just by pleasant accident, the matting of the artwork mirrors the back wall of the bookcases directly opposite.)

To finish things off,  I weighted the tablescape to help with the grounding (these were all items Carol already had, I just took them from other places in the house.)

Carol and her husband will be doing the papering, and I can't wait to get the after pictures, when everything is in its final place.

I hope you enjoy a fabulous long weekend!  Talk to you soon,
Carol

Want to feel like your space is grounded and balanced?  Contact me here.

Before and After: Finishing a Great Room

This past weekend, my client flew me down to her home in Florida to help her pull her living room and dining area together.  Carol was one of my first Window Wednesday readers who asked for my help solving her window issue.  Now we were on to other things...

Here was the living room space when I arrived...

And here was the dining area, which is right behind that sofa...

My client was off to a great start with this space(she redid those chair seats on her own), but she felt like things were "off", that she couldn't get it right.  She felt she had a mistake in the mix, and she wanted me to tell her what went wrong.  And then fix it.  In two days.  Let me just say, we shopped till we dropped.

Let's look at another view of the before...

When Carol emailed me pictures, the first thing I saw was that in the palette of blue-green, coral and taupe, no one color was dominating. The colors also had the same value (strength of color).  Having equal presence and value, the room lacked a "wow" factor, and didn't feel grounded.   I wanted to cure that by deciding which colors were staying, and which would dominate where.  To do that, I suggested we start by anchoring the living room area with a strong rug.


Here's a close up of the rug we found...

In the living room, the two French chairs in taupe and blue definitely had to go.  Why?  To help give the room balance.  Taupe is the color of the back of the bookcases, and that was enough.  Eclectic works when a room has achieved balance, and in this case, I felt it needed better color balance.  Sooo...

Two new chairs with this wood frame...

In this deeper blue-green fabric (image a bit off), will replace the taupe chairs.

A new sofa in a light beige found in the rug and also this fabric, will replace the current white one, toning the look down a bit, and softening the overall look of the room.

Here's a look at the room with the rug getting a trial run (can you picture the pale beige sofa?)...

Since the t.v. is across from the sofa and Carol's husband likes to put his feet up, the coffee table is being replaced with two square ottomans in a multi-color "tweed" with blue-green welt.  These will add a nice pop, and Carol will be able to use one with her new chairs.

Since this is getting pretty long, I'll save the dining area for the next post.

If you've been reading me for a while, you know I'm a pretty irregular blogger, and that's been the case of late.  Busy with work, family and projects.  My blog usually falls down the list.  Thanks for hanging around and reading -- I appreciate it.

Carol

Guaranteed to Make You Smile

source unknown

Happy weekend, everybody.  And Happy Mother's Day to all the moms who read my blog.  I hope you have as much joy this weekend (and every day) from the love of your kids as this little guy in the flowers.

Talk to you soon,
Carol

Before and After: Bar Chest

I found this bar chest in a thrift store a couple of years ago for a whopping $25.  An envelope inside with some parts for the "wine hose" (don't ask) was dated 1964.  Hmmm.  A very good year.  Meant to be.

Though she wasn't a very attractive girl, I saw potential for the space I needed to fill in my living room, which I'm currently working on to transform into a green/cream/black look.  With a bit of sanding, priming and spraying, she's taken her spot in the room and looks like this...

My lame 3 second styling of the top aside, check her out now.  You know I like a bit of French in my home.  There will, in the next few months, be cream drapes with black banding on the windows flanking her, and the green chair I'm working on will be to her left.

As far as the bar part goes, here's the before...

Can't you just see the shot glasses in the holes and a 1960's - 70's party happening around her? The cut out in the back has a box below it to hold wine bottles or something.  I will probably never use it as a bar, but I did buy it thinking it's perfect as a liquor cabinet. (Anyone else a vodka tonic fan?)

Again, with a 3 second styling for the picture, here she is after...

I'm happy with how she turned out, and I always feel good about giving an old piece new life.  It's not about the price tag, really, it's about the process.  I have been a DIY'r my entire life.  I can see me still doing this kind of stuff for the next half of my forever.

Hope you find something that inspires you to give it a new life.  In the meantime, have a great weekend,

Carol

Want help with  creating a home that inspires you?  See how I can help here.

Green Living Room Love

I saw this green living room on A Delightful Design today.  Abby was using it to show layout.  I saw it and stopped breathing.  I'm blue now (because I'm still not breathing, not because I'm depressed/blue).

If you wonder what I am like in person, look at this room.  It is so me.  It is so not what I have.  Yet.  Now, I'm blue of the sad kind.  I love it because there is drama at the window, animal print, texture, some symmetry, a hint of antique with French lines, rooted in tradition. Oh, and glorious beams.

However, I am working on my own green living room, and I am, indeed, happy with the plan.  It will just take some time, as you saw here, I like to do things myself.

What color room takes your breath away?

Carol

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I Stole A Schumacher Chair

Okay, I didn't really steal it, but when I found this Schumacher classic English arm chair at an estate sale back in the fall, I felt like I did!  Yes, it came home with me for a mere $300 dollars.

Schumacher has a line of furniture built like tanks, with a price tag to match.  This was a major score, people.  I am still dancing a jig.  I love classic lines.

I figure the Schumacher linen on it is from the 80's, which cracks me up because the colors are still/now current.  Anyway, as I can never leave well enough alone, I'm in the process of reupholstering it myself.  These are the fabrics I am using for the re-do of my living room...

Don't hate me.  This is actually a current, spring green Highland Court fabric that I scored last week for $60 to do the whole chair.  In person, the hand on this is exquisite.  I am doing my living room all in green, with cream and black drapes (haven't figured out that fabric yet).  Not only did I score this fabric, but this Kravet Ikat (same kind of pricing) is going on my French chair...

Again, in person, these fabrics are perfect together.  My tufted sofa is going a deeper green in velvet.

But I digress from my chair.  I started the reupholstery progress this weekend, pulling out 7 million, 4 hundred and 82 staples.  Okay, an exaggeration, maybe, but if you've done it, you know that's what it feels like.  Here are some shots of my progress over the last three days...

Don't freak -- the old rug is not part of the plan. :)  Anyway, I impatiently took the cushion cover apart and the inside back to use as a pattern.

I've checked and retied a few springs...

This morning, this is what it looks like (bad lighting).  I sewed the inside back with the welt yesterday, and here it is making sure it fits.

I'm beside myself excited with the plan for the living room, and with these crazy scores.  That's what I've been up to lately, in my spare 5 minutes of time.  Have you ever attempted serious reupholstery?

Stay tuned...
Carol


Need help redoing your living room?  Contact me here -- I'd love to help.