Retro Chair Rehab

I have been on the hunt for an amazing desk chair since we put that awesome green one in this room. I wanted to replace the plain ol' black one. Friday, I snatched this one up for $20!

Look at those lines- quick someone get me a typewriter, a steno pad, and one of those pen necklaces Joan wears.

Here it is when we came home. This yellow & orange tweed was a little worse for it's wear, and I was pretty sure there was no foam in the seat. 

So I deconstructed the chair. Removed screws and fabric. Under the back rest, was a beautiful, pristine leather. Under the seat, the upholstery was taped on, and the seat was coated in really old, dry rotted, nasty, foam powder. I scraped it off outside with a mask on (just in case it was toxic). Then I added foam to the back rest and two pieces to the seat. 

Then it got a layer of the awesome orange herringbone fabric. 

It pretty much has made my weekend, I just know I will love it forever!!

Ikea Hack: Closet System to Room Divider

So in my original plan for the basement, I planned to hand suspended curtain rods from the ceiling to create a visual wall to cover the storage area. Unfortunately we couldn't find a stud, and supporting a wall of curtains is too much to ask from drywall alone. 

During a trip to Ikea last weekend i stumbled upon the perfect solution!

Stolmen is a closet system where poles are suspended between the ceiling and the floor, and many combinations of poles, drawers, or shelves can be added to customize your space. 

So for my particular needs I just needed a few poles, the joint brackets, and the clothes rails to hang as high as possible. 

I attached the curtains to shower curtain rings from the dollar store on the back. 

If the clothes poles from Ikea are the wrong size for your space, you can use a wooden dowel cut to size with an L bracket screwed to each end.

The EASIEST Way to Hang a Grid Vignette

I added this photo to my houzz.com Ideabook a while back and planned to use the idea to display a client's vintage postcard collection from her travels. 

Ava Lane via Kailey J. Flynn Photography @ houzz.com

But does the thought of obsessively measuring for hours atop a ladder seem intimidating?

I learned this little trick when I was in Art school. If you create an installation piece- meaning it matters how the art is hung, this would be standard procedure. 

Start with a big piece of paper- butcher paper, kraft paper, wrapping paper or tape pieces of printer paper together. Your big paper needs to be larger than the whole vignette. 

Lay the paper down on the floor, then arrange your pieces. Measure and level on the ground until you are satisfied with your arrangement (these are 2" apart.) 

Trace the top and corners of each frame onto the paper. 

 Level, then tape or pin the paper to the wall where you want your grid vignette to hang. 

 IF your frames have a ledge for hanging inside (like these ikea ones do) Push two push pins through the paper into the wall on the top line of each frame. 

(Your vignette will hang 1/8 of an inch higher  if you do this, so if that bothers you adjust the big piece of paper- trust me it is easier to pin through the lines.)

IF your frames hang from a wire or hanger you should measure the hook location on the frame and add it to your drawing (like is it half way across?). 

Once all the pins are in place begin removing them. Then remove the paper from the wall. If your frames are to heavy to hang by push pins, nail in the holes marked by the push pins. These little 4x6 aluminum Ikea  frames were very lightweight and could hang from push pins, so i just pit the pushpins back in the wall. 

Hang your Frames and scoot as necessary to make sure your lines are even. 

*If any frames are askew, it is probably just the angle of the nail/pin. Try adjusting the angle before considering a new hole.  

**If you plan on nailing the frames and do not have any push pins, you can nail through the paper, then gently rip the paper off the wall leaving the nails intact. I do not recommend this with push pins though because they will fly everywhere. 

Happy Easter!

Here is our little family, in our Sunday best for Easter!

And tonight we are hosting WD's family for Easter dinner, so I thought I would share my table and buffet with you!

I hope you had a blessed Sunday!

Stylish Appliances

If you are going to have appliances out on your counter, they should be just as stylish as the rest of your home right? Here are some stylish toasters.

DeLonghi has a cute coffee pot and Espresso maker too (both available at Crate and Barrel)- but then again aren't all espresso makers adorable? I think so!

This in not a paid endorsement. 

Fabulous Floor Facelifts

What to do when you buy that perfect bungalow, with the seventies carpet you just know is hiding wood floors, and you pull back the shag to find years of water damage, pet stains, or what looks like the scene of a crime?

You could strip, sand, and refinish the floors, or you could add some style with a painted design.

You could totally do this over dull or outdated lanoleum too. I would encourage using an oil based paint and primer over linoleum as it is non porous.

For instructions on how to paint wood floors:

This Old House's Instructions For Painting Wood Floors

Or

Elle Decor: How To Paint Wood Floors

Lori Dunbar of fin and roe via Design Sponge

Laura's Chair

One of my clients, Laura, recently inherited this chair.

Coral + Navy Auburn Living Room

My cousin Anna is coming to Auburn next year and I am so excited. She and her roommate want a coral and navy living room, with a little Auburn flare. Here are a few options of room simulations I did for them. 

Making the Art Decision

With the pink couch's arrival my living room is really starting to come together. I am trying to decide between two pieces of art for the long wall. 

 This is a photoshopped photo I took in Venice. 

Or this photo I took in Positano, Italy which WD says reminds him of his trip to Sicily. 

I will probably put the image I don't choose in the dining room or move one of the big paint by numbers.

Which do you like better? 

The Post Christmas Winter Mantlescape

One of the biggest challenges of January, in conjunction with the post holiday blues, is how to restyle your home. Winter is cold and barren outside, and is hard to translate to your indoor style. 

Two easy options are either a warm and cozy theme, with candles, fuzzy, and soft items that make you feel snuggly. The other alternative is to go with cool, crisp items- metallic, mirrors, and glass all work for this. I pulled a collection of things I already owned. You could also incorporate bare branches, or stone (the branches are from my yard). Remember you can change the combination of things you have already used for a whole new look. 

Styling is about the combination of normal items in an interesting way and does not have to be expensive.

a little cleaner option with the same items.

Fashionable Filing Cabinet

After organizing and filling my new $36 filing cabinet from Wal- Mart, it desperately needed some style. 

 This is a tiny peek into my studio and where my new filing cabinet lives. 

Not too ugly, but defiantly not stylish. 

 I saved this bag from the purchase of the comforter that was in the guest room in the apartment. I knew it would come in handy some day! But you can use any fabric you like.

Cut out two pieces that are a little larger than the front of the drawers.  

 I am going to use spray adhesive to attach the fabric to the drawer. Any brand will do, this is just what I had on hand. 

Spread out paper, cardboard, or plastic to protect your floors or countertops from the spray. 

(You can use rubbing alcohol or an eraser to remove any excess sticky if you miss a little.) 

Lay the sticky side of the fabric onto the drawer. You are going to smooth the fabric across the top, then down the middle . Smooth from the middle out to the sides. Then trim the edges leaving about an inch. 

Then using an xacto knife cut around the base of the lock. 

Then if your filing cabinet has a handle like mine use your nail to create a small crease along the top of the handle.

Then use the xacto knife to cut only the top and sides of the rectangular drawer handle.

Then you will smooth the piece into the interior of the handle.

Repeat on the top drawer. 

If you can try and line up your seams, but if you use scraps, you may not have a choice, which is excusable - just blame it on your desire to be green - 

New Years Resolutions

1. Spend less money.
Billy and I took Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University before we for married. Which has kept us out of debt and enabled us to buy a home this year, but I think we can do better. I want to focus on spending less on the things that aren't fun so we can save up for more fun things.

2. Be more organized.
My heart loves organization, but it is something I have primarily done for aesthetic purposes, but now I need it for my sanity. I'm frustrated by my current organization system I have for homemaking matters. So en lieu of hiring an estate manager, I'm going to revamp my files, records, and storage system.

Styling with Jewelry

I like to be able to see my jewelry, but conventional jewelry displays have never worked for me. I like large bold pieces that don't fit in traditional jewelry storage solutions. I also wanted to be able to see all of the options clearly.

I decided to display my jewelry in a little vignette in my bathroom. 

This is all you need.  A box of cup hooks, and small screw eyes. 

I predrilled each hole, placing the first 3 necklaces that were about the same length. I began adding other necklaces where I felt they fit best. I drilled each hole based on how I wanted the necklace to hang. Just twist the hooks into the little holes. 

Use the cup hooks for necklaces, and the screw eyes for the dangly earrings. I grouped earrings this time, but you could also mix some of the earrings throughout the necklaces. This is my vignette in the apartment. I had a lot more space there. Patching these tiny holes wasn't really a big deal either.

 I am realizing right now that I must have another box of jewelry somewhere... I am missing more than a few of these pieces.

  Now to store the post earrings, watches, rings, and extra pendants. 

These containers are stackable and lined with felty material to keep the fancy jewelry safe. 

I stack the trays and slide them in the cabinet. In the apartment they were in a drawer.

Bottle Votives- how to cut glass

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Collect some bottles. You can use any glass bottles, but I was looking for something for my thanksgiving table, so amber glass seemed like the best idea.

Then to remove the labels I submerged them in water in the sink for aproximately half an episode of Parenthood, or 30 minutes... it may not have actually needed that long, but I got distracted.

You will also need acetone and 100% cotton string or yarn. Yes 100% cotton is crucial. I tried 3 other types of string I had lying around and it didn't work at all.

Wrap the sting around the bottle 8-10 times, the more string you use the longer it will burn and the hotter it will get. Repeat on all bottles.

Then take the string off the bottle and submerge the string in a bowl of acetone. The string did a good job staying in its little loops. All 6 loops are in the bowl together in the picture above.

 Fill your sink with COLD/ ICY water.

After soaking about a minute take out your first loop and put it back on the bottle.

The bottle will break near the line of the string, so place it acording to the height you would like the votive to be.

I dipped both my hand in the water before lighting the string to get the acetone off my hands. Light the acetone and turn slowly for at least 20 seconds.

The flame will be very controlled, and it will get blue at almost exactly 20 seconds, when the flame is blue and short place it in the icy sink water and it should pop apart imediately.

Because the glass in the beer bottles is so thin, it cracked a little around the edges. but it was not a big deal to me. I think if I had help the bottle more horizontally so only the string was getting hot, this might have helped.

You could totally use them like this, or accent with twine or ribbon, but I wanted mine to be shiney too.

So I spray painted the insides lightly with silver spray paint. if they are still a little damp, or you mist them with water they will look more like mercury glass. Accidental discovery! I am wishing I had done gold though now.  Let them dry and you can remove any overspray on the outside with acetone. Then place a tealight candle inside.

AND you may have a sparkly silver finger to show for it!

inspired from Pinterest and http://jaimelyn11.blogspot.com/2011/07/cutting-glass.html