“Thrift Store SCORE!”

May 25, 2012 16 Comments

Before I reveal our latest “Thrift Store SCORE!” I need to bring you up to speed on a little swap out we did with our master bedroom bed, specifically with the linens. We L-O-V-E our yellow and grey quilt, but we’ve had it on the bed for about a year now and it was time for a change. Don’t worry if you are “Team Quilt” though – It will definitely make a return as the seasons (and my moods) change.

First, to find a replacement…After getting a soft and luxurious down comforter from our wedding gift registry, we decided to go with a duvet cover. It just so happened that we had scheduled a trip to Ikea right before jetting off to our honeymoon (there was one only minutes away from our airport), so I made sure to make a pit stop in their bedding section. There were so many to choose from, but we ended up going with Ransby, a subtle pattern of grey leaves and vines on a white background. For less than $30 for the set, it was too good (and pretty) a deal to pass up.

Soon after returning from our trip, I dressed the bed and stepped back hoping to be wowed. The pattern and cushy down comforter were perfect, but the rest of the space was a bit lacking. You see, after posting a number of pieces of furniture for sale, I managed to pass my existing nightstand off to a friend. I was happy to give it a new home, but sad to be left with nothing to set my book on.

As you can see to the right of the bed (my side), I was literally living out of a box. So I knew it was time to replace what I had sold.

The reason I got rid of the original table was because of its traditional style – It was a perfect piece for me several years ago when I embraced the fully eclectic look (i.e. college era hand-me-downs), but now that I am working on a forever home and have the means to be picky with the furniture we add, I wanted to go with something I knew both John and I would love. What might that be? I envisioned something from the 1970′s with spindly legs, one of those two-tiered pieces with a drawer.

So, with renewed motivation, we headed out to our favorite estate shop downtown, which tends to have about 30 of just this type of nightstand to choose from. Of course, there were slim pickin’s the one day we set out for our new-to-us nightstand, but we lucked out after uncovering the perfect one.

Yes, it’s a bit worse for wear between the piece of flapping vinyl off the side and the layers of dust and cobwebs, but the lines were right, the shape was right and even the hardware was right. I adore the simple look of the round drawer pull – A circle of dark wood surrounding a thin metal pin. It even had a drawer! We were made for each other…

After a quick wipe down with furniture polish, it looked good as new. It really is in great shape considering how old it probably is. Other than the dislodged vinyl strip, there are no major dings or scratches and it is sturdy as can be. Oh and the price? Unfortunately, I headed to the check out counter just as the owner of the store (who is notorious for not backing down on price) came up to the register. I was hoping to spend $15 on this bad boy, but instead I was asked to pay $30. Not the BEST deal I’ve ever gotten, but I loved it and didn’t care. Besides, I made $30 on the sale of my old nightstand, so we can just call it even.

After situating it beside the bed (along with another piece of furniture to be discussed in a moment), the room finally started looking more complete. Luna the kitty also decided to grace us with her modeling abilities this morning…

The two tiers gives me plenty of room for my favorite antique lamp, our little family bell, a stack of books and a cup for water. Really, I could fit a whole lot more on the table, but for now I’m enjoying the uncluttered look. And no, I still haven’t fixed the broken vinyl yet…But it’s nothing a little wood glue can’t fix once I have a spare moment.

But about that OTHER new bed-side table…As you can see peeking around the bottom of the bed in the photo below, I also added a bench that my dad built. It used to live in the living room under the front window for the kitties (and sometimes the not-so-little dog) to people watch from, but since rearranging that room, it got displaced. I actually love it at the foot of the bed since it’s a great spot to stack excess pillows or slip on a pair of shoes in the morning.

Isn’t my dad so freaking talented? Such a beautiful, simple, classic piece of furniture…

Both new pieces add a ton of storage and fit our style perfectly. I’m so lucky that we were able to find just the right thing for our home. Have you guys snagged any great thrift store pieces lately?

P.S. You may have noticed a new blog header – Again, after a year with the original one I thought it was time for a change. I decided to go with something short, sweet, to-the-point and streamlined. Hope you like it! Who knows how long it will stick around. I tend to look at my blog design in the same way I do my house – I like change and I like to swap out and tweak things until it’s juuuuuuust right. Keeps life interesting…

Hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Filed Under: Bedroom, Furry kiddos/pets, Our Influences, Product Search, Thrift Store Tell All Tagged With: , , , , ,

All in the details…

May 23, 2012 6 Comments

Now that my mind is no longer consumed by our wedding, I’ve had a lot of time to think about other parts of my life. As you now know (down to the last painful detail), I’m focusing a lot of my mental energy on coming up with ways to balance the facets of my life (husband, blog, career, me-time). But I think another big part of brainstorming and restructuring is meditation – i.e. sitting back and NOT thinking. Sometimes my most creative ideas have come to me in moments of complete and utter relaxation. In fact, my best time for constructive thought is in bed as I’m falling asleep – Although this also has its drawbacks as I’ve been known to forget my “genius” ideas come morning…

The point is, a few positive changes I could be making to my life have “come to me” recently in moments of quiet reflection and I am excited to put them into play. One such change (or really ADDITION) happens to deal with the blog and I’m unveiling it to the world today!

Welcome to the newest feature on DreamGreenDIY: All in the details.

After getting an exciting response from last week’s “My top 20 most inspiring spaces” post, I decided to continue focusing on those spaces (and then some). I’ll be breaking down the elements of each room that work and why. It’ll give all of us a chance to really analyze what makes good design good and maybe help us hone in on what we can do in our own spaces to take it up a notch.

I hope that you guys will be part of this new feature by commenting away with your own thoughts on what makes these details work.

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First up, we have this gorgeous mid-century mod space complete with vintage details, pops of color and a great mix of textures.

THE COUCH

This couch could very well be the thing that makes this room such an inspiration for me. The shape is a perfect blend of 1970′s mod with contemporary textiles and finishes. If you want your living space to feel modern, the quickest way to get the look is with a sofa devoid of curves. Sure, curvaceous seating can read as modern with a good balance of sharp accessories and art, but getting it “just so” takes time. The sleek look of this sofa is contemporary to a “T.” And we can’t talk about the couch without mentioning the color. Coral is one of the “it” colors this season, but it’s also a great take on a neutral – At least it CAN be, when done like this. It’s pale and soft so as not to punch you in the face when you lay eyes on it, but against white walls it still serves as a great pop of a focal point.

THE ART

This is another one of those things that can be a bit tricky to get right. A vintage art gallery wall (when done well) is a great way to give an eclectic feel to a room. The idea is to collect mismatched prints and paintings and stagger them on a wall, as though thrown together. It can tone down a potentially formal space and is a great way to put that pile of unhung art in your closet to good use.

TABLETOP BOOKS

You guys know I love decorating with books (as seen here and here and probably a dozen other places I’m forgetting at the moment). I think it’s safe to say that we all have books lying around our houses, so why not put them to good use? They add color, like in this case, but don’t end up crowding a surface since they still offer a landing pad for things like your coffee mug of favorite owl trinket. Here, the stack of books is topped with an equally functional box, great for stowing away a remote or pack of playing cards.

THE TEXTURES

This space is a great study in mixing textures. From the heather finish on the couch and high pile shag rug, to the woven throw and fur accent pillow…It just goes to show that there’s nothing scary about mixing texture – If you are afraid to go bold blending colors, try mixing up the textures (in a single color) instead. All rooms need a little dimension and you can easily create it with texture.

Feel free to weigh in with your own thoughts in the comments section and take a look at all of my inspiring spaces here.

Filed Under: All in the details, How-To, Inspiring, Living Room, Our Influences Tagged With: , , , , , ,

My top 20 most inspiring spaces

May 16, 2012 10 Comments

Whether we mean to or not, our homes are influenced by something. Could be taken from a favorite television show or maybe the magazines you flip through, but it’s inevitable that bits and pieces of visual fluff will infiltrate your psyche and affect the way you structure your home. This isn’t rocket science and I know I’ve talked about it upteen times, both here on DreamGreenDIY and in my guest posting for Breathe Magazine. Yet, even though this information is nothing new to you, I think it’s a good exercise to look back on the most recent influences if, for no other reason, to see how tastes and tendencies have changed.

In honor of the eye candy I’ve saved up over the past year as an obsessed a faithful member of Pinterest, I am sharing with you all today my top 20 inspiring spaces. In no particular order, I invite you to feast your eyes on the looks, rooms and interiors that get my heart pumping and my planning mind working in overtime. I’d love to hear your take on my style and how you might characterize it (ala Emily Henderson – “Tuscan Modern,” “Southern Romance Meets Scottish Country Charm,” “Modern Urban Beach,” etc.).

Prepare to drool.

Source: decor8

Source: Mint

Source: Breakfast at Toast

Source: Kireei

Source:  Glitter Guide

Source: we <3 it

Source: BHG

Source: Schoolhouse Electric & Supply Co.

Source: Design Sponge

Source: HGTV

Source: M Street

Source: Yellow Brick Home

Source: The Marion House Book

Source: Style by Emily Henderson

Source: The Borrowed Abode

 

Source: Decorology

Source: Flickr

Source: The Inspired Room

 

Source: Unknown

 

Source: Style by Emily Henderson

If I were to give myself a style diagnostic based on those images, I think I’d call my style “Mid-century Eclectic.” What do you think?

For more on spaces that inspire me, click here for my full “Inspirational Spaces/Colors” board on Pinterest.  And feel free to share links to your own inspirational spaces (your own or someone elses) in the comments section. Let’s share our room daydreams…

Filed Under: Inspiring, Our Influences Tagged With: , , , , ,

Pinspiration Monday: Painted wood

May 14, 2012 6 Comments

There’s a first time for everything. Instead of being inspired by one Pinterest image for today’s “Pinspiration Monday,” I am combining two images to customize a fun and crafty centerpiece for our dining room table.

The first kick in the pants came when I saw these curvy, colorful wooden candlesticks. I really love color, but I actually hoped (in my head) to find a pair of plain raw wood pieces to adorn our table. I love the shapely lines but think our kitchen is pretty good on pops of color (what with our plate wall and newly painted cabinets).

Source: Casa Sugar

Source: Photobucket

As luck would have it, I found these two beauties at a local estate store for only $2. They fit my curvy criteria and were the raw wood I had been hoping for. I thought they looked quite lovely against the chocolate brown wall and, although their shape is fun and eye-catching, they don’t necessarily steal the show from the plate art.

But we weren’t done yet…You see, I also was inspired by the Pinterest images below of painted wood. The idea is to paint pops of saturated color on top of wood, but still leave the grain a bit of room to shine.

Source: Swoon

Source: Unknown…

So I decided to paint the candlesticks, but only partially. Where to begin though? Do I start halfway up the candlesticks and paint little colorful rings and leave it at that? Or maybe paint an entire half of the candlesticks? In the end, John suggested stripes on the flat base and I was sold.

For the colors, I went with the two trendy colors of the season – Mint and pale coral. I also decided to incorporate more of my metallic gold craft paint (as seen here and here). As you can see below, the gold is pretty subtle, but that allows the mint and coral to really shine.

I tried eyeballing my lines at first with a steady hand, but eventually caved and broke out the masking tape to ensure nice and straight edges.

While I adore the colors and the idea of stripes on the candlesticks, I did run into one painful issue…You may have already noticed, but my stripes look pretty wonky and fat towards the actual “stick” portion of my thrifted candle holders. When you see the stripes head-on, the part that runs into the elevated stick ends up giving the optical illusion of a curve when the lines are actually straight.

Here they are all finished on the table top – You can easily see that annoying optical illusion of bulbous stripes towards the center.

Although those lines look anything but straight, when seen from above, they really are pretty spot on.

Not sure just how much that optical illusion is going to bug me…I may lightly sand down the edges of the paint so that the ridges won’t show and just paint up the stick about halfway with new color to cover it up. I’d love your thoughts and opinions on whether I should keep it as is or experiment and tweak just a little bit more until just right.

Help!

Filed Under: DIY Projects, Inspiring, Kitchen, Product Search, Thrift Store Tell All, Weekly Pinspiration Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Another cord/outlet domination

May 11, 2012 17 Comments

If you are anything like me, you hate cords. Like, REALLY hate them. They clutter the look of a space and turn what could be a quiet, pretty vignette into a tangled mess. But sometimes the placement of outlets makes visible cordage an unavoidable necessity. You’ve seen me tackle one problem area here (back in the early days of DG-DIY and bad photography skills), by taping the cord string along the back of a table’s leg to mask it. That one worked like a charm, but we had one other area that couldn’t be helped without some rewiring and drywall patching.

Until we feel brave enough to do some permanent rearranging with the outlet placements, our current television/cable outlet situation in the living room was giving me a massive headache.

I had managed to hide the mess of cables behind the record shelf, but those outlet plates were still screaming for attention.

My temporary solution for the issue was to stack books in front of them – About 100 pounds of books, to be exact. I took a leisurely stroll through the house one afternoon, rounding up all of the biggest and heaviest art books that I owned. I had a bunch and they stacked up nicely (literally and figuratively), but there was still something about it that didn’t look quite right.

I still don’t know how West Elm makes their stacks of art books look so unintentional and home-y…

Not only was the look a bit off, but you could still catch a glimpse of the outlets behind the spines, making the purpose of the arrangement painfully obvious. So I redistributed the stack back into the bookshelves throughout the house and started back at square one. My dream was to find some kind of vintage laundry basket, something tall but relatively thin, to put in front of the outlets. Something like that would serve double duty, covering the nasty imperfection and also acting as throw blanket storage.

As a back up, I also kept my eye out for things like large vessels or a vintage speaker with a woven front ala the ’60s or ’70s – I figured both could work in the event that my laundry basket idea (a) took too long to come to fruition, or (2) failed completely.

Fast forward about a month and a half and a miracle occurred. A family friend (who also happens to have been our fabulous wedding planner) hosted a yard sale at her house – As an event planner, and this being only a few weeks before our wedding, I decided we’d go check out what she was offering in case any of it could be useful at our event. Not only did we find tons of fun stuff for the reception, but we also stumbled upon the perfect solution for my “ugly outlet situation.”

Is that hamper not exactly what I had described in my vision??? In fact, I think it’s even better than perfect – I couldn’t have hoped for a vintage style laundry basket with more style and character. Check out that neat cross weave in the wicker and the buckled belt closure! And just as I’d longed for, it has a great big opening for blankets galore!!

I try to limit my use of exclamation points on this blog, but this find definitely deserves a few…It’s one of those times when patience and waiting for just the right piece really does pay off.

Cbeck out the new yard-saled hamper below taking care of our ugly outlet situation in style. You may also notice a furniture shift…I decided to switch things up in the living room, turning the sofa at an angle and pulling our new yellow chair out into the open edge of the space. I think it opens the room to more flow and certainly better conversation. Seems far more welcoming to me.

Here’s the photo of it again before rearranging, so that you don’t need to scroll back up to the top for reference/comparison.

…And now again with the new arrangement:

So what do you think? Do you guys have any other creative solutions for hiding ugly cords and outlets? I could still use all the help I can get…

Have a great weekend!

Filed Under: Living Room, Simple Fixes, Thrift Store Tell All Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

“Thrift Store SCORE!” {4/18/12}

April 18, 2012 4 Comments

This past weekend, while John was away on his Bachelor Party outing with friends, I took a little “me time” to do what girls quite possibly do best: Shop. I bought a couple more things for the wedding and also a few more pieces to add to my spring wardrobe (both of which I will explain in later posts). But I also made sure to squeeze in a little time to go thrifting. My mission? Brass animals.

As mentioned in Monday’s post, I am looking forward to arranging a little shelf/art display in our master bedroom. I even made this (awful, oh-so-terrible, yet gets-the-point-across) mock-up for you in Photoshop to illustrate my plan:

We are going to set up the new leaning shelf against the wall in our bedroom and then stack pairs of the prints on either side. Once all the nailing, hammering and drilling is all said and done, I get to focus on styling those rows and rows of lovely open shelves…To carry the new gold tones of the frames throughout, I plan on adding a few brass figurines to the display – Namely brass animals. Of course, I’ll also add some books, vessels and boxes (ala Emily Henderson).

Since most of my brass menagerie is taking up residence in other rooms of the house, I needed to add to the brood. Main stop – Estate Specialist downtown. While there, I came across two new additions to our golden collection, all for only $6.30. Thrift store SCORE!

First up, we have Mrs. Golden Duck (or is she a goose? Any bird experts out there?). She came a little worse for wear, but I still love her. She’s sculptural and feminine and just the right size (about 7 or 8 inches in length and 2 or 3 inches high, although don’t quote me on that since I am terrible with estimations).

When I say she’s “a little worse for wear,” you may have already noticed the piece missing from her tail feathers. There’s a pretty sizable chunk broken off and, since I don’t have the piece, there’s really no way to fix it. I’m hoping a new coat of paint will mask the issue.

Speaking of paint, when I took off the sticker price tag, a bit of what I thought was a solid gold finish came off with it revealing a red undercoat. Looks like I’ll need to give the entire surface a brass-colored facelift – Nothing a good can of spray paint can’t fix.

I also picked up this little guy – He’s more of a palm-sized brass friend, but I love imagining him sitting at the corner of a framed photo or on top of a stack of books. He is the real deal when it comes to brass figurines – Heavy, solid finish and oh-so shiny.

I love the hammered texture along his back – Reminds me of a raw sculpture only half complete. He is also a great reminder of my little sister, who adores elephants. If I remember correctly, she told me once that elephants with their trunks raised are a sign of good luck – We can all use a little mystical luck in our lives, so I’m happy to snag a bit for myself through this trunk-happy brass elephant.

Authentic too! Check out his “Made in India” sticker.

While I don’t have photos of them set up quite yet, I hope to have something to show you after our honeymoon. I am putting myself on project withdrawal for the next week and a half as we wind down to wedding day. But don’t worry – I’ve got plenty to share until we head off on our week-long vacay, and I’ve lined up some great guest posters to keep you guys occupied with tips, tricks and suggestions to maintain and beautify your home. Stay tuned!!

Filed Under: Bedroom, Product Review, Product Search, Thrift Store Tell All Tagged With: , , ,

For the love of brass

March 2, 2012 4 Comments

Things have been a little quiet around the house lately – No massive projects (or even small ones) to speak of. After the unexpected joy and excitement of stumbling upon our new-to-us bar cart last weekend, we’ve sort of taken a backseat to “doing” and have focused more on “living.”  The past week has been full of Mad Men watching, eating out with friends, random trips to Target just ’cause and enjoying some quality chat time at home just the two of us (with our three crazy, wild animals pacing around us).

But to keep your eyes and senses occupied this morning, I wanted to let you in on my most recent obsession – Brass. This is definitely a new thing for me, as I have always been loyal to shiny silver and brushed nickel. That loyalty is still there, but I have come to really appreciate the warmth of a good brass accent or piece of furniture. Rather than acting as a neutral like silver often does, a nice polished brass adds color and richness to a space. Metallics have been trending a lot in the past year and brass is right up there on my list of favorites.

Sure, there are definitely “bad brasses” out there (I’ve even been known to cover it up, as seen here), but I think even the bad ones can be used stylishly in a space as long as you know how to balance the sheen out in the rest of the room (without going overboard). I have unconsciously begun to pepper brass accents throughout our home, especially in the living room  - It’s subtle but a few pieces here and there has really given the room a lux retro feel.

To further convince you sceptics, feast your eyes on these gorgeous spaces – You’ll notice that brass never overpowers, but instead enhances a color scheme and gives just a touch of needed sparkle.

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If you’re still not convinced, I really can’t blame you since I used to cringe at the sight of it not too long ago. Maybe it’s an acquired taste.

Anyway, I have big brass-hunting plans for tomorrow – John and I are making our now-standard trek downtown to scour the Estate Specialist for a brass bed frame for the twin bed in the studio. I’m hoping a more sophisticated and sleek shape will get me one step closer to a perfect space. I know the look I’m going for, it’s just taking longer than necessary to get there…

So what are your thoughts on brass? Love it? Hate it? Not sure yet?

Have a great weekend!

Filed Under: Inspiring, Our Influences Tagged With: , , ,

Pinspiration Monday: Vintage bar cart

February 27, 2012 10 Comments

I am so over-the-moon excited about sharing today’s find with you all…

So remember last Friday when I admitted that I was on the hunt for a brass and glass vintage bar cart to add to our midcentury styled living room? Well at my mom’s birthday dinner later that day, she happened to mention that there was just such a cart at a local consignment shop in town. Bonus? It was under $50!

The next day, after a really fun tour of downtown Lynchburg lofts (I wish I had brought my camera to share all of the amazing spaces we saw), John and I made a bee-line for that very consignment shop. I tried so hard not to race through the shop only to be disappointed that the cart was gone – So I meandered as I would any other day, but my eyes did a whole lot of extra darting, searching for a hint of shimmering brass.

About halfway through the store, I saw it out of the corner of my eye. No longer caring about restraint, I practically jogged over to the cart. Amazingly, it was my absolute DREAM piece of furniture. Although the beauties pictured below from Pinterest were my inspiration images, I still  don’t think I could have possibly crafted a better version of it in my head.

Source: Cottage & Vine

Source: Reasons to Breathe

We quickly carted our new bar cart home.

I love the brass finish and the glass shelves are in perfect condition. I was happily surprised to find a cart with not one, not two, but THREE shelves for storage and display. The side bars on either side of the top shelf have this really interesting slope to them and a thin partition is created by an extra bar towards the back. John and I have dreams of bottled Coca Cola  lining the back of the top shelf someday soon…

The other criteria I had in my head other than the finishes, was a faux bamboo texture on the bars. Again, my prayers were answered with our newly purchased cart because it exactly matches another brass bamboo piece living in the space – My thrifted magazine holder! They look like a matching set.

So where did we put it? Right by the front door underneath yet another thrifted piece – The Toulouse-Lautrec print.

Here’s the spot “Before”:

And “After”:

Time to style it up! I gathered a bunch of things from around the house that I thought would bring the cart a little texture and color – Things like two glass decanters (borrowed from my sister who is waiting on a “real home,” as opposed to her current apartment, before she uses them), a glass cocktail shaker, a bottle of wine, a decorative kitchen towel, some vintage champagne glasses, a vase of silk peonies, two trays, a stack of art magazines and a silver jewelry box.

The large brown tray was actually a gift from my bridal shower – It has four photos from our engagement shoot behind the glass. Love!

Tada!!!

Here’s that silver jewelry box I mentioned – It was a Christmas gift from John’s parents and is monogrammed with my initials, which thankfully won’t change after the wedding since our last names both start with “W.” I thought the silver was a beautiful neutral against the brass and a happy surprise was that my collection of plastic cocktail swizzle sticks (another sweet gift from my bridal shower) fit perfectly inside the box.

I am just so pleased that I was able to turn my dreams into a reality with this piece. I never thought I’d find it so quickly and for such a great price. All thanks to my mom for pointing me in the right direction…

Cheers!

P.S. I am so pumped to see DreamGreenDIY on the list for Apartment Therapy’s “Homies 2012″!!! Please vote here for us if you think our blog is worthy of the nom. (We are towards the bottom of the list, or hit “control F” and type in “DreamGreenDIY”)

Filed Under: Inspiring, Living Room, Our Influences, Product Review, Product Search, The Big Reveal, Thrift Store Tell All, Weekly Pinspiration Tagged With: , , , , ,

Revisiting an abstract painting

February 17, 2012 7 Comments

Have you ever DIY-ed something, happily placed it in your home, stepped back and then thought to yourself (or say out loud) a little dejected “Ohh…That’s not exactly what I had envisioned.”

Well it has definitely happened to me. When it does, I tend to leave it for at least a few weeks (or sometimes “months”) to see if it will grow on me. There are times when it does, and other times when it doesn’t. You may remember a certain yellow feature wall I did way back when…I liked where it was going, but not exactly where it was. After leaving it as-is for a couple of months, I finally had my lightbulb moment and decided to stencil a lighter color over top. I am SO happy that I waited it out until the ultimate solution hit me like a ton of bricks, or a quart of paint in this instance.

I was faced with a similar situation when it came to a piece of abstract art that I made a while back. I had a vision of a big expressionistic painting, ala Franz Kline, so I whipped up this lovely work of art:

If you read the original post (find it here), I lamented over the absence of a frame, and in the end I finally admitted to myself that I needed to go ahead and do it. The other issue was that my original piece of art just wasn’t the right proportion for the wall. The height was a-okay, but it definitely needed to be wider.

With my plan of action in mind, I waited until I could save up the moolah for a massive frame shopping spree. It took a bit of time, but I found my instant solution on a recent trip to Ikea (gushed about here). Enter our brand new, oversized Ribba Frame with natural wood finish and a lovely mat to boot, as seen in this loot photo:

I found the perfect moment to get the piece of art done whilst painting a black feature wall in the studio.

I already had black paint out along with a big paint brush, so in between coats on the feature wall, I grabbed a large piece of printmaking paper from my supply, set it on my drafting table and slathered jagged lines of black across it. I didn’t think about it, I just sort of hit it with whatever line I was feeling at the moment. I even decided to add a few splatters of paint this time by watering down the paint and fanning the brush hairs in the direction of the paper.

After letting it dry for a couple of hours, I put it in the Ribba frame and stepped back to evaluate the finished product. I’ll be honest, I was so focused on the black wall during this side project, that I wasn’t really expecting that my somewhat distracted painting would turn out well. But low and behold, I actually love it! Unlike the first painting, I put in some curvy lines and I really love the way it feels. It’s less jagged-and-harsh and more playful-come-look-at-me-and-smile. I know abstract expressionism isn’t for everyone, but it’s one of my favorites and I’m glad I have my very own to display.

Here it is on the feature wall in the living room. I am loving how the mat and wooden frame make the painting stand out and pop against the patterned wall rather than letting it recede into it like the original unframed piece.

To take you back, here’s what the old painting looked like:

And now the new one:

What do you guys think? Is it better? It is worse? Are you indifferent? HATE abstract art? To each his/her own, I say – But I’d love your thoughts.

Have a great weekend – TGIF!!!!!! My sister is coming into town for my bridal shower, which is this Sunday. I am so excited to celebrate my upcoming nuptials with all of the main ladies in my life. What are you guys up to?

P.S. In case you missed it, I posted over on Breathe Magazine’s blog yesterday morning – This time I rehashed my DIY earring organizer. Feel free to check it out by clicking here. Even if you are already familiar with this project, there are a few extra goodies at the end of the post!

Filed Under: DIY Projects, The Big Reveal, Inspiring, Breathe Magazine, How-To, Living Room Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Mid century ottoman redressing

February 10, 2012 18 Comments

Let’s get sentimental this morning…Maybe it’s your grandmother’s old worn wingback chair or a set of antique encyclopedias – Whatever the piece or collection, it’s a safe bet that we all have special items that have stood the test of time in our respective families…Heirloom pieces that bring to mind particular memories from our childhoods. Now the piece I’m about to show you probably isn’t quite as special as the image I’ve just painted (I think my mom got it at a thrift store), but that makes it no less valuable in memory.

We’ve had this mid century ottoman for as long as I can remember – As you can see it’s had a pretty hard life. Complete with the tell-tale markings of a toss around project helper with torn leather and paint splatters across the top and legs.

Sure it’s beat up, but as I said this little stool has been in the family for years and I wasn’t about to let it get tossed to the curb. With a recent affinity for all things mid century in the past few years, I finally decided it was high time to breathe new life into this little piece of furniture.

It actually sat for quite a while in my studio, waiting for just the right fabric to recover it with. Finally, after several weeks, I made it to the fabric store. My quest was to find something yellow with a modern vibe, preferably an ikat pattern – The only contenders though were at the back of the shop in the expensive designer section ($20+/yard). As we turned to go empty handed, I almost walked right by our fabric but managed to spot it at the last moment. Vaguely ikat, definitely modern and absolutely the bright, cheery yellow I was hoping for.

Two yards of clearance fabric for $15 – Sold. (I bought way more than I needed because I hope to spread it far – New pillows for the living room, perhaps?)

When I started my recovering project, I ran into a bit of a snag – Without any kind of batting on top of the leather (I wasn’t about to strip it to bare bones for fear of ruining it), you could clearly see the piping along the edge of the ottoman seat.

This is where you need to learn from my crazy ideas…I briefly thought I could wrap the seat in left over “cush” from a mattress topper, but ended up with this disastrous mess:

Don’t judge.

I just have to giggle at the monstrosity I was left with…After getting hugely frustrated and walking away for a few hours, I was able to return with new motivation, ditched the padding and decided to wrap the seat with two layers of thin fabric to diminish the look of that tiny line of piping. In the end you can hardly see it at all, so I’m glad I came to my senses about the extra padding.

Using scraps from an old t-shirt sheet, I covered the seat once (using a staple gun to adhere the fabric), trimmed the edges and then got to work on the top layer with my new yellow ikat fabric.

Oh, and the ottoman is one-legged because, after attempting to remove all of the legs for easier maneuverability during the recover phase, the last one wouldn’t budge thanks to a stripped screw. It didn’t get in the way too much, thankfully.

Once the legs were reattached and the yellow fabric was trimmed, we were ready for the moment of truth – Time to flip it over and judge my work!

No need to worry though, because all was well – The new fabric was straight, free of creases and dressed up the ottoman perfectly. No more stains and rips in sight.

For now, I’ve put our newly refreshed stool in the entry way by the front door. The yellow goes well with our teal and sunny-hued living room, so it only made sense.

While I was taking aerial shots of the stool from the staircase, Ginny the cat got in on the action – Just wait until you see the second photo of her mid-yawn. Monster cat!

::shivers:: I know. She’s terrifying sometimes, right? Just had to share that random moment captured on film. She really is a lovely feline most of the time…

As our new entry way buddy, the ottoman has been the perfect place to set down my purse – I hated letting my Coach bag live on the floor when I got home, so our pretty modern stool is a fabulous new drop spot. I see it being a great place to sit to put on boots before a snowy evening walk too, or for Ginny to sunbathe on.

What special things from your childhood have you been able to breathe new life into or decorate your home with?

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