Coastal Eclectic Bedroom Chair

It’s so hard to leave the beach. If you follow me on Instagram then you know we just spent a week at the beach doing absolutely nothing. And it was awesome. This was my view pretty much everyday. 

 

It’s kinda hard to get back into the groove of reality but at the same time it’s really good to be home. Anyway, we did a little thrifting while we were there. I love thrift shops in beach towns, they always have the best stuff. While I didn’t bring anything home with me I did remember that I never really shared the makeover of the chair I bought last year at the beach.

 Yep, LAST year. And it was only 20 bucks.I bought it not knowing exactly where I wanted to use it but I knew at some point it would be perfect somewhere. How’s that for vague? This is what it looked like when I bought it. 

It was a little dirty and a lot blah. It was in great shape though and it’s really comfy.Once I gave our bedroom a little makeover I knew  exactly what to do with the chair.I started by spray painting it white but I knew it needed something else. So I broke out my favorite Purdy brand paint brush to paint the wicker.

I painted it with this  Martha Stewart Specialty paint in Vintage Gold. This is absolutely one of my favorite gold paints. It has the best shimmery gold finish. 

Then I recovered the cushion in this greek key fabric. I found it on the remnant table at Hancock Fabrics. I geeked out a little bit right there in the store when I found it. It’s pretty rare to find something this fab so cheap. They sell remnants for around $5.00-$6.00 per yard.  I got about four yards so you’ll be seeing this fabric again.

Then I went back and forth with these two pillows.

I decided I like the grey one best. I love the mix of the patterns in the neutral tones and I especially love it against the shimmery metallic paint.

So it only took a year but it did finally get a makeover. Sometimes that’s how long it takes to get something right. It took me the longest to decide what to call this chair but I think it’s kinda coastal and kinda eclectic. So there ya go. You may have noticed I started painting the bedroom. No more Bittersweet Chocolate!  I can’t wait to get it finished so I can show you how much better it looks. And cross it off my list….

This is where you will find me linking up this week. Liz Marie Blog / The Shabby Nest / Suburbs Mama / Rain on a Tin Roof / The Blissful Bee / The DIY Dreamer

Bedroom Makeover: A Much Needed Change

Hey y’all! Hope you’re all having a great week. Mine has been a little rough. We had to say goodbye to our sweet little Lola. She was our furry baby and it was devastating to have to let her go. But I won’t dwell on that. I just want to say that we are so thankful to have been blessed with her in our lives and we SO appreciate all the kind words and prayers from everyone.

Anyway, I had been planning to give our bedroom a much needed freshening up and after what happened this week it seemed like the perfect time to just get in there and get it done. It was a GREAT distraction. There are still a few more things I want to do, like paint a white wall, add some artwork, and add a new light fixture and some accessories. But I did get a lot done and now it feels fresh and crisp. Exactly what we needed. 

Check out these before pictures.

This is what I’ve done so far. 

• Painted the bamboo chair in white and gold. Covered the seat cushion in a grey/white greek key fabric. 
• Reupholstered the headboard in a bright white fabric and added a nailhead trim. I used a table cloth from Target. 
• Replaced the wooden storage bench with an upholstered ottoman. 
• Pulled the white duvet cover from the guest room and kept the Nate Berkus indigo pillow shams. (If you’ve been following for a while then you know I was determined to use some of that indigo blue bedding). 
• Added one of my DIY Gold Painted Pillows along with some other new and old toss pillows. 
• Added a new rug from Garden Ridge. 
• Hung a set of mirrors above the bed. I found those at Target. I was trying to create the illusion of a taller headboard. 

I totally believe that if you make your home a happier place you’ll be a happier person. That was pretty much the goal this week, to make our home a happy place to be.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a beautiful weekend!

Linking up to some fab linky parties this week.

Liz Marie Blog

If It’s Not Baroque

The Shabby Nest

Suburbs Mama

DIY Showoff

Rain on a Tin Roof

Homecoming

The Blissful Bee

A Stylish Interior

Here I Go Again

I’m back at it again. Making more design boards for the bedroom. I still haven’t decided if I want to leave the room painted Bittersweet Chocolate or repaint it a lighter shade. Lately I’ve been finding myself drawn to white rooms. There is just something so fresh and clean-looking about a white room.

It makes me think of that song by the Dixie Chicks, Wide Open Spaces. Except in my brain it goes, WHITE Open Spaces. Yeah, that song is gonna be stuck in your head all day. You’re welcome. Anyway…..what I’m thinking about now is leaving one wall Bittersweet Chocolate and painting the rest of the room a soft white. Maybe ;)

Here is my latest design board for the bedroom. 

This is the plan:

• Reupholster the headboard in a coral ikat fabric.

• DIY some white window panels with some type of gold border.

• Hang some antiqued mirrors/frames. 

• Bring in my DIY capiz shell chandelier from our little home office.

• The indigo blue will come from the Nate Berkus bedding I already own. (I know what you’re thinking but it’s working in my mind.)

• Buy one of these chests I found at Garden Ridge. 

These chests are all $199.00 or less! So happy they moved into the neighborhood!

The white dresser is from my guest room and I should be able to pick up some mirrors and picture frames at a thrift store for practically nothing.

That’s the plan for now. Just gotta get it done!

DIY Painted Spot Fabric

Have you noticed a trend in fabric lately? This really cool black and white spotted fabric that’s half polka dot half cheetah print? It has such an eclectic chic vibe.

I’m drooling over these images from pinterest.

How amazing are these chairs in this living room by Tommy Smythe?

I’m loving this pillow from Furbish Studio.

I was feeling super inspired by all these looks. I LOVE this fabric and was dying to use it somewhere.

I found this great fabric at Warehouse Fabrics Inc.

I could have ordered a yard of it but I just happened to have some white fabric and of course I had some basic black paint. So I decided to make my own ;)

It was super easy. Seriously,  if I can do this anyone can. These are the things you will need.

• Fabric
• Paint
• A basic sponge
• Scissors
• Paper plates
• Paper towels

Take a basic cleaning sponge and pull it apart lengthwise so it isn’t as thick. Then cut out two or three circles. They don’t have to be perfect.

Next,  iron your fabric and lay it on a flat surface. Pour some paint into a paper plate and place an empty paper plate next to it (this is where you will keep your sponge circles) along with some paper towels.  Now that the set up is ready you can start the “painting” process.

I didn’t really go with a pattern since I wanted the spots to look kind of random. I just started in the center and worked my way out. I had three pieces of sponge cut out and I started with the biggest one. I dipped the sponge in the paint, pressed the excess off on the paper towel then pressed the “spot” onto the fabric. I could get about two or three spots on the fabric from each dip in the paint but I did have to go over some of the spots that didn’t look like they had enough paint.

This is what it looked like just after I started.

And this is what it looked like when I was finished.

I just hung it with a clipped pants hanger to dry overnight then I covered this little chair seat with it.

Maybe next time I’ll try it on the wall. Should I?!?!

Am I Crazy? Reupholstered Dining Chairs

White upholstery is scary. Granted we don’t have any children. Well, not human ones but we do have three furry ones and they love to sit on the dining chairs. And of course by sit I mean wallow. Plus there is also the whole food thing and my clumsy factor.  Well, white is what I really wanted on these chairs so I went for it. Life’s too short to worry about it. Plus, they’re just chair seats. Right?

This (below) is what I originally covered the seats with. I loved it at first, but got tired of it pretty quickly. Then, when I moved the dining furniture into another room the fabric REALLY didn’t work. So when I found some white fabric on super clearance at Hancock Fabrics I jumped on it.

I removed the old fabric with scissors, a screwdriver and pliers. Then, before I cut the fabric I measured the width and length of the seat to determine how much fabric each seat would need.  You basically just measure the width and length then add about six inches to each side.

Then I ironed the fabric and started stapling. I hate using the staple gun. I’m always afraid I’ll point it in the wrong direction and lose an eye.

Keep in mind when you go around the corners you have to kind of pull and gather the fabric so it pleats and you don’t get any wrinkles that show on the top.

Then I cut all the excess fabric off. This is when you cover the bottom of the seat with another piece of fabric so everything is nice and tidy. Yeah, haven’t done that yet. In fact I’ve only recovered one chair so far, which is why the whole table isn’t pictured.

I think the white fabric looks so much better with everything else going on in this room.

Pretty soon I will have this table and chairs totally finished. You can see what it used to look like here.

So do you think I made the right choice?  Do you use white upholstery in your dining room?

I need to know these things :)

Happy Weekend!!

Metallic Desk Chair

Ch-ch-ch-changes….

So I have been making a few changes around here. I tend to do that a lot. Anyway, the dining room just wasn’t coming together the way I wanted it to and we NEVER ate at the table. So I thought, what’s the point? That’s when I decided to make better use of our space by rearranging some things. I moved the dining table, chairs and china cabinet into the living room and moved my desk and storage chest into the dining room, which is now the office. It’s all workin’ for me now. The best part? We actually eat at the table now. Love it.

Ok, back to the point. The desk chair just wasn’t right ever since I painted the coral stripes inside the desk and especially since I moved it into a room with such a dark wall color. I think I just needed a little bling.

So I painted it with two coats of Valspar metallic spray paint in gold. I’m really into metallics lately, especially gold. This spray paint is one of the best I have ever used. It covers really well and I still have some leftover, even after using it on another small project. I debated priming the chair first but I was afraid it might end up being a little brassier than I wanted since the primer I had was white.  So I just went for it.

Then, I used a staple gun to recover the seat in one of my favorite patterns, an animal print in shades of black and grey. I thought that would tie in well with the desk and the wall color.

This is what the chair looked like before.

This is what it looks like now.

I also hung a memo board I made out of a piece of corkboard and a shower curtain I found in the clearance section at Target. It’s a great spot to pin fabric and paint swatches.

Now I just need something to hang above the desk and MAYBE a small craft table for the center of the room. Turning this room into an office was definitely the way to go since it is a much better use of our space. I love it now and use it everyday.

P.S. I’m linking up this post to emilyaclark.blogspot.com. Check out her blog. You’ll love it! 

Wing Back Update!

Look who got a makeover!

If you remember, I found this chair at a thrift store for $14.99. I knew I wanted to have it covered in a geometric pattern I just couldn’t decide what color I wanted to use.  I couldn’t decide between a more neutral grey or a fun coral. Well I have since painted the inside of the front door coral and that seemed to give me the color fix I needed so I decided to go with a neutral. I found this black and white fabric on Amazon.com and it was only around $6.00 per yard!

I knew that black would be just as neutral as grey and would actually be a little bolder in the room, which is what I really wanted without having to commit to a specific color. Oh, and I had an amazon gift card!  So I ordered the fabric and got the chair to an upholsterer.

Here’s the chair before.

I’m so happy with how it turned out and how our little living room is coming along. While I’m on the subject, here are a couple of living room before shots. Like way before.

And now…

I love the element the chair brings to the room with the mixture of the modern fabric and the traditional wing back style. The best part? It’s really comfy!

Be back soon.

Ikat Chairs

This is a project I did a couple (?) of years ago but still one of my favorite things in the house so I thought I would share. Plus they’re  in the living room  where I will put the wingback when it’s finished.

These chairs have made me love grey and have made me OBSESSED with ikat. I just can’t get tired of these chairs.

So here’s the story. I bought them from a liquidator for $5.00 each. I think they came from a hotel or something like that because they had a ton of them.

This is what they looked like then.

The cushion and frame were in such great shape I knew they would be worth having reupholstered. So I picked up the fabric at Associated Fabrics which is an awesome fabric store. They have a great selection and are the nicest people.

Then I primed and painted the frames white,

and took them to a professional to have them reupholstered. Luckily, I had enough fabric leftover to have a couple of pillows made.

So after the cost of the chairs, the fabric, and paying the upholsterer I still only paid about $100.00 per chair.  They’re really comfy and the perfect size for our little living room.

Look What I Found

So so so excited. Let me tell you why. I have been looking for a wingback chair to recover for, like, ever to go in the living room. They aren’t that hard to find on Craigslist or in thrift stores but they usually cost anywhere from $50-$100. That isn’t terrible but we’re talking about a used chair here. I have probably been looking for about a year so you can imagine my excitement when I rolled up on this (minus the cat) outside of a local thrift store for $14.99.   That’s right, $14.99.

So I know it looks a little scary but it’s actually in good condition. The biggest problem I’m having now is deciding on a fabric. I have tossed around the idea of incorporating some coral like this

or this.

On the other hand, I might decide I want to put it in a bedroom at some point. So I thought a grey fabric might be better since it would be neutral plus I LOVE anything grey.

Something like this.

 I thought putting together a couple of mood boards might help me decide.

Board One

Board Two

Well the coral is definitely more exciting but the grey would be more versatile. Plus I could just add color with accessories….hmm……I could use some help here.  Anybody have any other suggestions?