BOUGHT SIGHT UNSEEN

So I did something I have never done before.  

I bought two chairs from an on-line estate sale.  

I admired them all last week and just as the auction was about to end on Sunday afternoon, 

I got into a bit of a bidding war.  

You know how that is, right?  

You're pretty sure you want something and then as soon as you find out others want it too, game on!

I paid a little more than I originally planned, but it was still not much. 

Introducing, the twins........

I plan to have them either reupholstered or perhaps slipcovered in a linen like fabric.

I love the lines of the chairs, but I want to de-formalize them.  Is that a word, de-formalize?

Anyway, I think slipcovering them would give them the casual feel I'm looking for. 

Something like this beautiful Restoration Hardware chair. 

Or upholstered in a beautiful fabric, similar to this one.  

I love everything Lauren Liess designs. 

This is the sofa I am thinking of for our family room.  

I would love to use the twins in this room as well. 

However, I'm afraid they may be a tad too formal, even slipcovered, for this room.  

Help a girl out.  What do you think?  Be honest, I can take it.  

I still love the chairs and if I don't use them in the family room, 

I tend to hang on to them until I find a place for them. 

Yes, I am aware that I have a chair problem. 

The twins will join the thrift store chair in the basement for now 

until I decide what to do with them.  

Apparently, my chair problem is bigger than I thought, 

I have even resorted to naming them.  Surely there's a support group out there for this issue?

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Guest Bedroom Desk Makeover

Another piece of furniture got a makeover for the guest bedroom in our basement.

Our guest bedroom is still evolving as I search for affordable items to use but today I am sharing the newest addition. I painted this desk/table with Benjamin Moore Cloud White in eggshell and mixed in plaster of paris to make homemade chalk paint. I read that the trick with using plaster of paris is to mix the powder in with the water really well first. Then add the one part of water/p.o.p. to 3 parts of paint. It worked great this way for me-no lumps! I waxed the top with Minwax paste wax. At this time I am choosing not to distress it but I may change my mind (I'm not sure if I want the maple showing through.)

Our carpet is more of a grey shade and will be staying for now (the lighting was challenging today.) The baseboard and door trim still needs painting too. 

This is the seller's before shot. I think it is a great piece for $25, solid maple and very well built. (Regional prices on sites like kijiji and Craigslist vary, but I find our local prices fairly high when comparing ours to many I see in blogland.) I hesitated painting it but the colour wasn't working for us. I switched out the wood drawer knobs for glass knobs ($1.50 each at Michaels last summer.)

It fits nicely in this spot in the guest room, but I have been known to move things around ;) This will be a nice little spot for guests to use their laptop or write a note. 

I am working on a mirror or chalkboard for the wall behind the desk and just need to decide which would look better. We also have a Windsor hoop back chair that would look cute painted and used here. White or aqua? hmmm

The little lamp is one I made from an old mason jar and a lamp kit. (The lighting is making the photos appear more yellow than they are.)

I think it turned out quite well for $25 and some leftover paint. I ended up selling the cute antique dresser I bought at the same time as this table. I got it for $60 and resold it as is for $180. I had trouble deciding where to put it and couldn't pass up the offer. In trying to get a little side business going I am learning that to make money you can't keep every piece that comes along. But for now I will be keeping this little desk.

I'm sharing this with...

SNS at Funky Junk Interiors

Inspiration Friday at At The Picket Fence

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm

Tuesdays Treasures at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Be Inspired at Elizabeth and Co.

White Wednesday at Faded Charm

POWW 81 at Primitive and Proper

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Restored it Wednesday at Restore Interiors

Best DIY Project of March at Beneath My Heart

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A Charcoal Black Desk

I love taking an old or dated piece of furniture and giving it a new life.

This sturdy desk was a curbside find in our neighbourhood on the first 'big garbage' day after a long winter. This is the day that we are allowed to put out oversize items for pickup. about once a month from April 'till October. The stuff is usually set out neatly so others can claim it. It is funny to watch big piles dwindle in size and great to know that good stuff is not hitting the landfill. I'm not above curb picking and my husband hasn't minded since I showed him how I could make a profit.

Before, or during sanding (I almost forgot a photo), a very dated and rough mustard colour finish with glitter glue here and there.

I used Behr Premium Plus Ultra Paint and Primer in One in a charcoal black. Please ignore the stack of board and batten wood on our living room floor ;) It has a neat little pull out shelf and three dovetailed drawers. I decided not to distress it because that seems to appeal more to buyers around here.

I'm listing this desk for sale on kijiji, but the little Vilas maple one I bought is already sporting a fresh new white finish. I just need to find knobs and take some photos because I am keeping that one. We are enjoying beautiful weather this weekend, the end of our March Break, and I'm hoping to get a few more projects complete before I'm back to work on Monday.

UPDATE: I sold this within 12 hours of listing it and now I need to find something else to paint ;) Cost to me was less than $3 of mistint paint and it sold for $80.

You can find me at the following awesome parties...
SNS #125 at Funky Junk Interiors
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm
Cowgirl Up Link Party at Cedar Hill Ranch

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Furniture Finds

I check our local kijiji (like Craigslist) daily for furniture deals and haven't found anything affordable for a while now. That is until this weekend.

From the same seller, right here in our town, we purchased this antique dresser and a little desk. I couldn't believe what great prices they were listed for. And spotless too.

The dresser is solid wood with dovetail drawers and lovely turned front legs. It was recently refinished but I now have to decide if it might look even better with some white paint.

This little desk is solid maple and made by Vilas (a Quebec, Canada furniture manufacturer well known for solid maple colonial style furniture.) It has a drawer and two little letter slots on the backboard. Not a scratch on it! I am pretty sure it is going to get a few coats of white chalk paint and light distressing. The desk would work well in a few places in our home, but I think it will go in our basement guest room.

So, would you paint the dresser white and distress it? I was thinking of leaving the top of both sections stained (all photos in the home of the seller.)

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THERE IS A GHOST IN OUR HOUSE

A Kartell Louis Ghost chair, that is.  

I have been stalking these chairs for some time now and I ran across one on Craigslist Saturday night.  

I know, exciting life I live, surfing Craigslist on a Saturday night.  

Anyway, I was able to talk (or rather e-mail) the seller down to a reasonable price 

(less than a 1/4 of what a new one cost, FYI) and then I sealed the deal.  

I tend to be a bit disillusioned about how long it takes to arrive at certain destinations.  

I seem to be under the impression that I can get anywhere in the tri-state area in about 15 minutes,

 give or take an hour.  After finding out it would take me an hour, round trip to get the chair,  

I did kindly request that the seller meet me somewhere in the middle.  No dice, so I ever so sweetly conned my good friend, Lisa, into making the trip with me.  I have sold more on Craigslist than I have bought, but I read the paper, and I know it's not a good idea to go into a stranger's house alone.  Fortunately, the seller basically opened the door wide enough to toss the chair out to me,
 took my money and then promptly shut the door.  Fine by me!

Enough rambling, here's the ghost.....

Its present home is in front of my blue secretary.
Should I be so lucky to score another one of these,
they will reside at either end of my dining room table, when needed for extra seating. 

I realize these chairs may be a tad trendy and I'm not normally one to buy trendy pieces,
but since I didn't invest much in this chair and I am totally digging it,
I am feeling pretty good about my latest Craigslist adventure.

Oh, and the @ pillow was a gift from this lovely blogger.
Not only does she give the best gifts, but they are always wrapped in style.

Here are a few of my favorite examples of the Louis Ghost chair
mixed with traditional and vintage elements.

source

source

source

Be sure to stop by tomorrow for the second installment of "Friday Finds".
This week, one of the sweetest bloggers in all of blog land will be sharing her favorite find.

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FRIDAY FINDS

I am kicking off a new series today called "FRIDAY FINDS".  

Every Friday a different blogger will highlight her/his all time favorite find. 

You know how I love a good find!  

I am going to start the series off by showcasing my latest find.

This fantastic find caused a game of musical chairs to take place around here.

I'll elaborate on that next week.

I picked up this chair at the thrift store last week for $10!  

It was marked down from $20 and you know how I hate to leave a great find behind.  

I know, it's not exactly beautiful right now.  

But I fell in love with the interesting lines and the lovely legs. 

  

Imagine it looking something like this amazing chair that Lauren from Pure Style Home designed....

Isn't it gorgeous?

Ever since I first laid eyes on this chair, I can't seem to get the image out of my head.

 

Now I completely understand that Lauren's chair is a much, much more expensive piece of furniture than my $10 thrift store find, but I think would the right fabrics and a professional upholsterer,

my chair can be transformed into something fantastic. 

You may remember from this post, that I'm not quite qualified to upholster furniture. 

I definitely will not be attempting this makeover myself. 

  And don't worry, that ruffle will be the first thing to go.

What do you think, are you seeing my vision?

I'll be back later today to announce the winner of Jill MacDonald's print giveaway.

Sharing with:
Shine Your Light

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MY FAVORITE COLOR COMBO IN ACTION

My latest project was really fun to work on because we basically started with a blank slate.  

My clients have remodeled and decorated their entire house, 

with the exception of their master bedroom.

When I met with Mrs. J., she was open to changing everything about the room. 

Their style is traditional yet fun.  I wanted the overall feel of the room to be cozy, but still vibrant. 

Here is our plan.....

The plan consists of the following:

- This bed from Sundance will be replicated by a carpenter 

- Add some warmth to the hardwood floors with a rug 

- Put a cool color, SW Topsail, on the walls to help tone down the warm colors in the fabrics 

-  Bring in a solid wood dresser 

- Paint one of the existing dressers and the nightstands 

- Add a large mirror over the bed and a gallery wall with family photos to another wall

My client is quite talented and will be doing all of the sewing herself 

and she will even be reupholstering an existing chair.  

I can' wait to see this plan come to life. 

This was my inspiration.....

I told you this was my favorite color combination.

These colors just make me happy!

Hopefully I will have some very happy clients when this project is complete.

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Mantel Headboard or Rustic Plank Headboard

I'm still working on our basement guest bedroom and spent some time today looking for headboard inspiration. I'm having trouble deciding between a mantel headboard and a rustic plank headboard.

We had this headboard, below, in the guest bedroom, but I decided to use it in our youngest son's room (also a double/full bed.)

I'm sharing these inspiration photos because I like having them in one spot while I decide, and because my before photos are not very pretty at all :)

image: The Old Painted Cottage via Pinterest

image: Southern Living

image: {aka}design via Pinterest

image: PB&Jstories

One idea I am considering is using this oak mantel shelf that we used to have in our living room a few years ago, below, and then building up the sides and back. I'm not sure whether I would do the upholstered center or something different. I picked up the mantel shelf a few years ago from a yard sale for $5 and then painted it.

But then I see rustic plank headboards and want one of those too. We have four of these 12 inch wide rough cut boards from my fil that I think would look really cool as a headboard. We would sand them a bit and then stain. 

 

The rustic plank headboard is probably more my style and would look good against the freshly painted white walls. I need to decide soon because my boys are itching to help. Are you working on any projects right now?

Joining....

Elizabeth & Co.'s Be Inspired Link Party # 2

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Me & Mrs. Jones [Blog Love]

OK, there is no other way to say it...I wish I could paint like Me & Mrs. Jones! It is one of the first blogs I stumbled across....a long time ago. I have been in awe over her techniques from day one. What type of painted finishes? So glad you asked....Old World Charm...layer by layer. For example


This "after"

Started like this

Close up...the depth of color and layers are impressive!

Me & Mrs. Jones (this piece)





How about this beauty

And the close-up

Me & Mrs. Jones (this piece)

You can't get this from an aerosol can.


My current obsession favorite; from this

Layer, layer

More layers

To this

The "Tah Dah"

Me & Mrs. Jones (this piece)

To read all about this transformation, go here. About a year ago, I painted my china hutch. I am not happy with the finish, it just looks flat (photo to come later this month). When I saw this finish, although I could not do THIS...I did send Stephanie (Mrs. Jones) an email asking for advice. Well, she was so kind and gave me all sorts of tips to add a bit of depth to my piece. I am finally getting around to the make-over. I hope to share the pictures soon. Thank you, Stephanie for taking the time!

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