Score!

For what feels like forever, I wanted a lucite waterfall coffee table.

I moved on to a chrome and glass table from CB2 a few months ago

 and then...
BAM! yesterday there was the entire set of two end tables and the coffee table in glass and perfect condition.

I would not have used all three in the same room anyway so I just got the end tables.

 I am so pleased.
Any good thrifting scores lately?

A kindred spirit for cheap

Yesterday the seamstress knocked on my door and said, "I lost your phone number but it is you. Do you want a delivery?" I was thrilled. Last week, I sent her away with my Spoonflower fabric and this pouf.

catalog photo

She was practically bouncing with excitement that I had created the fabric with a painting of mine and instantly understood what I was envisioning. We chatted about lots of creative, artsy things and despite being a few years my senior she was as cute and full of life as my four year-old.

I showed off my other fabrics and she was smitten.

 

I asked about the lead time and she got a familiar look on face. The one that says "you'll think I'm nuts" and told me it was kind of interesting and she'd probably go home and start cutting.

Hoo-freakin'-ray!

The bonus was that the price for the custom ottoman cover with lining and zipper was $95!!!!

Her pillow price is super reasonable too.

I sent her away with a few pieces of Le Lac I have been hoarding.

A little family room fantasy

I saw this little settee from Hickory chair on Craigslist and the wheels started turning.

I was thinking it could replace this vintage Naugahide chair in my family room.

My thought was that this little French canape could be funked up with the right fabric, non?

This Robert Allen Annex was a thought.

Duralee's Flynn seems like a better choice.

But then I always want to use one of my own fabrics.

I have yet to find an upholsterer that does sofas for less than $1000 but I hear they exist.

If any of you DC or Richmond folks know of one please tell.

That being said, this is not a financial priority.

What I really want to do is this...

If I did my rather conventional family would have me committed.

Making my family room suck less

After Monday's post on pillows and my family's comments on our mishmash of furniture, I decided it was time for a new coffee table. Ours was a temporary, who cares table that I was putting up with while my daughter was little and destructive. I figured I could risk it all on this one from CB2. Not pricey and a little bit of style.

The table does not fix all of the problems in the room like the lack of paint and wall-to- wall carpet that I hate but it did remove one of the eyesores. I am seriously on the hunt for the right mid-century dresser/buffet to replace this shameful, Holiday Inn- looking business that holds the TV.

After that it will be some time until the painting gets done and flooring replaced. The ceilings are 18 feet so its no easy task and the open concept floor plan means a lot hardwood has to be installed. sigh...

The silly part was that I spent a whopping two minutes ( Can't you tell?) styling this while my three-year old was asleep. I took alsmost everything off again after this shot and it now looks like this.

Keepin' it real, folks.

DIY done

 Earlier this year I teased you with a non-New Year's resolution but a January resolution. Well, it might be March but I am done.

I also did a post on block printing fabric that was part of this project. It involved furniture legs that I have had sitting around for 15 years! I sprayed them glossy black.

It started like this, with leftover plywood and $16 worth of foam.

I also had the cotton batting and four furniture legs.

The project involved simply upholstering the plywood and foam with my hand block printed fabric. Old hat, right?

Wrong!

The foam was really thick and the batting and fabric was really bunched up on the underside of the corners. This made it impossible to attach the legs. I almost gave up and threw the whole thing away. Instead I left it on my dining room table for a month and did this...

I cut away the bulk and left enough bare wood for the leg brackets to screw into.

I am I in love with it? Not really. I wish that the fabric was more muted, kind of like this Instagram photo.

It does serve as the (almost) no- money- spent -side -table for the other end of my family room sofa.

Its a little leggy but its done and so it stays for now even though there are about 50 tables I would rather have there.

January goal

Lots of folks are blogging their decorating goals for 2013. I'm just gonna go with January. You see I am old enough to know that; a) I am old b) expensive crap like dishwashers and cars break as soon as you commit to something else expensive c) I will crap out or forget half of the stuff on my list if I make it a year long.

So here is the January goal.

Table # 1

Table #2

Table # 3, wait that's not a table its a pile of freakin' stuffed animals.

 My husband hates stuffed animals and my limit is around three so the huge tiger is endangered. Back to the plan. I need another end table because no one will sit where there is no side table.

I am leaning toward one of these.

HERE

At $149 from West Elm the Martini table is a contender.

I love this Moroccan stool from Wisteria but it might take the funky factor in this room over the edge.

I looooove this but at $499, not so much. I am a big fan of buying quality but my Saarinen style (table #2) was a bargain and it is great quality. I am looking for that price/quality combo again.

We just bought several tools to begin constructing our own frames for my paintings and I am really excited about that but it leaves less for my decorating goals.

I debated this cube until I put myself it the mind of a three year old (I have one) and saw a playhouse and not a table with Daddy's drink on it.

So there it is, January goal.

I'll keep you posted.

Another-It's about dern time project and DIY

I procrastinated on this project for almost two years. I bought woven wood shades and wanted to line them before hanging them in my west facing family room. Sorry there is no before photo. I still had ugly mini-blinds from the builder.

Keep reading there is a how-to below.

First, let me ask...does anyone have any tips on how to photograph sunny windows? Anyone?.. Beuller?

The four windows are the only natural light in the room and the get sun all day hence, the need to line the shades.

The other issue was whether to mount them inside or hang them high and outside the window frame. Outside would have been ideal but the ceilings are 9 ft and the windows go nearly to the floor. I was unable to find any shades long enough so inside mount it had to be.

Here is the low down on how to line these. Lay the shade string side up and untie the strings. Pull the strings out of all of the loops but not out of the shade mechanism.

Cut your lining (I used blackout lining) to the width of your shade and hem or glue a 3/4 inch seam along each edge.

I used Fabri-tac glue and  even though I am generally opposed to gluing fabric it really is the best way to attach the lining to the shade. The glue is acetone based so be careful what you get iton but it is also flexible when dry which is key for this project.

This is the tricky part to explain. You have to glue the fabric in sections cutting a small slit to pull the rings through.

I start with the bottom edge and about 8 inches along each side and carefully a small amount on the sold parts of the shade in the center. You don't want the glue to glob through.

Feel for the rings and carefully make a slit. Do NOT press down to cut as you might cut the strings holding the rings in place. It is more of a snag and pull motion that calls for a very sharp utility knife.

Carefully pull each ring through and continue gluing fabric to the next set of rings and repeat until you are at the top of the shade.

Make a hem along the top with the extra fabric and restring your shade.

Make sure to tie the ends on the last ring.

 

I might have procrastinated for a ridiculous amount of time but I was still lining the last shade and insisting that my husband get busy hanging those shades!

Before and after-why didn't I do this a year ago?

When I can't sleep I mull over what to paint or how to redecorate with zero budget. The other night I was lamenting the seating situation in my family room far into the wee hours. The furniture arrangement in my formal living room has been bugging me for a year now too. I desperately wanted the Brno chairs to be a part of that room but the room has a traffic flow problem due to the layout and relatively small size. The scale of the chairs just wasn't working but the fact that I paid a crapload of money for them made me insist.

Living room at my house

Living room with Brno chairs

We have a long, narrow family room with three walls because it is open to the kitchen. One wall has four windows. Another the fireplace and the third a staircase.

family room in 2011

This photo gives you a basic idea. The sofa is too long to put perpendicular to its present location. In the foreground you can see the edge of the shelf that houses my little one's toys and I wanted to leave that area free of furniture for play.She really doesn't play there so I did this...

and thought to myself, "Kerry, you idiot! Why didn't you do this a year ago?"

It feels so much better like this but this is just a trial period. My husband will probably hate it.

 Here you can see the toy shelf behind the brown chair. There is plenty of room without squeezing for even an adult to get back there.

This looks so much better. Yes?

The coffee table is also temporary. It is nearly indestructible and I don't give a hoot about what happens to it. Here are a couple more shots from around the room.

It feels so much more balanced and still has that eclectic and collected (because it was) look. Now if I can convince the little girl that lives next door that the Brnos are not rocking chairs. *sigh*