Cheap chic

Last week I ordered Target's Modern Stool with a bit of trepidation. I had promised myself I would not but any more cheap furniture but The desire for an X-bench of sorts won out. It was $54 but with my Redcard discount and free shipping it was less than $44.

I pleased to find that it was not completely crappy but the pale blue velvet, while not awful, was not how I intended to leave it.

I decided to use one of my Le Lac scraps to cover the cushion.

Keeping the buttons wasn't going to happen. 

I played with the place ment of the fabric before I started stapling. As a side note, the iconic Brunschwig fabric Le Lac is lightwieght and not meant for upholstery. This little bench won't see daily use as a seat so the light fabric is fine.

The rest was super easy. I just stapled along opposite edges pulling tight but too tight.

I folded under the edges for extra strength.

Since I am the world's most impatient person, I made a folded corner as opposed to sewing it.

 The entire project took me less than 30 minutes. The only thing I do not like is the rubber foot cover/floor protector thingys. They give it an institutional feel. I plan on replacing them with something better.

I am pleased overall with the bench and for $50 total cost it is cheap chic.

Quickie DIY inspiration

Several months ago, I purchased a lot of Brunschwig and Fils  iconic "Le Lac" in pieces on eBay. There is no real yardage just large scraps but I got them for a song and it perhaps my favorite fabric ever.

Not familiar? Just more Chinoiserie ? Mais non!

The magic of this fabric lies in its apparent simplicity. The colors are far more complex than one's eye will reveal unless it is closely inspected. As I see it (and I am sure I will miss a shade) there are 2 grays, 4 greens, 2 reds, 3 yellows, 4 browns, 1 lavender, 1 purple, and one creamy white that is above and beyond the background. All of this is hand printed and manages not to be "too much".

Here is what I did with the smallest and most unusable piece from the lot I have.

I bought this bulletin board at Target for 6 and change. I accidentally bought that paint a few months ago for a dollar.

The board is about 16 x 20.

First, I painted the frame with the glossy red paint. There was no need to be super neat since I was covering the cork later.

I had several spools of this black grosgrain that I bought for another project and did not use.

I adore this fabric!! I got so excited that I forgot to take a pic of the beginning of the fabric placement.

Basically, I put a bead of fabric glue along an edge and placed my fabric. The I used pushpins to hold the corners in place and flipped the remainder up and inside out so I could prepare the next lines of glue.

I kept the fabric 1 or two inches too big in every direction. Once all edges were glued and pinned, I grabbed a VERY sharp utility knife to trim up the edges.

um..My camera makes everything look sloppier than it is

I glued two sides of grosgrain ribbon on the long sides, just inside the frame. Next I glued the shorter sides and mitered the corners by cutting a straight square edge and folding it to make perfect 45 degree angle. I used a pushpin to secure it.

I added a sawtooth hanger to the back because it was set up to hang in landscape orientation and  eye hook and wire would not do for a bulletin board.

Here she is on the inside of my pantry door until she gets a real home.

I made this because Kris of La Reportiste had a wonderfully inspiring post on inspiration boards, and clearly, I was inspired.

The point... to use this board as a place to keep all of my samples of paint and fabric currently in use, as an easy to use and pin (in real life) reference. In my early days I kept a book but it got too fat and I think this is far more accessible and inspiring.  I just grab a room and go.

Designing a room around an icon

I have longed for curtains made from the iconic Brunschwig and Fils fabric, Le Lac for a few years.

The chinoiserie print has a multitude of colors without appearing garish or overdone.

Designing a room with this fabric a the showstopper is easy, just choose your colors and go.

 There is plenty to choose from. Here is how I would do it.

The color cues are easy enough to trace.

1. Peach walls

2. Brown velvet sofa--remember my obsession with velvet?

3.Quirky green leather wing chair

4. Pair of Chinese styled stools- following the chinoiserie look

5. Oversized antique bird prints-- I just like them

6. Simple sleek tables and lighting-- glass coffee table, leather parsons console and chrome lamps
7. Classic Persian rug

Of course floor to ceiling panels in Le Lac, perhaps with a subtle touch of brown or red trim on the leading edge.

Unfortunately, at well over $300 a yard I will have to do without for now, but dreaming is fun.

Maybe yellow walls or plain grasscloth...