Make it purrrr

To Do:

1) Find a chair. Any ol' chair.
2) Find a furry throw. Any ol' furry throw.
3) Throw that throw over that chair.
4) Pretend like it was all my idea.

Of course, it wasn't...

designspongeonline.com
theartofdoingstuff.com
joannagoddard.blogspot.com
decor8blog.com
thedecorista.tumblr.com

How to love (and lose) a louis chair

One of my many obsessions at the moment is with Louis chairs. What started this fixation? The moment I found a listing on craigslist for a PERFECT specimen to paint and reupholster for only $25!! Well, the interest started there, but the obsession didn’t hit until I lost it to someone else.

Yes, I called about it first thing in the morning, but instead of jumping out of my chair and into my truck at that very moment, I decided to wait until I got off work that afternoon.  I was so excited about it all day, imagining the color I would paint it… the fabric I would cover it in… how I would magically turn into a princess every time I sat in it. But my swoonings were soon squashed when I called the seller to tell her I was on my way and she said with a forced sweetness, “oh honey, someone just picked it up!”

So I went home, head hanging low, with an emptiness inside that only a fellow buy-something-for-nothing-and-turn-it-into-something-amazing-nut could understand.

Since then I have somehow made it through each day, but I have not forgotten. No, I am now in  full-blown cheap Louis chair search mode.  Come hell or high water I will find her, but until then, let’s dream together…

...Sigh...

Awe... this one looks just like my craigslist loss:

and so do these...

Ok, I'm gonna go eat some ice cream now. Sitting on my floor. Ugh.

Sources:
roost
justinetaylor
etsy
anthropologie
simplifiedbee
lavishbymattandjon

I Heart Yellow

I am finally inspired to get off my butt and paint something. And today, that something is a chair. While sitting on the couch in my sweaty gym clothes, surfing blogs, I stumbled upon this from Nuestra Vida Dolce:

 

Now I know this is not everyone's cup of tea, but it couldn't be more my flavor. This yellow is haunting my dreams at the moment. My fave catalogs, mags, and blogs are flooded with saturated, lemony hues, and it's makin me happy.

So here's the plan. I have this folding black chair left over from one of my mom's events (she's an amazing floral/event designer).

  

The paint is chipping on it, and I'm sure she won't mind if I paint it (she won't know till it's done anyway). I'm thinking of putting it in my living room next to my antique... uh, I don't know what you call this piece, but I use it as a pseudo office desk. Then I'm going to recover the black cushion with some chic black and white fabric.

So here it is. I wasn't sure at first about the color. It's brighter than I wanted, but I think it's growing on me. And the black and white cushion was just too much. I like the plain black. I know this is a terrible photo. I'll try to take a better one and post tonight.

I have to add some glossy white knobs to the "desk," and imagine the black and white blanket I used as a rug in the picture is a faux zebra rug like this one (my next purchase). This one is from an ebay store, Shine Rugs.

My First Ikea Hack - RAST Sidetables

 

See my lovely new nightstand! I actually have two, and I love them each equally. This is my first ever IKEA hack. Here is the BEFORE:

I know! Aren't I amazing?? Well, I can't take credit for the idea. I was inspired by one of my favorite IKEA hacks of all time on Aubrey + Lindsay's Little House Blog. I basically did it the same way they did, but with a much darker stain (and times two). And I am positively swooning over the results. Here is what I did...

1) Bought two super ugly RAST 3-drawer chests from IKEA ($29 each). These are solid wood - great quality for an insanely good price.
2) Assembled the bodies of the cabinets, leaving the drawers to assemble last.
3) Stained both bodies with Minwax Dark Walnut stain (2 coats) and painted the drawer fronts with Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace high gloss acrylic enamel (3 thick coats). I did not sand or prime first. I'm way too impatient for all that, but I kind of regretted not sanding the drawer fronts. They are a tiny bit rough to the touch.
4) Applied two coats of oil based Minwax Polyurethane to the bodies, sanding super lightly in between coats. I went for the oil based because it was way cheaper. Also, I skipped the poly on the drawer fronts because I didn't want the white to yellow over time.
5) Assembled the drawers and attached the drawer pulls from  Lee Valley (51mm x 43mm $2.80 Burnished Bronze)

The whole project cost just at $140 (that's for everything from the cabinets to the paint brushes). Not too shabby considering I was going to order these similar ones from Walmart for $130 EACH plus shipping (and mine are way cuter)!

I know the bed is unmade. That happens around here.