The Jury Is Still Out

So I found the deal-to-end-all deals almost six months ago.  Whilst perusing one of my favorite local antiqueries, I came upon two super industrial (yet oddly romantic) folding chairs.  I just counted at least three things wrong with the last sentence, including that I just called two folding metal chairs “romantic.”
But they are! And it helps that they came in a pair.  A pair that cost me a total of $20 beans.

Here they are, all soul-matey and smooching in the backyard:

See the lace-y detail?  Pretty romantic, no?

Well, this lovely rusting duo has been sitting around gathering cobwebs (which I basically just spray painted over because, oy, do not like the spiders) until I finally decided that I would try to incorporate them into the kitchen plan as a playful pop of color.

I dug through my paint samples, compared them to the lime green Fiesta bowls I got last Christmas (umm, and the dog dish), took the right sample to Home Depot and came back with a new shade of Key Lime.  I used the gray primer I already had on hand and gave the chairs a light sanding before I got to getting.



The metal was pretty rough already -- not ow-my-tushie-will-never-be-the-same rough-- just rough enough to hold paint without a whole lot of prep work.  And I really did spray right over the cobwebs.  They were more fun (crispy!) to break off after the priming was complete. 

Then I applied really light, thin coats to each chair.  It took about four coats per chair to complete, and I had to run back to Home Depot for a second can.  I left them out in the sun for a couple days to cure up, and then brought them under the carport for a few more to really let them air out—VOCs are not good for the Petey and me.

Blimey! Limey!

And they are now super-duper lime.  I like it in the Mood Board, but once the whole thing is together I may go back to the drawing board with these.  At least I know they can hold their paint!

Let me know your thoughts!  Anyone else spray paint something a wacky green? Or yellow? Who else is in a Spring-y color mood?  Or likes to make up words?

The jury is definitely still out and they may refuse to ever come back at this point.

Making Tabletops from Lemons

Have I mentioned how much I love reclaimed wood? A lot. And I happened to find some in my house! The previous owners had jimmy-rigged a “storage system” over the toilet in the master bathroom – yes, open storage over the toilet – that left these purty little shapes on my wall when I immediately ripped them down:

I see it; the off-center toilet bugs me too.

I mean, it was like the first thing I did in the house, right after closing.  Sups hid. (“super hideous” if you don’t happen to speak Princess) Face it, this idea of storage was a dud and part of me really wishes they hadn’t painted over the yellow walls; so sunny!

I was able to salvage the shelves by removing the supports and sanding everything down. You may remember this post where I stripped down the longest one (that was over the closet door) and we last left everything looking like this:

Well I finally got my hands on a jig saw and quartered the six footer into submission. When laid together, it was all starting to look like a 3x3.08’ tabletop. Yay!

I even found use for part of the old supports by using them as the connecting pieces.  I laid everything out the way I wanted it and started gluing.

Since each support had two holes predrilled from where it attached to the wall, I used some washers to secure the screws. After those were in, I just screwed directly into the wood in a bunch of other spots. The wood is super soft so I didn't need a drill bit, but I did have to make sure I didn’t get to close to the ends for fear of it splitting.

 

Here it is with everything screwed in:

And here it is all done!

I am storing it indoors and laid flat so that there isn't any warp-age between now and when I actually get the table base and banquette seating together during Phase 2. I will probably need to seal the wood since it will be used for dining, but it feels so good to cross something off of the list!  The stripe-y natural wood is going to be a warm, welcome contrast to all of the stainless steel in the room and the cool blue walls.

Did anyone else get to cross something off their list this weekend? Or rip something apart and put it back together? Do tell!

~Easty

Baby's First Mood Board

So I never really understood the concept of a Mood Board until I watched my favorite DIY/blogger couple whip one up and then start using it for their master bathroom.  Then it made sense!  I am one of those folks who learns by example, a "Kinesthetic" if you will, so I decided to throw one together for my kitchen.  Here it goes:

1.  Track lighting
2.  Apron sink
3.  New countertop
4.  New hardware
5.  New faucet
6.  Red compost pail
7.  Black and white floor tile
8.  Red mixer
9.  Wall mount hood
10. My tea towel art
11. Red microwave
12. Pendant lamp
13. Utility chairs I picked up at an antique store and spray painted grellow for a little kerrrrr-pow

And there you have it! Mood boards really do give you a sense of what the room is going to feel like; it's basically just missing the walls.  This could get very addictive...I will try to keep my moody addiction on the DL, but I may not be able to help myself.  Consider yourself warned, people!

Go ahead and poke the bear,
~Easty

Mid-Century Madness

I woke up this morning to the sound of someone running around on my roof. Happy Printemps everybody! Welcome back little furry critters!

I've been so busy around the house that I have neglected my precious baby blog over the last couple of weeks.  Luckily, I am motivated enough to keep improving my space- the blog is a preemptive strike against those days when I am not motivated what-so-ever (which totally happens when I get the blues.)

Like most DIYers, I am addicted to consignment shops, antique malls and thrift stores.  My favorite spot right now is Skyland Antique Mall because of the mid-century retro booth they have in the basement. Mmmmm... mid-century. I am obsessed. They might as well put a big, flashing marquee over it that reads : DON'T BOTHER. THIS HAS ALL BEEN CLAIMED BY EASTY.

If I were my dog, I would have already peed all over the wares in that section. Graphic, I know, but that is basically what I did when I saw this:

Just look at those classic '50s leggies! 

It doesn't look like much from the picture, but this little baby is just oozing with potential.  It's a record stand! Complete with slots to hold my non-existent vinyl...oh I have plans for you my precious. PRECIOUS [insert maniacal hissing and hand-wringing here]

I am picturing a black-and-white chevron motif, but more on that later.  Let's just call this the 'Before' post on this one.

Here is another Before of another faboobulous find:

Okay, I got a little excited (impulsive) and took the seat off the frame before taking the actual 'Before' shot, so let's call this pic a Before 1.25. Note the scuzziness on the sides from years of sitting in a smoking household. I also found a lollypop stick stuck between the seat and the frame.  Part of me was all, "Eeeeewwww," and another part (the inner-anthropologist) was all, "Hmm, I wonder how old this is? I wonder if the child who left this here is my age now, or older?" And then I promptly threw it away. Moving on.

Oh yeah, I'm gonna reupholster this bad boy.  Oh no, I have no idea what I am doing.  I'm just doing it! 

Good-bye weird, sticky blue vinyl! Hello blind ambition! Exclamation! Exclamation!

Tea Inspiration

Ya'll, I love decor books; cannot get enough.  I've been tagging my way through Grace Bonney's Design*Sponge, oohing and ahhhing all the way.  It is also helping me to put together my very own Inspiration Book to help me nail down my own personal style.  I know I am "eclectic," but what does that really mean, anyway?

This kitchen gave me an idea:

   Copyright 2011 Grace Bonney; Photo by Tec Petaja

It belongs to Genifer Goodman Sohr of Nashville, Tennessee (a fellow belle) and not only do I love the painted white brick and the delicious yellow upholstery, check out the hot pink kangaroo to the left.  That's a tea towel!  Since I am  always looking for ways to keep my budget in check for this kitchen renovation, I looked to Fab.com for help.

Well my tea towel finally came in right before my trip to Atlanta and I hit up Ikea to kind a frame that would fit.  In hindsight, I should have opened the package before buying the frame, but it was wrapped up so delicately with a little brown paper strip that I left it to bask in it's cuteness for a few more days.  I took the measurements though and it was off to Georgia.

See? It just looks too nice to open.

When I opened the towel *gasp* the pattern faced short ways, not long ways.  I really need to pay attention to the fact that width is listed first in dimension specs, not height.  No biggie.  Instead of floating it over the mat board as I had originally planned, it would have to go under.

Here we are with a freshly ironed tea towel that is most definitely too wide to float.

I laid a piece of end roll newspaper behind the sheer towel so that the brown frame backing doesn't peek through.

Skipping some really boring shots of me screwing everything into place ...

Et viola!

This will eventually hang over the banquette seating (part of Phase 4) in my kitchen reno.  I just love the illustrations (by Claudia Pearson) and red is my accent color so this will fit in beautifully.  It is a little askew due to the fact that it is a tea towel, but I think it adds to it's charm! 

More on the way!  Mrs. Goodman's fabulous dining chairs have inspired me to try my hand at re-upholstery...

The Weekend Warrior - Part 2

The softer side of my warrioress-ness:

After a fairly restless night getting used to my hyper house guest,

Manny!

Petey giving me the put-the-camera-down look

I finally tackled that throw pillow project I've been putting off for reasons including but not limited to: a) I needed an iron/ironing board, b) I needed at least two hours of quiet, and c) I am still a little afraid of my sewing machine.  One time (at band camp) I was using the wrong thickness of needle to sew some denim - the machine is called the BabyLock Denim Pro II for goodness sake - and it broke off and hit me in the lip.  It really hurt but my first thought was, "Thank God it wasn't my eye!"

Since then I've been wary of the thing and have always worn glasses/sunglasses/ safety goggles when putting it to use.  I have a lot of meshugas, I know.  As my dear Aunt Molly would say, I may be high maintenance but at least I'm self-maintaining.  The whole point of me blogging this stuff is to document my learning process when it comes to DIY and overcoming my fears.


I get daily emails from Joss & Main, One Kings Lane, Fab, Beyond the Rack, My Habit and The Foundry, which are all websites listing daily designer sales up to 80% off retail value.  I am addicted to scouring these sites but am extremely restrained when it comes to buying.  Only on a rare occasion will a deal so fabulous catch my attention that I throw down the plastic for a piece of bargain basement gold.  Most recently it was a Fab.com tea towel that will be framed to hang over the future breakfast nook...more on that later when it arrives in 10 to 22 days.


The most common pieces that I rummage through are linens and decor.  Graphic prints are so hot right now and I love yellow and white chevron throw pillows, but not at the $65+ price tag!  So I popped into the local fabric store when James was in town, found the very print I was looking for and a 16x16" pillow form to work with.  That lovely yard of yellow and white goodness has been sitting on my sewing table for a month and I no longer had excuses a and b standing in my way.  Time to kick the dogs outside and conquer c!

Sometimes I plan and plan and plan, other times I just jump right in.  This time was a jumping plan.  Without a pattern to work with (not that I would really know what to do with one if I had it) I started measuring and estimating that I would give myself an extra two inches on each side to work with.

20x20" square

There was some pinning, some ironing, a lot of stitching, peddling and some cussing, but before long it was starting to look like a pillow!

Now how do I finish this? That took the most time out of anything.  After two broken needles and no blindness, I decided to hand stitched it shut and spot clean later, I guess.

Not too shabby for my first attempt at pillowry!

Here it is in action

 I quickly moved it to a safer location because of this guy and his shredding ways.

Ya'll come back now ya hear?!
~Easty