From C-list to A-list

Remember these Louis XVI style square back chairs I snagged from Craigslist for only $125 for all four?

They have slowly but surely been receiving updates on a weekly basis and they are finally complete! They went from this...

To this...

As soon as we got the chairs home, I started looking for inspiration of what I wanted the chairs to look like in the end. I first turned to some blog queens for their input and the amazing Emily A. Clark suggested a fresh coat of paint and new upholstery. I completely agreed and took to the web for some inspiration. The entire transformation began with this chair from Ballard Designs...

Do you see that price?? $429-581= Crazytown

In an effort to bring the c-list chairs up to par with the a-list Ballard version, I started with sanding and painting the frames white (I used Valspar's Honeymilk.)

Then it was time to buck up and give upholstering the good ole college try. I decided to use canvas drop clothes because they were the perfect color already and I wouldn't feel awful if the upholstering went terribly bad and had to be ripped apart. 

To give them a punch of color, I taped two strips to the back panels and painted them a blue color to match our dinnerware.

Once the chairs were painted and upholstered, they looked a little too new for my liking. So, I mixed a homemade glaze (a combo of mustard, gray, and green paints with water did the trick) and ran a sanding block over the edges to give some age to the chairs.

I absolutely love how they turned out and am proud that I was able to fight my impatient-ness (that is so not a word, but I am going with it) to take my time and do them correctly!

So what do you think, did I take the chairs from the original c-list (craigslist) state to the a-list (Ballard Designs) state?

Original

Inspiration

Finished (back)

New dining room chairs and wall photo gallery

Labor Days

The hubs and I took the “labor” part serious out of this long holiday weekend and got to work. I have had a few projects in limbo that needed to be finished before I lost my mind. Although we hope to relax a bit today and enjoy the day with family, I wanted to stop in quickly and give you a sneak peak of the projects that were tackled. 

• Glazing and upholstering the dining room chairs (first time I have ever done upholstery...fingers crossed!)
• Paint and upgrade yard sale mirrors
• Create new lampshade and re-finish Goodwill lamp

I could sum up the weekend in one title:

“Weekend Warriors: Paint everything in sight”

In Progress: white base on the frame, seat and back panels

In Progress: white base on frames and hand painted back panel

Before: Large wood beveled mirror

Before: Octagon Mirrors

Before: $3 Brass lamp...yup, 3 dollars. That crooked lampshade has got to go, fast!

Of course I will be giving a more detailed look into each of the projects, so be sure to check back in. Until then, I hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day with family and friends!

Wall Photo Gallery

HELLO SEPTEMBER! Really, it’s September already? Well, time certainly flies but I am so ready for fall this year. What can I say, I am a jeans and cardigan kind of gal and I welcome the cooler weather and fewer mosquitoes! 

I’m already side tracked…what was the point of this post again? Gallery walls, right. I’ve been lusting over gallery walls for some time, but wasn’t sure where to start our own. I entertained the idea of creating one in our bedroom, but once I decided to re-vamp our tiny dining room, I knew a gallery wall would be the perfect fit. 

Here are some of the photos I’ve kept around for inspiration:

 Pottery Barn (via)

Eric Cohler Designs (via)

Young House Love (via)

Ikea 2012 Catalog (via)

I decided to keep all of my frames black and print my pictures in black and white to keep uniformity even though the frames are different sizes and shapes. Some frames have mats included and others don’t. Now onto the picture selection (this was actually the hardest part in my opinion.) The hubs and I had an awkward experience when looking for our last house that made us promise to practice self control in the self portraits we had in the house. I swear the couple had hung every single image their wedding photographer took in their house. I'm sorry, it's weird.

magazine cutouts

in progress

To get the shape and spacing, we used a real classy technique. We ripped out pages form the local newspaper magazine to the size of the frames and frog taped (obsessed) them into position. A few picture nails and some leveling later, we were finished. We intend to update, add, and swap images and frames over time but here is what we came up with. I’m super happy with it.

Viola!

I am a bit shocked that some of the frames aren't completely crooked! Ha.

Anyone ever experience a house that had far too many personal pictures strewn about? Have a gallery wall of you own? How do you pick and choose the pictures to include? 

Weekend Goodies!

It has already been a crazy week in our household and it is only Tuesday! We leave for vacation on Saturday and I am sure that everyone knows the madness that needs to be stuffed into the week before, both at work and at home. There are very few things that can get me out of the stress funk I am in right now besides my family and friends. Here's a sneak peak of two things that brought me much needed sunshine this weekend.

We were busy this weekend taping, sanding, priming, and painting two of the four dining room chairs we found for a steal on Craigslist (about 30 bucks a pop.) We did a trial with two but trust me, the other two are already on their way to follow suite!

The sweet mailman showed up at our doorstep with a package containing my primative dough bowl that I got on Etsy for $34 (ah-maze-ing!) It was my first Etsy purchase and I am in love, I have so many ideas for this baby and am already on the look out for a long trencher version! 

Check back later this week to see how I transformed our craigslist dining room chairs and my ideas for our new (to us) dough bowl! 

What are the things that bring you smiles even on the most stressful day?

Tackling the Dining Room

One item on my summer to do list was tackling our neglected dining room. If you can even call it a room, more like a square hall way or large closet more closely describes the space. We have been renting our current house for just over a year, and in that time the DR was pretty empty besides a tiny IKEA table and two chairs (from my college years) and the bar/island that my dad made. 

Moving Day July 2010: Table/chairs by the window and the bar on the opposite wall

July 2011: Bar by the window and the table/chairs on the opposite wall (phone pics=bad)

Not much difference from the empty room to the furnished room, huh? Although I knew it would never be the site of a dinner party or Thanksgiving dinner, I was tired of looking at the lonely room everyday. I started to browse the mighty Craigslist and see what was available at the price point I was willing to spend-CHEAP. I didn’t exactly know what I was looking for but hoped I could find something to build around.

After a few days of searching (and losing out on a few things) I came across a posting for antique chairs from a local historial Inn. I immediately fell for the deep olive upholstery and the dark carved wooden frames. The listing asked for 40 bucks a piece but after talking to the delightful owner, Arlene, we negotiated the price down to $125 for all four chairs!

 

So, I dragged my hubby into the car on Saturday evening and off we went. The chairs were much taller than I expected but actually made me love them even more, except I grew skeptic that they would fit in our small SUV! After some finagling, we got all four chairs in...SUCCESS! Arlene’s husband commented that the Hubs and I must be really great at puzzles since we got them to fit so “easily” (My father would be very proud to hear that he has taught us the master skill of car packing!)

Our IKEA table is small and only fits two chairs, but it worked out since there isn’t much room for all four around a table anyway. We added the extra two chairs flanking the bar, which works nicely. Then I added in some accessories, scored new dinnerware at Marshalls on the cheap (under $12 a setting) and the room is really starting to take shape! Next up, I want to add a picture gallery on either wall above the table and maybe repaint the chairs (thoughts?)

The table cloth is actually a vintage bed sheet that I found at a flea market for a few bucks, folded and draped over the table. I couldn't find a table cloth that covered the entire table but wasn't long on the sides that the chairs go under.     This linen seems to do the trick!

 

Table setting with my new dinnerware and serving bowl from Marshalls

The bar centered under the window with the two extra chairs.

Again, it is never going to be a space for entertaining large dinner parties, but at least it now has some character and function. Do you have a room in your house that was too small or awkward, but figured out how to make it work? Let me know, I would love to hear all about it.

*Don’t forget to tune in tomorrow for the reveal of my Pinterest Challenge craft!