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

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?