#344...candy's chair set

My Mom's friend Candy asked me to makeover some old office chairs for her. Here are a few before shots of the chairs and a side table that came with them. They looked straight out of a Dr.'s office waiting room.

Candy picked the fabric fabric for her chairs, and left it to me to decide what to do with the wood sides, which were in marginal shape. Here is the after........

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I decided to paint the chairs in Benjamin Moore's sea haze, which is a soft gray, giving them a more modern look. I really love how it looks with the cream and black fabric. I painted the chairs using a satin finish oil-based enamel. For the table that came with the chairs, I decided to make it coordinate with the chairs, but not match them exactly to take away some of the office waiting room feel of the coordinated set. Here is another before of the table. 

...and here is the after

I cleaned the wood sides with orange oil and painted the top in a stripe pattern. To create the stripe, I painted the top in the sea haze color and then used tape to create the asymmetrical stripes. Next, I painted the cream color over the stripes and pulled the tape off. It took a few coats of the cream, and I usually rip the tape off while the paint is wet each coat, let it dry, and then re-tape over the stripes before adding another coat of the top color. If you leave the tape on and let the top color dry, you run the risk of pulling off the paint when taking the tape off. It is easier just to re-tape the pattern for each new coat of paint.

I really like how this set turned out, although if it were mine, I think I'd break up the table and chairs. The table is large and boxy in scale for the size of the chairs, and I think it would work well as a small coffee table, sofa end table, or even bedside table. I like the chairs paired together and think I would put a small round table like this or this between them as a grouping.

#343...embellished denim

I was cleaning in my attic and came across this denim skirt that I embellished a few years ago to wear to a western themed party. I put my own spin of western on it, by adding tie dye ruffle trim, and some top-stitched Chinese silk patch pockets. The skirt is from the GAP via a thrift shop, that I cut it off to my desired length. I thought about getting rid of it, as it is a little too costumey for normal wear, but it's growing on me, so I'll keep it and  maybe even wear it out this summer.

#342...rolling storage bin

I picked up this beat-up blue storage cube at the Goodwill for about $8. It was originally from Target, and the top comes off providing internal storage. It has been in my attic for quite awhile. I decided to give it a face lift and try using it for additional storage in my laundry room/bathroom that is still under construction. I recovered it with a "glasses" print oilcloth by Japanese design company Echino. I ran out of oilcloth for the top, so I paired it with a leftover scrap of vintage Waverly fabric from my stash. It took very little sewing, and a lot of stapling. I added the Rill caster from Ikea to make it mobile.

#341...cubby wall

In searching for built-in bookcase ideas for a client, I found this cool cubby wall of display boxes, which I'd love to build in my house to display my thrift store pottery collection.

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#340...ryan bingham

Last night, we saw Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses at Josabi's in Helotes....

....say that three times fast

#339...pottery acquisitions

I have a teeny - tiny obsession with small scale hand made pottery....especially pieces that look like a beginner did them. I spent several years learning how to throw and hand build pottery, so I know first hand how difficult an art form it is to master. Once we finish the pottery cabana, I plan to get a wheel and try throwing again, but for now I will settle for collecting cast-off pieces that I find at the thrift shops. Here are a few of my latest treasures.

#338...flower's for laura

I recently completed this palette knife painting for my client Laura's dining room.

Laura fell in love with this painting from Horchow, but the size was way too big for her space, so I tried to recreate the coloring and composition of the painting on a smaller square canvas, instead of the giant rectangle.

Here is a shot of the painting in Laura's dining room propped atop her pretty mirrored buffet, above which she plans to hang the painting.

#337...breakfast at dinner time

Blogger was down this morning when I wanted to post this.......so now this is a breakfast food for dinner post.

This is a picture of my new favorite breakfast. Anna turned me on to it a few months ago, and I've been eating it non-stop. It consists of a giant spoonful of Fage yogurt, some blueberries, a spoonful of granola, a handful of raw almonds and a tablespoon or so of honey. Just put everything in a bowl, mix it up with your spoon, and enjoy!

#336...painted glass desk top

About 8 years ago I bought this Bedford desk from Pottery Barn in white. It was the floor model, so it had a few dents. My desk lives in my TV room with this elfa shelving, these dog crates, and this seating arrangement. Over the years, the top surface of the desk got really dirty, and the more I cleaned it, the more the finish rubbed off, leaving a worn looking, rough, discolored desk top.

I decided to put a piece of glass atop the desk, to give it a new smooth surface. I wanted a colored glass, as clear glass would have still shown the discolored surface. After searching around for colored glass, I decided that the least expensive option would be to try painting the underside of clear glass and laying the glass painted side down on the desk.

I opted for white paint, and used a 4 inch foam roller to apply the paint as smoothly as possible. Here are some pics of my desk with the painted glass top and my office area at the back of my den.

#335...carol's living room

I spent the latter part of last week in the country at my clients' Carol & Jeff's house. I got to see horses, Brahmans, llamas, longhorns and even a coyote, which is pretty exciting for this city girl. Carol and Jeff live in a rustic farmhouse  built from Austin Limestone, with a modern metal roof. It has really beautiful wood moldings and large open light-filled rooms. I'm helping them bring a little bit of personality to each of their rooms. We made a lot of progress in their living room, which is also the entry into the home. Here are a few before & afters.

Before

After

Carol and Jeff already had all of the furniture we used in the space. We reoirented what was already there, and rehung artwork that we brought in from other parts of the house. We added some new lamps, some new pillows, and a peacock feather arrangement to the coffee table for some color.

Before

After

The above glass piece formerly hung in their sunroom on a less visible wall. It is a piece they got in New Orleans, and I believe it is made from broken glass collected after Katrina. We brought it into the living room and paired it with a coyote watercolor done by musician Joe Ely, and a print of a Golden Retriever, a breed they have owned many of.

Before

After

Before

After

To define the entry hall portion of the space, we added the above antique sideboard, which formerly lived in the dining room. We decided not to use the curvy mirrored decorative back piece that sat on top of the cabinet (you can see in the before). We added the tall silver vertical mirror above the entry piece and a white ceramic lamp for a modern twist.