Chair Makeover

July 1, 2013
Remember these guys? I bought them on Craigslist last Fall and asked you all for some input on what should do with them.
I love a good DIY but these were a little more challenging than I had anticipated. The wood wouldn’t take normal stain and I wasn’t feeling painting over the wood so I thought we were stuck. After a little research, I finally found gel stain and it worked like a charm. 
After staining it I took it to a local upholsterer and had them re-cover the chairs in West Elm’s dove gray velvet. It’s such a gorgeous fabric!
They’ve made it all the way across the pond and they’re perfect in our little flat.

What do you think?

A Sewing Project

January 29, 2013
As I mentioned here I’m wanting to update our bedding with everything white. After I saw these pillows I knew they were perfect for our bedroom. While I was home over the holidays I took advantage of my mom’s sewing machine and skills and we worked on our own version of the pillow together. We bought a thick white upholstery fabric and two-inch black velvet ribbon — overall we were able to do the project very inexpensively. The back is an envelope back which made the whole project very simple. I’m super happy with how they turned out {thanks for the help, Mom!} 

DIY Gold Chevron Tray

July 16, 2012

This past week I did a fun project that I’ve been wanting to do for a while. I’m so happy with how it turned out!

I used this tray from Crate & Barrel, but you could probably find something similar and cheaper at TJ Maxx or HomeGoods. The hardest part was the taping. You just kind of have to eyeball it {I re-adjusted the tape a lot}. I taped a mix of zig-zags and stripes then painted three coats of thin layers of Liquid Leaf and let it dry over night. When I took the tape off the next day some of the paint had leaked through {maybe I was using the wrong tape? I just used regular old masking tape}, but the uneven edges came off by scraping them gently with a butter knife.

COST BREAKDOWN


+ Foam brush $.35
+ Liquid leaf $5.49
+ Masking tape $1
+ Tray $9.95
_____________
TOTAL: $16.79

Some more DIYs: dining chairs | dresser | chalkboard

Four from the Weekend

June 11, 2012
01. My first ever romper! I was so hesitant about them at first but I love this one.
02. Saturday was my mom’s birthday so we surprised her by taking the train from New York to Annapolis to visit my family. The trip was too short, but it was so good spending time with my family and celebrating with everyone. 
03. A perk of going home — seeing my sweet niece, June. She can now balance cereal puffs on her nose. So talented.
04. My sister-in-law’s amazing DIY painted chest. You can read more about it here. 
This is our last week in New York — we’ll be flying out to Seattle next week to live for the remainder of the summer. It’s so bittersweet, I don’t think I’m ready to leave this city!
Hope you had a wonderful weekend!