Patience is A Virtue. . .

Early in my marriage when I was inexperienced and poor, I tended to buy furniture based on need and a desire to have it NOW.  If the couch I wanted was too expensive, I just bought something cheaper.  I didn't search to find it somewhere else cheaper. I didn't wait and save my pennies so I could buy it later. I just found something that would work.

Then I looked around my house and decided I didn't really like what I had.  It didn't feel like it represented my style. . . if I even knew what that was.  I have recently come to the conclusion that if you have something functional in place you are less likely to go out seeking something new.  Why go looking for the perfect sofa if you have one in good shape doing the job?  It seems less justifiable.  

So when our springer spaniel snacked on our furniture last fall I got rid of the ruined sofa and table and chairs in my family room and kitchen.  I found a table I loved right away, but Rob and I couldn't agree on family room furniture.  This time I wasn't willing to just buy something that would do the job, and neither of us really wanted to spend the amount of money it would cost to get my first or even second choice sofa and club chairs. So I moved my living room furniture into my family room and lived with an empty living room. . . until this month.

My patience paid off!  We found nearly the same sofa for half the price--1/3 the Restoration Hardware sofa! And it came with the five pillows shown in the picture.  I love a good rolled English arm sofa (and a turned leg).  Rob argued it wouldn't be comfortable, and with only a picture to go on with the other two stores, I wasn't making progress convincing him, but once he sat in this beauty he agreed that it was, indeed, quite comfy.  It has down/feather filled cushions and a really deep seat--great for the two of us being 6'2" and 5'10".  

Here is the Restoration Hardware sofa:

The Pottery Barn sofa:

The RC Willey sofa (Mine):

AND we found a sofa table and a coffee table for a good deal.  A nearly identical table set can be purchased at Ballard Designs, but they cost more! I count that a double score.  Plus mine was made from reclaimed wood out of a factory.  

Ballard table:

And I got some great accessories:  the mounted driftwood on the sofa table. . .

And this lovely three teared tray, which I love everything about, even the little bun feet underneath it.  

Now I just need to find those two leather club chairs and another upholstered chair to finish the seating. . . 

But in the meantime, I am ignoring the rain pouring down outside, washing all the lovely blossoms off the trees.  I am bringing a little spring inside.  I may have to fill my house with cut flowers to appease my annoyance with the dreary weather around here!  

**All furniture and accessories mentioned in this post were purchased at RC Willey**

Half-finished Project # 532: Dining Room Chair Slipcovers

Today I awoke with a dilemma on my hands. . . which unfinished project to work on.  I bounced from Signe's room, to the laundry room, to the living room, to the guest room and back again, but every project in progress needed supplies--and I didn't want to run to the fabric store or the hardware store, I just wanted to get to work on something.  I finally settled on painting trim in the kitchen/family room.  Mostly because my husband suggested it might be time. . . since we put that trim up nearly two years ago!  But once I got all dressed in painting clothes I changed my mind.  I wanted something with a good before and after picture, and while I could post pictures of the kitchen remodel, I didn't want to post after pictures until it was actually all done AND decorated.  Which left one other thing I could work on.  Something I bought supplies for 1 year and 4 months ago.  Clearly I need to work on completing the projects I start.  It is one of my resolutions for the year actually--Finish all half done projects!  I am very good at the starting part.

A year ago last November I decided I was tired of the black upholstered dining chairs in my kitchen.  So I went out and bought these fabrics (which I also planned to use for accents in my family room):

I picked them to match my Turquoise Fire King dishes:

And this rug (Jordan, Porcelain Blue, in 9X12) I bought at Pottery Barn:

Then I promptly sewed a slipcover for ONE of my EIGHT chairs.  And though I loved how it turned out, I never finished the other seven.  A year goes by, our family adopts a springer spaniel, said springer chews up the legs to my dining chairs (among other things), and the chairs get replaced without ever being recovered.

But the good news is, the new chairs needed slipcovers.  I bought the new table (Provence) and chairs (Anna Slipcover Chair) at World Market a few months ago, but they were out of the slipcovers I liked.  Luckily I still had yards and yards of Robins Egg Blue Linen (Waverly).  So today I set out to make all six covers in one shot.  Otherwise I feared history would repeat itself.  And I almost made it.  Now I have six chairs that look like this:

Maybe tomorrow I will finish the box pleat skirts for the bottoms of them, and give them all a good ironing. . . or maybe a year from now. Let's shoot for tomorrow!

Fresh Starts and Fresh ideas. . .

Happy New Year!  A little late, but heartfelt none-the-less.  I have a confession to make.  My husband has been home on vacation since December 19th. . . the last day I posted.  AND he doesn't go back to work until next week.  When I am trying to work he comes in with an impish grin and says, "Let's go. . ." where doesn't matter--he makes it all sound so fun, even if it is only, "Let's go make homemade bread!" or "Let's go clean the kitchen together."  SO, when I should be saying, "I need to work."  what my mouth actually says is, "Okay!"

See my dilemma?  When we both work together we get things DONE.  But when we both are together doing separate things. . . we get things done, just not the things we should be doing!

Today I am getting back to work, really.  Though, I might try to squeeze in one more house project this week.  But I will take you along and show what we are up to.  I think you might like it.

Just to make it harder to focus, I have gotten the bug to redo my daughter's bedroom.  It hasn't been done since we moved here over three years ago.  I did it up beautifully in Utah when we lived there.  When she was a baby it looked like this:

Then when she got her big girl bed we redid the whole thing to look like this:

Then we moved.  And her stuff made the room look fine, though I didn't paint--even the curtains came with the house.

(I did snatch the chandelier from the old house though--it was a baby gift from my neighborhood friends.)

But the other day Signe saw this picture and decided her room needed a makeover:

(Country Living)

I think since her sister has an antique iron bed in her room I will not do iron.  I am leaning towards a Jenny Lind style bed but all the ones I am seeing are on ebay for fabulous prices but mainly on the east coast and largely local pick-up only.  The search will continue.  It will be sad to take out her twin beds.  We made those when she was two for the whopping cost of $35 each.

While I was browsing the Goodwill the other day I came across this table:

When I was looking it over I spied a big ugly spider on the under side and my husband refused to kill it for me.  So I called over a friendly employee and informed her I was interest in the table, but no so much the spider--and it's two egg sack nests!  So she in turn called over another employee--a boy--who put on a glove and hauled the spider off--ALIVE!  Eww.  I know the idea of saving the spider is nice and all, but if he put it outside in the 25 degree weather. . . but back to the table.

I think I want to paint it and put it in Signe's new room on one side of the bed with a cute little chair.  I also picked up this great frame for not much and the painting itself is on a board rather than canvas.  That will make painting chalkboard paint right over it a snap.  Don't you think that would be cute above the made over desk?

I get so excited when inspiration strikes and I just want to go at it.  But my room make-overs are never quick, unfortunately.  I will keep you posted on the progress, slow though it may be.

In the meantime, I need to revamp the etsy shop and restock the store. . . unless Rob pops down here to ask if I want to go running or something--because as awful as that sounds, he has convinced me to do it the last three days in a row!

Wish me luck--and focus!

Catch 22. . .

It is always good advice to find a job doing something you love.  My dilemma was/is always narrowing it down to one thing.  I am still dealing with the desire to be a writer/photographer/decorator/shop owner/party planner/bakery owner///. . .  you get the idea.  In the same vein of thought, with regards to our shop, I think it is important to always sell things that we love.  I love that while working on items for the shop, Lisa will occasionally burst out with, "I love this.  I would totally buy this for my house!"

That's sort of the point, of course.  We choose/create things to sell, BECAUSE we love them.

It does, however, create a minor issue.  I often want to keep things meant for the shop.  In fact, a few things I bought before setting up shop, with intentions of making over for my house, have made their way into the sale pile.  For instance, I bought an ugly little stool for my daughter's room.  It had medium brown wooden legs and a hideous brown print vinyl cover with a pleated ruffle trim--also out of the ugly brown print vinyl.  It was, in fact, so ugly my husband thought it would be funny to spray paint the word "poop" on the top of it. . . BEFORE I took a before picture.

This is where I would normally show you a before picture.  I LOVE before and afters, don't you?  But that picture is one of the many lost on my crashed hard drive, so you can't really appreciate the transformation this little stool has undergone.  So without further ado, the after:

I wanted something simple and clean, yet girly and fresh. . . and different.

Can I just say mission accomplished?! Now the only dilemma is I want to keep it.  I can almost justify it by reminding Lisa that I did originally purchase it for Hannah's room.  Or at least I can try. . . which I did.

 (That Windsor chair? Another thing I am having trouble deciding to part with. . .and that pillow. . .? It's unhealthy really.)

That is where having a partner comes in handy.  We keep each other on track.  Otherwise the two of us might just have a house full of really cute stuff and a shop full of. . . nothing (not to mention our wallets!).

But for now, this little number is my favorite. . . until something else I almost can't resist comes along.

The Best Things. . .

. . . come to those who wait.  (But once you see it coming, jump quick or you'll miss it!)

It may also be true that the best things in life aren't free. . . but some really great stuff is!

And Craig will tell you how to find it.  On a nearly nightly basis I take a quick gander at what there is to be had on craigslist, and my first stop is the "free stuff" section.  Now, you might be thinking one of two things--

If it's free, there's a reason.

OR,

If it's free it will be gone before I get there.

And you will most likely be right on both counts.

But sometimes that reason is merely that someone doesn't want to be bothered with trying to sell it, or they are in a hurry to get rid of it (due to a move or something). . . or they don't realize their junk is REALLY a fabulous treasure!

Usually I look at the location and figure it has been posted too long to still be there or is too far from my house.  Often the poster doesn't want to be bothered and won't respond to emails asking if it is still there.

But one night I hoped on around 8:30 to see a free post with a couch, a chair, two desks, a dresser, and a nightstand.  I liked three things she was offering, it was ten minutes from my house (or less) and it had been posted 30 minutes before I looked at it.  It was an "it's on the porch, come get it" sort of post.

So I did.

Only, by the time I got there the only things left were the two desks--luckily one was super cute.  It went home with me, of course.

And while she may have needed a little help, it was just the kind of help I was willing and able to give.

A little paint and a couple new screws later. . .

And she was perfect.

Sometimes great stuff really is free. . . plus a mad scramble, a little paint and some elbow grease!

The only issue here (which may not actually be such a bad thing) is that once I realized how cheap (or free) you could find things, it's become a challenge to see how little I have to pay for something.  And it makes it easier to splurge when I find something I REALLY have to have, but isn't cheap.  I consider that balance.

Circuitous Stories and Shades of White

A couple months ago I spied an adorable dresser at the Good Will that I decided I needed for my guest room, which lacked a dresser.  My husband thought I was crazy and dragged me from the store to high tail it to piano lessons with the girls.  Their lessons were across the parking lot and it was quickly becoming tradition that we stop by before or after lessons.

After lessons I decided I REALLY needed to go back and buy it. I had visions of painting it and maybe adding lovely new knobs.

Then it sat in my guest room for a month or so until I rearranged my daughter's room and decided it really would fit in her room better.  So I swapped dressers. . . and continued to talk of painting it--but never actually got around to it.

Fast forward a couple months.  Lisa and I have embarked upon House of White and I find myself at the Good Will looking at yet another cute little dresser, also with a mirror above it.  By this time, my husband is all on board and actually finds it before me and calls me over. I love the shape, the turned detail on the mirror supports and legs, even the aging on the edges of the mirror.  So, of course it goes home with me, even if its stay will not be permanent.

It took some time, and two trips to the paint store to decide on a color (though really it is only ever a choice between some shade of white/cream-white/gray-white/blue-white we're talking about here).  In the end I picked two colors.  This is were I am going to be phenomenally unhelpful, because I don't remember the cream color name, BUT it was a lovely creamy white and Sanibel Gray, a pale slightly blueish gray. Sanibel Gray is a Valspar "Seaside Retreat" color, but I had my favorite local paint store mix it up in a satin acrinamel paint.

After sanding and priming it, I gave it a coat in the cream, then topped it with the gray.  Then I took the hand sander to it and gave it bit of an aged look, thinning it in a few places so the cream paint showed through in spots and the wood in spots. I had planned on buying cute knobs, but after seeing  Layla  (of The Lettered Cottge) paint her knobs, I decided to give it a try. I like the subtle contrast of the cream knobs and gray/blue finish.

So what does this cute dresser have to do with my daughter's dresser?  Three months later and I think I have found a color to paint it. Hopefully three months won't pass before I actually get around to doing it!