Ima do it too

Saw this post today.  All I have to say is, "Me too!"

Nailed it.

I found this:

here:  Reason to Read

and had to try it myself on a smaller scale:

I don't know if I quite have the hang of it.  I used that string I used to use for friendship bracelets back in the day.  I think maybe I need to use more string...

always something new

I got this dining set a few months ago at an estate sale.  I had been looking for a few months and could not find a thing I liked.  This was in a dusty corner of the basement (yes, I said basement!) covered by a bunch of other crap.  I got the table and 6 chairs for $65.  One of the chairs needs a little fixing, but for the most part, it is in good shape.  I recovered the chairs with a Marimekko oilcloth (pictured below) that I ordered on txtlart.com.  I only ordered enough for 3 chairs, unfortunately, so I covered the other 2 working chairs in a fabric from Wal Mart until I am ready to pay the outrageous shipping again.

Fauxdenzas for all!

I saw this post this morning at The Brick House about a new trend sweeping the DIY/Modern/Hipster Homeowner nation:  the Fauxdenza.  It is basically a wall hung credenza.  Here is a picture from Door Sixteen:

*Notice the requisite giant ampersand and Herman Miller chair.  Not that I am above any of this.  My snarkiness here is a result of jealousy.  I wish I could find an authentic HM shell rocker in somebody's Craigslist curb alert.   Not that she found it there.  I really don't know where she got it.  This is turning out to be a much longer aside than I intended.

As an unwilling participant of the Not So Big House movement, I am always looking for clever, cheap, DIY storage ideas.  These Fauxdenzas can be made from Ikea wall cabinets (Akrum) and are only a foot deep, so they can be hung on a hallway wall or, as in my case, along the one viable wall in my not-really-a-room dining area.  I like that it is unobtrusive and, as previously mentioned, cheap.  The basic white cabinet is just $58.  Two would make a cabinet 48" wide by 30" high.  The perfect size for my dining area.  I was thinking I'd see what I could find at ReUser to top it with.  The possibilities are endless!

I didn't ask for this, but I'll take it!

We have an involuntary bathroom remodel underway at our house. In the midst of this, we uncovered a pretty snazzy tile floor we are going to try to preserve. This is not a very good picture of it. It is that 50's baby blue. I have found my inspiration for the remodel:

I found this picture in a Google search, and I tried to find it again to credit it, but I can't find it.

I like how everything is white except the brightly printed curtain and the vintagey floor. (You can see just the corner of it.) Since I don't have a window in my bathroom, our brightly printed curtain will be the shower curtain, so I am currently searching for the perfect one. Ikea has a nice wall hung sink I want to check out. I just don't know where you get those nice pipes they have under it...

rock it

Continuing on with the chair theme, I found this painted rocking chair collection, also on Design Mom. I will steal it. Eventually. Really, this little blog of mine is more of a collection of things I eventually want to do...

have a seat

I have two favorite things to buy when it comes to home decor. Lamps and chairs. If I had actually bought every lamp I have seen and loved at the various and sundry thrift stores I frequent (both here and in ND), we would not be able to have any furniture. Except chairs. We would have a house full of reading nooks. I love chairs. Folding chairs, side chairs, armchairs, rocking chairs, the list goes on and on. Chairs are easy to makeover. (Unless you buy a wingback or something.) Check out two of my most recent chairformations.

I inherited a set of unusual dining room chairs from a generous donor. I currently only have room for two in my house, but I plan to one day have an actual dining room, or at least a larger eating area, and use them all. Not only are they incredibly stylish, they are also surprisingly comfortable. The original cushion was in terrible condition, as is generally the way with dining chair cushions.

I wanted to recover it with a bold botanical print. Maybe something a little Swedish looking. Then I thought about going graphic/nature inspired. In the end, I happened to find myself in the Wal Mart fabric section where I found a fabric that went perfectly with the other current fabrics in the room. And it is busy enough that you won't see the inevitable pizza stains.

I don't really think these pictures do the fabric justice. It looks a lot less 80's calico in person. You'll just have to drop in and check the chairs out. Or take my word for it.

So, I also grabbed this awesome white vinyl chair for my living room off of my neighbor's curb a few weeks ago.

It is in pretty good condition; she just needed to make room for a small table and chairs in her living room. There was some tearing along the sides of the vinyl, and I was going to ignore it.

One day, I was looking at the chair, and came up with the idea to recover just the damaged parts. Then I thought, maybe just all the sides. But how do I do this with a vinyl chair? I use a glue gun, of course. In the same trip to Wal Mart, I found this fantastic bird fabric that does not match anything in the room, but I love the fabric, and it looks great on the chair.

You can't even really see it.

What was I thinking when I took these pictures?

Suffice it to say, I have a feeling it will henceforth be known as "the bird chair."