Archive for the ‘before’ Category

CH-CH-Changes…Part Duex

Thursday, March 26th, 2009

As part of Spring Cleaning/Barterfest ’09 I decided to change out the thrifted bubble lamp for something a little more exciting.

Above is the dining room before with the $6 Nelson Bubble Lamp. Although I love this lamp, it was originally intended to be a sconce. It was a little under scale and a little too white to really pop.

Shazammm. Hello darling, welcome home.

This vintage baby was found at Amsterdam Modern during my recent trip to Los Angeles. Definitely visit Ellen if you get a chance – the place has an AMAZING selection of imported vintage pieces at pretty reasonable prices. I know I’ll be back.

It has a really neat feature – the lamp has a pulley system that adjusts the lamp shade up and down to customize the height.

Here it is finally installed in the dining room. I love it.

This is the other addition to the dining room that I actually bartered for. Its GORGEOUS, and I can’t wait to fill it with beautiful serving ware and pottery!

I do miss the vintage portrait, so some rearranging might still be in order…

FILED UNDER: after, before, dining

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Bench REMIX

Friday, March 20th, 2009

Last night I got home and was itching for a change. I was just in one of those moods where I wanted to either rip out the bathroom tiles or go buy expensive danish furniture. No money means no new tile or a brand new hutch….so it was time for a REMIX!

We’ve had this Ikea Flokati rug for a number of years and it is gross. It has been stored away and SHEDDING in the pit of a guest bedroom so that little Iggy would stop marking it.

BAD DOG.

Something about the rug smelling like a sheep made Iggy crazy and he kept putting little pee drops all over the thing. Yuck.

I also had this kind of ugly bench that was also wasting away in the guest bedroom as well. I bought it on the cheap at a thrift store and thought I would one day reupholster the cracking yellow vinyl in something fun…

I love everything sheep skin and thought that the rug would look really nice upholstered on the bench.

I cut a clean section out of the rug that was big enough to cover the bench

Removed all the legs – they just unscrewed.

Flipped over the rug so the good side was down and pulled out the trusty electric staple gun.

I just pulled the edges over and stapled them down onto the wood frame of the bench. I didn’t bother removing the old vinyl upholstery since it was pretty tight and solid. I was worried that the foam would be a mess underneath.

I stapled the rug section all the way around and folded the corners in. The rug was very furry and VERY forgiving so it didn’t matter if it wasn’t a totally clean and sharp upholstery job.

I then cut off the excess fur…

all the way around the edges so they didn’t hang down.

Screwed the legs back on and its DONE!

It took me about an hour and a half to get it all done and finished…with a few breaks playing with Iggy. He loves those Flokati fur balls.

Then like a serial killer I brushed, spot cleaned and vacuumed all the fur. It rubs the Flokati on its skin…or else it gets the hose again…

Ta-da!!! All brushed up like a show dog.

A lovely furry white ottoman. This way no ones walking on it and getting it all dirty.

I’m not sure where it will end up in the house, but the project scratched that itch for something new without spending any money!

FILED UNDER: after, before, decorating, DIY, thrifty

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Vignettes

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009

I really have been considering the Eddie Ross school of vignette styling (although I’m very suspicious of it) it seems some of the basic rules are sound. Paying attention to scale, texture, pattern, and white space helps visually order things and show off the best parts of a collection. I’ve been attempting (and failing) to style the entry wall in the living room for the last year.

The top image is my current entry area “vignette”. I think I kind of dig it.

I’ve been considering a coat hanger and was thinking of the Eames Hang it All installed on the empty left side to hang coats, purses, ect. I also want to add a shelving unit behind the sofa to act as a sofa table and bookcase. If only I can find something stylish, long, and cheap…which is how I like my men… if you know what i mean…

This is when vignetting fails.

I love this marble table and was hoping to use it bedside for the Boy. The entry space in the bedroom is tight and his table needs to be small and floating to keep the room feeling as spacious as possible. First thing first – DESTROY that alarm clock. For SEVEN years he has had that ugly sticker covered monstrosity. Its like the size of a toaster.

Probably no table lamp will work. I’m going to have to do pendant lights or something wall mounted to keep the space open and symmetrical on either side of the bed. Right now the tables don’t match, the lamps don’t match, cords are askew and asunder, and we don’t have a headboard. It looks a hot mess. After all that is figured – I guess something simple, clean and with clear accent pieces will make it all come together. I hope.

The den is brown and crowded. Ugh. Eventually this will get some awesome vignetting and color action when the space planning issue works out. This pic solves the mystery of where the old coffee table ended up. The table is way to big and will be sold when I find the right perfectly priced white oval tulip base coffee table…or maybe a naked gold lady holding up a piece of glass.

FILED UNDER: after, bedroom, before, decorating, living

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