Makeover

While out running errands the other day, I popped into Homegoods since I had not been in quite some time. During a drive-by of the home section, a little table caught my eye. Specifically, its shape.

I was not a fan of the leopard-printed surface (now, don't get me wrong, I love leopard, but not in this context. I'd much rather have it on a pillow). But, at $20 the price was right, and I had some ideas of how I could transform it. So, home it went. Here it is in my driveway.

Some of my inspirations. These are a little bit smaller and are called "cigar tables" but I can't see anyone using these to hold their tobacco products. 

Worlds Away

Studiolo

So, I got out my black lacquer spray paint and my gold leaf, and several hours later I came up with this . . . 

I love the look. I've been digging black and gold together lately. Pretty good for a $20 table. I already had the supplies, so just my labor was involved. Gold leafing is not an easy process but I alternately love it and hate it. Being covered in gold flakes is not fun, and the process is messy and time-consuming. But, there's something satisfying about rubbing the gold onto the surface and seeing the furniture transform. I would probably be smart to get a piece of glass cut to fit the top, but I'm not sure I'm feeling that ambitious right now.

Also, in the makeover vein, I recently recovered my Frances Elkins knock-off loop chair in Braemore's Flowering Branch fabric.

Don't mind the junk on the chest in the background. Or the messy shoe basket. I did not style this.

Here's what the chair looked like when I bought it over a year ago. Plain cream chenille. Kind of blah.

It will reside in the front entry adjacent to the dining room.

I must have thrown a dozen fabric samples on this chair over the past year, but could never find one that I loved until now. It was a very basic upholstery job (tear off the old fabric, staple on the new and cover the staples with trim), otherwise I would not have attempted it. I'm liking the way it turned out.

Have you done any makeovers recently?

Got It!

Okay, so many of you were rooting for me to get the black lacquer and brass credenza and dying to know if I bought it. Well . . .

I did! Here it is in my messy garage (sorry, the garage is always on the bottom of my list of things to clean). While it is not in pristine condition (it has a tiny chip and some scrapes), overall I think it just needs a good cleaning. Once again, what sold me . . .

These brass handles. And it is indeed Mastercraft. Here's the label on the back . . .

It actually has a slimmer profile than I originally thought which I also really like.

It's sitting in my garage because as I alluded to in my last post, it literally won't fit in my basement room until I move some stuff out. My husband likes it, so I may actually be keeping it. However, I would be willing to sell it for the right price (any 1st Dibs dealers are welcome to contact me for a price). I must tell you, it's probably a miracle it's as in good shape as it is. The shop I bought it from had it stacked under a bunch of frames, mirrors and junk when I returned, and watching them trying to get it out of the shop reminded me of an episode of hoarders . . . things were falling off shelves as they shoved it through a small doorway. Really, I wish I had taken photos but I thought that might be rude.

In other Mid-Century Modern news, I acquired this little beauty from Craigslist . . .

I have been wanting one of these Milo Baughman-style club chairs forever. I wish I had found a pair, but one will work nicely in the corner of my living room. Yes, it's in desperate need of recovering, and my husband has advised me to find a fabric ASAP because he can't look at this orange, yellow and green pattern for very long. 

Here it is from another angle.

I would go with a velvet fabric, but I have chocolate brown velvet slipper chairs in another part of the room. So, I was thinking maybe a linen or linen/cotton blend in a solid color or small-scale print. Anything too busy or too large would detract from the clean lines of the chair. Any thoughts? The other large furniture pieces in the room (sofa and slipper chairs) are very neutral so this might be the perfect opportunity to inject some color/personality.

And in more acquisition news, I hit up Target today to check out their new Missoni line. Did you go? I bought four Missoni items - two things for me and two for my daughter.

I got these Zigzag ballet flats. They're pretty cute and thought they could jazz up a simple winter outfit.

This gold zigzag sweater. The zigzags weren't so in your face and I liked how it was shot through with lurex threads. A little shine never hurts.

This little zigzag sweater mini-skirt for my daughter. 10 to 1, she'll hate it and want it returned.

And these cute rain boots for her. I almost got a pair for myself but decided to pass.

I didn't end up buying any of the Missoni home decor items (shocking, I know), but realized none of the pieces would've jibed with my aesthetic. Bummer. The Target I went to was very picked over by 8:40 a.m. I ran into ModFruGal while wandering around. She always has such great taste and had nabbed some goodies in her cart. When I tried to look online earlier, the Target site put me on a waitlist of sorts to get on the site because of all the traffic. When I did get on a lot of the stuff was already out of stock. Crazy.

I sound like a spendthrift, don't I? I think the wallet is going to be on serious lockdown for a while. Have you made any exciting purchases lately?

Source: Target

Show Time

Sorry for my recent absence. I traveled to my hometown of Memphis over the weekend for my 20-year high school reunion. I never know what to think about reunions, but I really enjoyed seeing the girls I went to school with two decades ago (I went to an all-girls Catholic high school). I could still recognize everyone which means we couldn't have changed that much - a reassuring thought! Anyway, I'm now getting ready for my older child to start school tomorrow and my younger one to start kindergarten next week (they do a staggered start for the kindergarteners), so I've been a little preoccupied. However, I have some interiors to share with you from The 2011 Memphis Home Showcase a couple of weeks ago. My sister was kind enough to go and take photos for me.

The first house apparently didn't have a lot of redeeming qualities, so Susan only took a couple of photos.  Here they are . . .

That's my mom walking in the back of the room. Not a lot to love in this room, pretty ordinary, but I focused in on the French doors. These are like the ones I want.

This bedroom seems a little under-decorated, but sometimes simplicity is a good thing. I really liked the small loveseat/settee at the end of the bed.

 

The second house had an entire floor decorated by Amy Howard so it was more appealing overall. Although, as is the case with many showhouses in my opinion, it looks like they just threw some furniture in the room. This is especially true when one particular furniture store/manufacturer designs a space. There's usually much more variety when individual designers can draw from multiple sources. But, there's still some nice eye candy.

I, of course, was drawn to the art and asked my sister if she knew who the artist was. "It's Anton Weiss. Isn't that who painted the piece in your dining room?" she asked. Why, yes, it is. No wonder I like it.

This room lacks personality and looks like the undersized coffee table was an afterthought, but individually I like the pieces.

Looks like an Amy Howard showroom. Hard to see but the mirrored console is pretty.

I've seen this art before; can't remember the artist. Interesting sculpture on acrylic/lucite base.

Nothing new here . . .

or here.

I'm liking this coffee table.

Nice chairs.

A little too perfect.

Now, this, I like. At least they went out on a limb with the lighting.

Close-up of the floor lamp.

Pretty bed and bedding. Keeping this in my file for an upcoming post on bedding options.

Like the table, but not the styling.

This vignette has some personality.

Overall, some pretty pieces but nothing out of the ordinary. Well, we're off to the pool on my daughter's last day of "freedom." Hope you're enjoying what's left of your summer.

It's Black and White

If you've read my blog over the past year, you've probably seen this chair.

As per usual, I have waffled back and forth over which fabric I should use to recover it. I thought I had settled on one. I ordered the fabric, and it sat neatly folded in my bedroom for months. I just couldn't pull the trigger. Something was holding me back. Recently, I painted the chair's legs black and threw the fabric over it to get an idea of what it might look like.

Premier Fabric's Chipper in black and white.

I like it, I just don't love it. Something was bothering me. It was guilt. You see, I have feelings for another. I might actually like him more. Here he is. Don't judge. 

I know it may sound crazy, but I've been loving this Marimekko Joonas fabric for quite some time. It's been in my inspiration files on some very similar chairs, as a matter of fact.

Christina Murphy

Elle Decor

And then, more recently, I saw that the ever-stylish Christine at Bijou and Boheme recovered her bergere chairs in Joonas.

And just the other day, when I posted this photo of my foyer with the chair in the corner . . . 

I got a nice comment from Nelya at Head Over Heels informing me that she used Joonas on a sofa and loves it . . . 

That's her littlest boy a few years ago. Isn't he a cutie? Even kids look good on Joonas.

I must say I'm a little obsessed with Joonas now. Maybe it's my Finnish heritage (Marimekko is Finnish, and I'm a quarter Finnish -  my Finnish maiden name has double vowels and all!) or my more modern leanings these days, but I think the answer is clear. There are no shades of gray on this one. The answer is in black and white.

Are you as taken with Joonas as I am?

Show and Tell

Yesterday I downloaded a lot of photos off my phone from the past month. I tend to snap photos whenever I'm out and about and see something interesting. Just to prove that I don't buy everything I see (I show a lot of restraint, really), here are things that caught my eye that didn't go home with me.

These first two are from the Downtown Antique Mall, a bastion of coolness.

These Parzinger-style floor lamps were very cool. Someone else thought so too as they were marked "SOLD."

The wood sculpture initially caught my eye, but check out the unique table it's sitting on. It's the capital of a column! Loved the Greek key pattern, the aged patina, the marble top, and the fact it was on casters.

What's not to love about this tole wheat sheaf table? Reminds me of the one Julie at Monkey Grass Hill snagged for her home.

Julie's table. Check out her story here. She got quite the deal.

The tole table and the three items below are all from Gas Lamp Antiques. While I was there poking around, a very nice lady (Hi, Laurie) actually recognized me from my blog. I was beyond flattered. She was super nice, and it really made my day!

Loved the shape of this bed. Would be a great contrast against light walls.

Great conversation piece. 

Such a cute and delicate little chair. Love the fabric. Would look great in my daughter's room but it's not in the budget.

 

Cool X-base console tables. And for $169, I thought they were a bargain.

The console above and next several items are from Southeastern Salvage, a great place to find some bargains.

Nice round mirrors. I think they were about $80 each. 

Not sure I'm on the horn bandwagon, but if I were I'd be in luck.

Cowhides galore for cheap, about $130, I think. I still love these (as I blogged about here) but can't figure out where I would put one. May revisit this issue.

And petite little gourd lamps in bright colors. Almost got one for Meg's room. Might still. They were about $30.

Liked the colors in these bird prints. The greens and oranges were very vivid.

The following items are from a new consignment store I happened upon called Remix Furniture Consignment on 8th Avenue in Nashville just down from the Habitat for Humanity thrift store. I thought they had a great selection. Here are some of those finds . . .

Still looking for an Asian-style coffee table? This one was only $75.

More Brno chairs! They had 8 of these. Of course, they were $650 each. I really love the look of this flat arm version. Sigh.

Loved the shape of this vintage wingback. There were two of these for $70 each. Of course, they would require new upholstery.

The next two items are from a little consignment shop called Consign 2 Design.

Loved this green vase. There were two of them (oh joy). Thought they would look good on a mantel.

Great little pillow for $12. Looks similar to Scalamandre's Le Tigre.

Fun flamestitch or zigzag loveseat. I believe it's on sale now. Would be great in dark library. Hard to tell from the photo, but it's kind of rust and blue. This I found at Clearinghouse Consignment in Belle Meade.

The next five things I found at the Antique Shoppes at Belle Meade. Definitely not a thrifty place, but somewhere to buy investment pieces for sure.

I believe this beauty actually is Scalamandre's Le Tigre. Oh, how I wish I could afford this. Sigh.

Beautiful antique sunburst mirror. Also out of my price range. A girl can dream.

Love this pop of orange, nailhead goodness. And there's storage inside.

Sorry for the bad photo. It is just an iphone. More orange yumminess, this time in a faux bois needlepoint version.

I have always been a fan of the Louis Phillippe mirror. Gorgeous.

These last three finds are from the Flea Market this past weekend. Let me just say, it was FREEZING. And I came home empty-handed. Boo.

I SO should have bought these lamps. $60 for the pair, and she said she would have gone lower. Original linen scalloped shades.

Close-up of its Chinoiserie details. These are truly the ones that got away. I'm claiming it was so cold I couldn't think properly.

Cute, cheap chairs. $28 each. Couldn't justify another chair purchase.

Sleek and sexy.

And the one that didn't get away (okay, so I lied and bought one thing. I'm only human) . . .

This brass gurgle vase for $19. It's pretty big. Bought it yesterday from Clearinghouse Consignment. It was 50% off! I love it. Not sure my kids do (or my friend Becky), but oh well.

I know . . . I have a shopping addiction. This could work in your favor however. If you ever need help scouting unique finds for your own home or help picking out furniture, fabric or fixtures, I'm your girl. Just shoot me an email. I'd love to work with you!