A Quick & Easy Kitchen Update...

Recently, I was asked to help re-stage the great room/kitchen area in one of the rental properties here.  The homeowner had purchased new living room furniture, but still had all of the original rattan furniture placed throughout the upper floor.

Sometimes it's just a matter of editing what is already there.  We took out the bulk of large, unnecessary furniture, repositioned the existing dining table to give more seating area, and rearranged the living room.

We kept the smaller rattan table and chair set (to help with the overflow, when the house is fully occupied).  After a closer look at the chair cushions, I went with a quick fix for an instant update.

We were working with a limited budget, and I just happened to have enough of this striped Sunbrella fabric to recover the cushions.  This is one of the easiest and most economical changes you can make for existing chairs.  I always try to go with a heavier weight fabric (for durability) and a quick coat of Scotchguard... especially if the fabric is light. 

Once the chairs were done, the bar stools at the counter were looking a little sad...

Many folks have these in their homes.... standard bar stools with a rush seat.  The seating itself was dried out and faded from the sun. 

A little ASCP love (in Provence, Florence, Aubusson Blue, and Louis Blue) and they tied in perfectly with the new chair cushions (you can see them against one of the chairs in the corner) and the furniture in the rest of the room.  Later, I ended up putting a coat of clear Danish Oil on the rush seating to soften them up and keep them from splitting.  Instead of wax, this time I went with 2 coats of polycrylic over the paint (to hold up better.... especially in a rental home).

I did both projects over 2 days (I had to wait for the chairs to be delivered) but this could have easily been done in one. 

The fabric for the chairs was 60" wide, so it only took about a yard and a half for the 4 cushions.  I had the fabric on-hand, but I've found heavy weight remnants in the same width for $5/yd. or less. 

I also had the paint on-hand, but the stools took very little, and I could have gone with one color to keep the cost down.  I just happened to have all four in my stash. 

Based on what you have or what you shop for, you can recover your seats and update some bar stools for $25 or less! 

These are two easy projects that take very little time or money.  So what do you see in your home that could use a lift?

Signs of Spring.... Hand Painted Easter Pails

Available for a limited time at Two and A Half Women, custom hand-painted Easter pails.   An updated alternative to the standard "basket".... perfect for carrying on  "the hunt" or use them to fill with candy or small tokens!

Metal pail, hand painted in a custom mix of chalk paint.  Choice of Bunny Profile or Easter Egg design. (pail measures approx. 5" high, and 7" around) 

If you're local (to the Outer Banks) and are interested in purchasing one, shoot me an email through the Contact Me link.

Here's to spring being just around the corner!



Hat Table B&A....

So here are the "deats" on my bedroom "hat table"...

I bought this table at a used furniture store a month or so ago...

When I first spotted it, I thought it was stained dark.  After getting it home and taking it outside to clean, I realized it was a dark brown, heavy enamel paint.  And apparently, it had been repaired/reconstructed at one point in time...

Stripping it was out of the question... not only would it take forever, I'm not sure what type of wood I'd be left with when I was done...

After an hour or so with the sander, I got it down to this...

Not pretty..... but pretty smooth and ready for paint.  I started with a base of ASCP in Louis Blue, and added a pretty heavy wash of Old White.  I'm not much of a "paint wash" or "glazer" but for some reason I went a little crazy with this piece between the layer of white and distressing it. 

It took me a while to get used to it, but the more I look at it... the more I like it....

.... so much so, that I painted a mirror to match.  My bedroom is coming along quite nicely.  More pics to share as we go along. 



Getting My Ducks in a Row...

One of my goals for 2012 (and the reason I started blog posting again after some time) was to find a personal way for me to celebrate my 50th birthday...and I decided to use that "milestone" as the catalyst to start fulfilling some of my dreams....

Last week I took the first step toward a creative goal I've had for myself for the past few years.  And now I'm "getting my ducks in a row" and working hard to make it happen.

This is where I'm starting... it's a vintage drysink that I've just recently completed a makeover on and will be the display piece I'll be using to showcase some of my handmade soaps, linen sprays and more...

I hope you'll check back on Friday for the details on this piece and the goal I'm working toward...

I'm really excited, though, and can't wait to share!



Hand Made by Me... A Beautiful Foot Stool

As I stated on my previous post, this latest project has become a much welcomed place to rest my feet at the end of the day.

It started with some recycled legs from my old bed's headboard (read here).  I cut them from the frame, painted a base coat of ASCP in Old White and a top coat of Louis Blue.  Then distressed the legs and waxed them to a smooth finish. 

We cut a 16x16 piece of plywood and drilled the legs into the plywood from the top down into the legs... just to be sure it was sturdy.  Then I just stacked the foam on top.

You can see a glimpse of the chair I made the stool for in the first picture.... although the chair itself has a high back to it, the profile of the seat is low. I had to measure the end height of the stool to make sure it wouldn't be too tall and would sit evenly with the chair's cushion. I bought what I thought was a 4" piece of 16x16 foam. Turns out, it was 4 pieces of 1 inch foam in one package.... no matter. I just stacked it up and went from there. Luckily, foam doesn't have a "smooth surface" to speak of and won't slide around.

I didn't want there to be any sharp edges to the final piece 'cause knowin' me, I'd be the one to bump my leg (or knee... or any other thing) on the side of it.  To take care of that issue, I simply wrapped the foam and plywood base with a double layer of quilters batting around the peremeter. 

That took care of the sides, but I still needed a softer cushion for the top.  I bought a $5 18x18 pillow form from Walmart and put that on top. The additional inches (16 versus 18) allowed for the pillow to "smash down" onto the foam base without leaving a gap between the pillow and foam. Very important when it comes time to upholster.   The combination of the two made it perfect in overall height, and I wouldn't feel the plywood when I put my feet up. 



Another double layer of batting in both directions made sure the hard edges were taken care of, and turning it upside down I was able to put my weight onto the stool itself to make sure the pillow form was held down tight. 

At this point, it's simply a matter of adding your favorite fabric and you're done!  Considering the only things I had to buy were  the 18x18 pillow form and $8 package of foam, I basically have a beautiful, custom-made foot stool for right around $13.00.  Pretty cool- stool-  if you ask me!

This is also the start of the slow reveal of my winter/summer long bedroom renovation.  I'll be sharing all the parts each week, so I hope you'll check back often. 

And for those of us in the "tourism" industry (in whatever form.... retail, property rentals, or the food service industry) ... Chin up, friends.  Labor Day is just around the corner! It's been a long (and thankfully successful) summer.  Our thanks to those that continue to visit this little strip of the 'Banks!

A Most Welcome Place to Rest My Feet...

Okay... so if you were wondering what became of the feet to my old bed.... (posted here) take a look....

A set of "gams" to be proud of....( how many of you recognize the slang.... and how many of you are all "huh???").

If you're interested in how to make a "rest worthy" footstool of your own, I'll be posting the details on Monday.

But for now.... I'm grabbin' my Nook and puttin' my feet up!  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.