Reupholstering A Bench From Target..... Oh Yea!

Good morning,

I wanted to share with you something that I did today that took me an hour max to complete. I am so thrilled about this one because I am looking for subtle little touches of black and gold for the master bedroom, and when I spotted these babies today at Target.... my heart went pitter patter!

OK, that's not the full story. Truth is that I spotted these babies on Christmas Eve while at Target. I tried unsuccessfully to get my husband to GO BACK AND GET THEM!!!! To no avail:(

So today I snuck away quickly while in the middle of my work day, which Robert refers to as my "Houdini" shopping spree. True. Let's just say that when I set my mind to something, its more like a mist that you never see coming and before you blink, there it is! Ha!

None the less, they still had them which made me happy, but the really muted baby blue dingy color did not. Next spot on the ol "shouldn't be a priority" list was to Joanne's for a black velvet that I thought would dress them up so nice.

Instead I found something with a bit of a print with a raised velvet on a linen cotton type fabric shown below. The best part is that it only cost me $10 bucks!

Isn't she lovely? Here are some before pictures which really don't do justice to the fug-ly that was baby blue.

I liked that it had a silver x base, though I wish it were more of a chrome finish. The way I saw it though was that first, they were only $60 which I thought to be a good price for something that would compliment my room theme well (once recovered). Second, I can always use a handy can of spray paint which would give them the glossy shine I prefer if all else failed. What I recommend in these cases is to recover first and see what you think and if it doesn't work simply remove the cushion and paint away.

Here I am in process of upholstering these babies armed with only a staple gun and a screw driver. Like a real woman!

*Note that if any of you have the jitters when it comes to reupholstering a simple project such as a bench or a chair, DON'T!!! It is such an easy thing to do and will leave you with the flexibility of changing things at your every whim. If you're anything like me, this is a good thing.....a really good thing.

Here are some "afters" with yet another sneak peak of the room in progress. Notice in these pictures that the IKEA RAST night stands shown in yesterday's post are gone. You may ask yourself, "Self, where have those pretty IKEA RAST night stands gone?" Well, hold on to your britches, because that reveal is coming soon (is has also become a bigger project that I originally planned. Aren't they all?)

What do you think??? Things seem to shaping up well, but here's what we still have on the list:

-Re-paint and finish IKEA RAST night stands (for the second time...oops!)

-Mount TV to wall and place new console table below

- Hang mirrors on either side of bed above night stands

- Get 2 pillows with a faux crock band for bed

- Figure out some kind of rug solution either area rug or runners

- Get some art and make it count/ needed for 2 places +, considering sexy black and white photography/ boudoir photography

- Figure out what is wrong with the rubbing pocket door for closet and bathroom and paint them white after they don't rub anymore and ruin paint job

- Move water heater from Robert's new closet and finish his closet installation

- Get some actual photos for the empty frames on the console table

 Now I just need to keep this choo choo train going, errr, I mean get back to work :)

DIY Gilded Gold Pendant Light, Black And Gold....Bling!

Good morning,

I wanted to share with you the lighting progress for our master bedroom. Originally I wanted to go with the grey and white theme that I loooove. Here is the original inspiration below from Aubrey + Lindsay's Blog  mostly because I already had a similar bed and the palette was a great transition. Oh, and yes I did hack those RAST night stands!

Well, due to construction in our garage addition/ master bedroom we had to live in a little tiny cave for about 8 months! In that period I realized that I needed wanted something a bit more dramatic and  what better time then now to make that happen;)

I already told you that I added black in to the mix of colors which spiced things up nicely. My new lighting inspiration came from Haute Khuuture's blog  from an Ikea hack where she gold leafed a black KULA drum light as seen below. This is exactly what I needed to push things off. Now I didn't use the same light fixture, simply the idea of adding the gold to one.

Mine started with this Portfolio 23" Chrome Millbrook Pendant Light With Black Linen Shade for only $169 from Lowes.

It has the makings of a really nice light and I LOVE the fact that it has crystals hanging from it.

I bought the gold leaf and the 24k gold spray paint both from Michael's. I didn't take a picture of the gold leaf, but it is sold in sheets and I bought 2 packs. The spray paint is Design Master 24KT Pure Gold (and will also be used later in my IKEA RAST night stand re-makeover coming soon) shown below.

For the adhesive I used a clear spray adhesive, and a small foam brush which did me no good because it got tacky from the adhesive and actually started pulling the gold leafing off my light. WTF! Now let me start by saying that this project SEEMED simple, but IT WAS NOT SIMPLE! It was worth it, but it was much more complicated than I originally anticipated. Here's what I did and what I should have done;) Trial and error baby, trial and error.

* For those of you who want to try this and should you choose to use this same light, take my advice and cover the inside drum which is a white plastic with some tape and paper to prevent the gold leaf or spray paint from getting on anything. I also recommend doing this to the black exterior shade which I had to touch up with black paint thanks to my lack of gold leafing skills.
* Also, make sure that you have a drop cloth as it does get a bit messy.
**Also, also, should you choose to do this I would recommend using a brush on adhesive which you let sit for a few second before applying the gold leaf. It is difficult to use the spray adhesive on this light due to the double drum shade.
***Also, also, also, remember my post from the West Elm Capiz chandelier where I added extra crystals from another old chandelier I had here ? Well, I did it again with those same crystals and beefed up my new light taking the length longer on each strand. It made a significant difference.

The rest was simply taking the time to attach the gold leaf in sheets one by one. They are very thin and tear very easy. On the package it says to use wax paper and rub it over the sheets which then should stick to your wax paper making application easy-peasy. NOT!!! They don't stick and instead had to be applied by hand which either got them stuck to my fingers thanks to the spray adhesive or they tore in to tiny little pieces.

There is an up side to this. It really doesn't matter because you can layer upon layer the gold leaf covering any mishaps, and you can also fill in any gaps with the gold spray paint. Use this sparingly, but for slight errors it works well to cover the interior drum shade should the gold leaf be missing or bubbled in any places, I also used it from time to time to paint the gold leafs on which worked pretty well especially when putting pieces on top of already placed gold leaf (mainly because my damn foam brush was sticky and no longer helped me in any way!).

Well, whatever trials we went through to get this done (Robert helped me every step of the way, thanks babe). The light turned out extremely amazing. Here are the results with a very teeny tiny sneak peak of our bedroom. Note that these are done prior to some changes that are coming soon.

What do you think? We like it, kind of allot! Stay tuned for more in the bedroom coming soon~

Happy New Year...On Vacation

Good morning and Happy New Year!!!

Just got back in town yesterday from our winter vacation to see family in Utah. It's always great to go home for the holidays.....and it's always stressful to go home for the holidays!

Now that we're back just in time for the New Year it gives me a bit of time to reflect. Though I'm not a huge "new year resolutions" kind of girl, I do believe in making the right changes and changing ones life in the right ways. What better time to reflect and put that in to action then the New Year baby!!!

For us this last year was one huge ride and we were kind of taken along with it. For this new year, I aim to be more proactive in seizing what I want and having the courage to go get it! Here is a list of some of my mini resolutions, keeping in mind that I try to set my sights to attainable, and I  like to keep it real;)

1- Work. I want to continue on this path that I've been fortunate to venture on to. I love design, and all things included in design. I feel like one lucky lady to be able to actually be compensated doing something that I love. It doesn't feel like work to me. I enjoy the obastacles and challenges of design and decor and I have no problem putting in time to get the job done. This year I want to change things a bit by re-composing my blog, and making current and past projects more clear. I will have my portfolio clearly defined so that everyone can see the work I do, and I will continue to grow in this business one project at a time. Oh, and I am also considering taking a few classes! I never thought I would do that one again, but to be great you have to think great. Here we go!

2- Life. I will try to live more in my moments and seize the day so to speak. I want to spend more quality time with my family and work to not stress so much over the small stuff which is a common problem of mine. Truth is, I lost my father last year. Next to that everything else is a bit trivial isn't it? Yoga anyone?

3- Fitness. Now this isn't going to be one of those grand resolutions. The truth is that I am a bit neurotic about my fitness on an everyday basis. For me working out and eating right are really a part of me. There is one thing though. Through the stress of last year, moving at Christmas, going through the trauma of losing a parent, going through a massive remodel and starting a new career all at about the same time I fell off the wagon. This one simply requires me to refocus and re shift some priorities. I want to eat at home MOST of the time. Lately, it has been a rarity. I want to get back to waking early and working out first thing. Lately it has gotten later and later in my day which throws things off and tends to make for a wimpy puny lucky to have gotten it out of the way work out. I also want to get back to taking more of my hard core classes that used to drive me, which leads me to the last piece of this puzzle. I need to cut back on my beloved wine drinking:( Unfortunately wine will make you fat if you drink enough of it, not to mention it will throw off your sleep and motivation for the next day's activity.), it's time to cut back and have a bit of moderation;) That's it folks. It's actually pretty simple, and to be frank with you when I followed this recipe I was in the best shape of my life. I'm 30 now, and I am convinced that it isn't age that changes our physique, but rather life style and life style choices. That's the hard core truth!

4- House. I will finish all of my many to do list projects on our house here, but I will do them in moderation and in consideration of my sweet loving husband and his sanity:) Maybe since things have settled down a bit it will be more of 1-2 things collectively a week. This is pretty easy since we are closing in on the finish line of the addition and remodel. I do wish we could have a pool, and you never know, but it's time for me to live in this house and be content with the blessing that is our home.

5- Travel- I would like to travel a bit more this year. We haven't been able to do that like we used to and I miss that so it's time to buckle the belt and save, plan and vacation!!!

Well, that's my little big list for the new year. I don't think it's unrealistic or unattainable for me which is how goals should be. Don't get me wrong, I like big crazy goals too, and I would love to hear about yours as crazy as they might be. It's just that for me right now, I have to focus on what's right in from of me and once I have that order then I can move forward. It is possible to make and achieve new goals as you go along by the way. Life is fluid and constantly moving and changing. The most important thing is that we live it everyday and have the utmost respect and appreciation for this beautiful life that we have been given.

 Happy New Year and please leave me some of your comments so that I can hear from you in your quest for living a better life!!!

Oh, and here are a couple of pictures of what I wish and hope for this year......but this would be my outlandish goal because it takes money to make a pool, and we've been pouring out the money as if it grew on trees. Maybe it's time to plan, save, budget and make it happen!

Here's to dreaming~

Chinese Garden Stool Gets A Make Over!

Good morning,

I wanted to share with you a quick project that I did this weekend in less than 20 minutes! Remember the post that I just did on the new master bedroom scheme here ? Well, that project is in full effect and coming along nicely. Sadly I find that my home is neglected and out on the back burner of my other projects AKA my job! So I am doing things little by little and one project at a time.

I have this thing for Chinese garden stools. I love them and find it hard to resist them when ever I see them. Here are a few pics of my house where you have already seen them.

Above, in our backyard as extra seating.

Above, in our old living room as a space filler under the console.

Or above, in my daughter's room.

I love these little suckers. They are easy to move and can be tucked in and out of so many spaces. They can serve as a table, as extra seating, or simply as a decoration to add to your space.

For our room, I am using them as a side table in front of our night stands because there just isn't great access to the nightstands while laying in bed. These stools serve as a very stylish solution and are the perfect height, they are also easily movable. I found a really cute silver one this weekend at Home Goods for only $50 bucks and needed one for the other side. Since our Ikea RAST night stands are about to get a pretty face lift this week (details coming soon) I decided that it would be another place to add a black element.

I had this white one that I bought on clearance at Target for only $30!

I then painted it with Rust-Oleum Professional Brand High Performance Enamel Spray Paint in High Gloss Black to keep it shiny and perty!

I gave it 2-3 coats. Remember, the trick to spray painting is not to lay it on too close or too thick and let it dry in between coats. This will prevent a goopey dripping look.

Here are the results.

That's just a sneak peak of this little painted garden stool project. It will look even better when paired with the "coming soon" black Ikea RAST night stands below.

I'm also in the middle of gold leafing a black drum shade chandelier, which for the record was MUCH more difficult that it looked! I'll share more with you soon. In the mean time, feast your eyes on some more uses for Chinese garden stools. As a quick FYI, I have found that Home Goods is an excellent source for finding them at great prices and they always have different styles.

Would love to hear your thoughts and comments~