Our Houston Eat-in Benches and Cafe Curtains

Well, 6 months goes by way too fast! Worst blogger ever... Oh well. I never meant this to be a business or to rank high in followers. Just a place to share. We're well settled into our new home and already love the wonderful people here. I am resolved to share a few rooms that I've been able to decorate so far.  There are still a few projects I'd like to do, but I need to pace myself for time and money!

I asked right away for my birthday to have built-in benches made for our eat-in kitchen.  It was a smaller space than our last house and I knew it'd be a perfect candidate for benches!  I love how they turned out! We followed the basic plans found at The Hunted Interior.

 We just made a few changes in length and beefed up the supports a little more. Otherwise, it's a great plan. I chose this style because I didn't need the kind with storage and I wanted to keep the look lighter.  It's also nicer for the kids to swing their legs under. I upholstered some cute cushions for them. I wish I could have done the cute polka dot vinyl like the Hunted Interior did, but I couldn't swing the price tag.  I just used some inexpensive Premier Prints fabric and the scotch guarded it to death!  If anything gets on it, it has so far come right out!

I love the shape of the supports. And look at my cute barley-twist table and chairs. I found it on craigslist back in Chicago for a killer deal. I painted and reupholstered the chairs and restained the table.  It's oval shape fits this corner just perfectly.

Because the wall with the double windows just faces our sweet neighbor's brick side of their house, I knew I wanted to do cafe curtains.  It gives us some privacy, yet still lets light in up top.  I found the perfect grain-sack style fabric and double pleated the panels and hung with rings. They're a fun touch to the kitchen. Open or closed, I love them.

You wouldn't believe how many teenagers we've been able to squeeze around this table now! We love it. 

I also did a quick project of re-doing the stools at the bar.  They were just a basic stained saddle seats, but a real orangey finish.  I sanded down the tops, stained them darker and then painted on some grain-sack-inspired stripes and numbers. I chalk painted the legs and voila, cute stools.

I'll be adding more photos of some of the other rooms as they are so far in the coming weeks. We're really enjoying our new home and exploring the beautiful Houston area.