Linen Chair Love

I've been wanting to make some linen chairs for a while now and was just waiting for the perfect set to come along. I found a darling pair of chairs that were solid, well-made and priced right. Here's how they turned out:

Good Ole Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Pure White, distressed and clear waxed:

I chose to gather the cushion and it took FOREVER!  Not sure I'm ever going to do that again, but it is pretty:

A pretty curve, that might have seemed too much unless a neutral fabric was chosen:

Before and After:

I love how these turned out.  Since it is real linen, I did Scotch Guard them and I'm not sure I'd let them be in a family room with MY kids!!

Here's some Internet Linen love:

Carrier and Company

Wisteria

House Beautiful

Linen: So lovely, textured and timeless. I especially love how it looks with the dark woods.

As an added post, here are another set of French Script chairs I redid.

Before:

(and, yes, that is PLASTIC on the cushion! ewww, it was sticky too!)

And the After:

Spring has hit early here in the Chicago area and all I can think is "Garage Sale season is almost here!" Yipppeee!

Shabby to Chic part II

As promised, here are pictures of the china cabinet and oval coffee table I completed and are up for sale:

And the oval coffee table (the camera makes is a lot darker than its color really is):

The chairs sold super fast and I'm wishing I had a few more waiting in the wings.  Can garage sale season come any faster? Can't wait.

From Shabby to Chic!

I've been busy getting a few more furniture makeovers done and getting my storeroom cleared out (well at least for a few months until garage sale season starts!)  First up are a pair of chairs I re-upholstered and repainted.  I just have to put the "after" pictures first because the "befores" are truly that hideous. Here's how they look now:

Isn't that fabric lovely?  I've seen so many of the script fabrics around, but man, are they pricey.  When I found this fabric for only $7.50/yd, I grabbed 6 yards of it quick!  It's actually a great mid-weight and I used scotch guard to further keep it nice.  The french script is a very dark brown and there are "postmarks" in a lovely blue color.  I trimmed it in a linen color gimp.

Once again, I used ASCP in Pure White to hide the hideous gold frame.  I distressed and waxed it to a beautiful patina.

 Here are two shots of the filty, ugly before:

Yup, that was bad. Horrible fabric and colors, but great shape and sturdy.

 This is much better:

Ahhh. It's going to be hard to part with these beauties.

Now if you're a fan of the 80's orange oak, now would be a good time to avert your eyes.  The next two tables were solid and had great shapes, but the finish was just too dated. Somewhere on my lovely, unorganized hard drive are the before shots of these tables.  But do you think I can find them? Noooo! Argh. Here they are after and looking much fresher:

Isn't that pedestal lovely?  It felt so heavy and thick before.  With the paint, it feels so much lighter, yet shows off it's classic shape.

Once again, I used the amazing Graphics Fairy for a vintage French label.

And lastly, another tired oak table was lightened into this beauty:

I did a little heavier sanding and distressing on this one for more character.

Can I just tell you how much fun furniture re-finishing is since discovering Annie Sloan Chalk Paint?  If you haven't tried it yet, you MUST!

I have a beautiful duck-egg blue table partially done and a cute china cabinet finished, just waiting for me to take pictures of it.  Stay tuned for pictures...

This week's Link-Ups:

Addicts (Not so) Anonymous

Frugalicious Friday

Furniture Feature Friday

Frugal Friday

Annie Sloan Party

Winter Mantel

I've actually had this put together for a while and yet it's taken me this long to post about it. After the Christmas decor came down, I needed something to put on my foyer mantel.  While Valentine's day seemed the obvious decor route to go, I knew I HAD to have something to last longer than until Feb. 14th.  It's just become that type of year for me.  I'm so busy and don't have as much time for rearranging and redecorating.

After decorating for the wedding reception, I figured I was crazy not to re-use a few elements.  I grabbed 4 of the glass vases and partially filled them with Epsom Salt (the dollar store was the cheapest way to buy it.)

Since we've had a very snow-less winter so far, I thought it'd be fun to "make" some of our own!  I took some of the Dogwood Branches leftover from the wedding and added some "frost" to them.  I sprayed each branch with spray adhesive and then sprinkled more Epsom salt and coarse glitter on them.  The light catches it just right and they sparkle!

I found a free printable online that said "Let it Snow" and figured that would be a better option than running outside to do a snow dance. So far even that hasn't worked!  I put the print in an old frame I already had. I also had an old, gold frame that I quickly spray painted silver. I added a few candles and silver votive holders and that was it! Simple display of silver, white and glass.

And as part of the whole New-Year-clean-and-reorganize thing, I decided our entry shoe situation HAD to change.  I looked everywhere for a solution that the family would actually use. I swore I'd never buy any furniture from IKEA, but I finally cried "Uncle!"  These cabinets were just the best solution out there.  They're narrow, yet hold enough shoes out of sight.  So far it's working perfectly for us!! I had just barely sold some of my furniture re-dos and it was just enough to get these guys. Yeah!

Ahhh. Much better. Happy foyer, happy me!!