Paint or Fabric? A Redo Dilemna

I love to cruise thrift stores. Rarely (much to my sweetie's consternation), do I come away empty handed. I could say it's because I like recycling but the truth is, I always find good, quality vintage pieces one makeover away from gorgeous! IMHO today's furniture is flimsy and doesn't have the good 'bones' of vintage pieces.

Take a peek at my latest find, straight from a decorator's staging house to mine, and for less than $30 for the pair. I picked them up at the Salvation Army the other day during their 1/2 off sale. And they are perfect, no stains, no smells no snags.

Tah dah!

Here's a closeup of the fabric. You can see there's some texture. 

One idea for a makeover is this houndstooth from Hobby Lobby. BTW: Hobby Lobby carries two houndstooth fabrics; one for lightweight clothing and the other for upholstery.  This upholstery weight fabric is black and cream, not black and white, as it photographs.

But, then I ran across this tutorial for painting upholstery at Little House In the Big D which is cheaper less expensive than new fabric. My favorite color these days is a cool gray from Ace Hardware, called Smooth Slate #5042. It's a sophisticated neutral that is neither too masculine nor too feminine.

Stay tuned for the big reveal!

One of My Favorite Things ...

My most recent favorite thing are these 18x18 faux dupioni Greek key pillow covers from Lowe's. I wanted something to cover the 20x20 pillow forms I just picked up from Ross. My original intent was to whip up a pair of drop cloth or burlap cases with a script monogram, but (a) I don't own a sewing machine and (b) it's been quite a while since I hand stitched anything more than a hem. 

So, after a bit of sleuthing, I lucked upon these, on sale at Lowe's through the end of February for $6.99, part of their Allen & Roth line. That's less than if I had to make them myself. BTW: The description is white but they're more like a light creamy kind of white.

Next up, some curtains with Greek key trim.  More pix to come.