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.

Treasure Hunting

Every now and then, my local Goodwill has a last chance sale. I spied this buffet several weeks ago on the sales floor at $125. When Goodwill moved it to the 'last chance' section over the weekend, the price dropped to a whopping $10!  I simply could not believe it. But  see for yourself ... check out the price sticker. There's a little damage to the top but that's what orbital sanders are for.  

 

 And, because one good treasure deserves another, look at my $60 china cabinet. Both are solid wood and there's no major damage on either.

 

Both pieces will be painted a high gloss black from Fine Paints of Europe. They have the most amazing colors but will also custom mix a color for you and the finish is ah-maz-ing! I can't wait for it to get warmer outside so I can get busy painting. Stay tuned for the transformations.

Celebrating Life!

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” ~ Steve Jobs

Shoutout to AlexAndrea of A+ Makeup Artists (Atlanta) for launching her dream of becoming a makeup artist and following up on that dream.  

 

DIY: Perfectly Perky Porcine

I'm spying pigs in all the hot decor mags and blogs. Even spied one in the offices of decorator to the stars, Martyn Lawrence Bullard. I found two white pigs at my local TJ MAXX. But instead of spray painting golden or chrome, I decided to paint the pair a glossy Geranium from the Martha Stewart line of craft paints at Michaels Stores. The little bumps you see are because I was too lazy to cover the rhinestones before painting. I'll do that later.  But, I think they are cute and are just the right accent for my warm grey and beige bedroom.