Smart updates: slipcovered bedrame

I'm always thinking about ways to use fabric to bring new life to old pieces.  I am especially a fan of solutions that don't use a lot of yardage (cheaper!) and that are not permanent (commitment issues!)

How about these tailored slipcovers for wooden bed frames?

Martha Stewart via The Designer's Attic

Via Kathryn Ireland

Suzanne Kasler for Hickory Chair

I love the way they leave a bit of the wood exposed.  Much more character than a fully-covered headboard, which might go a little Pottery Barn on you.

And this last one is sort of genius:

via Cote de Texas

Those little corner slipcovers protect the antique french beds from little kitty claws!  This is one of those applications where the haphazardness really makes it work.

We have upholstered headboards in 2 of 3 bedrooms, and I love the Chinoiserie bedframe in our Master bedroom....but I also love this slipcover idea should I ever need to switch it up.

Which, you know, is like...never.  right?

Upholstered Strip/es

So, I'm still toiling away, trying to figure out what to do for almost no money in my long and boring windowless upstairs hallway.  I'm actually not even going to link to all the various and sundry posts about it (there are a lot).  It's embarrassing.  Lots of thought, little action.

For now I'll just let the ideas roll.

How about, for example, creating stripes out of upholstered sections joined by tape trim and upholstery tacks?

Yes: I like it.  And when you break up the square footage across 2 or 3 fabrics, I might even be able to make it happen with supplies on hand.....

Or, you know, not.

Dispatches

More transformation pictures sent from afar!

I have a client who inherited a ton of antique furniture when moving in to a family home.  Slowly but surely we are recovering everything with the intention of lightening up, but retaining the traditional vibe.

How about this for a transformation:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

SO pretty, right?  Seriously, Schumacher can do no wrong.

Progress from another space in this house, with some fabulous wallpaper:

I love working on this house.  I have a much more casual/ eclectic thing happening in my own home, but I LOVE getting to play with traditional fabrics and papers and to live vicariously with silks and florals and all the trimmings.  How about you: do you ever wish you had a second home to represent a second style?

Happy weekend, friends!

Nate Berkus for Calico Corners

It's no secret that I love Nate Berkus.

In fact, I love him so much it makes me question my notion that I prefer feminine spaces.  I love his brand of eclectic, traveled, masculine interiors, and of course the way he makes it seem so chic and effortless.  Oh, this old thing?

(Except of course he would never say that, because he is unabashedly enthusiastic about design, which is so much better than nonchalance, faux or real, don't you think?)

I say this as if we know each other. As if we were friends, or something.  The internet--or maybe all of modern life?--is funny that way.

Anyway.

I loved his collection for Target, and lo and behold, I wandered in to Calico Corners today to see what was new, and I'll tell you, I swooned for his collection.

I wanted it all.  And I could actually afford some of it.

Calico did a good job of showing it off, too.  Love the choice of this organic, almost-animal print cotton on a fancy chair.

Sadly, while I LOVE the color palette, it is just a little off for my current house.  (Love this ikat spot for this chair, but sadly the hue is too plummy.)

Anyone want me to come use a bunch of these textiles at your house?

Say yes.

See the entire collection here, though I will tell you, they are so much better in person.

Desperate.

I'm getting desperate for spring.  DESPERATE.

We have enough snow on the ground that it could be February.  Or November.  Or really anything but SPRING like it's supposed to be.

I want--no, need--bright.  And fresh.  I want to wear my new white jeans and put on my sunglasses for once.  I want to hear the birds chirp and start the garden and go for a bike ride without needing snow tires.  My brain is a muddle as if I have been blinded by the whiteness of it all.  I am so desperate that, in an act of superstition, I had my husband remove the paper snowflakes that were still adorning our doors this weekend.  Because maybe it's our fault and our little papercuts are summoning the real ones.  Right?

Hey, how about some bright, cheerful pillow pairings?

The pinks and blues on the right are destined for this living room.  So fresh and bright I will live vicariously through them.  

Which would you choose?  Is is Spring where you live?  No, wait, don't tell me.  Of course it is.

Have You Lost Your Mind?

That is what my husband might say (or at least THINK) if he happens to wander in to the guest room and sees this:

Yes, I'm thinking about reupholstering the headboard.  No, I didn't plan it.

This is what happened.

I am making new curtains for the girls room because of the new rug.
Because of the new blinds, which replaced the temporary one but do not have any of their light blockage, I need to sew the curtains with blackout lining.

At places like Joann's, blackout liner can be $12/yard, making this "free" project decidedly less so.  So I went to my favorite fabric warehouse, where the goods can be had for $3/yard.

But you can't go all the way to the fabric warehouse and not look around.  Nay.  And what did I find?  That's right.  This Persian Diamond fabric from IMAN's collection for Calico Corners (I blogged it here) for a mere $7/yard (original retail was around $54/yard).  How could I not buy a yard (or two?)

Meanwhile, the guest room always felt close but not quite.  I keep falling in love with it, only to become disenchanted mere days later.  (I'm not usually so fickle.  Truly.)  And it occurred to me on my way home with my score that this could be amazing on the headboard.  Here's where the room was most recently (except that the rug went to the living room!)  Oops--I kind of love it.

But.  What do you think?

And if I do it, shibori-style throw pillow or animal print?  I love the freshness of the white bedding for spring. (By which I mean, for the fresh blanket of white snow we lovingly received today.)

(Colors on the right are far more accurate.)

Decisions, decisions.

Sneak peak

Oh, what a BIG difference some little changes can make!

 

Painting that red accent wall the same creamy, peachy yellow as the rest of the kitchen dramatically lightens everything up and makes the existing hand-blown glass pendants shine.

 

Getting the dated, dark fabric off the banquette (plus steaming and re-wrapping the foam) makes the seating nook so much more inviting.  (And of course I love a good banquette with ticking stripe and a mix of fabrics!)

And off-white faux-ostrich vinyl makes some ho-hum craigslist chairs and barstools very stylish indeed.

These were the fabric stories for this kitchen--I think my client done good with her choice!

It just goes to show, you CAN work with what you've got.

Printed Upholstery

I find myself pinning a lot of pretty printed upholstery these days.

Peter Dunham

Better Homes and Gardens via The Inspired Room

Julie Nightingale Design via Centsational Girl

I recently got the latest West Elm catalog, and, always on trend, I'm loving their new fabric prints collection.  Have you seen?

from top, Everett, Victor, Bliss, and Oliver chairs.  All available in all of the prints.  There are butterflies, too!    Shop them here.

And for a bolder floral, how about the World Market Victoria?

What about you: do you dig bold prints on upholstery?  I still want to do this, but maybe using this.

Quick Change

The Kantha quilts are on sale at West Elm.

Is it weird that I want to buy them all?  That I want to find homes for them all?

Probably.

I started with this little guy.

Doesn't it do such a nice job of dressing up this Danish chair?

I almost think I won't need to do this!  (Or maybe I will use the quilt for the upholstery?)

Anyway.  These things are more versatile than you might think. (Remember my other one?)  Go out and get yourself a kantha quilt before they're gone.  (Only in stores, not online.)

Living room: the final piece?

We all know that design, especially in our own homes, is an evolution, right?  And because all of the elements in a room are part of a larger composition, changing one changes, well, everything.

In my living room, bringing in a big painting is going to firm up my desire to change out the rug.  (It will go to my girls' bedroom, currently rugless, and start another evolution up there).  With a natural rug on the floor in the living room, I'm going to miss the strong hit of the orange, and the strong trellis pattern.

Enter the green Danish chair.

My husband purchased this off craigslist for our house in Brooklyn, and while I actually like the green color of the upholstery, I've always wanted to reupholster it in something with a more sophisticated finish.  To bring back the orange and some pattern, I've been looking at fabrics like these.

source

source

source

source

source

Okay, that last one is green again.  But I love the sort of floral stripe enough to consider staying in the existing color family.

Another alternative?  Kantha quilts are on sale at West Elm for $60.  I think the big ones offer enough fabric to cover two cushions like these.....I am a big fan of this look, though my gut tells me it will feel oh-so-2012 before I am ready to reupholster again.

For a long time I didn't understand why Domino Magazine was called that.  Now, every time I witness one of these domino effects in my planning, I get it!  Lonny, on the other hand, I don't really get.

Any evolutions afoot at your home?  Oh, and have you seen the "evolve" T-shirt, part of Meg Biram's new limited edition collection, Manifesto?

Adding to the fireplace vignette

When I revealed the black-painted fireplace wall, I mentioned that I was planning to add an upholstered top to the mid-century bench.  The wall needed a textile for softness, the new coffee table meant I needed a little extra height for the bench, and the wood-slat, though I love it, was reading a little too casual for where the design of this room is going.

Using a leftover piece of glazed linen (it was welting for client pillows), a piece of plywood I already had, and leftover foam from a headboard project, the only expense to this project was a couple of dollars in batting.

I also went looking for baskets to use under the bench a couple of weeks ago, and came up short.  Friday, however, I hit Consignment Central and found this pair.  They were exactly what I was looking for.

Because they were $12 each--pricey for consignment--I almost didn't buy them.  Then I remembered that most of the baskets I had looked at (at Michael's, World Market, Target, Home Goods) were more expensive and less perfect!  I'm thinking of giving them a dipped effect with either gold or silver rub n buff or spraypaint.

Kind of like these two combined:

both photos, Martha Stewart

This way my husband and I will have his-and-hers magazine bins, eliminating the conflict of who/when/how magazines get sorted and recycled.

Isn't it funny how we almost walk away from what we want because we are expecting a "better deal"?  I also almost bought just one of the baskets, but the truth is, you should never split up a good pair!

How many pins equals a trend?

I saw this slipcover over at I Suwanee last week, and I thought to myself I thought, Self?  You've seen that type of ribbon band somewhere before.

Source: isuwannee.com via Heather on Pinterest

And sure enough, it joined some friend in the "upholstery" folder on my pinterest.

Source: parlourhomeblog.com via Heather on Pinterest

Source: onekingslane.com via Heather on Pinterest

Source: elementsofstyleblog.com via Heather on Pinterest

Source: frugalflourish.blogspot.com via Heather on Pinterest

Yup.  Ribbon-banding seems to be the next new thing in upholstery and drapery.  Perhaps another comeback from the seventies?  My aunt apparently tricked out some white curtains with yards and yards of grosgrain ribbon back in the day.

Interestingly, when I was searching for additional examples, I found an awful lot of photographs of rubber band chairs. This one is actually kind of cool.

Source: etsy.com via Alia on Pinterest

Who knew?