Wing Back Chairs

I just decided I need a pair of wing back chairs for the sitting area in my bedroom.  'Wing back' often screams 'old lady' but I am honoring that little old grandma would resides in my soul and going with it, of course adding modern and whimsical fabrics.  I excitedly boughta pair of chairs on craigslist for $12 each and am now scoping out fabric to have them recovered in.  Yes, they are totally vintage, claw foot and all and I am already obsessed with them...just not in their current, garish state!

Here is what I am thinking of having the chairs recovered in:

I always think of a set of chairs or a couch as a man in a nice suit.  

So, I am all about classic, solid, wearable fabric.  I am not 

too much into flash on a set of chairs or couch...that's where the pillows

come in!

Side note: on a single chair I would throw caution to the wind 

and go funky!  Especially on an old vintage chair that is screaming

for some funk!

 I just can't decide if I wan to go dark or light???

and pillows in these (I like to think of pillows as the 

neck tie accompanying a classic suit...be bold) :

 I just love this, and think it will play off our bedding nicely.

Thinking a nice medium sized square pillow

click here to see our bedding blog

I am totally gaga over this fabric!  I think it will pair

nicely with the pattern above.  Thinking a lumbar 

pillow to sit in front of the square gold/cream fabric.

I literally want to glaze my walls in this pattern!!! 

I am also liking this, but not as much as the birds!

So, I would love your feedback.  Call me, text me, leave me a comment...give me your thoughts.  Then, come spring, come read books and gossip with me in what will be the coziest little nook.  I cannot wait!

A Sitting Room

This little area, as you enter our home, was until recently

empty, except for an oversized canvas and wood tent that my in-laws

made for the kiddos when we moved in almost 4 years ago.

Then...I inherited the two chairs shown (see blog post) in the top

 of this photo and that started a snowball effect of:

a. moving tent to the playroom

b. searching for a couch           

        c. oh hell, pulling together this room 

I told the friends who handed down the chairs that the chairs

had become a character in a rewrite of the children's book,

If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, because these chairs 

demanded a couch, then a rug, then a table and on and on!

I hope you enjoy the eclectic little pull together, in my new

favorite room to sit and read.

Foreground: chair, small camp seat

that I picked up for 10 cents at 

a yard sale in Minneapolis.  My

MIL recovered it with a scrap of

awning canvas.  

Background: Coffee table that 

I grew up with, once in a 90s green, 

repainted with a chalk gray.  The wood is old

and rugged and I LOVE IT! This

couch, that I found on craigslist for $10.

When I picked up the craigslist couch, I was nervous it was garbage, 

but it was worth a go, as I would only be out $10. 

I called the company that reupholstered

the chairs, and had them pop out to see

my cheapo couch.  They said the construction

was very strong and sturdy and could be reworked

BACK IT UP...

I had originally purchased a couch for

this room from West Elm.  See link.

When the couch arrived the cushions were

an ill fit and one of the tapered legs was too

short.  I was beyond disappointed with the

craftsmanship, but in love with the fabric.  After

the run around from West Elm, I decided to

return the janky couch and order bulk fabric

from them.  The results...AMAZING!

All this, pulled into one with an oversized

tumbled jute rug that is as soft as can be

and a small rug, under the coffee table that

my sweet friend asked me to love.

One of the chairs responsible for this

madness and a darling foot pouf!

When the upholstery company

came to fetch the couch and fabric

to fix it up, I also sent with an old blanket,

that I also grew up with.  It was always

tucked away as a kid, but I loved it

and was excited when it became mine.

Thick wool, this traditional 'Hudson Bay'

style blanket is super iconic, but upon

close inspection, it had a tear in it and 

a big stain that I could not remove.

So...it sat in a cabinet in my home for the last

few years, which felt a shame, so I sent it

to be reworked, with a small drawing of

how I wanted the blanket oriented on a 

foot pouf.  I had this created with firm

foam, so it could double as a seat, if needed. 

Isn't it absolutely darling! 

I am so happy I did this.

It's a good reminder that stuff

serves zero purpose if it is tucked away,

and it you love it, by golly find a way to use it!

I found this sideboard the week we moved into the house, on 

craigslist.  It stores linens for the dining room on one side, and
my kid's craft stuff on the other.  

I can't recall how far back this chair

goes back in my family, but at least as far 

back as my maternal great grandma. 

It is a treasured piece.  

It along with the hand embroidered 

pillow (also dating back to my great grandma),

a coffee sack pillow and a throw blanket that

I bought at Marshalls (I bought the throw for a 

concert, because on the way to the venue we 

realized we had forgotten a blanket...so it 

makes me happy to look at every single day!)

Oh, did I mention that it took West

Elm nearly 4 months to pick up the

defunct couch?  So annoying!

Here's a nice side by side to see the

West Elm Couch (upper) and the

rework (lower).  You will note

that we decided against buttons

on the seats, as we they are 

dirt collectors and can

get caught on pant

pockets and can tear.

Gaaaaw, this couch!  

Bonus: the rework came in at over $400

less than the West Elm purchase!!!

Worth EVERY (saved) PENNY!

xo.

Union Station Denver

My hubby had a birthday last week.  He spent his birthday morning and afternoon skiing (how royally great to be able to ski on a random Friday off in May, which happens to be your birthday...because Mary Jane extended the ski season 2 extra weeks!), then we headed out for 24 hours. I planned our short adventure just 20 minutes away from our house at the newly renovated  Union Station in Denver.

 I thought it would be fun to spend our 24 kid-free hours checking out 

Union Station, because 4 years ago (can it really be that long ago?)

this was our view, for our first 5 months in Colorado.  .

 The Crawford Hotel is right inside the station.  Lovely!

The room we stayed in was so cozy, and it was fun to be staying

right were all the action was, since our trip was so quick.

 Terminal Bar had a wide array of local beers, cocktails and light fare.  

 We sat on the Terminal Bar patio for an hour, sampling beers 

(I still hate beer) and took in some amazing people watching.

 Shuffle board.

 The art deco details throughout Union Station were nearly too much

for my heart.  I loved every corner.  This is a snap of the bar

on the mezzanine level, just above the Terminal Bar.

 Interior of one of the many restaurants onsite, Stoic & Genuine. 

This restaurant was not an option for me, because of my fake

seafood allergy, but check out the sick interior.  In love.

There is zero chance you will leave Union Station hungry.

 After dinner, we popped into Milkbox Ice Creamery, inside 

Union Station.  They serve Little Man ice cream, which is

about the best thing ever (and we used to walk to Little Man, just across 

the river from our apartment that overlooked Union Station)!  

We took our ice cream outside and sat by the fountains. 

I quickly decided I need to plan a day trip down with the kids, 

via the light rail because they would

love to run through the water (the restaurants along the linear

fountains have towels for guests to dry off, perfection!)

 After ice cream, I marveled once more at the

interior design inside the station.  I also

contemplated ways to shove this chair in

my backpack.  I then wish I had packed

like Lane from Gilmore Girls, when she

headed back to Korea! See below.

 We headed to bed and I slept like a bug in a fancy rug

buried in all the cozy blankets that adorned the bed.

The next morning, we woke up and stumbled down

the stairs right into Snooze Eatery.  I mean,

could it get any better than that!  There is

always a wait at Snooze, but on this cool

morning, no one wanted to sit outside, but 

we kids with our Minnesota blood pumping, 

took a table out there and it was glorious!

 Zac and I shared the breakfast pot pie

(helloooo rosemary sausage gravy and 

puff pastry. Wanna get married?)

and the OMG! French Toast.

The mascarpone stuffed french toast was 

topped with vanilla crème, salted caramel, fresh 

strawberries and toasted coconut.  Ridiculous! 

We walked around downtown until the wind 

shifted and brought rain, but that was the

perfect excuse to go crawl back into bed until

we got the boot at check out.  

 

So...the short story is:

GO CHECK OUT UNION STATION DENVER!

xo.

Dining Room, A Rug Update, part 2

So...early this year, yes like 2 months ago, I excitedly
replaced out dining room rug with a navy and white
herringbone rug (see post). Sadly, a week in I realized
the quality was cheap and it would not hold up to the traffic of the 

dining room. I quickly rolled that bad boy up and sold it to a local lady for 

what I paid (score) and began the search...again.

I settled on this gorgeous,  handmade rug out of Pakistan.  

It cost a lot more than I originally budgeted, but sometimes you have to 

pull the design trigger, when a one of a kind piece screams your name.

I'm in love!

Before & After Mid Century Chairs

Some good friends handed down two amazing Mid Century 

chairs that I had previously obsessed over at their house.  

They had them and loved them until they moved into a super

 sleek house and just couldn't make sense of these chairs

 in their new space. So, they asked me if I wanted them. 

 I nearly made them sign a contract, I was so excited!  

 Before

 Look at these lines!  You can quickly catch my obsession?

 I loved the vintage green tweed fabric, but unfortunately in 

my friend's move from house to house they were stored in 

a place where they sat under a constant drip of water.  I couldn't

salvage the fabric, and in all honesty this pair of beauties were

loved so much in the 60+ years that the cushions needed 

some pretty significant restorative work.  If you look at this

back cushion, you can see how depleted the cushion is.

Again, those lines.  Swoon.

 After

 Can we have a moment?  SwoonFest.

The restored cushions are cozy.

I wanted to honor the original fabric, so I 

went in search of a tweed fabric.  In

my search I found this sharp herringbone

pattern and it was love at first sight.

 I literally cannot stop staring at them.

Swoon.

Local friends, I highly recommend Advantage Upholstery.  I am now in 

search of a vintage couch for our front room, because this was way too much fun!

xo

Dining Room, A Rug Update

Before.

A fine area rug, just never really my style.  

 

After.

If I could wrap my house in herringbone, 

I likely would.

Design Tip:

Do you know the difference between herringbone and chevron?

Very similar designs, but chevron is a straight zig zag, 

whereas herringbone  intersects with the opposite, 

as you can see if this up close snap.

xo

Throw Pillows

I think I am going to update some throw pillows.  I like these patterns and textures together, but...does anyone else agree?