Breakfast Nook reveal and source list

                                Happy New Year Everyone!  

I've decided to give blogging another go around.  I enjoy the creative process and this really motivates me to get projects done. 

We started our kitchen last year and had some issues along the way, which prolonged the process.  It's 90% finished with just a punch list left to do. I've decided to show you all, the breakfast nook first, which is something I've always wanted in a kitchen. Along with having the nook for eating, and snacking, we have also started using it as a place to play games. Originally the bookshelves were going to be used just for my ironstone collection but after visiting friends in North Carolina and seeing their nook/game area, I was sold.

I am so pleased with how it all turned out. Please excuse the boxes on the right.  We have extra flooring that can't be returned and my Husband has yet to move them to a new location.

My gallery wall is just above the bench. All pieces were found at Estate sales.

I blogged about my ironstone haul as well as these prints, here.

I purchased the frame from Michael's and used washi tape around the print.

I love this cow painting, my Husband not so much.  This painting first caught my eye while reading Miss Mustard Seed's blog.  You can find it here on Etsy.  In a couple of weeks, I will be revealing a second painting from this same artist, that I've purchased and currently having it framed.

My inspiration for using an Ikea bookcase as a bench came from this picture below. Instead of using baskets, I opted to purchase the doors separately.  I also changed out the knobs that came with each door to match with the hardware I chose in the kitchen.

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I love these brass knobs from Schoolhouse Electric.  You can find this Ikea bookcase turned bench here.  Ikea KALLAX shelving offers a few options, doors, drawers or baskets.

I upholstered the bench myself which was easy to do.  If you are looking for a good tutorial on how-to and a material list, I included a link, h2obungalow.

The fabric I used on the bolster and bench is no longer available, but I found it here. Fabric.com is one of my favorite sources for fabric. 

I had my 2 bolster covers made for me by CleusaSordiDecor, again found on Etsy.  Fast turnaround and wonderful craftsmanship.

All my pillow inserts come from this shop Peteuga on Etsy. Amazingly fast shipping.

The Ikat pillows were purchased as a pair and ready to ship from CastawayCoveDecor.

The navy Greek key pillows were purchased separately and made by JoyWorkshoppe found on Etsy.

I don't know why I didn't capture a picture of the smaller linen pillow in the middle but you can find out the information from SkippysCorner.

The DOCKSTA Table is from Ikea.  It is the only easy thing to put together.

The Blue & White Salt & Pepper shakers are from Pier 1 imports and are no longer available.

The tray is Lilly Pulitzer for Target.

The ironstone pieces contain candy for a little extra treat.

I can't find the information for the Manufacturer's of my ghost chairs.  I originally purchased them as a pair for my porch, and will again, since these will be staying here in the nook.

The rug is an indoor-outdoor one from allmodern.  The shedding was minimal after the first vacuuming.  Very easy to clean and super soft underfoot.

My children are really enjoying having most of their games here.  In those plastic containers I have playing cards, learning materials, as well as small puzzles.  More on those, on another upcoming post.

In the meantime, I've covered the backs of the bookcases with the same wallpaper I used in my hallway. You can read more about it here.  I'm going to eventually change it to a grasscloth wallcovering.

Below are 2 pictures that helped shape my vision for what I wanted for my Breakfast Nook.

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I hope you enjoyed the little tour of my Kitchen.  Please join me again for the rest of the tour.

Estate sale of a lifetime

I am very choosy about the Estate sales I attend.  Mostly because they do require a considerable drive, and getting all the troops up early and out the door to get there for opening. I have to want at least 5 items from the pictures online. If you don't already subscribe to an email list of upcoming sales, then I suggest checking this one out. 

Really good companies will upload lots of pictures of whats to be offered. This is invaluable tool in determining which ones to attend and which ones don't feature items you are searching for. Also it helps to set up a game plan by remembering which rooms to go to first in order to get that special item.  

Make sure you read ahead about the rules of each estate sale.  Some sales do not allow small children to attend, whereas others might not care.  Also, there are usually rules about bringing in bags, which generally isn't allowed.  Yes, this makes things very difficult to shop.  What I tend to do is once I enter, I grab one of the empty available boxes inside and use that to shop with.  

Don't be afraid to open drawers, and search through those boxes in the basement or attic.  There is treasure to be found. One of my favorite Bloggers Miss MustardSeed once found an antique chandelier complete with crystals inside one of those cardboard boxes for just $4.

I have seen some people at sales haggle for better prices with mixed results.  You are better off on a Sunday snagging a big ticket item as companies generally make everything half off.  It's not always advertised that things go for 50% on the last day of a sale.  I managed to score a beautiful antique piece of furniture for half the price just by going back the next day.  It was worth the risk to save that extra money.

This particular sale I went to on Saturday was a bit of a haul.  It took close to an hour to get there, and required some serious sucking up to my loving Husband to not just get me there but get me there before it opened.  Which meant we had to get up at 5:45 to get ourselves ready and out the door by 6:15.  Let me tell you it was well worth it.

Let me show you my finds at ridiculously low prices.  I have never gotten this lucky at a sale before.

 I smile everytime I look at my growing collection.

Master bedroom make-over

     I hope you found some helpful tips, as well as a little bit of inspiration from my post yesterday on building a window cornice.  I really love it, and it has added a little sophistication to the room that was seriously lacking before.  Would you believe I only consider this as progress?
                                                                             

 

 

Yup, just progress.  I switched out the curtains that were there.  I still love them but it's been 7 years, and with the wall color change, it was just time to try something new.  I knew I wanted lighter and brighter.  White curtains would give me the look I was after, plus I have a future project in mind using Greek Key trim.  I haven't decided if I'm going to go with green or maybe a taupe?  I'm even thinking about bringing in more of the darker pink from my bedding.  Here's a breakdown on cost and resources.  The curtains came from Target (recent purchase).  They're the "RE Style brand, Chesapeake white, single panels in 84" length.  I purchased 4 of these and they were only $9.95 per panel.  I also purchased 4 of the simple drapery clips at $6.49 each.  Funny enough, I haven't found the Greek Key trim for less than $10.50 a yard.  Joann Fabrics had a wide selection the last time I was there.  I might get lucky finding what I'm looking for at reasonable price on Etsy.  The red throw blanket was an Ikea find for $4.  Can't beat that.  My bedding I purchased years ago from Pottery Barn, on clearance of course!

 

 

 

The next project I have in mind isn't necessarily cheap but will bring my very dated bedroom furniture up-to-date.  I just can't see painting it, it's solid wood and constructed so well, and even after 16 years I still love it.  I have made some changes to it, like changing out the wooden knobs to pink glass ones.  I sprayed each of the screw tops gold to tie in further with the "gold accent theme".

I showed you my post about using washi tape as a decorative element on furniture but I think I'm going to take the next step which is using O'verlays.  O'verlays are a great way to add a new dimension to really anything.  I've used them on the exterior of my home on the windows as decorative molding.  You can find all sorts of examples on Pinterest just by typing in "Ikea hacks" or check out my board titled "O'verlays".  They have great prices on the sizes they typically manufacture for specific Ikea furniture, but expect to pay a little extra for a custom order.  I have found they have great customer service and their turnaround time to be quick.  (I'm not sponsored by them, this has just been my own personal experience).

 

You might have recognized the punch bowl turned faux mercury glass, now spray painted gold and being used for my paper whites. This was my quick 10 minute project over the weekend.  Got to love those quick DIY projects.

 

 

I changed things up on my dresser by moving  my milk glass collection over to the right and using a couple of the larger pieces as book ends.  The books are covered with gift wrap by Elum using just 1 sheet for $3.75.  I spent sometime over the weekend just shopping my own home first, especially after being inspired by my board I put together.

 

 

On Saturday, I had a bit of a road trip to see my favorite Blogger, Miss Mustard Seed.  If you click that link you will see that very same ottoman/coffee table now in my home.  I've been wanting a place to set my clothes out the night before.  I find it saves me a great deal of time if I take that one detail out of the morning equation.

 

Here are some additional pictures.

 

 

More exciting things to come!!!

 

 

Please have a seat....

     Yay!!!! I did it....I finally finished my very first upholstery job on my french chair.  Would I do it again?  I have too, I still  have it's ugly sister and the grain sack fabric I purchased is on its way.  It was a long process and I ran into lots of surprises on this chair. Here's where it all started.

Here's my assistant.  I think she has decided this is her chair, with out without the seat.  While I was taking the chair apart this is what I found.  Also, each of the arms had crumbled packed, red clay.  I had to thoroughly vacuum everything out.  I did remove the straw and the batting material. It was coming off in pieces just from handling it.

I finished cutting the material, using the original fabric on the chair as my guide.  These were my tools.  I purchased the tacks that come on a roll and a special hammer to nail them in.  The hammer was around $15 and the rolls (I purchased 2) were expensive,(I used a 50% off coupon) and as I later found out, not necessary.  More about that down below.  This part of the project was my least favorite.  I found it very difficult to get most of the tacks in straight. Even though it didn't look perfect (I had NO expectations of that), I was feeling confident about how it was turning out.

The brassiness was bothering me, so I took my rub and buff and hand painted each one to tone it down.  You can see the difference in the picture down below.  

Again here is the brassiness.  It just stood out even though I am using gold accents in my bedroom.

Once it was completed, I lived with it for about a week, and I just wasn't falling in love with it. 

 I am a faithful reader of Miss Mustard Seed.  If you haven't read her blog, you should definitely check it out.  Just when you think she is "done" with a space and it looks amazing, she goes and changes things up to look even better.  Plus I have a weak spot for ironstone and she does too.  It was destiny that right around this same time her post on  her slipcovered chair came out.  I fell in love with the french gimp she used.  I checked online and found something very similar at Joann's, unfortunately the day I was there, they had NONE left in the color I needed.  Fate intervened once again, because I fell in love with a beige trim with pink dots.  I bought all they had at a price of $3.49 a yard.  I ended up using approx. 9 yards and still have a couple left over for other projects.  I really wasn't sure how much I would need, and  I just wanted to avoid making a second trip and also possibly running into an issue of it being out of stock.

Off went the roll of upholstery tacks.  This wasn't as painful as pulling off individual tacks, but still a little time consuming.  I used my glue gun, and went through a lot of glue sticks to attach the trim. But in the end, I now have a chair that I LOVE.  

I've created my own little reading nook in my bedroom.  

     I have a much better understanding now as to why it can be pricey to have a chair covered.  It can be time consuming and difficult when removing tacks.  Attaching the actual fabric doesn't take as long but working around any curves can be tricky.  

As you can see my rugs from Furbish studios, came in and I love the pattern and colors.  I did purchase 2 to make them a little longer, much like a runner.  My needle point pillow came from Ebay, and the small wooden, milking stool was purchased from the Sundance catalog a long time ago.  If you read my post here, then you will recognize my little $2 owl. I noticed underneath the owl it had a "Jonathan Adler" label.  After doing a little research via Google, I found the same owl as mine here.  Still being sold online for $88.  Super score for me.  Here's a better picture of this cute little owl.

It now rests on top of my own copy of Miss Mustard Seed's book.  And no, I haven't been paid for any of the sites or businesses I've mentioned.  These are people or items that I have found on my own, and love for my own home.

Leave me a comment below and let me know if you think the fabric trim was a much better choice?

Hodge podge of half finished projects...

     I think I can say with certainty that not much in the way of decorating or completing any outstanding projects (like my entire house), is going to happen today.  The kids are home from school and, I'm lucky to just do a little post today. 

     Yesterday it snowed, and we just enjoyed listening to Christmas music and putting our tree up.  A funny thing happened after our tree was decorated though,  my husband and I turned to one another and agreed that our tree and ornaments were some of the ugliest we have ever seen.  This just made us all laugh and remember why it is we have a skinny looking artificial tree.  Last year, our artificial Christmas tree of 15 years, (allergies keep me from the real kind) met an untimely demise.  Thanks to one of our cats climbing the branches and toppling it over.  This caused it to snap and surprisingly, we only lost 2 ornaments in the accident.

     My children, said Christmas just doesn't feel right if we don't have a tree.  We kind of agreed, so off to Target we went. Of course this all occurred a week before Christmas.  I can tell you, the only trees left at that time are the expensive $300 plus ones.  In hindsight it's worth the investment, but with Christmas having been just a week away, we were in a rush to finish our Christmas shopping.  We passed up on the expensive ones, and as we were exiting the store a woman came in to return her Christmas tree.  

     With lightning speed, my husband followed the woman to the return line. (Not like a creepy stalker but more of a desperate Dad).
He stood behind her, while she made her return.  Her reason for the return?  "The tree is skinny and kind of ugly".  Yep, she said it.  My husband said he would take it.  The price was right.  Maybe a little too right?  We were desperate, and thought, "how bad could it really be?"  Well, it's bad but it's ours to laugh about each year.  I'll post pictures of it tomorrow.

     I am about 90% finished with upholstering the chair.  I just need to purchase some french gimp.  Thank you, thank you , thank you Miss Mustard Seed, for your post about your upholstered chair. The gimp is exactly what my chair needs.  I plan to pick some up this weekend, and finish! Here's what her amazing chair looks like.

     I'm also thinking the chair needs a nice little rug underneath it.  I am beginning to love the layered rug look. Here are some images I found on Google with this same look.

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What I love most about this one is how they are all angled differently.

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Here are the 2 I am trying to decide on.  Both are roughly 2x3 and I would purchase 2 and make them into a 2x6.  I have a large sisal rug in there now, but the rugs would really anchor the chair I have been working on as the chair is at an angle.

Furbish Studios is selling this one.  I like that it adds some color and another textual element to the room.

Urban Outfitters has this one.  It's actually a bath mat but with a rug pad and with it being under a chair, it shouldn't be an issue.  I am leaning more towards the cream colored one as opposed to this blush one.  Again, I would need 2 to make it slightly longer.  Sometime this week I'm going to make my decision.  What are your thoughts on the layered rug look?  Which one of these beauties would you choose?