Nesting Phase 2

Oh no! I found a post that I started a few weeks ago and never finished. Over the course of the last two weeks, my parents came to visit and one of the largest work events of the year happened so I will use those two things as my excuse. More on that later...!

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The first few weekends of 2013 were a whirlwind of cleaning, re-arranging, decorating and overall nesting. My sister moved to her own apartment on January 1 and she has almost finished decorating in record time! I couldn't believe that she had hung curtains, purchased a new couch and tv, unpacked her records and books, painted walls, and assembled an entire media center/ "man cave" in days. It took us months! We've had the essentials figured out for a while but we recently purchased a few more things that make it feel more complete.

Cage pendants provide a nice warm light...the Etsy owner created a new version of the item for us so that we could hang them on a bracket (from Ikea!) and plug the lights directly into an outlet instead of from the ceiling. I opted for the red cord (obviously!) and they come with fancy edison lightbulbs. Woo!

The CB2 craigslist hunt lead me to finding this Alpine bed frame on sale from a fancy concrete home in Venice. It was a great deal that became even better when I noticed some unexpected paint marks and weaseled an even larger discount! Since it's metal, the marks came off with magic eraser and it's as good as new! Win.

Last find? This graphic Les Mis print is made out of words from the novel. If you know me well, you'll know my love for this musical goes back to the 90's. I realize this doesn't sound too long ago, but how many 8 year olds know every lyric and dress their brother up as Gavrosh?! Don't make me post a photo as proof! We still need to frame and hang this gem...don't worry, this horribly staged photo isn't our apartment!

- Cage Pendant Lights, Etsy shop EDLShop // Pendant using an Ikea Bracket idea from Remodelista

- Alpine Bed Frame from CB2

- Les Mis print by Litograph

Rainy Sunday

I love being home, especially when my neighborhood is covered by a cozy grey cloud. Laundry is done, floors are swept, furniture has been de-catified, counters wiped, and all the dishes are clean - WIN - I can take slow sips my coffee, finally hang some more art up on the walls, scour the world wide web for Christmas presents, and watch as many episodes of Breaking Bad as I want! Great weekend.

Sneak Peek: Reupholstered Dining Set

Totally slacking on posting photos of the new space. I have this unrealistic hope that it'll all come together at once (and quickly). So far it isn't happening that way!

Here's a little sneak peek of a close-to-finished nook. I love Jackie's growing collection of botanical illustrations mounted on newsprint. Also, take note of the crown molding! We're growing up!



The dining set was a labor of love. We polished the wood, saved the original labels, and recovered the retro orange seats. I'm not sure if the original seats got itchier with time or if these things were always itchy, but lets just say that they weren't the most comfortable. Not to mention the vintage smell and mysterious stains. It was a huge pain to remove all of the staples (apparently the Swedes love their staples!) and we had to work with a weird latex foam seat that was glued to the wood base. Once we got that out of the way, we covered the seats in a new fabric that was found in the Fashion District in downtown LA. I've been hoarding this amazing cut of Indonesian textile for almost a year and a half and I'm so pleased to see it go somewhere in plain view all the time! I love the vibrant colors and the tribal pattern. Best of all, it's super soft and durable.



On to the next project!

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MORE DETAILS:

Table: Craigslisted off of a really sweet couple in Westchester. The husband found this beauty in a Goodwill and he restored it with Howard's Feed & Wax. We lucked out when it ended up being too large for their new apartment!

Chairs: Found at the legendary Pasadena Rosebowl Flea Market after scouring through dozens of over-priced mid-century dining sets! We got a deal when I noticed that some of the caning was damaged...doesn't bother us, but got us a nice fat discount. We can always restore the caning when we are feeling rich. Or not!

Spring is here and I'm in project mode! So thankful that I have enough space in my room to conceal a growing mini-tool shed. Funny how my hutch looks pretty & dainty from the outside but contains some tough manly man tools. Some things just aren't as they seem, eh?

Oh! Notable mention #2: see those tapestries in the first picture? I finally put something up on my bare walls! Next big sewing project will probably be re-doing my duvet cover to make it more compatible with the new patterns I brought back from Bali. I have my work cut out for me...

Our apartment has a small mail issue. It tends to pile up on our dining room table...an eye sore considering it's on of the first things your see when you walk in the door. Nothing says "welcome home" than a nice pile of paper. I was inspired to do something about it when I saw this on Pintrest:

I couldn't find a shutter anywhere and wasn't about to pay for someone's old one...so when I saw a pile of wood in our ally (someone's old bedframe?), I decided to put my new dremmel saw to work and build a little something of my own. Now we have somewhere for all those Bed Bath and Beyond coupons and everything else we don't want to toss. Cost? $4 for the spray paint.

Oooooh Look What I found Part 2

Remember when I admitted to having a furniture addiction? Introducing my latest curbside treasure:

Free, marigold yellow and in great condition. This is just a prime example of when one lazy person gives up something great...and I swoop in for the win. Covered in dirt and leaves...this chair just needed some love and I have plenty to give.