Brown Stuff

An assortment of "brown" items I picked up at a sale recently. It was about $4 total for everything here. My favorite is the Bojesen style monkey. Not near as nice as the real thing but not bad for $1!

Vinyl Chairs and Family Room

At the same time that I had cushions made for my mid century lounge chairs, I had a pair of blue vinyl chairs recovered. I bought these about 5 years ago at an auction for $5. They were in okay shape but they had been used outside at some point and the vinyl was very brittle. One day one of them burst a giant hole in the seat. I had planned on recovering them myself but decided it was well worth having someone else do it! I had them upholstered in the same color vinyl that they were originally. I also refinished the arms and repainted the legs in the original copper color. Good as new! One sits in my family room and the other is in the basement.

I know I've shown bits of my family room before but here are some shots of the entire space. I really love this room. The colors definitely make me happy. This room was in BHG's Do It Yourself magazine a couple of years ago. I think the deposit box shelves have been in there a few times. I like to change up what is on the mantle every now and then and lately it has been gathering a bunch of red and white signs. I'm getting kind of tired of that but in a few weeks it'll be time to Christmas it up.















Seems like whenever I see anyone with a tv armoire like we have they are painting it up but I still love mine the way it is. If we ever go to a flatscreen tv I'll switch to a vintage credenza but we don't plan on doing that anytime soon. The metal coffee table is one of my favorite pieces in the room. I found it for $15 at an estate sale. It was filthy dirty when I bought it but it cleaned up very nice!

Mr. Sprinkle and Whistle Guy

I.popped in an estate sale last week and picked up a few things. Mostly junk for the kids but I did find a red Mr. Sprinkle laundry bottle to go with the blue one I got at estate sale a long time back. I paid $1 for the red and I have no idea on the blue. I know they came in other colors as well so I'll be on the lookout to add to the collection! I also paid $1 for the plastic Avon "Clean as a Whistle" soap bottle. The little dude's head is an actual whistle. How cute is that?!?

Before and AFter Lounge Chairs

I finally have new cushions for my lounge chairs! They had been at the upholsterers for over two months and I just picked them up last Thursday. They were well worth the wait - she did an amazing job on them. After living with the gold/orange cushions for so long I really had gotten used to them. If both chairs had been identical I might have kept them as is. The cushions weren't even the same size on each chair. Plus while one had super comfy filling, the other was not so great. I really stressed over the new fabric choice but I really like it so far. It is a Knoll fabric that I bought off of ebay for much less than regular retail.

Below is an overview of what the living and dining rooms look like now. I still have a few things on my wish list. The first thing I want to do is change out the curtains. While I like the curtains I don't think they work real well in here. I definitely want to go floor to ceiling, possibly a pinch pleat drapery, with a nicer rod. So far I haven't found anything that even comes close to working. I'm definitely open to suggestions!

Egg Heads

Two cutesy little Japan egg cups found for $1 at a garage sale. It's been weeks since I've done any hunting. I need to get out soon before the sales completely dry up!

Hooty Has a New Home In...

Taiwan! I pulled Julie K's name out of my basket. I hope you enjoy him Julie!

Before and After

I found this cruddy little garage work stool at a sale a while back for $2. I was going to pass but my daughter thought it could be neat fixed up so I thought I'd see what I could pull off. I gave it a good scrubbing, wire brushed it, and spray painted. I recovered the (very gross carpet covered seat) with some Amy Butler fabric and some padding. Now it is an odd little book reading spot for my wee one. I kind of wish I'd painted it a different color - maybe a yellow. Not my best project ever but it was fun anyway!