A bathroom enriched with a coastal feel with an added touch of farmhouse styling. I am a huge fan of blue and white in many shades, but one of my favourite shades of blue that compliments white perfectly is Summer Shower by Benjamin Moore and it is exactly this colour that I used to cover the walls in this bathroom. With the walls done, the vanity was then given a fresh new look by painting the solid honey coloured Oak cabinets in a white called Cloud Cover. The cabinet fronts were slightly distressed to add an aged and weathered patina and new “old style” drawer pulls were added. The trim boards, door and window frame were also painted white, but for these, I used Cloud White. The counter top was covered in a white ceramic tile to add to the farmhouse style.

I did this bathroom over 10 years ago and aside from a few decor tweaks here and there it has virtually stood untouched and I still love it today. This is saying a lot for someone that has a tendency to – switch things up!

To compliment the wall colour, add dimension and ground the room, I chose a low maintenance slate inspired earthy ceramic tile for the floor.

I found a vintage towel bar from the local Restore and affixed it to the false drawer front on the vanity. Perfect spot for hanging a hand towel. Some decor items I used to enhance the overall theme of the room were shells, sea sponges and objects found on the beach. Other decor items in the room are a coke bottle growing barnacle, which again was found on the beach and an old enamelware bowl that is filled with shells, facecloths and lotions. I chose a white shower curtain embossed with tree branches (as it read on the label), but I think the embossing looks like coral, so in my mind was the perfect compliment to the room and adds a fabulous textural detail.

I framed a couple of pics that we brought home from Sri Lanka in all white frames making the water themed prints really pop. The other print in the room is “figure at a window” by Salvador Dali. Again, sticking with the water theme, in this print Dali captures his sister taking in the ocean view from his studio in Cadaques, Spain. Absolutely love Cadaques and having prints in the room that not only look great, but remind you of places you have travelled, well that’s a sure bet to make anyone smile.

Even today, 10 years after the remodel, I am asked what colour I painted the bathroom.

An absolute crowd pleaser!

If your looking for a fabulous blue that will stand the test of time then Summer Shower is a sure thing.

No matter what your style, enhancing your home and decor with the perfect light is a must.

For local folks, all of these lights can be found on the Mclaren Lighting webpage ( http://mclarenlighting.com/ ).

The Traditionalist

The classic Cane Barrel Chair…Timeless. One of those pieces that was just as relevant in home decor 100 years ago as it is today and with a little tweak here and there, you can have a furniture piece that will go with almost any decor.

Why it Works; Great lines, open weave and the tufted back add to it’s fabulous style, while it is designed perfectly for comfort.

When left in its natural wood tones and velvety fabrics, the cane barrel chair is right at home in a Traditional, French Country or English Country home. But if your looking for something a little different, check out how one chair can have very different looks.

Coastal Renaissance

This beauty was redone in a neutral, highly textural beige fabric. The frame was painted in an earthy white called Etiquette by Benjamin Moore.

Why it Works; Nothing says easy, breezy, beautiful like Covergirl and woven cane. The open airy feel instinctively makes us think of tropical beaches, sunny days and light breezes. Other fabric choices that would work well for this look would be twills, cottons and linens.

Totally relaxed in feel, this chair would love to chill out in a casual, cottage or nautical setting. To see how I transformed this chair, have a look at my post Chair Redo.

Uptown Girl

Same style of chair, but completely different look. Painted in a high gloss black and ever so slightly distressed to add an aged patina. This chair was covered in a fantastic vintage floral print that I scored from a friend. Always nice to have friends with style!

Why it Works; While its counterpart above was happy making a cool and casual entry, this chair is a little more Diva and demands attention in any room, just by simply – being.

This lovely gal would be sitting pretty in a hollywood glam, art deco or a contemporary setting where a pop of colour is just the thing.

Rugged Terrain 

The caning on this chair was in rough shape so rather than paying for the sides to be redone, I simply popped them out. This alone, transforms the look of the chair quite drastically. Going for a bit more of a rugged look, I painted the chair in a high gloss white and then heavily distressed every angle of the wood frame. Keeping with a masculine feel, I recovered the seat and back in a heavy two tone grey material.

Why it Work; By removing the cane sides and the button tufted back, this chair instantly becomes more contemporary. The heavily distressed wood and weighty fabric create a masculine feel that more than carries its own weight in any room.

This handsome hunk of wood would be look’n fine in a masculine, industrial or rugged contemporary decor.

When in doubt, Be Brave!

Your reward will be a fantastically classic chair that with a little lovin’, is happy making a statement in any home.

For my little girls 10th birthday I decided a room update would make the perfect gift. It could not have worked out better, as the night I finished she was at a sleepover so when she returned home, I was able to do the BIG REVEAL!  I will never forget coming around the corner and seeing her face as she sat on her bed taking in her new space. “I Love It!” she exclaimed. That was all I needed to hear.

Many years ago I did my daughters room in a two tone pink stripe with a wave of green that made its way around the perimeter. Perfect for a wee li’l girl, but now my way too mature 10 year old wanted something a little more grown up. So the walls were sanded and the stripes were covered in Benjamin Moore’s Pink Damask. A soft blush that pairs perfectly with greys, tans, quiet blues and soft greens.

I chose ceiling to floor cotton drapes with a Linen look to create a statement on the feature wall behind the daybed. I also took the drapes to each corner of the room to help camouflage the offset window and create a more grand appearance.

My daughter picked out a few decorative items on her own, such as the Eiffel Tower which has special meaning to her as we were able to visit Paris this time last year. She also decided on a letter “L” wall plaque. The glass vessel that sits on her dresser/desk holds beach glass that she has been collecting from different parts of the world.

For the room, I wanted tall narrow bedside tables with loads of storage. I was able to achieve this by repurposing an old vanity. By removing the centre piece of the vanity and doing a bit of filling, sanding and painting, two separate tables were created.  These little beauties are perfect for a smallish space and I just love the bun style legs.

I didn’t want to take up space on the bedside tables so I opted for two vintage floor lamps that I spray painted white and topped with matching cream coloured shades.

I picked up a solid wood secretary style desk for free and painted it in Benjamin Moore’s Raindance. With a new coat of paint and by adding some new hardware the dresser/desk was given a whole new look. A versatile piece that is perfect for smaller spaces.

The cork board and cute little bench seat were made to set the style of the room. You can see the blogs I did on these called Parisian Inspired Cork Board and Parisian Inspired Bench.

I opted for a bed skirt to hide all the under the bed storage bins filled to the rim with STUFF! The ruffles on the skirt, along with the curvy lines of the daybed all help enhance the Modern French Country or Parisian feel of the room.

All of this adds up to one very happy, growing up way too fast, 10 year old girl.

With a few alteration’s, I knew this fixture would look fantastic in my dining room.

The black and copper metal frame of the lantern did not suit my decor and I felt looked a little flimsy, so I was off to the hardware store to purchase some spray paint. Now there are a multitude of colours and textures of spray paint on the market and your choice is not limited to whats on the shelf as some stores are able to make a spray paint in any colour you wish. With all these choices available, I went waaaay…out there and got…brown. Boring, boring, boring I know, but I was after an old world feel in my dining room and I found the heaviness of this textured spray paint added both weight and dimension to the metal pieces of this lantern.

I also needed to grab the pieces to cover the lighting hardware. I was hoping for metal, but they were special order so I decided for a couple of bucks, I would try the white plastic covers first and see how they turned out. In the end, they were fine and once in place, you would never guess they did not come with the Fixture.

To paint the plastic tubes, I created a spraying station. I grabbed a chunk of wood, drilled a few holes and then screwed in a few bolts. Pop the plastic tubes over the bolts and voila, spray away.

I waited for a nice clear day and did all my spraying outside. This is the downside of spray paint. The fumes are awful so do it outside if possible. If not, make sure you have loads of ventilation. Just say’n, take care of those lungs. They’re fairly vital.

I had an extra metal extension piece (connects the fixture to the ceiling plate) from my previous light fixture so I ditched the chain that came with the Lantern and used the metal rod instead. Although I already had this piece, I originally purchased it at a local lighting store (McLaren Lighting), where they are available in various colours and lengths.

If using a metal rod, you MUST measure! Things to take into account are how high you would like the fixture to be from the table top, how long the fixture itself is and the depth of the ceiling plate. From this information you should get a clear idea of how long your metal rod needs to be and order accordingly. The chain is much more flexible as far as hanging goes, but in this case, I liked the clean simple lines of the metal rod and I had it, so why not!

Over the years I have sprayed fixtures in a high gloss white, a rubbed bronze, a black and a bright blue. All of these turned out to be exactly what I was shooting for so if you come across a second hand light fixture with great bones to be afraid to grab it and let your imagination go wild….or simply….go brown!

I have always been a fan of Barrymore furniture so I was super stoked when I spotted two matching Barrymore chairs for a steel of a deal at 60 bucks for the pair. Yup, that’s right, $30.00 for a Barrymore. Gotta LOVE IT! Even more incredible was the upholstery was a nice neutral colour and in pretty good condition. This meant there was no need to reupholster, which can be both time consuming and costly. As is, I felt the chairs were ok, but not exactly the look I was after so…

here are a few easy steps I did to update the look of the chair

First and by far the easiest step was to remove the back cushion and replace it with a decorative rectangular through pillow. Doing this reveals the tight back, instantly giving the chair a more contemporary streamlined appearance.

Next, I removed the skirting around the bottom edge of the chair.I did this using a pair of needle nose pliers and basically went along the bottom edge pulling staples and removing the tacking strip as I went. While I was busy removing staples, I went ahead and removed the bottom dust cover as well.

With all the skirting off, I removed the liner from the back and the piece (not sure of it’s technical name) that kept the skirt stiff. I was a little gentle as I removed these pieces as I knew I would be reusing the material.

I then pinned the skirting material together making sure it fit snuggly around the base of the chair. Once I was confident the fit was right, I sewed the skirting together to create one continuos piece.

I then put the material snuggly in place around the bottom edge of the chair, inside out, lining up seams as best I could. The use of a tacking strip creates a perfectly straight line when the fabric is folded back over and gives a professional look so it is worth purchasing some or making your own with some thin cardboard. After measuring carefully, start stapling the tacking strip in place.

Once the material is secured, fold it back over the bottom of the chair. While pulling tight against the tacking strip to create a smooth fit, staple the material to the bottom of the chair.

The legs on these chairs could not be removed so I had to fold and manipulate the fabric around the exposed legs. To do this, leave material a little longer around the legs so there is enough to tuck the material inside itself. At this point, leave the material around the legs unstapled.

I chose to reuse the piping as well so if doing so, take the piping and start stapling it in place around the bottom edge. Once you get to the legs, tuck the extra material of the piping under your folded edge. Pull tight and staple in place as close to the legs as possible.

Make your way around the base of the chair and overlap piping at the end.

Lastly, replace the dust cover to the bottom of the chair.

A quick and easy update to give your chairs a more contemporary look.

I scored this ripped up, worn out pleather ottoman for free. Geesh, I wonder why? Although the pleather material was in awful shape, the frame and legs were solid. I decided to take this hunk of massive sumpin and transform it into a more formal feminine piece by recovering it with a silvery/green chenille and topping it off with some bling bling in the button tufting.

To begin a project like this, first remove the legs from the base as well as all mounting hardware.

Then proceed by removing staples. There are usually oodles of staples so grab a cup and joe, crank the tunes and get ready to hunker down for a while because just when you have pulled the last staple from the dust cover, a whole new row of staples holding the material in place is exposed.

Now comes the satisfying part. Take off that old tired pleather and chuck it in the lapsap tong (a little cantonese for ya), as now we get to create a whole new look.

Measure the top and the sides of the ottoman adding a 1/2 inch extra all around for sewing allowance. For example, if your top is 40″ x 40″ cut a piece that is 41″ X 41″. This will give you an extra half inch on all sides. I first cut the square top to size then sewed on the piping around the entire outside edge. After that, I sewed all the sides together ensuring they were a tight fit around the ottoman. At this point I laid the top material on the ottoman frame and pinned the sewn together sides to the top piece. Complete the cover by attaching the sides to the top.

The foam on the ottoman was in good shape so I did not replace it, but the batting was a bit worn so I opted to add new. With the new batting in place, the new material can then get stapled onto the frame.

Because of the size of this ottoman I decided to break up the great expanse by adding tufting. To add tufting, you will need to fall back on some of your math skills – I know…I know! – and measure the top surface and depending on how many buttons you wish to add you need to figure out the button spacing. I like to do this on a piece of paper first as I am a visual person. Once I have it clear in my head, I measure and mark the button locations on the furniture piece. Then, using an upholstery needle and some waxed string, add the buttons in place.

On the underside of the ottoman, tie off the waxed thread with a bit of material shoved in there. The material is there to keep the knot from pulling through the foam. Some of the buttons were simply knotted in place, while depending on location, I was able to anchor some of the buttons by stapling the string to the frame.

With the tufting done, the ottoman is almost complete. To finish up, simply staple the dust cover back in place, replace leg mounting hardware and pop the legs back on.

All there is to do now is find a buddy and carry this beast to the desired location. Sit down, put your feet up and enjoy.

Over the past several months, I have embarked on many furniture revival projects. Although some of the projects have proven very challenging, once completed, they always prove rewarding.

Bringing a 1980’s Teak Furniture Set Back to Life

I fell in love with this Danish Teak love seat and chair on site. Although the fabric was very well used and tired, structurally, these pieces were in fantastic condition which makes for a great starting off point. All the exposed teak was given a light sanding and re-oiled while the cushions were reupholstered in a mid-century inspired avocado green. Classic in design, this furniture set will always be in style.

Restoring a 1970’s Arborite Cabinet

This 1970’s cabinet was given a completely new lease on life with a fresh coat of high gloss paint. The colour I chose was a mid-century tone green called Jalapeno by Benjamin Moore. I was totally inspired by the clean lines and lovely legs on this cabinet. In the end, I decided to emphasize the legs by leaving them and the shelving area in a natural wood tone. The tricky thing about this cabinet was that it was Arborite which requires a slightly different painting procedure. After a bit a research, I sanded the cabinet following the grain. I then primed the piece and let the primer cure for several days. Once primer was fully adhered to the cabinet, I then painted it, again allowing several days for curing between coats.

Giving This Masculine Bench the Lift it Needed

This beautiful bench was a special request from a client. To begin, I wiped the legs down with turpentine to remove marks. I then touched up the wood with a stain pen and gave it a rub with some Lemon Oil. I love me the Lemon Oil. It leaves a beautiful finish on the wood and has a great lemony fragrance. To reupholster, I decided to add some piping between the wood base and the padded top just to add a little sumpin, sumpin. The foam was then recovered with the new fabric and reattached.

Repurposed Piano Bench 

I picked up this tired, but solid piano bench from a local Salvation Army store for a steal of a deal. A piano bench is a great size for adding a little extra seating for just about anywhere in your home. I love the clean lines of this bench and with a new bright fabric it will add a pop of colour and interest to any room. Of course, like many piano benches the seat lifts for storage which is perfect if using by the front door or in the bathroom. Any hidden storage is always a bonus.

And now for a few other ottoman’s that have been given a new look.

The top ottoman holds a special place for me, as it was my first try at Tufting. The bottom photo is of what was once a typical tired and torn brown leather storage ottoman that will now certainly be a pop of colour and style that every room needs.

This Queen Ann style bench was painted white and upholstered in a silvery blue fabric to create a more modern look.

One of the biggest transformations would be this 1970’s footstool. All solid wood and metal construction and updated with new fabric this footstool will last for many years to come. I chose a funky maud material to recover the stool and eliminated the ruffle bottom so the cute legs were exposed. Now the challenge with this sucker was the bottom is considerably narrower than the top so I discovered that I couldn’t just sew it and then slip the fabric over the frame so I had to pull out my handy dandy curved needle and practice the invisible stitch, sewing the sides while the fabric was in place. Learning something new with every project.

Vintage Wood Desk

Gorgeous vintage desk that just needed a few tweaks here and there. A fresh coat of paint, a couple of new drawer pulls and a touch of wood glue in spots equals a lovely desk that would work well in any room. In the end though, this piece found it’s place in a clients walk-in closet to purpose as a jewellery stand.

And lastly I leave you with this antique solid wood table. Gorgeous curvy legs, original casters and a coat of graphite black paint make this table a statement piece in any home.

Okay, okay, so I know she doesn’t look like much with the dated original fabric, but I fell in love with this beauty on site. The gorgeous lines of the solid Oak bentwood frame made this chair not only virtually indestructible and unique, but beautiful from every angle.

The frame was in great condition and only required a quick vacuum and wipe down.

Now for the fabric. I choose this fabric for a couple of reasons. The first was that it was in the sale bin and the second was because I LOVED IT! I knew this chair was going to require a fare chunk of material so in order to keep costs down I was on the hunt for something less expensive, but good quality. After measuring, I purchased 5 meters of this mid century inspired fabric that would transform the look of this chair entirely. At less than $10.00 a meter and a couple spools of thread, I was out of the fabric store having spent less than 60 bucks.

I then used the cushions to mark, cut and sew my new fabric. I typically like to reuse as much as possible, as this not only keeps costs down, but also keeps perfectly usable items out of the rubbish bin. For this reason, I took the time to remove the zippers from the old material and sewed them onto the new fabric. A bit fiddly and time consuming, but a venture that I consider worth taking.

After the main cushions were complete I covered the 3 throw cushions. I decided to offset the pattern by doing the 2 smaller cushions in a creamy white. Super happy with the end result of this chair that would look perfect in an open concept room where it could be viewed from every angle.

Okay, so she didn’t look like much when I picked her up for 25 bucks, but I could see the potential in this lovely lady. A prize piece that just needed a little TLC. Well, let’s face it, she needed a complete overhall.

To start this project, I began by completely dismantling the bench.

The curvy lines of the bench legs were fantastic, but were falling apart and badly damaged so they needed to be re-glued and refinished. Even though I loved the wood, I decided to paint the legs as busting through the thick layer of varnish to bring them back to their glory days would require a LOT of work.

Next, I removed the orange pleather material, which as you can see was done by pulling mmmm maybe a thousand randomly placed staples.

With the bench now down to it’s bare bones, it was time to start the reconstruction and transformation. The legs were painted in a warm white called Etiquette by Benjamin Moore and new batting and material was stapled on to the bench frame.

Out of pocket for this bench including the purchase price of 25 bucks, was $50.00 as I had to purchase new material and batting. A lovely little piece that compliments the room just nicely.