The Ottoman

Great functionality that can find a home in almost every setting. I love an ottoman instead of a hard surfaced coffee table. I find it offers a sense of relaxation and comfort and possibly a splash of wonderful colour, pattern or texture. Throw a tray or two on that baby and you’re good to go. I upholstered this ottoman (see my post Reupholstering a Large Pleather Ottoman) in a silvery sage chenille fabric to add a soft subtle tone in the room and tufted it with crystal buttons for a touch of glam.

Ikea’s Kivik or Ektorp affordable storage ottoman’s are great for smaller, casual, high use spaces. I have had mine in the family room for years. Structurally solid, lid opens for additional storage and slipcover comes off for easy washing. Fabric is a highly durable cotton twill, but if it starts to look a little tired or if you just want a new look, pick up additional slipcovers available in a variety of colours.

The Pouffe

Right on trend and a great addition as a foot rest or a floor pillow. Again, perfect for adding some great texture, pattern or colour to any room.

The Bench

Benches, hard surfaced or upholstered, are perfect for seating at the the front door, dining tables, at the end of a bed or to fill in as a coffee table.

This elegant little gal serves as extra seating in my daughters room. Gorgeous feminine lines along with beautiful silk fabric and a unique profile make this bench a show stopper. To see how I refurbished this bench have a look at Parisian Inspired Bench.

This bench sits at the end of my bed and it is one that I created myself from a coffee table. No post on this one I’m sad to say. I keep a crate that was once used for transporting flower bulbs under the bench for extra storage.

The Stool

I love stools for their versatility. Group’em, stack’em or let’em stand alone. They can look so pretty while adding a tonne of functionality. Chinese inspired ceramic stools like the one shown above have been around the world of home decor forever and honestly, I think they will be around for longer still. They are so diverse in colour, texture and pattern and work in many styles.  Use it for additional seating or as a table both indoors or out.

This more industrial looking hand crafted swivel stool made by CB2 has currently found a home at my kitchen computer station. In the past, I have used it as a side table. I love the heavy angular cast iron legs topped with a Mango Wood seat.

I have two of these Sari Stools that I purchased from Pier One Imports years back. To give them a new look, I picked up some faux yak fur, cut it to size and draped it over the stool. Creates a casual, cozy feeling while adding loads of texture..

My kitchen stepping stool. A unique hand made wooden stool with loads of character. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it.

Not all my stools are functional. This antique wooden stool and wooden Chinese pillow are there just to look good! So rustic, worn and loaded with history. They set the stage for other items I have picked up on my travels.

My husband often says I have some sort of obsession and quite frankly, he could be right! Now if only I could become obsessed with something a little more productive, like exercise!

Every piece of furniture in this front entrance was purchased second hand and given a new look. Buying furniture for the home this way, is not only a great idea for the budget savvy and environmentally conscious, but also for the creative types that enjoy putting their own look on things. The armour, as you can see, is a large piece that commands the attention in this foyer. In its original dark wood colour the piece was quite heavy. To take things down a notch (or several), the armour was painted creamy white. The great thing about this armour other than its curvy lines, beautiful hardware and craftsmanship, is its massive storage capabilities. I paid $300.00 for this armour and it has been with me now for 15 years. The mirror hanging beside the armour was purchased for $40.00 and I love how these two pieces compliment each other.

If space permits, I always like to add some sort of seating at a front entrance to allow guests a comfortable spot to put on, or take off shoes. I scored two wooden chairs from an antique auction that was filled with items that came from England. They were in pretty rough shape when I got them, but I only paid $15.00 for the pair. Both chairs were painted, heavily distressed and reupholstered in a new French Country inspired fabric.

I found this absolutely adorable and unique light fixture for $10.00 on a local used furniture website.

There are two water colour paintings in the room and both were done by a local Nanaimo artist and family friend, John Hofman. The antique smoke stand beside the chair was lightened up by painting it a soft blue and topped with baskets for a perfect spot to drop keys and sunglasses as you enter the home.

The area rug is a highly textural soft wool in creams, beiges and blues.

The only other art in the room is an old beat up nude beach sign.

The adjoining hallway which leads to the garage and laundry was modified to incorporate pull out storage cabinets under the stairs.

The storage cabinets were then framed out and painted in Cloud White by Benjamin Moore to match the existing trim colour in the room.

The opposite wall in the hallway was also framed out with new trim, painted and completed with coat hooks. The garage door at the end of the hall was painted Normandy by Benjamin Moore to match the front door and add a pop of colour.

With the windows in the door and the large window in the adjacent room being the only natural light source in this foyer, keeping things bright was a must so other than the trim and wainscoting that is painted cloud white, the entire foyer was painted in Benjamin Moore’s warm neutral called Ballet White.

A light and airy foyer that is filled with Casual French Coastal Style, loads of storage and functionality.

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.

Even though I loved it, the Restoration Hardware desk was way out of budget and really was far too large for our particular application. But from here, I had an idea of what I wanted and I was off and running (ok, walking…not a lot makes me run these days). I went to a local used building supply store and found some super cool corbels that were removed from an old building. For those that don’t know (I did not know myself when I started this search), but a corbel is a structural, sometimes decorative item found on buildings and can be made of wood, metal, stone or other materials.

This is an example of a concrete corbel.

The corbels I found were made of wood and were very simple in design. Something to keep in mind when shopping for corbels, is the height. I wanted mine to be typical desk height so I had to ensure that the ones I found were the right measurement from floor to desk surface. It just so happened that I found the perfect pair of corbels. Right height and right paint color. I did not have to do a thing to these beauties other than mount them on my wall.

After mounting the corbels to the wall I had a piece of glass made that would become the desk surface. I chose a fairly thick piece of glass and made sure it was tempered so it would be safe. I then topped off the desk with a phone and computer and we were set. Because I was trying not to take up much floor or visual space, I added a simple lucite chair.

The corbels were $75.00 a piece and the glass was $120.00. I purchased the chair for around $80.00. This corbel desk stayed well within budget and was definitely less expensive than the Restoration Hardware desk, however, arguably not nearly as ornate.

I did this project on my own, but it is definitely not for the faint at heart. It is a little more involved, as you will have to do some upholstery work. Here is a step by step guide to creating a modern version of the classic French cane barrel chair.

First, I unscrewed the cushion back and seat from the chair frame. As you disassemble the chair pay close attention so you can reassemble it easily. Also, keep all the material you remove as you can use them as templates when cutting out your new pieces of material.

I then painted the chair with Benjamin Moore furniture paint. This paint is an oil and water mix which makes it soap and water clean up. For my chairs, I used a color called etiquette in a pearl finish.

Now comes the upholstery work. I reused the foam on the seat and the framework as it was all in excellent shape. Using my staple gun, I attached new fabric to the seat. I then stripped the old fabric off the piping and sewed on my new fabric. I try to create as little waste as possible so I choose to reuse when I can, but new piping is readily available at any fabric store. This is your call! I then stapled the piping to the bottom frame of the seat.

Now it is time for the cushion back. I did not want the button back so I had to purchase new foam. I brought the old piece into the store to use as a template for size, shape and thickness.

From here I stapled the new material onto the back of the chair so the good side will be seen from the back.

Then I stapled the original cardboard, the new foam and the material onto the chair frame. Your staples will be exposed at this point, but they will be hidden by piping when you are done.

After the back is in place, I used a hot glue gun to glue on the piping that will cover the staples.

Now the seat can be screwed back on the chair frame. The job is complete. I put these beauties in my living room which is mainly used for visiting and entertaining. Overall, this project was more involved than most, but if you are handy with a staple gun and a sewing machine you should fare quite well.