While I was waiting to my furniture to show up last week, I took on a little repair project. Aimee helped me find this gorgeous Saarinen table at the Room & Board Outlet. Originally, it was something like $1600, and I got it for $170! Which could mean, depending on your viewpoint, that I saved over $1400! Every now and then someone reads this blog who is quite concerned my fiscal responsibility (my dad), so I'm happy to point out these savings :)
Why so cheap? Because it had this crack here in the wood. Luckily, my new best friends at the local Ace hardware walked me through the easy process of filling in wood: 1) get wood filler and a scraper; 2) go for it.
I think there's supposed to be a sanding step somewhere in there, but I didn't bother with that. I just scraped off as much excess as I could and let it dry.
Then I stained it. The directions said to leave the stain on for 15 minutes, but this didn't work. Luckily, I accidentally let the stain soak in overnight, which worked out perfect! I then did a layer of stain on the whole table just to blend it in a bit more.
A week later, my new table's beginning to feel at home!
And, in a ferm related note, my love birds tea towel is unpacked and will hopefully soon be put to good use. Just as soon as I go the grocery store...
[So sorry about the unfortunate quality of my iphone photos. Am crossing my fingers that the camera cord needed to upload photos will show up soon!]
I forgot how much time unpacking takes, so have not made a whole lot of progress. But, I did manage to get most of my bedroom put together, and I found just the right spot for one of my favorite pillows!
My stuff showed up!*
Here's as far as I've made it unpacking boxes. Should be on track to figure out some wallpaper projects by, I'm thinking, Friday. Will keep you posted!*NEVER use Rising Van Lines. Or, also King Van lines and/or Moving Star Van Lines. I just learned they keep changing their name after they get too many horrible review on line. Best to go with a legit company even if it's more expensive. Or do it yourself. Lesson most definitely learned.
My friend Rachel, from speesees, just sent over a few iphone pictures of a recent wallpaper project in her entryway. Above is the during. Nice work on hugging the seams!
And, here's also the during, I hope :) Rachel's a pro wallpaper girl by now, so I'm almost positive she knows she needs to trim the top and bottom... I LOVE the birds on branches pattern she chose with her rockin' black and white floor.
I like how it also brings an element of nature inside, not that she's hurting for nature. Yep, this is where she lives with her boyfriend. What a gorgeous place to call home!
Rachel's boyfriend is gorgeous too. You'll just have to trust me...
On an almost unrelated note. I'm trying to keep calm myself as I wait for my movers to show up with my things. Not that you're counting, but I am and it has been almost 3 weeks. Very wrong. To alleviate some stress, I've been planning my gallery wall for the bedroom. Here's my inspiration. I really like the consistent frame color above and tetris-like fit of the frames on this wall. Below... well that is just fabulous. I wonder if the red chair is what has pushed this over the edge to amazing though?
I like the mix of circular elements in with the rectangular frames. The adorable cuckoo clock does not hurt anything either.
LOVE this whole thing. Especially how the touch of color connects everything so easily. Adding necklaces into the mix is divine.
If I had a lot of amazing art, I'd do a gallery bathroom like Super Market Sarah here. But, I don't.
Instead, I'll save one little piece from my bedroom gallery wall for the bathroom and/or kitchen just like the above. Just perfect. (So sorry, I can't remember where I pulled these images from to cite to!)Happy Weekend!
Kricken, from the design/build firm Vanillawood in Portland, just sent these photos over from one over client's freshly wallpapered bedrooms! So calm and pretty. What a lovely space to fall asleep in! I love the Ribbed wallpaper with the simple white bedding and beautiful lighting.
And what a charming place to read. Thanks, Kricken!
All this is making me feel even more guilty about leaving my new bed in it's cardboard box. So many slats to screw together, so little time (and/or energy...).
When I go back to SF to visit, I'm determined to go to Corner in the Mission for a fabulous meal. And then check out the restroom wallpapered in feather! (I grabbed the image from here - so pretty!)
Not sure if you got our last newsletter. So, just in case, I wanted to let you know to kick start you wallpaper resolutions we are offering a free Wallpaper Projects book with the purchase of any two rolls of wallpaper!
Just type in FREEBOOK at checkout. This is for a limited time, so hurry :)
Our friend Vanessa, of Turquoise, just sent us these gorgeous images of a home she did for one of her clients. She used Ribbed in turquoise to accent the back of the bookshelf and then tied in the wall color and deeper accents of turquoise to bring the space together. Could this be more 2010?
The wallpaper is such a great backdrop for everything on the shelves. So pretty! Thanks so much, Vanessa!
Jaime, at I Suwannee, just posted her virtual dining room, designing around that lovely 1stdibs console. We (of course) think she picked the perfect wallpaper. What a gorgeous combination of pretty things!
Just at my old apartment waiting for the movers, so thought I'd take a moment to show off what I'm sitting in. A gorgeous old chair made in Denmark. I think it is going to be a nice contrast with my modern red chair. And then I'll tie them together with this loveliness:
Okay, seriously, where are there movers? Late, that's where. I worry.
I need to revamp this tray! I'd painted and wallpapered it for this article a couple years ago and then put it in storage, where it got terribly bashed up. My new apartment has a bit more space in the living room (probably because I don't have a TV anymore - we'll see how long that lasts...) so I've decided to put the cocktail tray to good use.
Or this:
Both have a bit of a cocktail vibe, don't you think? But... my problem is that I'm actually planning not to down a lot of alcohol this year (mostly for budgetary reasons...). Will having a cocktail set-up in my living room just end up taunting me? Think it would work as a plant tray table type thing? Like this tasty one from Lonny:
Have a great weekend - be it sipping cocktails, gardening inside, wallpapering, or if you live in Minnesota, just trying to stay warm!
