Acrylic Addiction

Hello, my name is Katherine and I am addicted to acrylic. Yes, the hard plastic -- preferably of the clear nature. This is the truth I bear, and I bear it in the name of acrylic furniture. Classic yet contemporary, an acrylic piece of furniture can make a statement and dutifully fade into transparency all at the same time. (I wish my dog would learn that trick.) Acrylic is the bomb, without making any noise.

Next, I would be remiss if I failed to point out the function in acrylic furniture. My acrylic pieces are baby and toddler proof, crazy chocolate lab proof, and lastly, fool proof (the fool being me). Fingerprints, paw prints, juice, chocolate, crumbs, crayons, etc. – all wipe clean off these suckers.

To prove my thesis, and my admitted addiction, let’s take a look at Exhibit A: The acrylic Kartell Ghost chairs I have paired with my antique kitchen table.

I love the clean, youthful look that they bring to an old table. I love the way it draws attention to the table because its an unexpected pairing* and yet simultaneously spotlights the table and the outdoors beyond.

*(At least when I got them a few years ago it seemed unexpected pairing. Now, not so much…I’ve since seen these chairs paired with many an antique table in diff magazines and design blogs. Great minds think alike? But I still love the look.)

Exhibit B: The two acrylic cubes used as bedside tables in the guest bedroom. These beauties were my first acrylic purchase over ten years ago for my first apartment without a roommate. They have weathered the years and at least six moves, (two cross-country). Originally used side by side as a coffee table, they now serve as bedside tables in the guest room.

The bed is an heirloom, and not necessarily my favorite piece of furniture (I generally detest all things Victorian). This oddball pairing works for me because the tables bring levity to an the otherwise heavy and dark piece of furniture. Needless to say, I like the bed a lot more now.

Exhibit C & D: The acrylic waterfall table in the formal living room, and the acrylic coffee table in the den. I love again, that these are a little modern and float in their given spaces. In the case of the living room in particular, the table gives the effect of spaciousness in what could be a cramped spot. Although glass-top tables can achieve the same look in some cases, I have found that four-year-old boys and sharp -glass corners (or glass in general) are not a good combination.

Case closed. Now count it people that’s six chairs and four tables. I’ve got a problem, no? I’ll leave you with this last important point about this type of furniture. Acrylic tables are a really fabulous architectural addition to fort building.

Forty and Fabulous

Here’s a $40 golden nugget from Craigslist. I am in love with Craigslist. I also love the $40 that departed my wallet to purchase this little french star. The photo actually makes the material look better than it actually is/was. (Note to self: need better camera?) Let's be clear, this is not a silk damask. More like a poly-blend floral rash, in grandma mint-green nonetheless.

I’m currently redoing my pre-tween niece’s bedroom (more on that soon). Somehow, by the grace of Justin Bieber, I persuaded her to trust me with her space. Now that I am in the circle of said trust, I convinced her this chair would be a unique alternative to the ever-popular 'Pottery Barn Teen' beanbag. (This is not a knock on PB Teen. They have some standouts and I must say if you are are in the market to buy your 12-year-old niece a beanbag, this flokati covered one takes the cake. Cool, huh?)

The room is painted a pretty teal, and my idea is to accent with pink or coral/orange. Anyway, Plan A was to paint it a high gloss hot pink and cover it in a fun zebra print.

But then I ordered this awesome rug in coral from Garnett Hill, and so on to Plan B: to paint it a high gloss white and put some other funky fabric on it. Here it is in progress:

Fabric options:

I'm thinking the suede Kravet material in teal, with a zebra pillow (everybody, especially 12-year-old girls need a little zebra print). I'd like to do a big floor pillow with the suzani-like fabric, and recover the window seat with the stripe. After pictures of the chair coming when the reupholstery is donezo. I promise more pictures and information on the 'tween-tweaking' (ha ha) of her bedroom soon...

A Headboard Ahead

My friend’s little girl is going into Kindergarten -- the Big Time. Thus, she is upgrading to a nice queen size bed. Ahhh, the life. Truth is, her parents are upgrading to a King, so she gets the old Queen. Seriously, this little child is one princess who will definitely grow up to have all the grace of a Queen. Spunky, adorable, polite, and full of questions -- I love her! So when her mom, a very dear and old friend (I’ve known her pretty much my entire life), asked me to tweak the tired headboard, of course I said yes.

We debated about what to do with it. Her room is a very light yellow with pink accents in the curtains and bedding. My vote was to‘funkify’ the plain jane headboard and paint it a high-gloss, hot pink just to spark it up a notch, à la this:

(image via Elle Decor)

Note the gorgeous chest on chest in the corner of the room. The fact that it is painted bright yellow is totally unexpected and playful. I LOVE it, and always reference it in my head when I go scouting for furniture, or plan to redo a room. Case in point, I painted my son's bed bright orange. (Anyone know who the designer of this room is? I saved the image a while back as one of my favorites.)

But her momma, otherwise known as the boss in this situation, politely said “Um….no,” every time I mentioned the idea of the hot pink headboard. To my trained eye, what she was actually thinking was “Um, no. And, seriously Katherine, you crazy!” Maybe I was a little ahead of myself?!

The beginning to the end of this little story is that we settled on my ole standard, the antiqued look. Hey, a little patina goes a long way.

Here is the headboard before:

Plain Jane, No Thank You Mam.

And after:

An Oxymoron of a Headboard: Newly Antiqued

I obviously need a better camera than my iPhone. Anyone have any suggestions? These pictures do not show off how gorgeous the bed turned out. As soon as she has it up in her room with her bedding, I’ll post another picture with hopes that her momma has a better camera than moi.

Mustard on the side please...

Who likes mustard? Me, me, me!!! (hand raises). How about some mustard velour? Yeppers, see the abomination below....

You know what they say: What's one person's mustard, yellow velour is another person's...um, project? Yes, mine. All mine. I found this beauty in one of my favorite consigment shops in the 'Must Go' section. I paid next to nothing. Sadly, the '70s fabric and the awful speckled, cheap wood met their demise at my hands.

I stripped the sucker down. The hot mustard velour met it's soul-mate in the form of a sturdy, and perfectly nice green plastic trashbag...and they lived happily never after. A little sweat, sanding, priming, painting, etc. later, and we arrive here...

Some details of the nice lines and carvings on the chair.

Attention mustard fans, it's looking a lot better now, agree? I am loving this chair, and an added bonus -- it's super comfortable. Unfortunately it sits hidden and naked in my closet (please excuse the mess) because I cannot decide on a place, nor a material for it. Sugestions?

I'd like to do something similar to what I did with my dining room chairs. A nice neutral stripe or suede on the front and some fabulous silk chinoiserie on the back. See dining room chairs:

Look out for a final photo when this baby finds a home. Until then, I'll take my mustard on the side please. Ketchup anyone?