Furniture Graveyard

Ever wonder where old hotel furniture goes to die?  If you have a taste for a bargain, and you can use your imagination, you have got to check out any Hotel/Furniture Liquidator -- every major city has one, or two or many.  

So it's not exactly high end shopping.  More like hold your nose, be prepared to sweat (this one has no AC), and try not to be too turned off by the dust and grime layering half the items. What you can expect are lots of $25 lamps, $50 chairs and sofas, $40 headboards, etc.  It is the Rodeo Drive of Cheap. (Again, only if you bring your imagination).

My eyes just light up at those price tags and all the nothings that I think I can turn into somethings. 

Here is a $40 chair from a Liquidator I reupholstered in Kelly Wearstler Sand Strie.  One of the most comfortable chairs I own.  

And bonus, when you buy something this cheap, you can afford to use expensive fabric.

$25 Artichoke lamps:
(I bought a pair now in my living room)

Thought about gold leafing them, but didn't need any more gold in the room, so I just gessoed, spray painted and added a new shade.

Excuse the mess on the couch. 

The moral of this story is some old furniture is like a cat -- 9 lives and all that.  Remember, it's not illegal to shop in this graveyard.*  Have fun!  *(I'm such a fool for a metaphor.)

Humpty Dumpty is Getting Smashed

Do you think Humpty drinks SkinnyGirl cocktails?  Unlikely.

Everybody has one – that place in your house where the excess lives.  Sometimes it’s just a drawer, or maybe it’s a spare closet or empty corner cabinet filled with all the idle, perhaps unattractive, accumulations of life. 

Admit it...you have a room that needs to be Put Back Together Again too. 

These Humpty-Dumpty spaces should come with warning labels: Beware of Infestation.  Junk multiplies, and soon that one junk drawer becomes two (I have two in my kitchen alone), and the door to that cabinet/closet takes extra muscle just to shut properly. 

Take my advice: talk Humpty off the wall, before all his pieces clutter your house.

It’s time for an intervention when an unintended space, i.e. something that is not a closet, cabinet or drawer (a room per se), becomes your clutter receptacle.   

   

Clutter Cops Crime Scene:  Once a place to serve up high-balls, the functional but drab wet-bar space became my clutter recepticle in the recent redecoration.  I painted the cabinets and upgraded the hardware a few years ago, but its sat untouched since.

So on a whim and a spare moment, I decided to clear it out, mix my own color (that was interesting), and put it back together again in some fashionable manner. 

All the King's horses and all the King’s men (uh, me)….
and I sort of put it back together again.   

The color came out pretty well -- it's sort of a pinkish/purplish greige in a very high gloss.  I want to accent the space with gold (going for a Hollywood Glam Look).  The gold leaf wall sculpture was a $20 el-cheapo purchase from Michael's.  I used wire-cutters to snip off the dinky looking birds and other stuff and spray painted the leaves gold, et voila!

'Mr. T' -- our once lime green Foo Dog finally found a home, plus a light grey paint job:

Mr. T, our Foo Dog:  "What you talking abt. Foo(l)? Quit yo jibba-jabba!"  

Waiting on another gold framed pic and possibly a little bar stool to upholster
(in the fabric you see in corner).

Yes, I literally upped the bar this past weekend.  It still has a bit to go with styling etc., and I've got another picture getting re-framed.  I’ll post finished version soon!

Til then, at least Humpty Dumpty has a placed to get smashed, properly.   Cheers!

Summer Blockbuster

Summer kidnapped me and left the blog Home Alone, but the only thing breaking into this house was The Usual Suspects:  vintage finds, re-up projects and a compulsive re-arranger (that would be me).

If you recall, the fabulous coffee table find created The Perfect Storm to redecorate, and plunge into a creative Matrix around here.

Remember me? (don't pay attention to the background...work in progress)

Mission Impossible this was not.  Moving art, and furniture from one room to another until Twilight and beyond is Much Ado About Nothing for me.  It’s Love, Actually.

Here’s a little sneak preview of the coming attraction in the den:

I can’t wait to show you photos of the ‘final cut”!

Until that project's finished, here’s a little Hide and Seek fairytale to celebrate the end of my summer hiding.

 

Who's hiding now?  (note the zebra hide on the floor & french chair in
the corner - an ebay find waiting for her knight in shining new upholstery) 

Once upon a time a Sleeping Beauty was resting on the living room floor.  Things around the house got a little Tangled.  Yes, the hide from the floor is now on the chair.  From Cinderalla to Beuty and the Beast:

   

Thus, The Never Ending Story of my house (ha ha).  More on the shake up soon.

What I've been up to...

Tweaking....


from flat paint (original headboard):

to....
I got artistic with the antiquing and the border: 

to this (the headboards are going below some extravagant, antique trumeau mirros with gold leaf, and the client really needed them antiqued in just one color): 

 

Also, checking in on drapes in progress for someone else's condo (coming along nicely):

Room planning for someone else...
Original room plan/mock up (french chic):

(sorry this pic is a bit stretched?)

 to this (more modern):

 to this (more colorful, playful and modern):

(I'm obsessed with the antique Klismos chairs I found for this look.  I wish I could have them for myself!)

 

(drapes, color scheme and fabrics for the look -- plus the glam piano bench)

to this (the above new layout but with the softer color scheme of the first few looks):

(Can't wait to you see the actual space before and after once we decide on the look...)

Anyway, just moseying along, people!  

which looks do you like the best?
xo,
Kat

The Attic Bedroom: Rated PG-13 (almost)

Starring an almost 13-year-old and her room.  Special appearance by: Justin Bieber!! 

Seating fit for a Tween Queen: floor pillows, frenchy chair, and chalk tables!

Since movies have been shot, edited and canned in less time than it's taken me to premiere photos of some of my completed projects, I'm rolling out the red carpet for this 'After' series. 

The seating area above is from this room...rememeber it?:

Imagine it a white box with a sad green window seat.

 (This pic. was taken after I painted and treated the walls with a glossy turquoise.)  

Drumroll....

detail of greek key trim on the drapes...loved the way they turned out!

the chalk board tables I made -- a huge hit with she and her pals!

the Craigslist chair I redid

And making his cameo, as promised:

The Biebs playing his most popular role: adorning a tweener's bedroom door. 

Special thanks to my wonderful brother-in-law, photographer West Freeman, for shooting these 'after' photos!  (The Biebs photo courtesy of my iphone).

No Mommies Allowed

While I've been busy not blogging, a certain five-year-old in my house has been busy maturing into a teenager.  Seriously, he turned the big 0-5 on Monday and he's already trying to get rid of me.  


The fiver in question politely asked me to help him write a sign for his door.  As he dictated, all I could think was:
a) He was so courteous about asking me to stay out.  
     (Notice the two 'pleases'...I can pat myself on the back for that.)
b) At least he's still calling me Mommy, and not by my first name yet.
c) He only asked me to stay out for A minute -- that's not that long.  I can handle that.
d) Where has my baby boy gone?


The best feature of this door sign is, of course, the drawing he created at the bottom:

That's a picture of me in the circle with a red X on top of it.  

So in the event that I can't read what I wrote, I can refer to the 'No Mommy Allowed' symbol.  He's a genius!


Here's big boy's room:

The mid-century chest actually came from grandmother's house --
it was in my Dad's room growing up!  I hand colored the old baseball photo above it.

I love this flame-stitch wing chair!  The colors in the room are green
and blue with orange accents so I put a fun orange zebra  pillow .

You know me and how I love to paint things...his bed got the orange treatment!
I painted the pop-art piece above his bed to add more color.

Sock monkeys with an awesome needlepoint pillow by his God-Momma!

His bookshelves are such a mess right now I will spare you that view.  I really want to do some canvas curtains in here with a fun blue trim, or just a big fat blue border on the bottom.  What do you think?  You think this look can last him a few years?


And speaking of kid's rooms...my niece's room is almost finished!  It has taken forever due to several fabric back-orders.  But, curtains are done and hopefully will be put up this weekend!  Look out for pictures soon!


xo.