Refinished Oak Dining Chairs

In keeping with all my other projects, I have another re-do of something from when my parents lived in this house. My dad built a super heavy oak dining room table and chairs that have looked the same since I was a kid. The lines are great and the chairs are comfortable, but they needed some updating. 

I'm not crazy about the color of the wood and while the chevron stripes on the fabric are currently in style (everything comes back into style!), the fabric is worn and tired looking. 

There's fabric on the back, too!  I've never reupholstered anything, so I was a bit unsure about what to do, but it turned out to be quite simple. The seat and back easily popped out. The fabric was stapled on. Simple remove staples and old fabric. I added some new foam to the bottom since the foam on those pieces was in need of replacement. Staple all around the edges while pulling the fabric taut.

The wood was only finished with Danish oil, so it was a simple sanding with 100 grit and then 220 grit sandpaper and two coats of Minwax Jacobean stain in a satin finish. I used a foam brush to apply the Jacobean stain. Not only was this my first upholstery project, it was also the first time I did a project with stain.  Easier than I thought! Just be sure to do two (or maybe three if you need it) even coats of stain.

I love the way the chairs turned out! The fabric is Waverly : Pkaufmann Cross Section in Charcoal. I bought it when Joann had a 50% off sale. 

Paint your brass chandelier white!

My mom purchased this brass chandelier for the dining room in the seventies. I know she paid hundreds of dollars for it back then - it's the real deal, folks. However, I'm not a fan of brass and I thought it was a bit gaudy in our tiny house. Bring on the spray paint!!

Ooh, look at all the brass!

Brass swing-arm lamp re-do

The brass, swing-arm lamps that flank our bed were here when we moved in. I'm sure my mom found these while thrifting years ago. While I haven't always been a fan of them (mostly because of the brass and the lampshades that catch dust like crazy), I have been grateful for bedroom lighting that doesn't take up any extra nightstand space. We're cramped in there, to say the least! 

The Before:

I had never really pictured swing-arm lamps as a permanent lighting solution in our bedroom, but when I saw this lamp from Pottery Barn I changed my mind.

Pottery Barn Chelsea Swing-Arm Sconce

The Pottery Barn lamps are great, but they're $99 each. Not in the budget. What is in the budget? Spray paint!

First, I washed the lamps with soap and water and then with alcohol. I decided to skip sanding since I'm applying a primer. Tape off any areas you do not want to paint.

Cabin inspiration

While I usually prefer decor that leans more toward modern or transitional, our current house has elements of a cabin. The setting (in the mountains) and the cedar siding, as well as the wood ceilings in the house all scream cabin!  

I've been torn about how to decorate. Do I go full-on cabin or do I mix modern elements in with the cabin detailing? Or, do I gut it and go all modern despite the exterior and surrounding landscape? Okay, so a major gut job is not in the budget and truth-be-told, the cabin style is growing on me. Take a look for yourself at some of the amazing cabins that are out there. 

I love the railing on this one:

traditional exterior design by san francisco architect Ward-Young Architecture & Planning

It's a lot of wood, but the high ceilings and ample lighting keep this living room looking spacious.

traditional living room design by minneapolis design-build Lake Country Builders

Gray Inspiration

I've been busy ridding my kitchen/dining area of plain white walls with a splash of, well... gray. It's not Tomato Red or Laguna Green, but it is my favorite color. Or is gray a non-color? Hmm, deep thoughts...

I still have another coat to go before it's even worth taking "after" photos, but I'm already loving it!  Why do I adore gray? It is a neutral, which means you can pair it with any color you want - blue, green, orange, yellow, red, purple... the possibilities are endless.  I think gray is sophisticated and sleek and it makes other elements in the room shine. It's easy to keep a gray room from looking gloomy by pairing it with warm toned and/or colorful art, floors, rugs, furniture, window treatments, and accessories. If you think gray is drab, check out the photos below:

I absolutely love the way gray makes white trim pop!

traditional kitchen design by los angeles interior designer Suzie Parkinson S�ZA DESIGN

Gray works in a bathroom with white, cream, and tan.

contemporary bathroom design by toronto interior designer BiglarKinyan Design

Show the laundry room some love

When I was growing up the laundry room was either a dark, dank room tucked into the corner of a basement or a completely utilitarian room that received no attention when it came to decorating.

Not so anymore!  The laundry room can be anything you want it to be. Light and bright, sleek and sophisticated, rustic and earthy. I don't know about you, but I dread doing laundry. Having a pretty space to do it in certainly couldn't hurt!

One of the other positives - the laundry room is usually smaller than other rooms in the house. That means you can achieve a big impact on a small budget! 

Love the how the white pops against the blue wall. 

Container Store

Beadboard, open white shelving, and wicker baskets make this a clean, bright, country laundry room.

Houzz

Home staging tips

We recently (as in, oh, four days ago) sold our house.  It was posted on the MLS (multiple listing service) Thursday morning and we had an offer by Thursday afternoon (yes, the same day!).  That's almost unheard of in today's market!  While I'm sure there was a fair amount of luck involved in this, there were also some well thought out moves on our part that definitely helped the house sell quickly.

Home Staging

I really do believe that the way I staged our home contributed to the quick sale. Home staging involves moving furniture and decorations to best highlight the positive features of your house. 

1.  Declutter, declutter, declutter!

This is one of the most important things you can do when getting your house ready to sell.  Pack away personal items such as family photos or anything that you're not using at the moment, like those 5lb weights I bought and have barely used.  You want people to view themselves living in your house - so anything that is specific to you should be removed.  As a bonus, it gives you a head-start on your packing!  

This is one of our guest bedrooms that also acts as a storage space for items that don't have a home anywhere else in our house (suitcases when not in use, exercise gadgets, extra blankets, etc.) 

I neatly stacked away anything that was taking up floor space in the bedroom closet. The futon was covered in a clean sheet to brighten it up (the mattress is black and super difficult to keep clean).  The objective here is to make the room look as large as possible by removing all distracting clutter. 

2.  Let there be light! 

When taking photos to put online and before anyone ever came to view the house, I walked through the house and turned on every lamp and light in the house.  Despite having large windows that let in plenty of light, turning on all the lights adds a brightness and cheeriness to your house.  Think about it - no one wants to buy a dark, gloomy house!  

Our master bedroom isn't huge, but with the blinds of both windows open, both bedside lamps on, two lamps on the dresser on the right turned on, and the ceiling fan light above the bed on, the room looks bright and spacious.  

It may seem like overkill at first, especially since most of us don't turn on every single light in the house when we're chilling at home.  But people will be busy looking at different features of your house and will most likely not think "why are all the lights on?".  Instead, they'll remember how bright and cheery your house is.