Showing posts with label New apartment. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 01, 2012

DIY: Street Find Chair Redo.

Walking home in my neighborhood from CVS a few nights ago, I stumbled upon this poor little chair that someone left behind from their move. It clearly was not appealing to anyone in the shape I found it in but remembering what Lara Spencer said about "looking for good bones in furniture" in her book "I Brake for Yard Sales," I couldn't leave this find behind. Even though the chairs wooden frame wasn't in the best shape or quality, its art deco design won my heart over. After hauling this beauty two blocks and four flights of stairs later, my transformation began. With a coat of white paint and a quick recover job, I am proud to say I gave this once city dump destined chair a whole new look and home... Now thats what I call charity! :)

Read my easy how-to below...

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

-Paint (I used a paint that was similar to the one here. Semi-gloss in white.)

-Paint Brushes (I used one similar to the brushes here. They are perfect for apply a thick coat of paint so you only have to do one coat. They also give you smooth finished look.)

-Fabric (Bought from a fabric store on 39th street for $5.00 a yard.)

-Staple Gun and Staples

EASY HOW TO:

1) Remove cushion and paint wooden frame.

(No need to prime with this thick paint. Paint until frame is covered with a smooth finish.)

2) While you are allowing your paint to dry and your cushion is disassembled from your chair frame, take this time to recover it in your favorite fabric. Cut enough fabric to wrap around the entire cushion. (I also used a white fabric as my first layer to hide what could be seen through the stripe fabric... It was a little too thin and sheer for this project but it worked out.)

3) Tightly wrap fabric around cushion and staple with staple gun.
(Be sure that fabric is straight before you staple so the stripes are centered if your using a stripe or plaid printed fabric.)

4) Screw seat cushion back into the frame once the paint has had time to dry over night....

The Finished Product!

Saturday, July 28, 2012

DIY: Bathroom Makeover.

After watching "sex and the city the movie" probably 10 times while movie in to my new apartment (we needed some noise and our cable wasn't set up at the time), I became obsessed with Carries apartment redo at the end of the movie. I'm talking about the pretty blue walls to jog your memory... Yes! These pretty blue walls to the right! So first task on my list once we were all organized was to paint our helpless little bathroom "Carrie Bradshaw blue" - is what I like to call it. But really the paint color I purchased was called "Tropical Holiday" from one of my favorite stores Home Depot. All it took was a quart of paint ($15) and a few hours of my time. I would give you a little tutorial on my process but I think the pictures are self explanatory. Its amazing what a little inspiration and paint can do... "Helpless little bathroom" no more!

What You'll Need:

-Paint (Interior Semi-Gloss Enamel in Color: "Tropical Holiday")

-Painters Trimming Tape

-Paint Brushes

-Drop Cloths

1) Tape out the trim before painting

1) Paint first coat and let dry. (2 coats should get the job done)

3) Take down trimming tape once paint dries over night and re-hang all mirrors, etc.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

DIY: Dining Chair Recover.

New Apartment Goal Number One: Find a set of vintage dining chairs to put around our kitchen table that needed a little fixing up so I could put my own spin on them to match our living room. While my mom was in the city visiting, I stumbled upon the perfect chairs only one street over from my apartment. Not only was the price right at $90 for both of them together but they were almost exactly what I invisioned for our space.

When I purchased the chairs I was planning on painting their wooded frame white or black and then recovering the seat but when I got them home I loved the way the natural wood finish looked in our apartment. So really all these chairs needed was a good recovering job and a pretty fabric.. (easy enough right?!) I figured since I didn't paint them I could choose a more bold and risky fabric... So thats exactly what I did. I used a hot pink velvet fabric to cover the yuck greenish brown print that aged these pretty chairs.

I purchased the fabric down the street from the CK offices after work

one day at "Best Price Fabrics." I just randomly stumbled upon this
store and now I'm obsessed. I've already been back three times to buy more fabric for other projects. There prices are as amazing as the
selection. Most cotton fabrics are $5 a yard and then they go up to
around $15 for a silk. Below Is a picture of some of the fabrics I
bought (all of which were only $5 each.) They are located on 39th
street in between (7th and 8th ave) so you should def go check them out if you are in the area and love shopping for fabric as much as I do.

And I must say, I am very pleased my finished product... It has just enough modern and funky style from the fabric but still gives off a traditional feel thanks to its aged wood finish and shape. Images demonstrating my seat recovering process below...

What You'll Need:

-1 yd of Fabric for each chair cushion (depending on cushion size)

-Hot glue gun

-Staple gun

-Scissors

Cut fabric around chair arms before gluing down the fabric using a hot glue gun.

Finished Product:

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Finding the Perfect Bench.

So I got the white kitchen table I was dying to get 2 weeks ago and found 2 amazing chairs to redo for our seating! After all my hard work hunting down the items, I must say it was worth it for the money I saved and the satisfaction of finding exactly what I was looking for. I found my table at Housing Works Thrift in Chelsea for $75 + $50 to have it delivered and I found two antique dining chairs at a little thrift store a street over from me in Soho for a total of $90 for both... Quiet the deal, I must say! ("DIY: Chair Redo" post to come..)

CB2: OdysseyWhite Dining Table - (Originally $199, purchased for $125) at Housing Works in Chelsea

As I expressed in a past post, my vision for our

dining table seating is inspired from the picture to the right.... So I am in desperate need of a bench in order to capture this cozy breakfast nook look. I love how the rich fabrics, plush sofa seat and wooden chairs balances out the sleek modern style of the table. Uh, It's so perfect!

Dining Area where the table, bench and 2 chairs will go.

Since I haven't had as much time to really go out and hunt for the perfect bench these past few weeks, I've been doing a little online browsing to get an idea of what style I want. I do know that I would like for it to sit against the window and seat 2-3 people comfortably. Storage would also be a huge plus, but I won't sacrifice style for storage---duh and duh! Below are a few styles I've found online thus far that I think are pretty unique and somewhat affordable for what it is. Since I am in no hurry to get the bench, I am going to spend my next few weeks frequently stopping in my favorite local thrift stores in search for "the one."

****In the mean time, I would love to hear what you think about the styles I found below?