Chair Redesign HELP Needed!

Here's the thing. I have this set of four chairs. I got them because we had no chairs when we moved into our apartment in December 2010. The chairs are not bad, really. As a matter of fact I think a lot of people like them; I like them too. BUT I have a feeling that my dining room is taking a turn for the worldly- eclectic thing instead of the shabby chic french thing. My dining set is VERY fransch (thats 'french' with an accent) shabby chic. 

Should I redo the chairs in keeping with the french style and try to sell them all together as a set and start over from scratch? Or should I try to upholster them and make them more... current. My fear is if I try a bold pattern like ikat or chevron, they'll wind up looking puke-tastic.  Like peppy le pew in a cowboy hat. Doesn't work. He's french. They don't do that. Also, funny story. These chairs have been repainted 2 times now( in 4 months) because I can't figure out what the heck I want to do with them. See? I am nuts. Seriously. Head problems over here, people. 

white

gray 

My inspiration that tells me maybe, just maybe I can pull this crazy crap off : 

see? doesn' t that look so good?!

I should note that I plan on upholstering the caned back too... 

Here are some fabric choices I am considering: 

Are we noticing a trend here? Textural but still soft. 

What do you think? Honestly. But be nice to my poor muddled brain. I have no flippin' idea. I need help from all your fantastic designy-ness. 

xo,

Thrifting: The new personality test?

Do you guys ever feel like you have no clue what your "style" is? Some people just have it so down pat. They are "BEACHY" or they are "GLAM" and they do it oh so well. But what about those of us who are maybe a little of a lot of things? I went thrifting this weekend, and when I look what I brought home, I think they were pretty representative of the things I usually gravitate towards in design. So, move over Freud, so long, ink blots!  There's another personality test in town. 

Let's take a look. 

Classic design with an unexpected twist 

A collection of serene aqua bottles and a dainty silver shell-shaped tray

Wooden rustic candlesticks

And plain old-fashioned wall sconces. Want to know a thrifting secret? Saint Anthony. That's right. Patron saint of lost articles (aka, patron saint of thrifters).  I really REALLY wanted sconces for the dining room, and I could not find a matched set for the life of me. I prayed to St. Anthony and I found a matched set within 20 seconds. No lie. Thanks, buddy! 

So, what does my thrifting personality test say about my style? 

I think I like: 

Classic design/lines in my choices, BUT

I like things to be a little unexpected (a pop of color or a eye-grabbing arragement)

I like natural elements in my design

I don't mind being a little girly 

I like to surround myself with things that have a story and/or are unique 

What about you guys? What is your decor style? Have you honed in on it or are you still finding it? Would you say your current style represents you? 

xo,

We have a winner!

First of all, let me just say WOW to the response that this giveaway got. You all EXCEEDED my goal of reaching 100 followers! Now, I know us crafters/thrifters and penny pinchers just love free stuff, especially if it goes to subsidize our Pottery Barn addiction. But you guys have gone WAY beyond with all your comments and encouragement. I love finding new blogs and new friends! I hope you liked what you've seen and will keep coming back to play. 

Image courtesy of pottery barn

That being said, the lucky duck who won the giveaway is Lisa @ A Vintage Vine! 

Congrats, Lisa! 

Go ahead and send me an e-mail at margaret (dot) schaffer (at) gmail (dot) com, if you haven't already, with your info. 

To all you lovely followers- THANK YOU for playing! And stay tuned, because you never know when I might have another....

(dun dun duuuuun) 

xo, 

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating Feature!

Oodles of thanks over to Kate at Chic on a Shoestring Decorating for featuring my $10 DIY Upholstered Headboard in this week's episode of Flaunt it Friday! 

I'm pretty honored to be in a league with some of the other AWESOME stuff that's up there: 

In LURVE with this chalkboard wall. Woah. Structured *check* Bold *check* Versatile *double check*. Dear owners of House of Chic and Penoche, I will be arriving on Thursday. 

Bold (and home made!) curtains by A Thoughtful Place.  Love those stripes!

So, Kate - THANK YOU! And congrats on reaching 1,000+ followers! If you haven't checked out Kate's blog, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, go now! (But don't forget to come back! ) :D 

Have a great rest of the weekend! I, for one,  need to go mix up some more glaze if only I could peel my lazy butt off the couch... 

xo,

$1 DIY "Vintage" Art

Hi guys! Happy Friday! 

This is a picture of our new above-the-bed arrangement. I am just in love with sailboat sketch to the right. It's vintage and given to us by my father-in-law. I wanted to incorporate it with our super pricy headboard (NOT!)  I'm sorry. I watched Wayne's World last night. Our headboard (which is a Cal King size, by the way) you can see peeking in at the bottom is one I whipped up using burlap and poster board, and cost a whopping $10. You can find the tutorial here. 

Anyhoo. I wanted to incorporate that sketch and create a sort of rustic/beachy/ vintage collection of prints. Enter THE GRAPHICS FAIRY. If you do not know who she is - shame on you. She's got an EXTENSIVE collection of vintage clip-art taken from all kinds of stuff that she provides for FREE. That's right. FREE.  

Margaret likes free. 

I could have spent hours poking around, but I finally settled on these: 

I wanted them to look like vintage scientific prints, so I added their names and a figure number using the 'ol computer. I used Mac Pages, but I bet you can do it in paint or word. 

A Gryphaea is apparently an extinct type of oyster, if this type of thing is important to you. I just printed them off using regular printer paper (note: if you've got a heavier stock around, use it, cause next we're going to... ) 

Tea stain! 

Just fill a long, shallow dish ( like a casserole) with room temperature tea. Easy like Sunday morning. Just try to make it even and don't leave it in for too long or else it will tear when you try to remove it. Really just a minute or two at most. 

For the framing, I just modified two frames I got at the dollar store for- you guessed it- a dollar each! The brown one I sanded and did a coat of watered down white acrylic paint and for the gray frame ( sorry, I don't have a before picture) started out blonde unfinished wood, like you would find in a craft store. I just painted it up with some gray acrylic paint. So I got some great personalized art for a grand total of $1 each! Can't beat that.

And here's Cali making her first blog appearance! 

Enter: Another gratuitous picture of our pup. She's a ham, this one.

Happy Friday!
xo,

Before & After: DIY Upholstered Cane-Back Chair

This 'ol gal is probably one of my biggest personal *high-fives* to date. Here she is all done, currently occupying a lonely corner of our guest room. Let's take a journey back to what she used to look like: 

The picture doesn't show it very well, but the caning in all three panels was busted through in different places- hence why it was F-R-E-E on craigslist- SCORE. I loved the silhouette, but I wasn't about to try fixing that caning. I love the look of upholstered panels and parlor chairs, so I figured I'd give it a shot (not using a sewing machine, mind you). 

Here she is primed

Painted 

And Glazed 

Now, for the upholstering. For the back I cut 3 pieces of sturdy poster board to fit inside the back panels and upholstered them using batting and my fabric of choice. I then used a needle and thread and sewed them through the caning, securing the thread on the other side with super glue. And the back will look like this: 

For the front you just need quilt batting, a rotary cutter (HIGHLY recommended) and your fabric/ trim of choice. I cut my pieces of batting and fabric as close to size as I could, and just hot glued the batting directly on top of the caning. Then, using a scissors and a rotary cutter, cut the fabric as close to the shape of the chair as I could. 

I know, the unfinished edges look AWFUL. Never fear, trim covers a multitude of ickyness.

This picture above shows the 3 panels in 3 different stages. The far left has batting and fabric but no trim, the middle is just the batting layer, and the far right is the finished panel with trim. I attached the trim just with hot glue. 

See? That wasn't so bad! And we wind up with....

yay! 

P.S. Don't forget to follow me for a chance to win a $100 gift card to Pottery Barn! You have to follow me publicly by clicking that "follow" button over there on the left. Right above the pretty faces of all your other soon-to-be new friends!

P.P.S. Between me and you, I would REALLY like to get to 100, so come on- you want a $100 gift card, right??  :D

This post linked up to:
Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage 
Piece of Work Wednesday @ Primitive and Proper
Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed 
Look What I Found Friday @ Vintage Revivals


xo,

$100 Pottery Barn GiftCard Giveaway!

Due to all the amazing, lovely and inspiring comments from you guys over the past day or so regarding my headboard, I want to give something back to say THANK YOU! I know lots of you have been stopping through, so now let's get introduced! To be in the running for a $100 Pottery Barn GC, follow me! All you have to do is click that fun little button on the left that says "follow". Oh, and following publicly is really nice, so everyone can know we're friends. Now that we're friends, you should know that I really REALLY like comments. They make my day. 

 So don't be shy- say 'hi'! ( I know, my poetry is beautiful. ) 

What would you do with your gift card?

Perhaps some luxe bedding to go with your super thrifty headboard??

Images Courtesy of Pottery Barn

Go to town with their SALE items? 

Or put it towards something BIG? 

So go ahead- follow me by clicking the "follow" button on the left! Contest ends on Sunday, with a winner to be announced Monday! Can't wait to meet you!

xo,