Tuft-Backed Suede Bench

The closer we get to the big day this weekend {June 7th}, the more I feel like we are no longer prepping for a garage sale.  It feels more like we are getting ready for a Furniture Debutante Ball.  For 2 months we have been coaching our thrift store finds into high-class, respectable pieces.  We've been taking their raw potential and honing them into something special.  And this Saturday, ladies and gentlemen, will be their BIG DEBUT to the public - and you're all invited!

When I found this bench, {my final sneak-peek installment until the sale!}, it looked more like adud than a debutante. The seat was crudely recovered in some sort of vinyl indicative of a 1950's motor home or a run-down diner and didn't quite match the bench back's fabric.  Now I love hole-in-the-wall places to eat, but the one thing I do not like is peeling my legs off the vinyl seat at the end of my greasy meal.  So, I had another re-upholstery project on my hands.

The lines of the piece are what caught my eye: mid-century modern with handsome tufted buttons.  But a closer look revealed that someone had tried to hold on to this piece for as long as they could. I removed the vinyl seat fabric to discover that the previous owner had tried to bandage it, literally bandage it {with gauze}, when the original tweed-patterned cloth ripped.  When the wound wasn't healing, they must have realized duct tape was a better plan and added that over top.  And when that plan went awry, they found a fabric that almost matched the original and used it to crudely recover the seat cushion.

But now... after weeks of repeating wear the crown, be the crown, you are the crown... we had ourselves a budding socialite!

If you didn't know this already, Chelsea and I love herringbone.  Check it out here,  here, and most recently here.  I chose a herringbone suede to recover the bench.  

Snuggly tucked-in corners.

And get this: it has brass feet!  {My Fave}

I dropped off my pieces for sale set-up at Chelsea's yesterday and I defy you to find me a cuter garage! Chelsea and Matt have once again expertly transformed the space into the classiest little showroom.  Get ready folks: we are getting ALLLLLL dressed up for this one!

This piece and many many other fabulous re-made finds are available for sale THIS weekend! 

Hope to see you there!

~Cate

This post was published under Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.

Cane-Backed Chair

It wasn't a "meet cute" - it was more of a "meet grimy."  I wouldn't have even noticed it had I not tripped on it in the thrift store.  But as I was rubbing my shin, I realized the chair had potential.  The brown shellacked wood was in good shape, there was no damage to the cane-backing, and the stained seat could be reupholstered.  So one newly-upholstered-seat and a fresh-coat-of-paint-later we had... this guy:

The wooden frame and cane were painted in another home-made chalk paint concoction.  The original color was a flat finish Behr paint called "Fashion Gray" mixed with Plaster of Paris and water to get this chalky finish.

I felt like the chair-before-bling looked too sweet.  Now it's a little edgy with its metallic touches.  I started by tacking the nails loosely in place to make sure I had the spacing right.

Once I was sure I liked the spacing, I nailed them the rest of the way in.  It's no secret that I am rapidly falling in love with nail head trim. 

Adding in this Chartreuse ikat pillow really plays up the edginess angle of the nail head.

I actually went to the thrift store looking for bookends... and (of course) I left with 3 completely random and non-bookend things.  The chair being the biggest prize.  Want to know what happened to the other 2 random thrift finds?  You'll have to check back in for a future guest post ;)

Look how far we've come cane-backed chair.  Can you spot Thor in the Before photo?

 Yes this chair would make a cozy addition to a sunny porch or a serene bedroom.  I hope he finds a good home come Saturday at the 5th Chelsea's Garage Sale!  Check back for the rest of our Week of Peeks - this and many many other show-stoppers will be available for sale THIS weekend: 

Contact us for the address - located in Herndon, VA. Hope to see you there!

~Cate

This post was originally published on Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as Chelsea's Garage.

A newfound love in 'Duck Egg'

Hey there! I've been starting to get some technique questions and was thinking about addressing all of them in one post sometime soon, but one popular one that I thought I would bring up today is how do I pick my paint color/decide what color to paint which pieces? Here's the thing: I am definitely not a person who collects sample after sample of various shades of the same color. I usually go to the paint store with a specific color in mind and scan the rainbow of swatches until I see it. Perhaps it's because I always have 3 little ones in tow and do not have the time to stand there and compare, but I rarely pick up any more swatches once I've found 'The One'. Colors that catch my eye tend to be very earthy; in fact, here are some of the paint names in the Garage: Coral Reef, Sandstone, Duck Egg, Bayou, Pebble Beach, Cumberland Fog, and Spring Mint. At the moment the Garage is full of over a dozen pieces all ready for this Saturday's sale, and I have each of the above colors represented somewhere in the collection. I absolutely love how the entire group of pieces look together! So many shades of gray, tan, cream, aqua, green, blue..it looks like a cohesive group simply because they're all very earthy tones. I love how you can mix and match natural colors in the home. You don't look outside and think the trees clash with the grass and the sky....so if you have earthy colors in your home, you can really do anything you want! And 'earthy' doesn't have to mean dull or lacking bright colors... Why not have an aqua end table with coral throw pillows and a foggy gray coffee table? Nature works so well inside the home! I know not everyone has the same taste, and thank goodness for that! I love walking into homes and seeing how people show their own personality and individuality through their decor and use of color.

Ok, enough chit chat, (and if you have any questions at all please do not hesitate to contact me)! One of my new favorite colors to use is Annie Sloan's 'Duck Egg' chalk paint. Such a FUN color! It's saturated enough that you could use it year round, mixing it up with golds, dark greens, burnt orange and eggplant purples in the fall and winter, or lighter peaches, corals, grays and tans in the spring and summer.

 Here is a beautiful side table with dental wood trim, fresh from it's 'Duck Egg' makeover:

(29.5d x 22w x 23.5h)

~available for sale~

Here is a chunky wooden chair which had originally been painted forest green on the backrest and legs. I just painted right over the green in 'Duck Egg' and then distressed it enough to see some hits of green here and there on the piece:

(17.5w x 17.25d x 37h)

~available for sale~

The last piece before the sale on Saturday is a cute little headboard that is in the Garage drying from it's fresh coat of....you guessed it, Duck Egg :)

If you are interested in coming by on Saturday contact me and I will send you the address. I hope you have a fantastic finish to your week!

~Chelsea