I think I’m in love. With a chair. Don’t tell my husband, okay? Vintage Thonet chairs become something new entirely when reupholstered in a bright blue fabric that’s been hand screen printed with a collection of California’s birds and blossoms. Sadly, these gorgeous chairs from En Route Studio will not be en route to my home any time soon. A set of four chairs costs $1,100, and as The Beard so sarcastically put it: “Cute! And they’re in our price range, too!”

I have to say that I am all at once inspired and mortified by this amazing girls’ room put together by Christina of Full House – inspired because oh em gee she did everything for less than $250 and mortified because I’d started to feel like my daughter’s room was coming together just a little bit and good lord it certainly is not in comparison.

I cry that I was not born with the gene that lets some people do amazing things on a tiny budget. But to all of you I say if you’ve got it, flaunt it! You can see how Christina did it here at Little Green Notebook!

How cool is this multi-drawer and multi-door sideboard from Boco Do Lobo? It’s described as being quite versatile, fitting into various decor schemes because its features various styles of drawers and doors, as well as a variety of materials (glass, wood, leather, lacquer, mirrors, and metals).

As you’d expect from a no-doubt wildly expensive piece of furniture such as this, the Mondrian sideboard features hand-carved this and thats, handmade brass pulls, cut glass knobs, luxe fabric lining in different colors, and so on. When it could be had, it could be had in white and black.

The more current version, the Soho sideboard, has a collection of wood drawers finished in mirror and black glass with etched detailing, gold leaf, diamond matched rosewood veneer, high gloss blue lacquer and white lacquer with hand carved relief patterning.

Wouldn’t it make a fun home for crafting and sewing supplies?

Aren’t these just yummy? I love baby furniture that doesn’t look like babyish, and these beautiful changing tables from The New Traditionalists definitely fit the bill. Their elegant changing table designs are crafted to work in the nursery and then (with the help of removable changing trays) become part of a kid’s room or even move into mama and papa’s bedroom or the dining room.

Did I mention you can choose custom finishes and color combos? My fave is the first shown, in the walnut with ‘hot lips’ lacquer, but all of The New Traditionalist changing tables (along with the cribs and grownup furniture) are worth a look!

Mod? Modern? Retro? Reproduction? I just love it when can’t tell just by looking whether a piece of furniture came off the assembly line yesterday or some forty years ago. That’s precisely how I feel about the Hara armchair. Designed by Giorgio Gurioli for Kundalini, it’s described as a “bio-energetic” seat (which means goodness knows what when it comes to furniture).

I just know I dig it. The Hara armchair comes in white, black, orange, red, chocolate, beige, aquamarine, light green, and my fave, bougainvillea. It’s suitable for indoor or outdoor use, since it’s made of lacquered fiberglass treated with UV-protectant. Did I mention it costs the big bucks? Think $4,500, plus shipping.

You’d think they’d hook you up with free delivery!

As tables go, I find this one an enigma. Is it modern? The lines are so clean and sharp. And the table top that seems modeled after a beautiful hardwood floor feels like an art piece.

But there’s something rustic about it, too. Something I can’t quite place my finger on.

Except I can because I have the Internet! Von Tundra‘s beautiful Rockwell table is unique in that it’s crafted from reclaimed and refurbished pallet wood (as are many of this Portland-based design house’s creations). Isn’t that cool? Recycling is awesome, especially when the end product turns out looking this good.

Can we just admit that most glider rockers are unbearably hokey? Nursery furniture has come so far in terms of design – right now I’m loving the Nurseryworks American Collection and the shop fawn&forest – that it seems a shame to insert a glider rocker that looks like something grandma bought way back in the day. And not your hip grandma, either! The good news is that things are changing, and glider rockers are starting to catch up to cribs and dressers and mobiles.

Here are two faves: the Empire Rocker from Nurseryworks and the Monte Luca Glider. What I like best about them is that they’ll look amazing somewhere in your house when the baby isn’t a baby anymore, which I think should be the goal of almost all nursery furniture.

Isn’t word association bizarre? I just found a gorgeous chair in the weirdest way possible, and so I want to take you on a short and strange journey through my thought processes. First, you have me remembering me when I shared a basement apartment with a good friend who was kind of nuts – in a fun way, I should add. For a while, he had a thing for saying “What is that, velvet?” in the reediest faux-Jewishy New York accent. I don’t know that anyone in my social circle knew where it came from. Next you have me deciding, on a random Thursday, to Google it, at which time I found out it’s a quote from Coming to America. At roughly the same time, in my search for the quote’s origins, I also found this:

It’s a reproduction of the classic french chair, flocked in blue, pink, purple, red, orange, or green and then upholstered in matching silk. No, it’s not velvet, but it is velvety and possibly less prone to scratches and dings as a result. English Eccentrics makes them to order, so they’re by no means cheap, but they are a lot of fun to look at and I certainly enjoyed finding my way to them!

After posting so many pics of other people’s DIY projects – like this and this and this – I feel pretty proud to finally post one of my own. I’m not sure what it is about being insanely busy, but when I am already insanely busy I suddenly am able to do more more more without sacrificing any more time. As far as I can tell, I either begin to work faster or time slows down. It’s one or the other. Lately, I’ve been working on about 80 projects (professional stuff, a class, the baby’s room, etc.) and yet here I am, with our kitchen shoe and bag table somehow suddenly updated!

I don’t have a good before picture because I usually start these things at random times when inspiration strikes and so there’s none of that crazy planning ahead stuff that would give me time to get a ‘before.’ Oh well. But I can give some background – I found that table while taking the baby out for a walk. Yes, I am one of those people who will pull perfectly good furniture that’s ready for a little update out of your trash. In this case, it was a homemade side table (there were two but I only took one) that was a yucky mustard color. With some leftover paint from my office, three pieces of craft paper, and some Mod Podge, I turned it into something old and boring into something totally fun and sweet… if I do say so myself.

Fun and function are not mutually exclusive in these “Cojines Cojines” cushions by Nani Marquina. Colorful building blocks and floor pillows come together in this cushions with small magnets that let you connect them any which way – longer, shorter, whatever you want. Unicolor? Multicolor? It’s up to you!

I love stuff like this. Superfun!