Box cushions and wood and some casters equal fabulosity

Right now, I am resting my tired dogs on my old nursing stool, so I get no points for style. But I wood would get points for style if I took it upon myself to whip up a rolling DIY ottoman with these sweet cushions and just the tiniest bit of elbow grease using the instructions originally found in the sadly dead Blueprint and then later on in Martha’s blog and then even later on in Casa Sugar. Looks easy enough, though I think if I were making one of these DIY ottomans I’d sew the pillows together tightly (and as invisibly as possible) and then attach them to the base.

What do you think – is the end result worth the time and effort when a cute cube ottoman will not break the bank?

Just a quick tidbit of inspiration to get your mind rocking and rolling on a Monday otherwise filled with boring things like TPS reports and people asking you how your weekend was even though they don’t actually give a fig. ACTUALLY, SCRATCH THAT. I give a fig. Please tell me and everyone else how your weekend was in the comments and we can all virtually high five each other because we are awesomesauce.

OMG that chair!

OMG that wall!

P.S. – Have you visited Unhappy Hipsters lately? It’s still a winner! And it makes me giggle especially since not too long ago I had some peeps who lived in a Brooklyn apartment that would have been so perfect for that blog.

Images: Lonny

It’s so easy to get stuck when it comes to furniture. As in, ‘I don’t need a sideboard because I don’t have a dining room’ or ‘What could we possible use a bench for in our house?’ It’s especially easy when you have a chance to acquire a free piece of quality furniture.

But wait! Maybe you don’t need another dresser, but you’ve been looking for an amazing and different bathroom vanity. Or what you really want is a bookshelf by you keep finding bench after bench. Kitchen tables abound, but no desks… chairs, but no side tables… coffee tables but no desk and hutch combos. That sort of thing. My question is: Why get so focused on what a piece of furniture is? Why not focus instead on what is might be?

I know that repurposing furniture isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but who says you have to do it yourself? Maybe you have a friend who loves that sort of thing and will hook you up with your new shelves, vanity, or whatever for the price of materials plus a little extra. Or maybe there’s a pro in your area looking for some extra work. I mean, come on, check out this sweet repurposed furniture!

Inspired by Holly Golightly's bachelorette pad?

Two different shelving options, two different seats!

(more…)

I am loving the big chunky farmer’s table smack dab in the middle of this otherwise very modern dining room by designer Vicente Wolf! Sometimes I look at my own house and realize that you couldn’t call it modern or traditional or cute or any other thing, really. My house is a mishmash of new and old things I’ve acquired and made over time, and things I’d love to replace but can’t afford to, and I do my best to make everything look nice together. I like how it’s turned out so far, though I’m always changing this or that. So if you’ve ever wondered why I love contrast so much, part of it is that I have to or I’d go crazy!

Contrast = Cool

What do you think about mixing old and new and modern and traditional and maybe something bright and shiny and expensive paired with something awesome you found on the side of the road? Because I love it. To me, a space full of awesome mixed treasures – arranged and chosen with some care, of course – is so much more fun and inviting than a perfectly coordinated and homogeneous space.

A different kitchen seating option

When you have a small kitchen or even a wee dining room – maybe even a tiny little breakfast nook – huge dining chairs with arms and upholstery can really take away from the space you do have. If you can’t shove your dining chairs all the way under your table… if you want to use a tablecloth… if it’s difficult to move your dining chairs from under the table without shifting the table, you have a problem. (And don’t even get me started on high chairs!)

The solution? Kitchen benches instead of kitchen chairs. Benefits of kitchen benches over kitchen chairs include the ability to easily stash your seating under the table when not in use, the ability to use a longer tablecloth without it bunching everywhere because chairs are in the way, and more versatility when it comes to how many people will fit at your table. The main downside of using benches in the kitchen is the lack of the back, which may not work for people with physical issues like back problems.

Anyone out there using kitchen benches instead of kitchen chairs? I’m thinking about making the switch, but I work at my kitchen table so I need to be sure that I’ll be comfortable working on a bench instead of a chair.

Is anyone else hearing Entrance of the Gladiators right now?

….well now you know.

(No kidding, that is maybe actually someone’s house. Love that sideboard – omg, Ikea? – but hating the rest.)

I should say first of all that this particular sunburst mirror was a cheap and relatively easy DIY project undertaken by Monica Ewing, Sunset Home senior designer. Okay, okay, so she’s got some home decorating cred that most of us don’t have, but the posted instructions seem pretty simple. And it obviously came out gorgeous, so there’s no reason we can’t try it.

Amazing what a little paint can do, no?

But this totally fun play on the traditional starburst mirror started out its life in plain white, and that wasn’t thrilling Ms. Ewing. A few coats of a trip of blues by Benjamin Moore, and this was the end result. Love it! Isn’t it cool what just a little paint (and a steady hand) can do?

There’s not much to say about tree stump tables, other than the fact that they exist, they can look pretty awesome, and if you’re so inclined, creating a DIY tree stump side table isn’t that difficult (as demonstrated beautifully over at Nesting Place last month). The look pretty good painted:

But many people chose to leave them au natural, and rightly so:

Better Homes and Gardens is down with the stump

In a pinch, you can even use a tree stump side table as a seat:

Great for... unrolling your blood-spattered parchment paper?

For the DIY tree stump side table, you could do like the author of Nesting Place and just grab something left behind by the tree services guys, but I’d worry about the possibility of creepy crawlies riding in along with the stump. Plus, you want something a little drier than a fresh cut log, so I’d recommend opting for something found at the firewood depot, like Karen at the Art of Doing Stuff did.

Sure, it’s a little rustic, but I really like this kind of thing when paired with other furniture that’s decidedly non-rustic. Whatdya think… too outdoorsy? Or just right?