Opulent Cottage

Our New Slipper Chair Slipcovers

When I first spoke of doing new slipper chair slipcovers, several of you emailed me, in horror, that I would consider covering our red chairs in a neutral color (you can see them here). Trust me, I haven't completely lost my mind! There's really a plan behind this madness.

 

Here's little history on the chairs. They came to me in 1997 when a friend pulled up in front of our house unannounced, carried them in, and said "I bought these chairs at a sample sale today. You need them. They're your color. And by the way you owe me 80 bucks." Seriously, I got both of these for just $80. 

 

They had really brightly striped cushions, and the red cotton that you still see below was on the base. I lived with them for a while, then decided that I was done with the stripe. I bought what I thought was enough fabric to slipcover both chairs, but never got any farther than the cushions, as I had not gotten enough fabric. Of course, when I went back for more,  it was sold out. These two fabrics matched at that point, so it was okay. But too many years sitting in west-facing windows led to this

They're gross. Seriously faded, and filthy. Aren't you glad I never showed this before ? :) 15 years of kids, animals, and family living will do that. It's really time for an update! When I realized that I had pinned white slipcovers over and over again, I knew I was ready to make the change. 

What a difference! I love them!

And again, this neutral base gives me more opportunity to change my pillows and accessories on a seasonal basis. They look great with the Christmas plaid pillows

And the Pottery Barn knock off sweater pillow (from a $2 thrift store sweater!)

 

Ticking stripes and toile would be an option, too.

How fun will it be this spring to make some vintage tablecloth pillows! I have wanted those forever, but they would never have worked with the old fabric. I can't say enought about how crazy I am about this fabric, the washed and bleached canvas drop cloths. This entire chair was done with a two-pack of drop cloths, purchased for $15. I was initially concerned that they wouldn't be light enough, but once on the chair, they appear lighter than the fabric actually is. It's a great cross between white and ivory. I really could not have chosen a worse time of day to take these photos, but I hope you get the idea.

Ugh, now the rest of the room looks horrible! I think I just created a few more projects for myself  :)

 

And while I do have a good amount of sewing experience, I truly feel that even those of you with just basic sewing skills could do this. I photographed the entire process, and hope to complete an organized tutorial in the next few days. Once you all see how simple it really was, I hope you'll be tackling your own slipcovers.

 

Thanks so much for coming by to see my new slipcover! I'll finish the second one tomorrow, then you all will probably get bombarded with more photos of these chairs than you ever thought possible.

 

I'm joining:

Diann's Thrifty Things Friday at The Thrifty Groove

Debra's Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground

Farmhouse Friday at Laurie Anna's

Courtney's Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage

Heather and Vanessa's Inspiration Friday At The Picket Fence

Karen's What Have You Redone at Redoux

Honey's Potpourri Friday at 2805

Sherry's Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home

Cindy's Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed

Jen's Weekend Wrap Up at Tatertots and Jello

Donna's Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors

 

Coupla Things

Piles everywhere. It's scary over here. But there has been progress! Want a sneak peek?

Mother Nature is just not playing along with my sewing plans this week. The forecast says 76 degrees today, 80 tomorrow. So NOT sewing weather. I'll be up at 4 tomorrow trying to finish my project, because I didn't get an early enough start today, and now it's just not going to happen. 

Minnie has found her spot for the day, in Abby's bedroom. She knows that soon she will be baking in full sun. From a hormonal woman's perspective, you gotta wonder, don't cats ever get hot?

Time to go, I have a date with the (very slowly shrinking) pile of mulch that's (still) in my driveway. Hope to see y'all tomorrow for my big reveal. Have an amazing day!

Love, Andrea

It's Almost Spring!

Is it too early to start springifying the house? I sure hope not, because the Valentine's decorations got put away this weekend, and something had to go up :)

Sunflowers always put me in a sunny mood. Believe it or not, I have had these for two weeks. Cheerful oranges and other produce brought out thoughts of spring, too. Although I'm losing part of this display tonight after we eat these artichokes!

My red Pier One birdie plates were paired with a sweet plate that my mom gave me awhile back, and some green canisters. Do you think those are spring onions, or leeks on the light green one? Another favorite thrifting find, I love to bring it out in the spring.

The ivy that I have been rooting is growing and happy! Now that we are probably past any hard freezes here in Dallas, I'll plant these outside and start a new batch. 

Have a wonderful start to the week, everyone! Thanks for coming by to visit.

Love, Andrea

I'm Joining:

Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper

Tisha's Show and Tell Party at Delectable Home

Susan's Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Nita's Mod Mix Monday at Mod Vintage Life

Marty's Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life

Linda's Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm

Kim's Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

 

Valentine Touches

Valentine's Day is always extra-special for us, as it's also our wedding anniversary. But this one marks a milestone -- 25 years! With our busy lives right now it doesn't really make sense for us to get away, so we're spending the holiday together as a family. I'm looking at it as a sort of four day weekend, with some fun outings, all of our favorite recipes, and plenty of treats. 

 

In the kitchen nook I set a simple table for us to enjoy the next few days. As a base I started with this floral tablecloth, which is actually a thrifted Pottery Barn sheet! 

I added some pretty roses in a tea pot,

A few candles for an evening glow,

and some dessert dishes, awaiting one of the many treats I hope to make for my family.

Some red berries, gingham ribbon, and a sweet ceramic heart decorate a simple twig wreath over our living room mirror. I bought two more of the dollar store kalanchoes, and I think I'll paint up these clay pots with something Valentine-ey. Wouldn't red and white checks be cute?

I'm so ready to start baking some yummy treats and desserts! What are you doing for Valentine's Day?

Joining

Diann's Thrifty Things Friday at The Thrifty Groove

Debra's Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground

Courtney's Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage

Sherry's Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home

Honey's Potpourri Friday at 2805

Farmhouse Friday at Laurie Anna's

Cindy's Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Laurie's Valentine Party at Bargain Hunting with Laurie

Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper

Tisha's Show and Tell Party at Delectable Home

Susan's Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Nita's Mod Mix Monday at Mod Vintage Life

Valentine Party at Dear Lillie

 

Valentine's Day Heart Shaped Rag Wreath

Do you all get the Lowe's Creative Ideas flyer? I signed up for it a while back, and have really enjoyed some of the projects that have been shown. (You can sign up for it here.) The project that caught my eye this month was a Valentine heart ornament, made from shop towels. I had never heard of shop towels, but I bet you can guess what color they are!

 

So I'm at the dollar store the other day, in the candle aisle, which happens to be across from the automotive supplies, and what do I see? Yep, shop towels! I immediately loved the linen-ey, burlap-like texture, and the deep, rich red color.

 

 

Brought a couple of packs home, and decided that I would use mine to create a simple rag wreath. Using pliers, I bent a wire hanger into a heart shape, and cut off the hook. I cut the rags in 1 inch strips, then in half lengthwise. It took only 2 packs of 4 towels each to cover the form completely, and I was done in less than one hour. I really packed the strips in there tightly, also.

 

 

Gotta love those $2 projects! The frayed edges give it a homespun and vintage appeal, which I adore. I tied on two pieces of gingham ribbon, and hung it in our entryway. I think I'll head back for a few more packs of towels, and whip out a couple more wreaths while we watch the game tonight. These would make a sweet gift for favorite friends for Valentine's Day, don't you think?

 

Thanks for coming by to see my wreath! I'm joining

Tisha's Show and Tell Monday at Delectable Home

Nita's Mod Mix Monday at Mod Vintage Life

Susan's Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Sarah's Before and After Monday at Thrifty Decor Chick

Linda's Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm

Kristin's Tuesday Treasures at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Mary's Share the Love at Very Merry Vintage Style

Kim's Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Judy's Winter Blues Wednesday at DIY By Design

Paula and Patti's What's It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants

Donna's Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors

Valentine Party at Dear Lillie

 

February First in the Garden

Our garden thinks it's spring here. So I decided to play along, and treated myself to a day of working outside. 

 

And to a few new flowers, I mean, isn't that what we do in spring?

 

A few weeks ago, we were the lucky recipients of a truck load of mulch. I wrote last summer about the free mulch supply at the local tree service. Sadly, that supply seems to have gone away. But fortunately, I remembered reading on The Quarter Acre Farm blog that if a tree service is working nearby, you can ask them if they would like to dispose of the trimmings in your driveway, rather than have to pay to dump it in the landfill. So ask we did. They unloaded their fresh mulch straight from the truck, and we tipped them enough for a nice dinner. Some firewood came with that deal also. Win, win!

 

 

I raked, bagged, and mulched. I needed to get on it, since the garden thinks it's spring, and the daylily shoots are coming up already. The flowering jasmine blooms are popping out. And my neighbor's Bradford pear trees are budding. I spray painted a couple of clay pots, so that when it's not spring anymore, which could be next week, I'll still have something cheerful to look at. 

 

 

Some friendly birdies entertained me, while nibbling from the seed I put in our windowsill. Our new mama squirrel, who is becoming quite tame, had her dinner with me working only a few feet away. Visitors to the garden are always welcome, and enjoyed.

I hope you are having a lovely day, wherever you are! 

Love, Andrea

Joining

Debra's Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground

Cindy's Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Liz's Fresh Cut Friday at Rose Vignettes

Donna's Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors

Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper

 

 

Ta-da! The Long Awaited Bedroom Bookcase

Why, oh why didn't I do this when I first thought of it? Maybe ten years ago? I was so afraid of feeling claustrophobic by taking up this whole wall. Like living with stacks of storage boxes was better? Not! So here's the big reveal folks, much in due to Karianne's urging to complete the Impossible Challenge!

I'm beside myself at having this additional storage! 

 

 

If you didn't see my first post about how desparately I needed some storage in our bedroom, it's here. This is what we started with:

I used a vintage chenille bedspread for the table skirt. I simply cut a width that equaled the height of the table, plus two inches for the hem and another two inches to lap over the top. Next, I stapled the excess onto the plywood top. For now, the top is covered with a leftover piece of canvas. In the future, I have a plan to create an actual table top from pallets, but for now, this gives me a way to cover the plywood. You could certainly just create your skirt to cover the top completely. I didn't want to do that in this case, due to the bumpy texture of the chenille. I was fortunate to have exactly enough to wrap around both sides, with just enough extra for a small pleat at the corners. 

 

Next, we created an open-backed bookcase. It was nice to have something made to my exact dimensions. I needed to leave space for our (hideous) TV, but wanted to utilize every inch possible. We just attached the top to the sides, then placed the shelves onto spray-painted metal brackets. It's ever so slightly wobbly though, so I'll probably attach it to the wall with another bracket, for stability. 

 

And I haven't even bought anything specific for this bookcase yet. Everything you see here are items I just plunked on the shelves from around the house. I shopped a little bit for storage boxes, but couldn't really get a feel for what I wanted, and how the space could be used. 

 

 

We're not done here by any means. The boards are a little rough, so I intend to glue some trim to the front edges. And for some reason, Home Depot gave us the worst cutting job we have ever seen, so they're really crooked, too. Oh well, if there's one thing I've gotten beast at here, it's camouflage :) I'm really so glad that we went to the extra effort to create something custom. I would not have gotten nearly as much storage out of a premade bookcase.

So we did it! What I thought was an impossible challenge, creating functional but also somewhat attractive storage in our master bedroom, has become a reality. Now it's on to the rest of the half-finished projects that are hanging around here. Thank you for coming by to see our new bookcase!

Joining Karianne's Impossible Challenge at Thistlewood Farm

Kim's Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Paula and Patti's What'sIt Wednesay at Ivy and Elephants

Overflowing with Creativity at Aimee's It's Overflowing

Mary's Share the Love at Very Merry Vintage Style

Twine Wrapped Candles

While the great purge of 2012 continues, I'm slowly rearranging our tabletops and perking up our decor again.

I'm not even sure how many bags have been taken to Goodwill over the last two weeks. Man, teens accumulate a lot of stuff. But now that Abby is about to go to college, we are actually saving some items for her first apartment. I have even caught myself picking up things I know whe will need, in preparation. She definitely won't have to worry about having empty walls or eating on paper plates.

One of the Christmas lanterns made it to this chippy table, and some cheerful plates were hung in the panes of my favorite old window. I wanted to add a little greenery to this vignette, but didn't want to go to the store and buy anything. So I clipped some boxwood, and wrapped these candles with some twine to hold it together. Kinda pretty, don't you think?

We enjoyed having these lit while we watched a movie Saturday night. 

Also, I'm thinking about painting that lamp. What do you think? There are much better photos of it here. 

I'm joining Susan's Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Nita's Mod Mix Monday at Mod Vintage Life

Sunday Showcase at By Stephanie Lynn

and Marty's Table Top Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life

Linda's Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm

Donna's Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors

Victoria Magazine January Copycat Challenge: A Timeless Display for a Potting Bench

Since putting away the Christmas decor, I have been a little stumped on where I wanted to go next with the potting bench on our front porch. I mean, it's winter. We still have plenty of nice weather in Dallas, but it could get cold any time. It doesn't make sense to spend alot on plants, but the bench is what I see right out my kitchen window, and I can't just look at it sitting empty!

Remember the magazines I spoke of earlier? Well, it turns out that there's a reason I have never parted with them. Enter Victoria magazine, January 2001. This beautiful vignette stopped me in my tracks. Every issue of Victoria that I have been going through is still as lovely and relevant today as it was when published. That speaks volumes about classic design, doesn't it?

 

 

I loved every element in the photo. Then I realized, I have all of this! The galvanized pails, a white lantern, and lots of crusty pots. I dug around in our back yard and storage area, and now our potting bench has a lovely new winter vignette.

Y'all know me:  most of these items were thrifted, yard-saled, or just plain plucked from the side of the road. Seriously, could you drive past a big trash heap with watering cans in it and not slam on the brakes? Leave perfectly weathered galvanized buckets to their fate in the landfill? I didn't think so :)  And if you haven't seen my Christmas post about the potting bench, it was saved from a big trash day heap, also. As was that pretty lantern with the cut glass panels. OK, they're actually plastic, but I couldn't even tell until I took it apart to paint it.

The lush kalanchoes came from our local 99 Cents Store, for a whopping $2. Succulents are $1 each there, and I'm going to start picking them up whenever I see them for a future Copycat Challenge. (Hint: did anyone else see the spring Country Gardens magazine?)

I love this little touch of freshness in the middle of January. Granted, it was 76 outside the day I set this up, and I had to go change into shorts. But this is Dallas, and next week it could snow. If it does, the kalanchoes and succulents will come and hang out in the house until it warms up. Last night we sat outside with our friend Katy, lit all of the candles, and enjoyed the beautiful evening.

Funny too, that I didn't read the article until I had finished, and learned that this is a store! In Paris! Maybe I should set up shop on my front porch, haha.

Thank you, Victoria, for showing us beautiful, timeless vignettes that are as fresh today as they were eleven years ago.

I'm joining:

Seasonal Sundays #84 at The Tablescaper

Debbie's Magazine Copycat Challenge at Debbiedoo's

Susan's Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Nita's Mod Mix Monday at Mod Vintage Life

Mary's Masterpiece Monday at Boogieboard Cottage

Party Time Tuesday at Northern Cottage

Linda's Nifty Thrifty Tuesday #98 at Coastal Charm

Marty's 100th Table Top Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life

Beth's Tutorials and Tips at Home Stories A to Z

Mary's Share the Love Party at Very Merry Vintage Style

Kim's Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Judy's Winter Blues Wednesday at DIY By Design

Paula and Patti's What's It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants

Sherry's Open House Party at No Minimalist Here

Gina's Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage

Jill's French Inspiration Thursday at French Cupboard

Joy's Thriftin' on a Thursday at Savvy City Farmer

Diann's Thrifty Things Friday at The Thrifty Groove

Debra's Vintage Inspiration Friday#74 at Common Ground

Farmhouse Friday at Laurie Anna's

Cindy's Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Jen's Weekend Wrap Up at Tatertots and Jello

Donna's Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors

 

Finding My Stash

When I cleaned out my stash in the bedroom, I found my crochet basket. Which is awesome, because I have been pinning an insane amount of crochet photos, and wanting to make something to give me relief from all the cleaning. There is an abundance of crazy gorgeous crochet projects on Pinterest. You can see my crochet category here.

So I finished up a small project -- miracles do happen! Especially when one is organized!

I blocked it, and now it's ready to become a pillow. That I have wanted forever. 

It looks so pretty against my going-to-be-white slipper chairs! The colors appear really bright in this photo, but are actually a tad more muted. I hope to back it in some really nice black velvet. (I'll tell my secret for finding that soon.)

And just for fun, some drool-worthy crochet photos from Pinterest:

This is a must-do for spring pillowcases

 

 

 

Oh goodness. How long might it take me to do every hanger in my closet? And these wood hangers are at my dollar store right now, pack of three.

 

 

 

I thought I might need resuscitation after seeing these

 

 

 

 

All photos from here

Even Minnie loves crochet. This is the reason that my bed doesn't always get made first thing every morning.

Thank you for coming by! Today I'm joining:

Debra's Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground

Sherry's Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home

Farmhouse Friday at Laurie Anna's Vintage Home

Honey's Potpourri Friday #20 at 2805

Heather and Vanessa's Inspiration Friday At The Picket Fence

Alison's Fridays Unfolded #50 at Stuff and Nonsense

Courtney's Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage

Diann's Thrifty Things Friday #42 at The Thrifty Groove

Cindy's Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Donna's Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors