Guys, I have achieved a life long dream.
Sophie and Shenanigan (and JT a little bit too) were included in Desire to Inspire’s weekly “Pets on Furniture”. See the post here.
Kim and Jo of Desire to Inspire cull the interwebs and pull together great inspirational images but my favorite part is definitely every Monday when they do “Pets on Furniture”. As an animal lover AND a furniture lover, it doesn’t get much better.
Speaking of furniture, we have news . . . .
Most of you guys know, but both JT and I are full-time workers. Really most people are full-time workers but there are a lot of bloggers out there who are not 8-to-5 office types so I thought I would say it. We’re 8-to-5 office types. And lately for both of us the office stuff has been a little hectic. So after an 8-to-5 or 7-to-5 or 7-to-7, neither of us really want to come home and do a lot of little stuff around the house. So we don’t
But when the weekend rolls around, there’s so many free hours to work on all those little (and big) projects that go unnoticed during the week. And small steps keep getting made. I’m sorry if these little things are a little boring or tedious, but for us, it’s all we got right now. At some point, I’d like to have some amazing *ta-da* before and after pictures. But right now we’re kind of in the middle of everything and just taking baby steps to get on through.
So here’s this last weekend’s progress.
Wait, that doesn’t look like progress, that looks like laziness. We actually took the dogs to Francis Park (a gem in South City) and ran them around so they were pretty bushed. It wore us down too but when there’s nice weather and some sunshine, you gotta get out. (And projects gotta wait. Them’s the breaks). But for those of you with very discerning eyes, you may notice that I did paint the vent cover on the back wall that was driving me bananas. Small thing, but it helps it blend away more now that it matches the wall color. (It would be even more hidden but I took down the peperonia plant to water it and left it on the windowsill to get a little sun for the day.)
The other little thing I did was some spray paint fun. We have had this nice large ice bucket for some time. (I think I got it as a college graduation present from my aunt and uncle? Like I said, long time.) In our first apartment, the baby blue made sense. Now I wanted to make in our more sapphire/teal blue to give the kitchen a little color (and a little more storage.)
That before picture of the kitchen make me shudder and that was only a few weeks ago. It feels so much different in there now! I started out with the same spray paint I used on my “T” collection a little bit ago here. But it ran out and a spray paint hunt ensued. I visited Home Depot AND Lowe’s and neither had an exact match. So I ended up having to start over with a Valspar can I got at Lowe’s. The color had more blue and a little less green than the previous can, so I had to re-coat and re-coat. And my little Rustoleum attachment spray handle didn’t work on the Valspar can either. Boo. I ended up Smurfing myself a little by getting some blue back-spray on my hand. But it was worth it (although this next picture is a little underwhelming – the color is so much nicer in real life . . . .)
Now we have a nice out-of-the-way place for all our oils and vinegars that we buy in bulk. JT and I cook a lot and from scratch too so our kitchen gets pretty heavy use. I’m thinking on the upcoming IKEA trip (how many times can I mention this trip before it happens? I think I’m up to 6.) I will get a little plant stand on wheels to put under the bucket and make it a little more useful so it can just roll out from under the buffet. I also did my “I hate cords” trick and taped the microwave cord and it’s extension cord to the back of the buffet. Cords be-gone!
We also had a visitor who bought one of our Craigslist items. One down, one to go. Now we’re left with this . . .
Just a little microwave cart waiting for a new home. I moved Little Walter (the tree) over to this spot — he’s sick!!! I had purchased and photographed him a few weeks before I got around to posting about him and now he’s not doing so good! I’m hoping by moving him away from the exterior wall, he will stay a little warmer and spruce back up. I also watered him a little more but I have anxiety about over-watering and thus drowning my plants. I set him up on the milk crate for now because a) I kind of like the height and am using it as a placeholder and b) I’m kind of nervous Shenanigan will lift his little stubby leg on Little Walter so I wanted to get him used to having a big plant near his level.
Any other ideas on what to do for poor Little Walter? I was holding off on re-potting him until after the IKEA trip (#7!!) but I may have to bite the bullet and do it now.
Have a great week everyone — it’s 8:08 now and I have some office craziness to attend to!
Posted in Around the house, Design Diversions, Dogs, Furniture
Tagged craigslist, dogs, houseplant, indoor tree, kitchen, lazy dogs, spray paint
Weekends have been good over here at Living Analog — things keep moving around and I keep checking items of my January to do list to get me closer to my big project goals — living room, bedroom and kitchen.
This weekend I hit the kitchen. By just rearranging a few pieces we already had, it made a big impact and set in action a chain of events that will (hopefully) lead to getting the kitchen to a happy place.
The wood buffet used to be in the dining room. I was sick of all the clutter (and mess) of the open shelves in the kitchen and decided it was time to do something about it.
Now a lot of special use items like the ice tea maker, griddle and food processor can sit down in the big drawer of the buffet. The top drawers are deep enough for our ramekins and other cooking utensils. The wood contrasts nicely off the white tile and adds an element of warmth to the kitchen. It’s not a huge change but it’s enough to make a difference and get me started with the kitchen.
There are still many, many things to be done before this space is looking ship-shape. We are putting down warm grey ceramic tile, and I need to do something about the wall color. There will be window treatments and cafe curtains on the door. The knife rack is going to be relocated to make space for some artwork and a pot rack is going next to the glass block window. I’m on the hunt for a smaller microwave — that sucker is ginormous and takes up more room than I’d like. I also need to sand and paint the door, especially where Shenanigan keeps kicking it. Maybe we’ll get him a bell instead — that seems a bit more genteel.
The big blue bucket you could see in the “before” pic is currently at our “spray booth” (aka the back yard) getting a coat of teal. It will come back in and sit under the buffet to hold some bigger items live vinegar and vegetable oil and rice. These pictures are making me realize I need to get in there and corral that cord as well — I hate cords!!! I’m also not loving the wood bread box on the wood buffet so that might get shifted around too . . . things are always shifting and moving around here (to the point where JT usually has to ask where I’ve put something . . . .sorry hubby).
I’m so excited to finally start implementing all the changes I’ve been dreaming up for the last little while now. Unfortunately moving things around also tears up the rest of the house as things are temporarily relocated and accessories readjusted. Case in point — the dining room where the buffet used to sit:
Right now it’s a holding zone for all the things that will go in the future-shelving-unit-with-glass-doors that I’m on the prowl for. I’ve got a few leads too . . . but until then, it’s life with the repercussions of redecorating. I currently have these bad boys up on Craigslist here and here. Craigslist doesn’t seem to be turning things over for me or JT (with guitars) as quickly as it was before. Has anyone else run into this? At any rate, a little rearranging does a body (and our kitchen) good.
Posted in Around the house, Furniture, Kitchen
Tagged black and white tile, craigslist, kitchen, knife rack, microwave, open shelving, redecorate, redecorate kitchen, spray paint
I’m going on an upholstery hunt this weekend for the new daybeds. And then (small drumroll) I think I am going to try to sew these cushion covers myself. Yikes.
As I scour St. Louis for that perfect fabric (you know a bright white one that repels all stains and dog hair. That exists, right?) I found an inspiration image to use as a starting point.
We already have the same starting canvas – blue front door, hardwood floors, light walls. Since the daybed also has wood frames, I like the look of this sofa — white cushions layered with blankets, pillows and SHEEPSKINS! for our living room. This is Liz’s living room and it was featured here on Apartment Therapy. Pretty sweet. I’m digging the rug as well and wondering what Sophie would do to a shag. . . .
But while I’m out and about hunting fabric, I also have my eye out for a few other things. I showed you guys my shameful kitchen pictures the other day and now I am in the process of rearranging everything. The metal tall shelf and microwave cart are going bye-bye (or should I say hello craigslist) and I want to move our nice buffet into the kitchen to class it up a bit and give some hidden storage rather than have everything out on shelves like we do now.
So that frees up the wall opposite the dining table and I’m on the prowl for some closed shelving. Dog hair is our constant companion and I want to put our wine glasses and barware behind glass to keep it cleaner and more usable. (Right now it needs a good rinse before any wine glasses get used.)
So, if anyone happens to find something like this . . .
Image from http://www.idealsurroundings.blogspot.com
Or this . . .
Image from West Elm, http://www.westelm.com
That would be great. We’re also in the market for a new coffee table. I’m thinking round to shake things up a little. I saw the perfect one on an early episode of “Secrets From a Stylist” on HGTV. Does everyone else watch that show? I highly recommend it — she uses so much vintage and thrift finds in her rooms.
I’m not 100% sure what episode this was from, but you can watch them online too . . . This table is pretty close to perfect – round with glass so it feels more open.
I was considering this affordable-ish ($300) marble job from cb2 until Brookyn Limestone spilled that it is a little on the short side. (Design Within Reach has a similar one for three times the price as well . . .)
Obviously the perfect coffee table would be a tulip (as I have obsessed over here and here . . . )
I don’t think one of these lovers is coming my way anytime soon. Sigh.
I do have one trick up my sleeve – another Ikea trip is on the horizon. Yes I need therapy. Yes St. Louis needs an Ikea. The Strind might be my Swedish coffee table savior.
It’s round, simple and clean and has a bottom shelf for extra magazine and book storage. Also, for a Benjamin Franklin, it’s not too expensive and should my tulip come along, I could easily bear parting with the Strind to the gods of craigslist.
So that’s Furniture Friday. Does anyone else obsess about furniture this much? Maybe we should start a support group. And meet every Saturday at the nearest antique mall . . . JT’s guitar eBay auction ends tomorrow so maybe I might have a little extra furniture cash . . . Have a great weekend everyone!
Posted in Around the house, Furniture, Thrifting
Tagged Apartment Therapy, area rug, AutoCad floor plan, cb2, craigslist, danish coffee table, Design Within Reach, furniture, furniture floor plan, furniture shopping, hairpin legs, Ikea, inspiration image, rearranging furniture, Saarinen, shag area rug, small house floor plan, Strind, thrift store, thrifting, tulip table, upholstery fabric, West Elm
One of my big goals for 2012 was to restyle the living room. (I’m going with restyle because I HATE the word tweak. HATE.) To make my big goals more accomplishable (that’s a word right? update – spell checker said no.), I made a list of small steps that will get me to my big goal. Items #1 and #2 were paint living room accent wall and clean out fireplace. Check and Check. Although after I cleaned the fireplace we had a celebratory fire so that one will have to be redone. Oh well.
Here’s a quick before of a corner of the accent wall (color=Ecru from Sherwin Williams). While it’s an awesome color in the can, on the wall it was a little too blah and dirty looking for my liking. Plus, my previous color palette had more of a green/brown/tan thing going on and now I’m switching over to more blue/black/white/gray/natural kind of thing.
Then I tore the house apart, taped the bejesus out of the living room and banished all my decorative items to the music room.
The color now is Sherwin Williams Shoji White which is a few shades lighter than the Amazing Gray that is the rest of the walls. I love Amazing Gray. It is a color chameleon and adapts to whatever color you put in with it.
I’m loving my new camera and its wide-angle lens.
I kept the fireplace mantel simple when I loaded things back into the room. I also pulled my big log holder/old lobster pot out of the mud room to have our firewood close at hand for the upcoming months. Another thing on my list has to do with getting rid of the standard issue black plastic pot on the ZZ plant. It definitely kills this picture for me a little. But it’s a work in progress (like everything in our house.)
We really needed some light in the corner next to our new Eames rocker for reading and general illumination. I had browsed around Home Goods on the prowl for something thanks to a gift card from my father-in-law and his wife but to no avail. So I borrowed a trick from my sister-in-law and used a $7 utility light that hooks onto the easel we already had. Instant lamp.
Some more items on my list involve fixing that god-awful stain around the fireplace from removing the brass-n-glass surround that was there when we moved in and also fixing some boo-boos we did to the wood floor thanks to Christmas tree stands and dog water bowls. Water+metal+wood floor = not good. But I’m loving how much lighter/brighter/happier the living room feels as we head into the bone-chilling months ahead. Cheers!
PS – My bestest helper, Shenanigan, snoozed on the sofa the whole time I was taking 200 pictures. Thanks buddy.
Posted in Around the house, Dogs, Furniture
Now that Christmas has come and gone, I can now show my crochet project.
I made the crochet chain loop necklaces for my mom and sisters. They’re a lot of work!!! (See the tutorial here.) The orange one I did as my trial run didn’t finish out quite right so I made it into a fun cat toy for Squiggy, my father-in-law’s cat.
I realize now it seems like I blogged up a lot of crochet angst for three things but there was actually 5 more I forgot to photograph before sending on their merry way.
The crochet necklaces are hanging out on JT’s birthday present . . . an Eames Herman Miller shell chair on a rocker base. Beautimous. (As I post this I realized my pictures as still sub-par even with the new camera. It was dawn at the T household and we were on our way to family Christmas. Sorry peeps.)
Has everyone seen the Eames PBS special? It aired last Monday on the American Masters series and it was really engrossing but also (because it was only an hour and a half) touched only briefly on a lot of topics I would have been interested to hear more about. JT got this great gift from his brother and sister-in-law and they had scored it from a local thrift store. It used to be on a desk chair base which they switched out so JT could be a rocker. I’m lucky my husband is a man of style and good taste so he can appreciate such an awesome present.
In unrelated and random news and amusements, I got back in to the office today and had a postcard waiting in my mailbox.
Yikes! “Upholstery humor!” I’m about to have some “upholstery humor” as I pick out fabric for our new daybeds. Wish me luck.
Posted in Furniture, Gifts, Hand Crafted, Miscellaneous Diversions
You guys, I’ve done something crazy.
I’ve been working towards a bedroom remodel and also had my sights set on the kitchen in 2012. Yesterday JT and I took the day off work and I bought living room furniture instead.
Yikes.
So here’s the living room as it stands now.
It’s working pretty good except we only have one sofa, two people and two very spoiled dogs. All four of us end up crammed into the couch every night and it was starting to get old.
Then I saw an interesting blog post pop up on Mister Modtomic’s site about some Danish Daybeds. Two. A matched pair. One for JT and I and one for the damn dogs.
(Image above from Mr. Modtomic’s blog)
I couldn’t resist. I was helpless in the face of more leg room and vintage modern furniture. Yesterday JT and I trucked up to North County in the trusty Saturn and loaded her down.
We were once again able to surprise people with what we can cram into this car (like the queen bed before). Luckily the legs came off and the backrest piece disassembled so it was pretty simple.
Now — upholstery. Almost the kiss of death for a designer because it’s so hard to choose. Really hard. We put our current sofa on Craigslist (for a pretty good price if you know anyone in the market – ad here) and the ottoman needs to go too so our new floor plan can end up looking like this:
Yep that dashed in circle is the round coffee table I’m on the hunt for next. And the squares are more FLOR area rug. It never ends people, it never ends. And my last batch of insanity has killed my crochet gift scarf pace. I have three more to start and finish in about 5.5 days. It’s like the bros before hoes rule – Furniture first, life later.
Posted in Around the house, Furniture
Interwebs, it’s about to get a little quiet around here. You see I’m starting up (hopefully not belatedly) some gift projects and I can’t exactly be posting those, not with all my gift recipients as readers.
(Yes we did have Elvis as our tree topper last year and we very well may do it again. Elvis is the King.)
To which my family probably says “Oh no, not more scarves!” Yes more scarves! Deal with it.
Ok, it’s not scarves. But I’m not going to divulge anything here til after the holidays.
So . . . . hmmm (crickets chirp). I did start one other much belated project.
JT’s dad and step-mom gifted us this armoire when they sold their house and downsized over a year and a half ago. Yep it’s been in the basement that long (and there are drawers, they just got taken out for moving). In that year and a half the elder Mr. and Mrs. T have completely refinished and redecorated and reupolstered almost everything in their new house. I should get some pictures for the blog — the amount of work they have successfully undertaken is inspiring. And this poor armoire? It waited oh so patiently for me to get some motivation.
I highlighted its new location on the bedroom floor plan in orange above (and no, the armoire is not staying orange, I’m thinking a nice white with some details.) That way we can have the little TV and all it’s pesky wires tucked away out of sight and the bedroom will be one step closer to being complete(ish).
Has anyone else started working on their holiday gift scarves? Just me? That’s cool. The smart people probably started those back in June anyways. Sigh. See you around interwebs.
Posted in Around the house, Furniture, Gifts, Hand Crafted
Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching (yay!) and I have so much to be thankful for. For one thing, this tiny blog has reached 1,000 total page views after 60 posts. Thanks for reading everyone!
This small milestone in my new blogger life got me to thinking about all the projects I have yet to finish and all those I would like to start. There’s a lot. Maybe too many.
Here’s the part where I scare away all you readers I worked to entertain. The basement.
Yes, this is my very own basement in my very own house. This is one of the many jumbled furniture piles I have down in said basement. Run away screaming now.
I did a quick inventory to see how bad it really was . . . It’s official, I may be eligible for Hoarders on A&E.
Here’s the shame:
2 ottomans – 1 with a wood frame and one fully upholstered
Full size bed upholstered headboard
2 wood lounge chairs with strap seats – 1 with cushions, 1 without any
Slat Nelson-esque end table to match the one I have upstairs in the living room
Armoire in the process of being painted to go up in the bedroom
1 side table that I half-stripped green paint off of and need to finish
1 dining Captain’s Chair
3 vintage wood folding card chairs and a wood folding table
1 white bamboo side table
1 large lamp shade that I spray-painted black and is waiting for a base
Base of the dining table (I swapped it because the 4 legged base wouldn’t slide under the banquette)
A white Formica kitchen table (it used to have two chairs but I craigslisted them)
My childhood (child-sized) rocking chair
Mahogany cabinet that used to hold the old big (pre-flat screen) TV upstairs
2 flowered upholstered chairs waiting for their turn in the music room
4 wood folding chairs for use with a 5 foot folding table for dinner parties
2 wood TV trays that used to be bedside tables in our first apartment
So onward and upward. Hopefully I can conquer this basement in the next 60 posts, right? Part of the impetus for me to start blogging was to take a small step towards my dream of the “Thompson Guitar and Thrift” store. After my basement inventory, I might almost be ready for an antique mall booth or an eBay store as a starting point.
And speaking of projects that I start but don’t finish: The Dollhouse!!! I’m working on it and should be back this week with a (little) update. Don’t get too excited — not a lot has changed, but I am working on it slow but steady.
Thanks again for reading my ramblings and assailing your eyes with images of my half-finished projects. It means the world to me. I’m an avid blog reader myself and would love to hear of any other good blog recommendations you may have. Cheers!
The music room has been “all done” for a little bit now and we have been enjoying it. This room has been a storage closet for far too long.
In the spirit of inter-webs oversharing, I wanted to do a budget break-down to see what our little make-over did to the pocketbook.
Furniture ($145 subtotal)
Shelving unit (3 piece) – Craigslist score – $60
Wooden chairs (2) – Free in the alley
Black vinyl & chrome stool – from a hotel liquidation center – $10
White and wood Gap sweater drawer – from a different liquidator – $75
Accessories ($168 subtotal)
IKEA magazine bins (3) – $20
Target Missoni stash box – $12
IKEA clip lights (3) – $36
Black floor lamp – college gift – free
New lamp shade from Target – $30
Guitar hooks (2) – $30
IKEA faux sheepskin – $10
FLOR area rug – found at St. Vincent de Paul – $30
Art ($160 subtotal)
Blues Guitar Player artwork – gift
Omaha train poster – from an antique mall, way back – $60
Johnny Cash, bird flipper, won in an auction – $100
Supplies ($48 subtotal)
Blue paint (2 gallons) and some paint supplies – $40
Black spray paint – $4
Painter’s tape $4
Having a place to store your husband’s clunky, large musical equipment so that it looks good — priceless.
Grand Total: $521
So . . . not the cheapest room make-over ever but really most of these items we have bought over the last few years or were lucky enough to be gifted or acquire for free. It is funny to me that I spent more in the accessories and art category than the furniture category — that’s not typically how interior designers operate. However, I do have a matched pair of alley chairs in the basement waiting for reupholstery. . . So once that happens, the furniture part of the budget will jump up a little more. JT suggested a home upholstery job, which might keep costs down but maybe not nerves and tempers. We’ll see.
The biggest impacts in the room were probably the wall of storage ($60) and the sapphire blue paint ($40). So even if I had just dropped that $100 to start out with, the room would have been on a good step towards being done. That’s the little take-away for me. Sometimes I have a tendency to not want to start a project until I have all the bank set to finish it up the way I want. So then I never really start on projects! With this one, I just jumped in and got it started. It will be a work in progress but the paint and the storage made it feel enough like a new room to feel like Phase One of the makeover was complete.
Posted in Around the house, Furniture, Thrifting
Living Analog 