RECENT THRIFTED FINDS

I'm still here, just trying to make it through the last three days of school.  The finish line is in sight.

Three more days of waking up early, packing lunches, helping with homework and early bedtimes. 

Then we can officially call it summer! 

I have been trying to wrap up design projects, run errands, get things organized and enjoy the last few days of peach and quiet before all heck break loose around here. 

I had to get my thrifting fix too. 

Taking three kids thrifting over the summer is definitely not on my "to do list". 

I found  a few gems over the last couple of weeks.

Like this $5.00 lamp from St. Vincent DePaul.

I already had the shade on hand in my arsenal of thrift store shades.

We have plenty of overhead lighting in the mudroom.  So I never thought of adding a lamp in here. 

At night, I prefer the ambiance of lamp lighting.

This lamp is the perfect amount of light in the evenings.  

Bonus - it helps hide the dirt in the mudroom! 

I also picked up this blue and gold metal tray at Goodwill for $2.00.  

It had me at blue and gold.

I was especially taken with the detail on the  handles.  

I picked up a few blue and white jars at St. Vincent DePaul also.

I love the little ginger jar. They varied in price from $3-$8. 

I added them to the mantle for a little more of a Springy look.

I bought this chair silhouette print a while back for $5.

You already know about my obsession with chairs.

I added it to the small gallery wall in the dining room.

I have plenty more to share with you and I hope to be able to blog a little more this summer.

I recently partnered with Staples to do a fun little Pantry Makeover.

Looking forward to showing you very soon.

Have you kicked off Summer yet?

HAVE A SEAT

No really, just pick a seat.  

There are plenty to choose from. 

I mentioned in this post that I counted the chairs in our home and came up with 37.  

Now, just to clarify, that does included dining chairs and two child size chairs. 

Here is a look at the "chair situation" in our home. 

We have owned this chair for a long time. 

It was originally dark brown wicker and I painted it with BM Kingsport Gray.

I ordred these two swivel/gliders a couple of years ago. 

They are a bit hit with the kids, since they are similar to a merry-go-round.

Still loving these bentwoods that I recovered recently. 

Here is a shot which includes quite a few chairs. 

I picked up the two floral chairs at a consignment shop. 

They work perfectly in "The Nook".

I have four of these vintage school chairs sprinkled around the house. 

One now resides in the foyer. 

My ghost chair was a steal from Craigslist. 

There is a whole lot of chairs going on in here. 

We have the yard sale wingbacks I had reupholstered, 

the wicker and chrome chairs I found on Craiglist 

and the rattan and chrome chairs I got from an estate sale. 

Mixed together, they make one big happy chair family.

The black Eames chair I found at an outdoor antique show is still residing in the office.

These two beauties, which also came from an estate sale are currently living in the basement. 

I love these chairs, but I still don't have a place for them.  Might have to get rid of them soon.

Moving upstairs, the boys have two red tolix-like chairs in their room. 

They came from Kroger, of all places. 

Another vintage school chair fits right in at my daughter's desk.

This chair was another thrift store find that I painted and had reupholstered. 

Lastly, this thrift store find makeover in our master bedroom.

Full disclosure, there are a few more chairs living in chair/lamp purgatory the basement 

and four more on the third floor. 

I also have quite a few barstools, lamps, frames and art that I need to let go of. 

I'm thinking of having a tag sale soon. 

Not to be confused with a yard/garage sale.  

I've done that before and the last time, I vowed never to do it again. 

If you are local and would be interested in coming to the tag sale, send me an email here.

Date and time TBD. 

Thank you so much for being loyal readers and I hope you have a fabulous weekend.

For some reason, my husband has decided he really wants to take the kids to the circus this weekend. 

I volunteered to stay home and get our taxes together.  The lesser of two evils, in my opinion.

FOR THE LOVE OF CHAIRS

I finally got around to adding some art to the empty frames in the newly painted powder room.

I used two of these paper place mats.

I bought the "Dining Chairs" CAKE Kitchen Papers at Lolli's in Mariemont, OH.

If you live in the Cincinnati area, check it out.  Such a cute store.

This quick little project took a total of five minutes.

 I couldn't find a link to the Kitchen papers I bought there, 

I did find some other great options here.

Hester and Cook also sells some fabulous chair paper products.

Here are a few of my favorites.

notepad

coasters

place cards

place mats

wrapping paper

All these beautiful chairs got me thinking about my love of chairs.  

I started to count, in my head, how many chairs we have in our home.  I quickly lost count.  

Clearly, my chair collection deserves its own post. 

I'll get to work on it right away.

Hope your week is off to a great start.  

I survived a sleepover with four 10 year old boys this weekend. 

I'm pretty sure today is going to be a breeze!

RECOVERED DINING ROOM CHAIRS - A SIMPLE DIY

Last week I dove right into reupholstering the seat cushions of my new (to me) chairs. 

I used some striped fabric I had on hand. 

It is the same fabric as the relaxed roman shade in our mudroom.

I am not good at DIY tutorials.  I jump right into a project.  

I ignore everything and everyone.  I make a giant mess and I always forget to grab the camera.

It's like any other project I take on.  

I strongly dislike the before and during process, but thoroughly enjoy the end result. 

My process was no where near perfect.  

I promise you do not want to see the bottom of these chair cushions 

(and the one million, crooked, half inserted staples).

But they sure look good from the top.

My stripes are probably a little off too, but oh well, for a $3 chair and free fabric, 

I am going to call this DIY a success!

We are looking forward to breaking these chairs in.

Just as soon as I attach the seat cushions to the bases.

One thing at a time.

Thank you for all of your kind comments on my dresser post yesterday. 

You guys sure made me feel like I made the right decision.

In case you are curious, the dresser was re-listed yesterday for $595.

Anyone interested?  

CHAIRS, CHAIRS AND MORE CHAIRS

I have lost count of what round of  musical chairs I am on now, 

but it seems I have a bit of a chair fetish.

I just recently bought these great Bentwood chairs and loved them at the dining room table. 

For about two months, that is.  

Then, I came across these vintage chrome and rattan chairs.

I bought them from an on-line estate sale.

I paid $12 total for the four chairs. 

They are similar to the chrome and wicker chairs I bought last year. 

Those are now residing in furniture purgatory (AKA, the basement).

I am in the process of recovering the seats with some fabric I had on hand. 

I have every intention of finishing up the project over the weekend.

Since the new chairs ended up in the dining room, 

I decided to move the Bentwood chairs to the family room.

Those seats will be recovered this weekend also. 

How about we take a little walk down memory lane to see just how indecisive I really am.

It does make me feel a little better knowing I didn't pay more than $10 a piece for all of these chairs 

(with the exception of the parsons chairs - still a great deal from the Pottery Barn Outlet).

Full disclosure here folks!

I think I need to start getting rid of some chairs (and tables & lamps).

Furniture purgatory is getting a little over crowded. 

MUSICAL CHAIRS - ROUND TWO

I promised in yesterday's post to show you where the wicker and chrome chairs ended up landing.

The didn't move far.  Just around the corner and through the kitchen to the family room.

I do like all the texture in this little area, but not so sure about all the brown.

The table came from my parents.  I shared many meals at this table with my family.

It now serves as more of a homework, craft, board game spot.

I don't want to paint it. 

However, I love what Shelley did to her table. 

Might be an option.

Just for kicks, here a some of the other chairs that have temporarily lived at this table.

We bought these chairs about 16 years ago 

and stained them ourselves in our tiny one bedroom apartment.

They served us well over the years, but I was ready for a change.

 

In came these old wood and metal school chairs that I bought at an antique show for $10 each.

I loved them here, but they sat a bit low and made us all feel really short when we sat at the table.

They are currently residing in several different rooms around the house.

Even though little Willee had his way with the corner of one (or two) 

of these wicker and chrome chairs, I still love them and they are super comfortable. 

I think they will stick around, at least for now.

I've been busy decking the halls around here. Looking forward to giving you a tour soon.

Be sure to stop by on Monday, December 9th 

for the start of the Twelve Days of Christmas - Tour of Homes.