Before & After: Rast Hack

After taking care of some business online today, I decided to treat myself to a surf of my favorite design blogs and came across this amazing IKEA Rast hack by Kelly of Hello Boudreau via Jenny of Little Green Notebook. I can’t stop looking at the pics! This is, in my opinion, the best Rast hack I’ve seen yet.

Kelly started out with this…

…and ended up with this! Sweet, no?

Check out more pics of Kelly’s project at Hello Boudreau: Ikea Rast Hack. For extra credit check out more of Jenny’s picks for best Rast hacks at the top of her post.

Until next time!

Trying New Things

My sis got these chairs as freebies from her neighbor and she wants me to help her fix them up. Check out her post here:

Trying New Things.

I ran fabric paint by her:

Painted chair project via A Pinterest Addict.

And reupholstering with budget upholstery fabrics from IKEA:

Rosmarie at IKEA

Benzy Skepp at Ikea.

Premier Fabrics:

Newell in Stone/Denton at Premier Fabrics.

Barber in Stone/Denton at Premier Fabrics.

Or using Joann’s 40% off coupons to get some cool looking pleather:

Eaton Square Adrift at Joann’s.

Here’s another view of this style of chair (by complete coincidence, I pinned the exact chairs from a Craigslist ad a few months ago on Pinterest).

On my CL Treasure Hunt board on Pinterest.

I’m going to meet up with her on Friday to take a closer look at them (so far, I’ve only seen pics). I’m so excited! What would you do with these chairs?

Pillow Talk

I promise this is the last time that I’m going to post about the office chair… but I had to share the final piece of the picture: two pillows a friend sewed up for me in a coordinating fabric. The print is called Barber by Premier Prints, the colorway is corn yellow/kelp slub. I think it looks really nice with their corn yellow slub Zigzag fabric. Don’t you?

So there it is! The final touch on the office chair. I’m likely going to put this piece up for sale in a week or two… so if you know anyone that needs a dashing office chair, point them in my direction!

I’ve got a meeting today (I’m on the Social Committee, planning fun stuff for my fellow coworkers… fun, right? :-D) and a few hours after that, more than likely spent stocking up the Swedish Food Market. It needs it after the crazy weekend we had. I’m sure we could have filled a football stadium with the number if visitors we had this weekend!

Anywho, I hope your Wednesday is a quick and happy one, everyone! Until tomorrow. :-*

They Call Me Mellow Yellow…

Quite rightly! Seriously this chair was kind of fugly when I bought it but it was comfortable and looked like it’d be easy to update. OK, also it was dirt cheap. In fact, it might have been cheaper than dirt! Anyway, you all (patient, lovely people aren’t you?) know how long it has taken me to get this chair together but there is an AFTER (at last) for this BEFORE.

You can see my progress report here. I broke down and bought a staple gun. I spray painted the frame yesterday in Krylon’s Satin Nickel. It’s really pretty. Stapling the fabric was a two man job (thanks Kirsten Marino-DeShields!) but it got done. I forgot to staple the fabric from the back on the outside pieces so you can see the wonky staples. I decided I’m going to hot glue some yellow ribbon over it.

Whooo! I’m so glad that I got this project finished. It has been a longer process than expected… but a rewarding one!

Have a great Wednesday everyone and enjoy Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Good Stuff

I decided to take a break from my still ongoing office chair project (more on that later) to go take a gander at what the West Charlotte ReStore had on offer. There was a ton of stuff…

Lane writing desk and chair, $150/set @ The Charlotte Habitat for Humanity ReStore.
I love this desk! It is so lady like and petite. The finished seemed in good shape and had a beautiful looking inlay on the surface which I forgot to get a shot of. This would make a nice addition to a master or guest bedroom for someone needing a work surface that doesnttake up too much space.

Curved sofa, $125 and mid-century upholstered chair, $75.
This curved sofa would look good as a tight back, single cushion sofa with a wide variety of fabrics. The mid century needs some low textural sheen and to lose the skirt. It has gorgeous legs.

Cushion paneled entertainment armoire hutch, $75 and mid century dresser, $350.
The piece on the left is actually the top of an armoire that is missing it’s bottom. Still it could stand as a complete cabinet on its own. I think some nice furniture legs screwed to the bottom and a few interior shelves could yield a unique bar area. The cushion style panelling is a neat and different touch. I’d lacquer it some totally outrageous color… or silver leaf it. Next to it is a mid century dresser. The tag said “Rway”… I’m not an aficionado so I’m not sure what that means. But the dresser has twelve (!) drawers, he top middle drawer has three compartments. It’d make an awesome buffet.

China hutch, $275.

Last but not least, a classic armoire. Pretty, with nice lines. Bold paint and wallpaper would be nice on this piece.

Sorry about the long wait for today’s post. I planned to publish it much earlier but life and work intervened. I hope your Wednesday was grand and not too Mondayish (mine was). Catch you tomorrow! 🙂

Totally Inspiring Room

Today’s room is from the latest issue of Traditional Home. It is the study off of the master bedroom of designers Roger Higgins and Ann Shipp.

I love how serene this room is: the pale and neutral colors, the comfy looking sofa, the tone on tone walls and trim… So calming! See more of the designer’s amazing house at Traditional Home.

I’m going to see more of my room rearranging project. I’m at the part where you sort through all the junk you found while doing the moving furniture around phase. Not the fun bit… but, it has to be done! I hope you’re all having an amazing Tuesday. Not too cold and nippy but a nice sunny fall day like we’re having here in Charlotte. Catch you tomorrow. 🙂

Around Charlotte: Post & Gray

I was riding around town a few weeks ago on my way to the Arboretum mall when I saw a shop called Interiors Marketplace on the corner of an intersection not too far past the community college. It looked intriguing but I didn’t have time to stop. Later when I got home I looked them up online and found their website.

While I was there I discovered that IM had a sister store called Post & Gray… the picture of the front of the building, with its pretty gray paint, white logo, and citron yellow doors grabbed my attention! After looking through the gallery of currently available product I decided that I’d visit Post & Gray the very next weekend.

My mom and I made our way to the shop on a sunny but crisp Saturday afternoon. When we walked up the stairs the garage style door to the right of the stairs was open, letting the ample sunlight flood the front of the shop.

The space is large but not cavernous and filled with beautiful new, antique, and vintage furniture and home decor. As mom and I made a circuit around the store we saw folding screens, bath linens, gorgeous French Country style armchairs, oversized lamps and chandeliers, decorative objects, and beautiful fabrics. In every nook there was an interesting or beautiful piece to discover and coo over. Needless to say, by the time we completed our trip around the store we were bubbling with excitement about all that we’d seen!

If you live in the Charlotte area or will be visiting soon, I highly recommend you check out Post & Gray’s constantly evolving selection of furniture and home decor items. You wont be disappointed!

Post & Gray
Tuesday – Saturday 10 – 5
2139 South Tryon Street
Charlotte, NC 28203-4957
(704) 332-2252

Pics above (top to bottom):
The front of Post & Gray
Asian style decorative object (I heart horse figures)
White ceramic lamp with grey linen shade (one of a pair)
Stack of aqua Jacquard towels and bath products
Green and gold chinoiserie style desk with faux bamboo edging
An absolutely stunning China cabinet with filigree glass doors (my favorite piece in the store!)