Pottery Barn Chair Makeover

I bought eight of these Pottery Barn chairs about 5 years ago . 

They are covered in a neutral linen that held up nicely when they were in our dining room . Now that they have moved into our kitchen they are used on a daily basis and it is starting to show . No major stains yet but it was just a matter of time .

I found this offwhite crocodile vinyl at the the fabric store recently (UFab for anyone local) and knew it would be perfect for my chairs . It has a great subtle pattern that adds texture to the chairs and you can just wipe it down with a wet cloth after every meal . 

I chose a purple velvet for the back panel and I am loving these two fabrics together .

So far I have only recovered two of the chairs and I am not sure what I will do with the others . Upholstery is not my favorite or my best DIY project so I am not planning on recovering all of the chairs right now. I am deciding on a rug for this space and hope to put some sort of bench along the window to mix up the seating at the table . I have been looking for months and haven't come across the right thing yet so I may end up just having a banquette installed . Until then I at least have two kid-proofed chairs at the table so life just got a little easier :) 

Proof that I'll shop anywhere

I am no snob when it comes to design . If I like something, I like it no matter its pedigree . But even I was surprised to be tempted by home goods from . . . Harris Teeter ? ? ? 

Look at this cute little scalloped trash can just hanging out next to the Bounty paper towels

And check out all of these baskets !

I wanted several of them but couldn't fit them all in my cart since the kids were with me . I'm definitely going back soon to pick some up. They had a lot of unique shapes and sizes. Have you come across any good finds in surprising places lately?

Lourdes "Luli" Sanchez

Many of you asked about the details of the chevron print from last week's post . The print is called Chevron Bleed and it is by Cuban-born artist Lourdes "Luli" Sanchez .

I bought the print on a whim from One Kings Lane a few weeks before Christmas . It was one of those moments where I just instantly fell in love with it and spontaneously decided to go for it . After spending some time on her website, there are so many paintings/prints that I would love to own . 

In addition to her beautiful watercolors, she is also a textile designer . You have probably seen some of her designs at West Elm, Anthropologie and Ann Taylor to name a few . 

I'm definitely feeling inspired by her work . I think the kids and I may spend this rainy day with paintbrushes in our hands . What do you think ?

And the winner is . . .

Thanks so much for all of your comments and emails on my entryway options . For a while it looked like Option 1 was the clear favorite but in the end Option 3 won your vote . And that is a good thing because it also won my vote !

Like a lot of you, I really liked Option 1. (To be honest I like that chevron print* in every room of my house .) But I bought it specifically to go above the mantel in our living room and it just works there so I had to put it back . I also liked Option 2 but I really wanted more color in this space . Also, like one of the commenter's noted, that set up felt a little too formal for the back door. 

The botanical scroll is from The Evolution Store, the lamp is Barbara Cosgrove and the rest of the items are vintage/thrift finds . 

I started another little project for the kitchen over the weekend . Hopefully I will have pictures to share this week .

*For those of you looking for more info on the chevron print, check back tomorrow for a post on the artist!

Options

We use the back door of our house almost exclusively . The door enters directly into our kitchen and we tend to pile everything in our arms onto the kitchen table as soon as we walk in the door which is annoying when it's time to get food on the table . Over the weekend I finally decided to to carve out a little space for an entryway. We recently moved a wooden chest out of Riley's room and it works perfectly in this spot . The bottom drawer holds all of the kids' shoes, the middle drawer holds dog leashes, etc., and the top drawer holds all of the random JUNK that seems to accumulate at our back door . 

Now that we have storage I need to accessorize . I have worked on a couple of different options and thought it would be fun to get your vote :) 

Option 1 : 

Option 2: 

Option 3 : 

I think I have a favorite but I like elements of all three options . Do you have a preference ? 

Hello!

How was everyone's holiday? Ours was probably the best one yet. I'm still sad that it is over but it does feel good to get back into the swing of things . As usual at this time of year, I am in the mood to organize and clean . I know it won't last long so I am trying to take advantage of it and I'm starting with the laundry room. 

Thanks to our newest family member I have been spending quite a bit of time in our laundry room lately . 

This is Ivy. I surprised Paul with her for Christmas and she is just about the sweetest puppy ever . That being said, in her brief time with us she has already created several loads of laundry and taken many baths in our utility sink so I have had plenty of opportunity to take notice of our laundry room's shortcomings . 

On the wanted list : 

 - Wall storage

My Luscious Life

Via 

- Maybe a skirted sink

- And I might replace the floor. Or I might just cover the existing floor with a rug :) 

BHG (I think ? )

Via Whatever

- A new light fixture

Apartment Therapy

Who knows how long it will take but I promise to post pics once I finally get this room pulled together . 

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Hope you get to spend your holiday with the ones you love. 

I'll be back soon!

DIY Day

Yesterday was DIY day around here. Riley and I started the day off making cookies so that we had something to snack on while we worked :) 

Once the cookies were done we made gift cards for Riley's teachers . For gifts I decided to keep it simple and picked up a couple of Baggus from JCrew . Riley made thumbprint Santas (Thank you, Pinterest!) and we were all set . 

 While the girls were napping I moved on to my next project - a magnolia leaf table runner garland . 

I posted this picture a few days ago and knew I wanted something similar for our table this year . 

One of the things I have come to know about Paul after almost 9 years of marriage is that he has a strong aversion to centerpieces . Especially tall ones . So unless I want him shoving everything to the end of the table or putting things on the floor, I needed to come up with something low. Luckily, I have access to one of the biggest magnolia trees I have ever seen . I gathered a bunch of leaves several weeks ago and they have been sitting in a box in the driveway ever since because I HATE making garland . So I came up with a much easier and much faster idea. I grabbed a piece of scrap wood and my staple gun and got to work . 

Less than ten minutes later I was done .

It's obviously more one-dimensional than the inspiration image so I flipped a few of the leaves over and tucked them into the garland to add more texture, color and shape . 

I don't have the whole table planned out yet so I may end up adding more embellishments - greeenery from the yard, ornaments, more candles, etc., or I may keep it simple and plain depending on how much is going on with the rest of the table . I am just happy that I got the look that I wanted without spending hours making garland ! 

We worked on a couple of other crafts too but they aren't ready to show yet . Have you been working on any fun holiday crafts lately ? Only 4 more days ! 

Just Be Nice

ameBdesign

We had a pretty great weekend . Friday night we had Paul's corporate holiday party . Saturday night we went to the Dave Matthews Band concert (Seeing him perform is always amazing but seeing him perform in his hometown was pretty special). Sunday we had a holiday dinner with some of our very best friends . Despite all of the fun activities, like all of you, we went through them with a very heavy heart . The tragedy in Sandy Hook was never far from our minds and it just didn't feel right celebrating and enjoying time with friends when so many families were going through utter devastation . 

This tragedy hits so close to home not only becaues innocent children were involved but because my sister just moved to Sandy Hook, CT, a few weeks ago . Sandy Hook Elementary is the school that her future children will attend and part of the reason they moved there was because the town is so "kid-friendly" . I am so sad for her that her new community has now been forever scarred by this act of violence .

When I first heard the news on Friday I was overcome with grief and negativity . I wanted to rush to school to pick up my girls and hole up inside my house and never enter this scary world again . I'm not going to lie I still have to fight those feelings a little bit - sending Riley to school today was harder than I would like to admit. Not only am I fighting fear and anger and overwhelming grief, but also helplessness to do anything to make it better . While there truly isn't anything I can do to make it better for those who lost a loved one, I did find something that I can do to make myself and hopefully a stranger feel better about the world we live in - at least for a few minutes . On Friday my sister-in-law, Ashley, (who also lives in CT) posted this message on Facebook: 

"America: Make a promise now to perform a random act of kindness tomorrow . 
Lets show ourselves the good within our souls ."

These words really resonated with me because I was doubting the "goodness" in America . Over the weekend Paul and I gave it a try . It started at the Dave Matthews concert . While waiting in line we would anonymously pay for the next person in line and tell the cashier to tell them "Happy Holidays ! Do something nice for someone today ."  Most of the time it was just costing us the price of a beer or a coffee or a t-shirt but it made the biggest impact on the way we felt . For the first time over the weekend feelings of pure joy came back to us . I would walk away with the BIGGEST smile on my face imagining the person's reaction to such a random kindness and hoping that it would inspire them to do something similar . We tried to do it anonymously but one time I got caught and the girl behind me gave me the biggest hug and kiss on the cheek and said she was absolutely going to do something for someone else . It isn't so much that we bought them something special but it was an instant reminder to just be nice to each other - even someone that you don't know . After talking about how good it felt my husband and I have decided to keep doing small things like this as often as possible . It is also something I can do with Riley to show her how good it feels to just be nice . It is honestly sort of an addicting adrenaline rush . If you are still feeling blue, try it - you will be surprised by how good it feels . And it can be anything - leaving something nice on someone's door step or car window, paying for someone's groceries or lay away items, giving a total stranger a nice compliment, etc . It really has reminded me how good it feels to just be nice . So, thanks for the inspiration, Ashley ! Your idea has provided me and hopefully a few strangers with a moment of happiness during this incredibly sad time . 

Life in Pictures

Time is flying these days . Life has been busy trying to fit in Christmas activities with friends, weekends filled with birthday parties for Riley's classmates, a husband that has been traveling way too much and the beginnings of a huge new project with a client that is going to be so much fun ! Somehow the house is mostly decorated . I think my favorite item is the felted ball garland by Roost . So pretty and not overly Christmasy . I am definitely going to keep it out year round . (Here is a link to buy some felted ball garland of your own . I bought mine locally and didn't pay this much but this is the only place I found online .) I've also been gathering mounds of magnolia leaves with hopes of making some of my own garland . Paul brought the kids Advent calendars from Germany (one of his many recent trips) . Riley's is filled with jewelry and Hayes' is filled with chocolate so they are both happy . Our santa snow globe and all of our Christmas books have reappeared along with Howie, the elf . (Can you find him hiding in one of these pictures ? ) It is fun having them around the house again . A new addition to the house decor is a preserved boxwood . I've had my eye on them since spotting one in a Restoration Hardware catalog but I never got around to making the purchase . While out shopping the other day I came across one in a local shop and now I am kicking myself for not buying one sooner . I love having it on the kitchen counter and it is so low maintenance that even I can keep it looking good . And finally more progress in the barn ! The exterior and interior lights are hung and today I am working on the shelving . All that is left is organizing and unpacking which is the fun part, right ? Happy Monday !