Calico Fabrics!

Well, I ventured out of the house finally! We had 2 and a half feet of snow over the weekend, and needless to say, I needed my shopping fix! ha ha! So I went to Calico Fabrics.

I love their fabrics, but the saleswomen are incredibly snooty. They don't even say hello until you've been wondering around the store for 10 minutes. I was eyeing this beautiful ikat fabric when the woman asked if I needed help. I told her I had a lime green sofa and throw pillows in this aqua color and exact pattern (see below). She tried referring me to some other fabrics with lime green and aqua, and I didn't like them at all. I said, "I love this ikat fabric so much I want to make it work," and she said, "well it's not working." Just like that. What the hell does she know about my taste? I was so annoyed. So you can't mix patterns now? Ugh! Why would I want matchy matchy? Oh well.

Here are the swatches. Maybe they don't work, but I love them! And they're just throw pillows for crying out loud! Plus the shapes are similar...





And here's the lime green couch:



Is it too busy? I don't think so.

Dream Room

How do I make my living room like this?



When it looks like this?



I want a lighter, airy feeling to this room. I'm not sure how to achieve it with the green sofa and yellow curtains. The curtains could easily change, but the sofa is harder to replace. Any suggestions? I have great light in my apartment, so that's not the problem. I also have a lot of dark wood furniture. Perhaps replace the coffee table? Ugh! I want all new furniture.

Kristan Cunningham's Rental

I stumbled across Kristan's home on the LA times awhile back, and then was thinking of it the other day. I always liked her on Design on a Dime! So I did a search and found it again, with more images this time. I am so in love with this place. I will let the images speak for themselves. But what I really want is those silk grey curtains and wingback chairs. I die... Seriously where I can find those curtains.

Chair Makeovers

I like chairs, alot! See my other post on another chair makeover. My mom sort of collects chairs, too, and now I'm following her obsession.

I made over two chairs this past week. It was nice and sunny, so I set up on my porch and went to town. Luckily I was painting both glossy black, so it was much easier.

Here is chair number one before:



I acquired this chair at work for free. I work in an art department, and this was leftover in the photography studio. The little cushion was when I was into that burgundy color, which now, I hate! What was I thinking?

Here is chair number one after two coats of glossy black paint, an IKEA sheepskin and a pleated pillow (both I already owned):



Here is chair number two before. I lie, I forgot to take a picture because I was so excited to paint it and recover it. I bought this little chair for $7 at my local thrift store, Yesterday's Rose. It had a black vinyl seat cover and a kind of bland brown wooden frame.

Here is chair number two after two coats of glossy black paint and Sophia fabric from IKEA:



And here's the full vignette with art on the walls:



I am so in love with this striped fabric. It's dramatic, a little carnival-esque. I also like how the striped fabric mimics the lines of the chair. Oh happy day!

So here is the cost breakdown:

$0 for chair number one (picked up at work)
$7 for chair number two
$8 for paint for both chairs
$4 for Sophia fabric

Oh yes $19. Now that's what I'm talking about.