yucky to yummy chair

was hunting for a chair for my vanity table. i've seen blogger fixing up chairs with new paint, fabric and foam. i’m having lots of fun reading up blogs about DIY projects. trash indeed turns into treasures with some “magic touch.” i’m not a crafty person and certainly can’t sew at all. once i tried to sew a loose button for the mr but ended up poking my fingers several times. the mr sew it himself after seeing those red stains on his pants :P i’m happy to find out sewing is NOT required to reupholster a chair. all i need is a staple gun which i found from one of the estate sales for $4.

picked up this chair from goodwill for $6. it has all the curvy details that i’m looking for. the cushion is stained and dirty, but it will be replaced. I had trouble fitting this chair in my coupe. with a few adjustments, it finally fits in the passenger seat. lol…..i wasn’t planning on hauling furniture when i bought the car. i envy all of you with SUV and trucks.

made a trip to hobby lobby for my supplies. was lucky that they were having sale on fabric and foam. but, i got the wrong size for the foam. mental note…..measure before heading out to the store. no one tells me hobby lobby closes on sunday. blah…..the project was delayed by another week and i’m stuck sitting on a hard wood chair for another week.

finally, after a few coats of krylon white spray paint, tug&pull, stapling and screwing……DONE! (please ignore the messiness).

i have lots of extra fabric. maybe i’ll use it for lamp shade? wall art? it’s going into my drawers for now :p happy tuesday!

Linky

vanity table makeover

i can't seem to find furniture that i want from the stores. when i find a piece that i like, they don't have the color that i want. then i started looking at blogs that feature diy projects for home, furniture and decor. i had no idea an old piece of furniture can be beautiful with new coat of paint or new hardware etc. before i wouldn't look at old junk or someone's used stuffs or go to thrift shops. i had only been to goodwill to donate. i had never stepped inside the shop. the idea of using someone used item creeps me out. after looking at cool projects from other bloggers, i figure i can overcome my fear and start hunting for unique and rare pieces at a much lower price. besides, there's always anti-bacterial cleaners and hot boiling water to kill all the germs.......rite??

one of the most important furniture that i need is a vanity table. it's where i spend 20 mins every morning. i don't want anything too big or too little counter space. i finally found this gorgeous table. it's meant to be a sofa/entry table. but i see it as my vanity table :) those curvy legs and wavy trims and of course the price....$40 make me tingle.

how it looks when i found it

after one quick coat of zinsser primer.

after 2 coats of valspar summer grey. voila!

we painted the room ourselves. we matched the color from benjamin moore's french lilac to sherwin williams harmony paint (supposed to be environmentally responsible and zero VOC). love the soft, romantic, soothing color. it was a hard 5 hours paint job. we went to bed that night with a whole new respect for painters. can't imagine doing this every day. phew~~~~~

LINKY

Estate Sale finds

i have been thinking about how to decorate the master bedroom for a long time. i been browsing around the internet and decor magazines for ideas and finally decided to go with the cottage(shabby chic) look. i've always like cottage decor (hence my blog name). it makes me feel comfortable, relaxing and cozy. so, i'm going for it! but it's only limited to the master bedroom since the mr wants to keep the other parts of the house more contemporary.

i also want to find furniture/decor that are unique and rare with lots of characters. so instead of going to furniture store, i'm going to estate sale ;) i have never been to an estate sale before and have no idea what to expect. i was quick to realize that people do get up early on saturday morning. estate sales usually starts from 7-8am. bleh....i'm not usually a morning person, so this require a bit of effort.

it's all worth it when i return with so many treasures.

a shabby lamp with platform to hold my other decor. i like the mix green and white paint, the 3 pedestal legs and the price. only $25

other treasures: frame ($0.50), jewelry box($2), crystal($2), ornate mirror($3), very old board game($3) and a book from 1940s($3)

close up details of the jewelry box

Brussels Trip + Paint Job

i didn't know smurfs are from brussels before the trip. did you know? brussels is not a very clean city. the metro stations are dirty, old and shabby. you wouldn't want to travel on it by yourself.

too bad EU headquarters was closed for christmas. it would be interesting to get some souvenirs there. so, we headed to the atomium(i call it a mad scientist project) and mini europe instead. not a good day to visit. gloomy sky and chilly wind

there were lots and lots of belgian chocolates in different sizes, shapes and flavors. yummy!

nice packaging. expensive feel.

she's real btw. pretty neat!

went to one of the earliest shopping arcade Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert. interesting little shops along the narrow street-like courtyard

my favorite place Grand Place-Grote Markt love those old european buildings. look at those fine details on every arch and statues. they are so intricate and full of historical evidence.

who's going to miss the chance to try real authentic belgian waffle with caramelized sugar (gaufre de Liège-Luikse wafel)? not me certainly!

meneiken pis. no idea why it's so popular. just a statue of a pissing boy. can you say vulgar?

completed the paint job in my master bed/master bath/living room after hours and hours of sweat, up and down the ladder, taping the edges, etc. finally, the gorgeous end results. goodbye plain white walls. will post photos when the rooms are more presentable.