Getting That Deconstructed Look

I was browsing through my copy of the Restoration Hardware catalog recently.  So much eye candy, and most of it way beyond my styling budget.  I closed the dream book, hoping that I could make something beautiful AND beautifully inexpensive.

And that's when it happened! I dug out this little chair that I'd had since last year to try my little experiment. 

So I mixed a potion of Annie Sloan's Coco and Old Ochre and finished it with clear wax. Weaving jute webbing for the deconstructed back wasn't difficult.  And once in place, I stapled it down tight and secure.

Now here's my seat fabric.  I loved it, even though I don't speak a lick of French.  Love enough to Google and translate those French words into my native English...ahhh...The Windmills of Provence. What?  Are you sure?   I was certain it said "The Roosters of Provence". Think I'll invest in Rosetta Stone soon!

Now we just need the finishing touches.Simple enough right? After all, just how hard could it possibly be to find a pretty flat gimp to cover up all of these delightful staples?  Apparently, harder than I figured.  I searched all of my favorite fabric haunts, only to come up empty.  What's that old saying about necessity being the mother of all inventions?

So I had a chat with Mama Necessity, who told me to cut these strips out of the webbing and use it for flat gimp.  Ok, I gave it a try and wow ...problem solved!

So far, so good. Now what about those arm rests?  The initial thought was to continue to use the webbing here too but it didn't seem to fit the bill.  So I scrapped that idea and went for the seat fabric on these areas instead.

..and here she is, my Roosters (whoops) I mean Windmills of Provence Deconstructed Chair.

P.S. I can't bring myself to tell the Roosters it's not about them...
they're a proud sort you know!

 XOXO

Arlene

Frenchy Cutie Burlap Beauty!

Have you ever finished a project and found yourself totally loving how it turned out?  So much so that you REALLY want to keep it...

EVEN if it means changing 

EVERYTHING else in the room?  

Well, take a peek at the pic below.  Here she was, living an extraordinarily plain life, with those wonderfully curvy curves and carved accents hidden in a sea of one dimensional brown.

Before

So, I gave her a makeover.

 Padding the interior with 1" batting before the burlap "top coat" really softened the overall appearance, and  I thought that using coordinating burlap double welt (cord) gave a polished finish to all those curves. 

A coat of French Linen, a light distressing.  And all of those glorious nooks and crannies came to life! A new bed was born...and I was smitten.

 

Now to all of my friends out there who've ever fallen in love with a transformed piece...I think that you'd be proud of me 'cause I fought to keep this one.
I gave hubby my all-time best "I really want to keep this one" speech. 
He, in turn, gave his infamous "PITS" (Purchased Intentionally To Sell) rebuttal.
In our house, the "PITS" rational most times wins.
(Promise to tell you more about my PITS in a later post...)
 

I grabbed a sales tag, said my good-byes, and took my beloved bed to my space at Treasure Hunt Antique Mall...that's chock-a-block full with well...burlap stuff.

 

And some other stuff that looks really great with burlap stuff. 

It's my addiction.

See? 

 Told ya.
I don't go around using the word "addiction" all willy-nilly now, do I?  


 

.  Think she's a BB (Burlap Beauty)? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Headed over to Miss Mustard Seed's  Furniture Feature Friday
Make it a GREAT weekend guys

xoxo
Arlene

One, Two, Three, Four...Quirky Chairs To Adore?

Sometimes girls just wanna have fun.  Snap your fingers, instant gratification fun. So I purchased four ordinary chairs months ago with the intention of doing them "right away." But right away had to include cool.  Different. And Fun.  And so they sat. And sat.  I'd stare at them and at times I think they stared back. Obviously, inspiration and fun were off on holiday...together. Without me.

Then one incredible day, the idea hit me.  I was off to the races.  First, I removed the caning...

I painted them a creamy white as shown here. Next came distressing and glazing.

I had my dear brother print stylized numbers (1, 2, 3, and 4) in chocolate on my burlap.  Here, I'm stapling number 3 on the back (can you can see the outline of it peeking through?) On top of this went a layer of batting (secured with spray adhesive).

Finally, on went the top layer of burlap.  The stapled edges are hidden beneath french gimp braid (from good ol' Hobby Lobby) in a complimentary hue.

I forgot to show you the seats.  Ughh.  I love pancakes. Just not sitting on 'em.  Take a look at these time-worn beasts before...

Three inch foam and french gimp braid can work miracles I tell you...Here's a seat sneak peek!

And without further ado, I introduce four playful chairs for your viewing pleasure...

I'm pairing them with a round pedestal table...that's next on my "get it done" list.  I'm thinking while I have inspiration in a choke-hold...I shouldn't let go.  Not until it taps out.

What do you think?

Sharing this week at  Wow Us Wednesday and also Furniture Feature Friday

Blessings and Abundant Peace!

Arlene

Just Rockin' That Toile!

Let's start by saying I am so excited to be a spanking brand new blogger! 
During the summer of 2011 B.B. (Before Blogging), I'd just mostly snap some quick pix of finished projects out on my front porch.  Sometimes I'd stage them a little and at other times, not so much.  This vintage rocker in "Scenic Savannah", a black Waverly linen toile edged in burlap was a salvaged sweet up-cycle...

I also took a run-of-the-mill brown pressback & finished it out in my favorite cream...

The original caning was punched through, so I just tore it out and had my dear husband make an insert from plywood.  A little foam, batting, pulling and stapling made this "biscuit" seat...cute? 

But oh, I think that rocker is rockin' the toile best of all...whatcha think?

Thanks for stopping by...I so enjoyed our front porch visit...come back anytime!

Now this new blogger is off try some links.  Oh boy...wish me luck?

Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday
Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

~Blessings and Abundant Peace~

Arlene

It's All In The Mix!

Call me weird, but there's something really cool about rescuing pieces of furniture that are on their way to the local landfill because some soul has deemed them worthless. To scoop them up and take them home makes me... well, happy.

Case in point:  the chairs below.  They were a mixed bag and needed some serious sanding (aka the glorious grit).  Two of the cane backs were awfully tattered.  But those round seats and fluted legs begged for resurrection!

Re-cane them?  No.

For some reason, removing that spent caning just felt right.  Sometimes the pieces just speak to me.  (Did I mention my moonlighting as Arlene: Chair Whisperer?) More on that later...back to topic. Here's the before:

Deciding to paint them a warm creamy white felt right too, along with a light distressing and an umber glaze to settle into all those nooks and crannies. The satin polyurethane protective finish brought them to a blissful state of finished imperfection. Note to My New-Blogger Self:  Didn't take a SINGLE picture of the painting process... uggghhhhh! OK. Suck it up. Move on.

Anywho, on to fabric selection. I just LOVE mixing fabric textures, so a pastoral ivory/tan cotton toile accented with a coordinating french gimp was used for the inside back, and doubled burlap for outside back and those scrumptious round seats.

Drum roll please.....TaHDaHHHH!

This is the back view...clean and uncomplicated.

 Below, the "open weave" appeared
refreshingly light and airy in its new shade of warm white...

What do YOU think?

It was so much fun to pull it all together!  I told myself that I would understand if no one "got" the quirkiness of this offering. Afterall, I could always bring it home 'cause I loved it.  And so, my dear hubby and son carried it to my spot at the antiques store.  Laura, shopkeeper extraordinaire and owner of De'Ja Vous, had it placed at the store's entry.  What a privilege!  She said I had thirty days...it sold in four.  WOW.

I am amazed...and humbled...and off in search of more pieces in need
of a little Georgia Grace...and Grit.

~Blessings and Abundant Peace~

Arlene