Brookes Front Room Makeover

As you may have remembered we did Brooke's Bedroom a few months ago. We had been wanting to redo her front room, and one night while we were all hanging out watching some basketball game that none of us girls cared about, Brooke's husband finally gave us a budget! He said with enthusiasm, "$200!", we said "DONE!" 

Then us girls ditched the basketball game and got on KSL.com and started looking for furniture! Her current couches were way to BIG for the room. We also wanted to find furniture that didn't need work.

BEFORE-- uhh, Sorry Brooke--all I can say is it's a good thing we are friends now!

AFTER! We matched the paint and covered up the sage green accent wall, and rehung and grouped the pics to a more appropriate height (lower).

This is "Thrift Store" decorating at its finest! Couch- $50, Zebra ottoman-$40, Green side chair-$16, Speaker boxes (window bench)- $20, Sewing machine cabinet $35. The best part we were able to use everything as it was, no fixing up or repurposing.

The only thing we bought new was the fabric for the curtains. We got it from www.homefabricsonline.com . The chandelier was from my kitchen, and it had been kicking around in my work studio waiting for a new home.

 My favorite place for accessories is DI (local thrift store), everything is priced for a dollar or two. Clock was $2 and books were $1 each. I love using sewing machine cabinets as end tables! I love the character and real wood!

I whipped up a few pillows from leftover fabrics.

I got this awesome tray ($1.50) and cup coasters ($1)! Then I let Camille do her magic and accessorize.

We did a little "in house shopping", Camille found the crystal vase which was a wedding gift and a chunk of granite that we used as a book end (temple worker gave it to them on their wedding day, which was from the foundation of the temple during construction).

I love metal boxes, so for $1.50 I had to have it. The speaker boxes were from ReStore in Orem. There was a second set there. They are beautiful! Solid wood. I stood there for 10 minutes staring at them at the store trying to figure out how I could use them. Window seat bench! Perfect! Extra seating for the kids, plus the diamond detail on the front is AMAZING!

Picked up standing lamp next to the couch for $8. It was a good shopping day at DI!

My favorite part of this makeover was getting those HUGE couches OUT! Oh and Mike as far as budget goes… we spent $270 and sold old couches for $50, which puts us at $220!

Chairs, Ottomans, and Dining Chairs

My client picked up these two chairs and ottomans for $25/pair. They were from a Marriott Hotel that was replacing their furniture. WHAT A DEAL!!! She chose a white duck cloth to freshen them up.

 Chair/ottoman---BEFORE

AFTER-- 

Close up of arm

I loved her antique round table and chandelier! I love rustic wood pieces. The white contrasted nicely!



We also did 2 arm chairs and 4 side dining chairs. These required some thought… she sent me an inspiration pic, so I knew it was possible, I just had to figure out how to get a skirt on the back with the wood piece down the center of the chair.

INSPIRATION PIC--

AFTER--SIDE CHAIR--my solution was to run the piping on the outside of the posts, attach skirt to piping. Then use velcro to attach the sections to either side of the vertical wood piece.

AFTER--Arm chair--same idea--velcro around the outside edge, but I had to do velcro along the sides as well between the back post and where the arm attaches to the seat. This way once the velcro is detached, the whole cover lifts up and over the wood back.


SIDE NOTE-- Brainstorming some new ideas. I am located in Utah.

1) 2 day workshop--- day1- slipcover main body of a chair
                                  day2- skirt, cushion, and pillow. 4-6 students/session

2) Job shadowing- come to work with me at my studio for 3 days (slipcovering, appts out, photography, blog, quickbooks, etc) 2-3 students/ session. This would be geared towards someone that has already started or wants to start a slipcover business.

3) Skype mentoring--sign up for the day you have a similar item and follow along in real time.


Tell me your thoughts! What interests you the most, and what would you seriously consider signing up for?

Topstitched White Linen Couches

When I came for the fitting appointment, my client was in the process of moving and remodeling their new place.  The before couch was a white denim slipcovered couch with piping, two seat cushions, and 5 pillows along the back. Karen decided she wanted a bit more of a modern look---no piping and no skirt. Just a single row of topstitching on each seam.

BEFORE---well somehow I didn't get a before pic, but this was during the fitting.

 AFTER--These are the two couches in my clients new home. I dropped off her slipcovers in bags right before I left for Costa Rica, and she was moving the next week--so I didn't get to put them on for her. When I came after my trip to bring back another project, she already had them all put on and had been living on them for a few weeks. I was BLOWN AWAY at how amazing her new house looked! It was a construction site the last time I had seen it.

 She ordered a new single seat cushion (used to be 2 seat cushions) and two back cushions (used to be pillow back) to streamline the look of the couch as well.

 I love her HUGE coffee table from CJ Sparks. I love mixing rustic with new.

 Topstitching detail