Makeover

While out running errands the other day, I popped into Homegoods since I had not been in quite some time. During a drive-by of the home section, a little table caught my eye. Specifically, its shape.

I was not a fan of the leopard-printed surface (now, don't get me wrong, I love leopard, but not in this context. I'd much rather have it on a pillow). But, at $20 the price was right, and I had some ideas of how I could transform it. So, home it went. Here it is in my driveway.

Some of my inspirations. These are a little bit smaller and are called "cigar tables" but I can't see anyone using these to hold their tobacco products. 

Worlds Away

Studiolo

So, I got out my black lacquer spray paint and my gold leaf, and several hours later I came up with this . . . 

I love the look. I've been digging black and gold together lately. Pretty good for a $20 table. I already had the supplies, so just my labor was involved. Gold leafing is not an easy process but I alternately love it and hate it. Being covered in gold flakes is not fun, and the process is messy and time-consuming. But, there's something satisfying about rubbing the gold onto the surface and seeing the furniture transform. I would probably be smart to get a piece of glass cut to fit the top, but I'm not sure I'm feeling that ambitious right now.

Also, in the makeover vein, I recently recovered my Frances Elkins knock-off loop chair in Braemore's Flowering Branch fabric.

Don't mind the junk on the chest in the background. Or the messy shoe basket. I did not style this.

Here's what the chair looked like when I bought it over a year ago. Plain cream chenille. Kind of blah.

It will reside in the front entry adjacent to the dining room.

I must have thrown a dozen fabric samples on this chair over the past year, but could never find one that I loved until now. It was a very basic upholstery job (tear off the old fabric, staple on the new and cover the staples with trim), otherwise I would not have attempted it. I'm liking the way it turned out.

Have you done any makeovers recently?

X-ceptional Makeover

I've been a little under the weather this week . . . think our whole family has a low-grade virus. Anyway, I just wanted to check in and share a great X bench makeover I ran across recently in the blog world. I "blog-met" sweet Hilary from Mrs. Dow-Ward's Neighborhood when she left a comment asking about some items in my antique booth. After further emailing, I realized she also works at Worlds Away and is the person responsible for their blog. So, of course she has fabulous taste! Without further ado, here is her X bench makeover . . .

First, she purchased this X bench from Target . . . I didn't even know they carried these. You can find them online for $79.99, plus free shipping. Not super cheap but compared to other X benches, not bad either. 

Then, she tried her hand at recovering it in a cotton canvas.

She felt it was just "okay" and might be lacking something. So, then she turned it over to the artisan at Worlds Away (a nice perk of working there) and voila . . . 

Doesn't it look fabulous?! I didn't get all the details but it looks like the base has been gold leafed (or painted with gold leaf paint, at least) and possibly rubbed for an aged finish. Not to be left out, the top got a sumptuous chocolate velvet makeover as well.  Yum.

Hilary now loves the way it fits in with the rest of her furniture and decor. Check out that chair, by the way. I would die for that. The stool definitely looks like something right out of Worlds Away and is somewhat similar to the St. Regis stool from Amy Howard:

You must check out Hilary's blog if you haven't . . . she's got really great style!

Quick Makeover

Several weeks ago I did a quick little makeover on my grandmother's sideboard which I inherited years ago.

It's not in the best shape, and for years I had considered painting it until I saw a little makeover that Sherry at Design Indulgence did using liming wax. I was intrigued. You must check out her makeover here.

Liming wax is not easy to come by . . .  I had to order it online. But I found it to be extremely easy to use - you literally just wipe it on. Luckily, the finish on the sideboard was pretty worn so it soaked up the wax. If you have a well-sealed piece some sanding might be involved. After a little bit of tweaking (at first my daughter said it looked like it should be in a haunted house), I got the finish about right. I had to live with it a while, but it's grown on me and now I think I like it. Here's the finished product:

There's a little bit of glare from my flash but you get the idea. It's actually pretty subtle.

I've seen a lot of "limed" pieces lately . . .

This Julian Chichester piece that was recently featured on One Kings Lane.

This Wisteria table via Chattafabulous.

So what do you think? Is liming for you?

Makeover

As some of you were kind enough to notice, my blog got a much needed makeover recently. I'm just thrilled with the design that Fabulous K Creative came up with. Hopefully, I can do my new look proud. Thanks for your sweet comments. In the spirit of self-improvement, I'll be sharing some small makeovers from my home in the coming posts.

Here's a little spruce I just gave to my dining room table . . . 

This is just the first stage in the table I'm trying to set for our supper club Saturday night. I'm not hosting Thanksgiving this year so this is sort of my version. I just love the white or ghost pumpkins and they go better in my dining room. I also found some smaller pale orange (almost, dare I say, peach-colored) pumpkins and thought they'd be a nice contrast. I got the rust orange burlap at the fabric store, halved it with my friend Becky, then just frayed the edges to make a runner. I weaved some burlap ribbon through the middle and picked some nandina berries while they were still a nice rusty orange (before they turn red and I'll be picking them for Christmas).

I'm planning on adding more greenery and some gold-spray painted pumpkins and gold tapers. I'd also like to hollow out the big white pumpkin and use it as a vase for a floral arrangement. I was inspired by Eddie Ross' table setting in the most recent Lonny.

I'll keep you updated on my progress. If there is any.

In other makeover-related news, I had a strange thing happen to me today when I stopped by the Gas Lamp Antique Mall. After grabbing something at the Home Depot next door, I had about 30 minutes before having to pick up my son, so of course, I just had to shop. While perusing the aisles, a young guy approached me and proceeded to tell me he was a casting director. I immediately thought, "This is it. Finally my big break. He was obviously bowled over by my beauty and . . . " 

Okay, back to reality. But it did turn out to be a pretty cool conversation. He said he was casting for a home makeover show that will be airing on Oprah's new network. It's not being produced by her, but it will be on her network. Anyway, they're trying to find people with "over-the-top" decorating schemes to re-design their spaces. It's going to be called Design Rescue. Here's the flier he gave me:

Forgive the scribble at the top . . . that's Ulysses' contact information. He gave me his digits. I told him I had a blog and would let people know about this as well. So, if you know anyone who fits the bill, shoot him an email (at either of the email addresses I would imagine). Anyone tempted to "tacky" up their home just to get a makeover? I must admit that occurred to me, but I just couldn't go through with such a ruse! It sounds like a great opportunity for the right person though.

And last, but not least, if you're interested in doing a makeover of your own, I just noticed that One Kings Lane is hosting Lee Kleinhelter as one of its Tuesday Tastemaker Tag Sales at Twilight. Lee is the owner and creative force behind Pieces, a bastion of chic design finds in Atlanta.

I love her style. The sale starts at 9 p.m. eastern time, 8 p.m. central (my time). I will definitely be checking it out.

Sources: Lonny, One Kings Lane