Dining room mood board

Well! So much for lazy, summer days...my feet are hot from chasing around my kids and working on projects when they're asleep! Aside from several recently dropped off custom orders, Matt and I also have some home projects going on. Some big, (I'm an eighth the way done with painting our kitchen cabinets. An eighth people. After a month.), and some not as big.

We've recently had some discussions about redirecting some areas of our home closer to what our style truly is. I think it is hard to stay true to ones style when you're making some living off of painting furniture. The feel of painted, distressed furniture tends to lend itself to a cozy, cottage-y style. I love painted, distressed, rustic looking furniture. But I think for us, pieces like that look best when surrounded by slightly more modern, industrial elements.

We have been chipping away at achieving that balance in our home and have made our next stop at our dining room:

I don't hate this; in fact, I think the various elements going on here are individually beautiful! Together, they just don't represent who we are very well. So, we're selling it all. The distressed cream pedestal table, 6 matching chairs, (you can see one in the corner in the picture, the rest are in protected storage), and the 4 solid oak chairs. Whew!   If you are interested, please contact me!  Alas, we've been dreaming up what our ideal dining room would be within our budget, (and we're hoping that the profit from the current dining set covers most of it)! And since I just figured out how to create a mood board, I just couldn't resist...

(I love Picasa for creating mood boards - for anyone interested in trying it out!)

The breakdown:
China cabinet that I refinished last year in Duck Egg - currently in our dining room and staying!

Garner Extension dining table from World Market

Reidar black metal chair from IKEA

Refresh all the frames on the gallery wall in glossy white, (sorry so fuzzy!?)

Spray paint our current chandelier in flat black, (similar style to this one)

Repaint under the chair rail in a French Linen latex color match

And that's it!

No telling when this project will be complete but it's fun to have the final look organized. I'm looking forward to some of the simpler projects within the vision that I can work on until the table and chairs switcharoo is complete.

Thank you for reading!

~Chelsea

This post was originally featured under Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.

Subtle stripes: An accent table transformation!

Hey there!

I had a little fun the other day with an accent table that I've had since college...

A few heavy coats of Old White by Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, some very soft grey stripes, plus a lot of sanding later, and my old college pal is fresh and sweet as can be:

This piece is perhaps too fresh and too sweet for an already light and airy room coated in whites and creams. It may be soon time to part ways this one if I come across the right replacement. Nevertheless, it was fun to play with!

Life Happening:

Typically on a Friday I like to include some highlighted pictures from our week, completely for my sake so I can look back on my favorite photos and moments with my family. However, I don't think I whipped my camera out for anything this week, (except before and afters of furniture). It's not that I didn't have any sweet moments with the little ones...it's just that they were squeezed very tightly on either side by very tough moments. I have two 3yr olds and a 2yr old. This stage is a mixed bag of emotions for us. Anyone who has raised a toddler knows just how emotional it can be! One minute I am consumed in a moment of discipline, and then the other I am melted by two little arms wrapped around my shoulders and a pair of little pink lips whispering, "I love you, Momma". I think I'll have earned myself a degree in psychology after all is said and done! When you've got more than one kid, you try to be the best parent you can be to each individual. And as individuals go, our kids need different things from us at different times. And in this particular stage, I feel like each kid needs my undivided attention 95% of the time, which, obviously, is impossible.

We don't read parenting books, for no important reason. I am certain that with every little struggle we come across with each kid, there is a chapter somewhere in some book that we could read for advice. When I find myself tired and incompetent of the task of raising my children in the precise way for how they are each 'wired', I turn to the One who created them and gave them to us. The Lord gave Matt and me a big job. A job that is much bigger than us. Over the last 3 years as parents He has sustained us, guided our parental decisions, and replenished our strength and energy to no end. 

Today I came across this verse that was just the boost of courage I've needed lately:
"She is clothed with strength and dignity and laughs without fear of the days to come."  Proverbs 31:25

For all my hardworking  girlfriends, readers, and family, that verse is for you today and I hope it gives you a dose of courage as well. Laugh on!

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

~Chelsea

This post was originally featured under Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.

New world discovery: Bemz!

Okay, here's the deal: Last week I stumbled onto something pretty awesome, (to me), and as I'm sitting here writing this post, I'm crossing my fingers that I'm not the very last person to have found it. Because that would make this post pretty lame. So, I'm gonna go out on a limb and hope that my news is reaching at least a few who, like me, did not know about this pretty awesome thing before.

So here it is.  Ready?
There is a site that makes over 200 slipcovers specifically for IKEA pieces.

Introducing for the first time on Chelsea's Garage, Bemz

I am a big fan of IKEA and have responded to many inquiries about where we got our living room sofa and chairs, (IKEA Ektorp collection). As someone who appreciates versatility and quick change-outs here and there, slipcovers are a great fit for me, (and my young and often sticky family). IKEA pieces are appealing because they don't look like traditional frumpy slipcovers. You can still get your clean and polished look. Only problem is...IKEA doesn't offer a great variety of slipcovers. You get your basic neutral solids, maybe a bright red and blue, and a print here or there, depending on the piece. Bemz literally has hundreds of fabrics to choose from. Their slipcovers are made for everything from sofas and armchairs to footstools, cushions, and even bedspreads, bed skirts, and headboard covers for the cozy upholstered look! They also let you order up to 5 FREE fabric samples to help you choose the right fabric for your home!

Here's a bit of eye candy from the Bemz home site. All pieces slipcovered in their own custom fabric...

The Bemz site also lets you 'try on' all the fabric options with the various IKEA pieces. For example, let's say I want to change out the white Jennylund chairs we have now in our living room:

I can try on a plethora of options!

The blue birds is my favorite. Hands down.
*They also have beautiful rich fabrics such as chenille and linen which take your basic IKEA pieces to a whole other level of sophisticated style*

You get the picture. It's pretty awesome, right!?!

And IKEA would probably disapprove of me spreading this around, but their pieces are ALL OVER CRAIGSLIST AND YARDSALES! So, if you find what you're looking for used, then you pay a fraction of the full IKEA price, (which is really quite reasonable to begin with), and then spend a little extra on a custom Bemz slipcover! We found our entire living room set, (Ektorp sofa and two Jennylund armchairs), on Craigslist by different sellers. Since we paid so little for the pieces, I wouldn't mind spending the saved money on fresh slipcovers that look made for our home and style....you know, when the time comes for a change. :)

So what do you think? Would you Bemz out your home?

Thank you for reading!

~Chelsea

This post was originally featured under Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.