Ready for sale day!

You guys, the garage looks ridiculous. I might spend the night out there tonight.  Aside from a few more pieces, (which will spill out of the garage and sit on the driveway), we're just about ready for the 5th Chelsea's Garage sale tomorrow! Here's a quick peek of the progress...

5th Chelsea's Garage Sale
Saturday, June 7
9am-3pm
At the intersect of Whitewood Lane and Builders Road in Herndon, VA
Refreshments available

We'll be back to normal life once again next week, starting with ringing in my 30th birthday on Monday! So long, 20s!!

Thank you all for stopping by, and thank you especially for keeping with Cate and me as we prepare for this exciting day tomorrow, (especially those of you who are not local)!

Happy weekend, All!

~Chelsea

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

Tuft-Backed Suede Bench

The closer we get to the big day this weekend {June 7th}, the more I feel like we are no longer prepping for a garage sale.  It feels more like we are getting ready for a Furniture Debutante Ball.  For 2 months we have been coaching our thrift store finds into high-class, respectable pieces.  We've been taking their raw potential and honing them into something special.  And this Saturday, ladies and gentlemen, will be their BIG DEBUT to the public - and you're all invited!

When I found this bench, {my final sneak-peek installment until the sale!}, it looked more like adud than a debutante. The seat was crudely recovered in some sort of vinyl indicative of a 1950's motor home or a run-down diner and didn't quite match the bench back's fabric.  Now I love hole-in-the-wall places to eat, but the one thing I do not like is peeling my legs off the vinyl seat at the end of my greasy meal.  So, I had another re-upholstery project on my hands.

The lines of the piece are what caught my eye: mid-century modern with handsome tufted buttons.  But a closer look revealed that someone had tried to hold on to this piece for as long as they could. I removed the vinyl seat fabric to discover that the previous owner had tried to bandage it, literally bandage it {with gauze}, when the original tweed-patterned cloth ripped.  When the wound wasn't healing, they must have realized duct tape was a better plan and added that over top.  And when that plan went awry, they found a fabric that almost matched the original and used it to crudely recover the seat cushion.

But now... after weeks of repeating wear the crown, be the crown, you are the crown... we had ourselves a budding socialite!

If you didn't know this already, Chelsea and I love herringbone.  Check it out here,  here, and most recently here.  I chose a herringbone suede to recover the bench.  

Snuggly tucked-in corners.

And get this: it has brass feet!  {My Fave}

I dropped off my pieces for sale set-up at Chelsea's yesterday and I defy you to find me a cuter garage! Chelsea and Matt have once again expertly transformed the space into the classiest little showroom.  Get ready folks: we are getting ALLLLLL dressed up for this one!

This piece and many many other fabulous re-made finds are available for sale THIS weekend! 

Hope to see you there!

~Cate

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

My first 'Take-two'!

Three days until the 5th Chelsea's Garage sale! Here's today's sneak peek:

Sometime last week I posted a photo of this piece that I picked up at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore:

It felt like any other first meeting with a new piece: "Why, hello there; let's check you out. Mmm-hmm, you got it goin' on. Good bones, kickin' body. I would looooove to get my hands on you; are you spoken for? You're not?! Well then let's go, I'll pull my car around and pick you up. What's that? You don't think you'll fit in my minivan? I assure you, there's nothing 'mini' about it; it's pretty spacious with the seats out. C'mon. My house isn't far and my husband won't mind."

Then, after a few drinks, (of water), I went to the garage to remove the hardware from my new piece, (bow-chicka-wow-wowww). In that instant, I realized we had met before. Months ago. How embarrassing!!

Let's take a quick walk down memory lane. I found this piece at Goodwill last fall:

Turned it into this:

And it became a highly praised and shared Before / After feature on Apartment Therapy, catapulting the piece to hundreds of boards all over Pinterest. I couldn't believe it!!

So, when I started to recognize this new piece from the ReStore, I flew to the computer to look at photos of the previous piece I'd done last fall. Every detail is exactly. the. same. In 4 years of refinishing furniture, I can't recall ever finding a duplicate piece. I felt ridiculously giddy as soon as I realized I was getting a 'take-two' opportunity with one of the most popular pieces to come out of my humble garage!

After some back and forth, I decided to go in a totally different direction this time. A little quieter, softer, and slightly more versatile:

I couldn't use the original hardware; it was missing too many pieces and wasn't quite the look I was going for. After browsing some options online, I decided on these beech wood pulls from ATG Stores which I think add stunning contrast to the crisp white.  It's the natural wood that gives the entire piece a down to earth feel.

Gentle distressing over a crisp white piece is my favorite. There's a warmth and coziness that distressing adds, even to this Pure White by Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.

Before / After, Take-two

My first After / After

Pretty different, right?! Both good saves, in my utterly biased opinion. Find this and other one-of-a-kind beauties this coming Saturday! Cate and I will be selling two months worth of refinished pieces right out of my garage-turned-showroom. We are so excited to see and meet all who can make it!

(Please contact chelseasgarage@gmail.com for the address. Cash or Check are accepted)

Thank you for stopping by!

~Chelsea

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