UN-refinished table

Hi All! This warmer weather has had me reminiscing the days when Matt and I used to live at the beach. They were good days, indeed, but we also love where we live now near our home city, Washington D.C. Although we don't live at the beach anymore there's no reason we can't pull off a bit of beachy vibe in our home now! My interpretation of beachy is casual and laid back, use of natural elements, loads of sunlight, and snaps of happy color.

I had a beachy vision for a particular table in my living room. Funny thing is, this table was painted white already with distressed and weathered grey cabana stripes. It was super beachy! However, it's also smack in between two pieces of white seating in our living room and I wanted something to break up all the white.

I've had this table since my junior year of college when my Mom handed it down. I can't even think about the mice that likely lived inside when we had an infestation my Senior year in the M.A.C.K shack, (Hi, Margaret, Andrea, and Katherine)!

But I digress. Here is how I refinished this table the first time around: 

I used Old White by Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, and dry-brushed stripes in Paris Grey, also by ASCP. Then I sanded everything down for a time-worn, weathered finish.

And here's my second round with this piece! I went to town with my sander, removing the paint from most of the surfaces, and then gave it a light wash with equal parts Old White and water.

My favorite part of this make'under' is the leftover bits of white paint stuck in the cracks and crevices of the table! Wasn't expecting that but it certainly adds a sweet dose of age and history. I love seeing traces of a pieces' past, in one form or another; it's why I always aim to maintain the integrity and character of any piece I'm refinishing.

The rope pull was an impromptu DIY made from leftover sisal rope I had on hand. I had to drill the hole from the previous knob a bit bigger to fit the two ends of rope inside. Once the two ends were stuck inside I tied them in a knot to keep the rope pull secure.

Doing a light wash over almost any piece will make it appear bleached and sun faded. Very beachy. I'm working on this exact type of finish with a larger piece right now, and let me tell you, all that sanding to remove the original stain is not for the faint of heart!!! Which I totally am. So I'm taking it slow. :) But I sure am excited to show you! Progress pics will be posted on Instagram if you're interested in following projects along that way.

Thank you, as always, for stopping by!!

~Chelsea

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

Ricky. {And some more birthday loot}

Hi guys! I wanted to introduce you really quick to the newest member of our family, Ricky. He was on clearance at Home Goods and I had a birthday gift card to use, (thanks, Mom and Dad), so I snatched him up without a second thought!

Love his warm, not-too-shiny metal finish. He ties together the other various metals in our living room, so I can definitely say he's functional...

Not gonna lie, it's invigorating to sit on the living room sofa right under Ricky. I hung him myself, so it's on me if anyone gets speared!

On a separate trip out, this time to World Market, (thanks to another birthday gift card from Cate and my brother), I picked up some mismatched placemats and zip-around wool pouches from the clearance section. Almost ready to share what these turned into soon. 

Any guesses? (I ended up coming home with a slightly different assortment than the picture I took above)

There are some fun DIY projects and reveals coming up this week; if you follow on  Instagram or Facebook you've already seen a little peek!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Chelsea

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

DIY Mid-century modern chairs {Full tutorial of an IKEA hack}

Happy Friday, guys! Kicking off what I hope is a beautiful, well spent weekend for all of you, I've got an exciting transformation to share today! Take a look at our original IKEA Jennylund armchairs, (after I added the pom-pom trim to the bottom)

And after some brainstorming, praying, and diving into DIY:

To be honest, this DIY was a last-ditch effort. I've been longing to add a bit of clean-lined mid-century modern flair to our living room, and over a year ago I began browsing Craigslist looking for MCM, (mid-century modern), armchairs. I wanted to replace our IKEA Jennylund chairs, (which we bought used off of Craigslist as soon as we moved into our home almost 4 years ago), with something cleaner lined. Love the Jennylund chairs, but the pair side by side, across from our IKEA Ektorp sofa, all looked a little slouchy to me. Slip-covered furniture is wonderful, especially when you've got a small army of toddlers, but after lots of cycles of heavy use and washing, the fit is just never the same. The slipcovers on all three pieces, (2 Jennylund chairs + 1 Ektorp sofa), were getting baggier and looser, resulting in an all around slouchy looking living room. I wanted to clean things up a bit. 

So, back to my story- I had been searching on Craigslist for a pair of MCM armchairs and wasn't having any luck finding anything in my budget, (which, really, was non-existent. I think I was hoping I'd find TWO gems for around $25 each. HAH!) Then I started thinking about having the Jennylund chair frames upholstered. They weren't bad looking chairs underneath our slouchy slipcovers! So, after 3 or 4 calls to local upholsterers who quoted me between $600-$1500/chair, (what the what?!?), this little seedling of an idea to take matters into my own hands began to sprout. My plan: Use a grey slipcover, attach the skirt underneath the chair, and replace the legs.

At first, I wanted to order two slipcovers from Bemz in Silver Grey Panama Cotton. But the total for the two slipcovers plus shipping was still out of reach. So, I took my Silver Grey fabric swatch, (Bemz will send 5 fabric swatches for free), to JoAnn Fabrics and found the closest match with Rit fabric dye, (which appeared to be Pearl Grey).

The Pearl Grey fabric dye was a major disappointment. At this point I had two blue-ish, purple-ish slipcovers and I followed every instruction for dying in a front loader washer exactly.

I went back to JoAnns for round two, (and they graciously gave me two more boxes of dye free of charge), this time with a better plan. I mixed an entire packet of Rit Tan with 3/4 of a packet of Rit Pearl Grey for more of a 'greige' color.

Check it out! The two dyes mixed perfectly to match the Silver Grey fabric swatch from Bemz!

Like-new grey slipcovers! Hard part = OVER!

The rest of this DIY was pretty easy and straight forward. I turned the chairs on their backs and unscrewed their legs. 

Pulled the fabric somewhat tight, (you don't want it too tight or too loose), and used a staple-gun to attach the 'skirt' of the slipcover underneath the bottom edge of the chair.

Trimmed off the excess fabric.

And attached these legs using these top plates, found at Do It Best.com. I stained the legs using Hickory wood stain by Minwax before attaching. (Photo is of the legs before staining)

Finished product!

Obviously, these chairs are not perfect. With all the hot water dying and washing the slipcovers shrank just a wee bit. As you can see, the piping does not reach the bottom edge of the chair. But for me, personally, the slight imperfections are completely worth the money we saved. We have the chairs that I envisioned over a year ago, and for only $30/chair, (the expense came from the legs). 

This DIY project sure challenged my fearless DIY limits! I definitely feel encouraged that all worked out in the end, especially after several bumps in the road. It's invigorating to try something brand new, even if it is just giving a couple of chairs a makeover...

Have yourselves a splendid weekend and thank you so much for stopping by!

~Chelsea

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