Making Over Ikea Chairs

Those used to be our kitchen chairs when we lived in a tiny Apt in Fort Lee. Ever since we moved to the house, they have been sitting in the basement and after many failed attempts to get rid of them on a garage sale, I decided to make them over.

I covered CD-s with a fabric for the detail on the back. 
SOLD (to a movie set!)

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Viva la Coffee Sacks

Im becoming a coffe-sack'nator. Here's another one. This time I paired a two completely mismatching materials, like luxurious velvet and a rough coffee sack. I think it worked like a charm.
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80's Want Their Lamp Back!

"Take it or I'm gonna through it away" said my friendly neighbor. He knows I like junk ;) 
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Lamp with Ram Head Handles

This makeover I did three years ago and back then I was stupid enough not to take a "before" picture. I tried to find something similar online and found this one. Imagine now, burgundy base and gold ram heads on both sides... A-style pleaded shade, covered with plastic.. yikes!
"Before" (not actual but similar)

After

How to make the A/C disappear?

We decided to build a cubby around it. It came out pretty sweet I gotta say. Definitely serves a purpose. Used 2x3-s, 1x2-s, Aluminum vent sheet and pickled oak stain. It opens if needed and is wide enough to hide the electrical outlet.
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Lucky Chair

We got quite lucky last weekend at the thrift store as we stumbled upon many potential little pieces that screamed for a makeover. This chair was one of them. Good quality red oak, made by union workers back in the 50-s. 
SOLD
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Felt Fun

Brought back a roll of natural felt from Estonia last time I went and made these rustic looking candle cozy's 

Anneli in Design Sponge

My knitted pillows were finally featured in the Design Sponge (my bible!) in March. Check it out here !

Little Garden Project

This chair came with the house, we found it in the basement. I gave it a new coat of paint to prevent rusting and, removed the bottom and planted the ever happy Purple Heart. 

Got Fork?

Yesterday I decided to paint a giant fork on my kitchen wall. Note to self - never to use anything BUT Benjamin Moore paints. 

Scrap Wood Bench

Construction on the second floor is on hold for now. It's literally like a sauna up there now in the summer. But we can salvage a lot of scrap wood from that room and make new cool things out of it. Like that chest. I think that came out so awesome. 
I posted on FB that I started collecting vintage grain sacks. Some friends brought me the Basmati bags, the other friend got me this large coffee bag from Netherlands. She does a lot of traveling there buying old furniture for her store (www.mooblisahver.com). Thanks Piret!
So first we made a box using 2x4-s and 1x2-s from the construction room.

The coffee sack material is sturdy but very sheer and wimpy, I sewed a different fabric under it to make it sturdier by sewing a grid all across the material. 
I get foam from work, we pack heavy stuff there so foam is free. It was a pain to make the trim. It sheared like crazy. But in the end it looks pretty neat I think. If the cats start scratching that I will be very very mad.

IKEA/Scrap Wood Serving Table

We recently bought cabinets from IKEA and as usual, checked out the "As is" area for some "garbage treasures". We found this storage drawer frame for $2.50.

I came home from work one day and Brian had made a top on it and it looks just so cool. We have a lot of free 2x1-s from the ceiling that we are currently tearing down and he salvaged that scrap wood for this awesome table top.

I think it looks so amazing, I can't wait to get the grill going!

Tree on the wall

Every year we spend two weeks of the summer in Estonia. It's such a sweet treat to see my family and enjoy all the hugs, late nights, food, drinks and more hugs.
I promised my BFF to paint an apple tree on her wall. It took us a few bottles of wine of course.

Backyard - Progress and Reflections

Is this yard ever going to be finished? Here is where we started.

1st day, 2007

Kitchen cabinets piled up, 2007, temporary tent

Awning not built yet

Tree removal and wall building

Using old pavers to build walls

2010 April started with a great makeover. Removed old brick wall and bought pavers to build a new larger half circle for plants.

Both half circles built, half way done with pavers. Gravel will go in between.

Almost ready, now we are just waiting for the plants to grow lush and green.

Wooden Tile Wall

We used to have a mirror on that wall but decided to move it to a better location. I have heard that it's not recommended to have a mirror facing the door. Maybe it's just in my head but it really seemed like it reflected the energy back outside.

So we painted and framed the wall and decided to make wooden tiles. Wood gives a warm feeling as long as it not overwhelming.
We bought two 4x4 pine posts from the Home Depot and started chopping them into 7-8 mm tiles.

Using a chop saw, Brian made about 500 of them the house smelt like a lumberyard - love it! Then we sanded the edges. Any thinner tiles started to warp. 

I used a hot glue gun to put the tiles in place. they didn't always match up but somehow the pattern always stayed straight. It was a miracle .

The wooden tile gives the room such warmth now. I's been up for three days but I don't know how the raw wood will behave in the long run (expanding etc.) So it will be our little experiment.
UPDATE 3/3/10! Some tiles fell off, Elmers Glue is better. Thin ones warp a bit but nothing major.

Some Older Makeovers

We used to have a tiny apt in Fort Lee (love that town!) We needed a tiny couch and found this yellow one and turned it into a cow. I know I know, cow print is long overdue,.. still :)

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This was a fun little side cabinet.

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SOLD

Scrap Wood Chest

My work room upstairs is finally done. I needed a place to put all my millions of fabrics and swatches. We figured this weird corner could hold a giant chest and all my materials would be in one place. From demolition in the room next to it, we had piles of beat-up 1x3's. So we decided to build a chest, using only scrap materials from the ceiling.

It looked like a pig crate at first :)

After we managed to make it durable enough, stained it ebony and added a lion head knocker for easy pulling. Looks pretty nice ay? Cost $0.00 plus the wheels and hinges of course.

Our baby Cash likes it too

Tray Table Makeover

This table had such a great potential to be an ottoman instead. I re-stained the legs, cut a cushion out of foam and covered with heavy plaid upholstery fabric.
SOLD

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