Tuesday, March 29, 2011

"Design on a Dime"

My oldest is turning 29 in a couple of weeks!
So...
in honor of her birthday, I decided to do a transformation of her dining room which was really driving her crazy.
First, like most young couples, she had a "hand me down" dining room set.
......that she hated....
It killed me, but hey, life moves on, right?
and....it WAS very 90s 80's
She did have some other pretty nice pieces, so we had a few things to work with
Anyway...
I had an idea.
First of all, it's amazing what you can accomplish in two days with a little hard work and a can a paint!
The before:
 we decided to keep the chairs and the hutch and ditch the table
 we painted those chairs white (that's Aunt Kim helping out) and that's the living that J turned into a playroom adjacent to the dining room (that's our next project)
We used Kilz to prime the chairs and a stark white satin finish
After the paint dried,  I covered the cushions in a burlap - like fabric. It is actually a silk burlap
 then we had this very, very old armoire, OH! almost forgot!  We painted the walls a slate grey!
 With Carlie (the dog) watching I white washed the armoire
check this out, from South of Market...Price tag? 8,900.00
ours?  I think I paid 100.00 for it 10 years ago!

J found this great bench (snatch) from Hobby Lobby.  Price tag? 111.00

she brought it home, painted it white and I recovered the leather
 she also had this darling table that friends of ours gave her as a wedding gift.  She always wanted to use it so here was her opportunity!

 Oh, forgot to tell you!!!  We took the hutch off the buffet and hung it in the playroom for a bookshelf!
We tried out one of my paintings, but I nixed it.  These were our paint choices.  We chose the top middle one
 and then I found this cool piece to go over the hutch!!!,

 brought in two slipcovered chairs to replace two dining room chairs. We felt like the room was too "leggy" and J cut fresh flowers out of her yard
 The chairs needed a little something, so I am making "chair runners" for them and J will be monogramming them!
Now we just have to decide on the fabric for the drapes....this?
or this!
I'm leaning towards the yellow print.  What cha think?
again,,,,before:
 and after

Have a great day y'all!
I'm heading to Mississippi to set up for a huge art show!!! More about that later!
xo
kb

8 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness come to my house...please! How gorgeous is this transformation?! I say go with the yellow one too :) I think it adds more dimension, but both are absolutely beautiful! I've been meaning to tell you...after your Scott antique market post I looked it up online, and told my family that we're all going to the April one! I can't wait!! :) Thanks for all the tips-love your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  2. PLEASE come to my house!!!!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love spending weekends like this with my mom. It looks great!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a beautiful transformation! Kind of French/Country/Modern, if there is such a thing! I love the old tobacco basket sitting on the buffet, too. Did you find that at a local antique shop? I like the first set of fabrics, that tie in the fabric used on the chairs, for window treatments.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh my gosh! KENDALL. Will you come to my house on your next Birmingham visit?!?! I WILL PAY YOU!!! This is out of this world. I am TOTALLY obsessed with it all! LOVE it!!

    PS- I'm dead serious. I WILL pay you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a transformation. Must show you a photo of one of Kristy's bedrooms (my daughter) that would be used as a boy nursery. It has draperies done in the linen geometric print (tan and off white) and we hot glued white cotton fringe on the ends and it looks amazing!! So of course, that would be my pick for draperies. Best of luck with the art show~

    ReplyDelete
  7. Kendall.....I keep texting Jess "read Kendall's blog today!".....guess she's now on board cause one of her friends at work tried to win the last painting..:) Jess is spreading the word:) She'll love today. We have NO design ability WHATSOEVER!! All that looks so easy that someone else is doing is THE HARDEST EVER for us. Right now she has chairs I gave them from the attic. GREAT chairs but they just sit there in their dining (suppose to be living) room....jumping at you when you walk in the front door with an invisibile sign that reads "H E L P". We are thankful for the gifts God has given us, but design wasn't one of them:) Can't wait for her to see this.

    ReplyDelete