House Pictures!

Guest Bedroom, Part1

Owen's Big Boy Bedroom

Master Bedroom, minus all the fun details

Powder Room Wall Decal Project

Kitchen Reno, Part I

Kitchen Chandelier, Take III

Still no keys to the house, but the purchases are rolling in...

House w.o.e.s., I tell ya. But despite our angst over getting the keys to our new home, there has been lots of frenzy over new purchases. I will have to share a few to keep my spirits up. This house is going to be an electic mix of vintage, shabby chic, beachside cottage. Guess the following two lights are beachside, for sure:

For the dining room:

For the bedroom (1 on each side of the bed)

And as if West Elm wasn't already getting my paycheck, I threw in a pair of linen nailhead trimmed curtains for good measure for the family room (more on the cottage side):

Crossing my fingers that our purchases and ourselves will have a place to call home TOMORROW!!

New House, New Projects

I am going to skip all the drama and stress related to our current house buying process and get to good stuff. I'll just cross my fingers that all goes well with the inspection findings and our subsequent negotiations moving forward. Hopefully, it will all be worth it once we find ourselves settled here:

The house needs a lot of work, including some really expensive big ticket items:  new roof, all new floors, a new deck outside, and some electrical repairs. In addition, the inside needs A TON of cosmetic updating. I mean, e.v.e.r.y. single freakin room. While it's overwhelming to try to put a plan in place for everything, I'll have no shortage of updates to share. One of the primary reasons we fell in love with this house was its open layout from kitchen to breakfast nook to family room. Considering the kitchen and family room is where we spend a majority of our time, we wanted a house where both of those rooms were intimately connected. While the kitchen in narrow, it suits our needs just perfectly.

Given the other things we have to focus on, we don't have money to re-do the kitchen from scratch (and won't for quite some time), so my current idea is to repaint the cabinets white, add great decorative knobs, and, cross my fingers, get new countertops and a new farmhouse kitchen sink. Adding new paint to the walls and new lighting fixtures will finish it off until we can afford new floors, a tile backsplash and stainless appliances. Here is my inspiration room:

The family room is going to get new floors (engineered wood, most likely), a paint of coat on the walls and shelving, and a jute rug for a low-key, cottage feel. Here is the miserable current state:

And when we finally close in July sometime (if we close!!) I'll share with you the updates. Wish me luck!!

Staining an Old Bench

Tara, this one goes out to you! We could all use friends like Tara. Every few days, she sends me a link on facebook about a piece of bargain furniture I need to check out. She knows my taste! This was one of her treasures. A 150 year old footstool (I call it a bench) selling for $50. After a few email conversations with the seller, I was able to purchase it for $40.00 I'm not the best negotiator, but when I saw how easy it would be to re-cover, I didn't mind. Matt was not impressed when I brought it home. It was very unsturdy, and couldn't really be used:

And that begs the reason why Matt had to join in my re-do. After Matt took the entire thing apart, we set to work on individually hand-sanding each piece. With all the grooves and fine detail, it was a chore:

Once it was sanded and cleaned, Matt put it back together using new screws and wood glue to make it functional again. Promising the last owner that I would at least consider staining it back to its original color before painting it, I did exactly that. Using a dark honey walnut, I stained the base outside today. It's amazing how a little bit of sunshine and 40 degrees feels like summer in Pittsburgh after such a long, snowy February, but it was great to feel warmth on my face again. Here is the piece stained, and here is the new fabric. If you remember my lampshade project a few months back, the fabric is probably familiar. Guess I had spring on my mind indeed. Once we move, I'll recover it again in a large geometric print. After all, furniture that lasts 150 years deserves a few different makeovers in its lifetime.

Places and People to See in Pittsburgh

Good morning and happy Friday,

So I don't have any pictures to share today, although you won't have long to wait for a project post; BOTH Matt and I are working on a beautiful bench that's over 150 years old. It needed to be taken completely apart, to better secure it for everyday use. Once it's complete, I'll show you all the steps. I'm so excited to share my first furniture project with the hubbie!

Until then, I have to rave about two local vendors here in the Pittsburgh area that have won my heart, and ultimately, my pocket book. I'm all about local businesses, local artists, salvaged pieces and community restoration, and these two business owners have clearly thrown their passion into their work.

First is The Kitchen Annex in Homestead, PA, right on 8th Avenue. Not only can you shop for all the latest kitchen trends, it's adjoined to The Tin Front Cafe, so you can grab a great cup of coffee while you are there. Check out this great article about the family owned and operated stores:
http://www.svmatters.com/2010/01/annex-cookery-is-reborn-in-homestead.html

While at the Annex, I fell IN LOVE with the most beautiful dining table by local artist Rob Brandegee.

While it will take a lot of pennies and time to save for one of his pieces, it would be worth the wait. You can check out more of his work on his website:
http://www.robertbrandegeedesigns.com/

He has a loft studio in the Southside, located on Mary Street, if you ever want to see his designs in person. Hopefully one day you'll be able to see one of his beautiful dining room tables at the Lusk House!

Happy Weekend!

A New Family Tradition

A few months ago, dragging Matt and Owen along with me to secure Craigslist treasures was guilt provoking. Although neither of them would ever complain, I always felt like I was sacrificing part of their weekend endulging my furniture addiction. But lately, it has become such a nice part of our weekends together that it is becoming more of a family tradition in the making than anything else. I think all three of us will look back on these days when Owen is older with fond memories of "it's a tunnel mommy and daddy...raise your arms!" (roller coaster style) and Matt and I discussing the latest music we are listening to on sirius.

Today was one of our typical drives, but sometimes you just get more than your bargain for, literally. Not only did we pick up the two cane chairs I posted earlier, which are in FABULOUS condition, I also scored the cutest chair for the ridiculous price of $15, plus a large yellow lamp for $7.

The women we met were so sweet, talking about their mother in law who originally owned the pieces. What never ceases to amaze me is the condition in which I find many of these pieces. The cane chairs are over 40 years old and it barely looks like they were used. There is something about older generations that really understood what it meant to respect and appreciate their possessions. You just don't see that anymore; people are so used to using and abusing things today and throwing them away for something new. I take a lot of pride in finding these older, beautiful pieces and sharing in the long tradition of care.

Furniture, just like people, are more precious when they have a story to tell.

Cane We Do This?

My latest find is a good one! Two cane back chairs in great condition; $50 for the pair. My mother in law has a beautiful one in her guest bedroom, and I've been on the look-out for a pair of my own for a living room. I can't wait to paint them black and reupholster them in a funky fabric, such as these from Hawthorne Threads:

 

http://www.hawthornethreads.com/home

 The final product will have to wait until we find our next home. We are running out of space to store these items until that happens! If only finding the right house was as easy as the good finds on Craigslist. Here's the teaser photo of what I purchased:

Until I'm able to work some magic, here are some pics to inspire:

image courtesy of http://justsweetnothings.blogspot.com/2009/04/accent-cane-chairs-daybeds.html

Lampshade Lovin'

I adore the lampshades at Anthropologie, but no way am I paying over $100 for a shade. I did however leave the store with a fabulous pillow on clearance for $29 that became my inspiration for a custom lampshade in the living room. When I found this light blue lamp on clearance at TJ Maxx for $21, I knew it was perfect for the mini-makeover. Lampshade started as a very common white. I purchased a quarter of a yard (yes, just a quarter) of fabric from Joann's for a mere $3 as well as fabric iron-on adhesive. Add a few rhinestone buttons and some decorative fringe for the base of the shade and I was on my way to my anthropologie inspired lampshade party.

This is the reinvented shade, with the inspiration pillow below. It's a nice touch of sun to an otherwise very wintery living room scape.

To Paint or Simply Restore?

My latest find last week was worth the 1 hour drive in the pouring, freezing rain on a Sunday afternoon. Found for a mere $60 for the entire set, the dining room table and chairs was well loved and kept in the same family for three generations, but has more recently found itself in a musty basement of an old house for quite some time.

As soon as I saw the chairs on Craigslist, I was in love. They are sturdy, but need A LOT of work. There is about 1 inch or dirt built up from decades of neglect. My research on the table/chairs finds that the set is a Hoosier table/chair dating back to 1931. It sold for about $38 back then, which was pretty pricey in the middle of the Depression. I am trying to decide what I should do with the set. I was originally all about painting it, but it may be worth a lot of money, so perhaps I should just restore it to its original condition? One antique store owner said it could be worth anything from a few hundred dollars to $1,000. Nice return on investment if I do say so myself! If you have an opinion, please let me know~

OCT: Obsessive Compulsive Turquoise

This little cutie I found in a fleatique for a mere $20. Some white paint on the legs made it pop. Slipper chairs are already adorable, but when you add turquoise to the mix, you have sold me! If you don't know, I have a small obsession with turquoise. How could you not? It's the happiest color I know, and a house full of it is a happy house indeed.

Master Bedroom Furniture: So this was actually the furniture set I had growing up as a kid, so there was a little bit of sentiment in keeping it. With it's new color vibe and hardware, I think I'll hang on to it for another few years. This is the finished product, plus the matching armoire.

Step One: I'm finally starting this thing.

So I have been thinking about starting a blog for awhile now. ME. The old school, doesn't-want-an i-phone, could care less about technology me. But I guess this excitement over furniture has sparked all kinds of new interests, so let's hope it's a good thing. Over the last year or so, I've been going crazy over finding old things and renewing them with a new coat of paint or a new look. Is it possible to fall a little bit in love with furniture? That sounds really materialistic, but for the bargains I find, I think it's quite okay that my heart goes pitter-patter. Here are some of my finds as of late. Perhaps I'll post older projects later, when I have some more time. Guest bedroom dresser: The dresser above was in GREAT shape. It was Matt's dresser growing up, so a very easy update. The hardware I ordered for it is another story. I'm still waiting on the full set. The final pic to follow.

The next piece had a much harder life, and required some significant TLC. I believe it may be a blanket closet, but I plan to use it as an entry way greeter or a dry sink for the dining room: I mixed in some metallic powder to the paint, to create a creamy pearl color with a subtle hint of vintage pink. I then dry brushed grey over top, before glossing it over with semi-gloss poly. Some mercury glass knobs needed to accessorize and it's dining room worthy.  Until our next house, it will stay in the living room as a catch all when walking in the front door.