{Re*Made}: Breakfast Table Window Seat

When my hubby and I began work on our current home--which is my childhood home--we quickly realized that what was intended as the dining room would not work for us because our table was too big.  With the living room as large as it is, we were able to make it a combo room, but were left with an open area off the kitchen with no function.

My mom then mentioned that when we lived there, she always thought a window seat would be neat in that room.  The more I thought about that idea the more we liked it, so that became the plan:  to create a "breakfast room" with a window seat, a small table, and a couple of chairs. 

If you haven't seen the transformation of the kitchen and breakfast room, it really is amazing.  But if you have, you might remember the bench we built for our window seat.  Just a plain-jane plywood box with a lid for extra storage. 

We painted it before installation, which was a bit of a disaster.  I have never experienced a paint like this before.  We chose our color, selected our paint finish, and had it mixed--like always.  Wet paint almost always looks different from the sample, so when it looked different as I was painting, I wasn't too concerned.  But as it dried (outside) it didn't really match the color sample either.  I know lighting plays a huge part in color, so I thought, ok, we'll get it inside and it'll be better.  Um, yeah, NO.  It became the worst color ever and most definitely not the color we chose.  See?  Most definitely NOT chocolate brown.


I just love this girl!

I mean, ok, it's probably not the worst color ever, but it was not what I had in mind.  I knew eventually I would have to repaint it and of course it needed a cushion.  It wasn't very comfortable to lay on and read and drink coffee.  :)

I knew I wanted it a light color but still have some contrast since all our walls are light.  I also wanted to keep it neutral.  I change my mind too much to commit to a color, ha ha.  I need something that will go with a variety of colors and accessories.

One day, while looking for something else, I was rummaging through my fabric bolt stash, and saw a fabric that I thought would be perfect for the bench.  But not as a cushion.  As a cover for the bench.  It's a good neutral that would give me that contrast, plus it is a durable fabric meant for upholstery, so it was perfect!

Covering it was fairly easy.  I cut the length of my fabric then measured the depth of the lid and the height of the front of the bench.  Miracle of miracles, those two measurements were the width of my fabric, so all I needed to do was cut almost down the middle and I was good.  How did that happen?!

Once I had my pieces cut, I used a staple gun to attach.  Simple enough.

Even with just the fabric covering it, the bench looked 10 times better, but I wanted to do something to the front of the bench to make it special.  Not just a fabric covered seat.  On our trip to the fabric store to find our cushion fabric, I ran across the nailhead trim and decided I wanted to do something with that.

I decided on a pattern:  diamonds, and took measurements to figure my placements.  I first outlined the front with the nail trim, then added the diamonds after.

The diamonds were tricky.  I ended up doing each side individually to make sure it matched my measurements as accurately as possible, and to make sure each side met the points in the right place.

First one down, four more to go.

It was time consuming.  And back breaking.  And  a lot harder to hammer in those tacks than I would have thought {you can see my lines aren't perfectly straight}.  But after a couple of days, I got them all done.  And I was pretty excited about the turnout.  :)

Now that I had the bench redone, it was time to make a cushion.  The fabric definitely helped with comfort {the plywood edge could really cut into a person's leg} but it still wasn't good for long reading sessions.

I laid my foam on the lid, then cut it down to size.  It was the right length, but too wide.

Cutting with scissors was not a subject I mastered in Kindergarten, which plagues me to this day.  Thank goodness it was going to be covered!

Then wrapped it with batting for extra softness.

Then I wrapped the fabric around to get my fit for the cushion cover.  I wanted to make one like a sham so I could easily remove it for washing {since it is at an eating table}.

I love the fabric.  Vintage French postmarks and addresses.  I wanted a neutral fabric that would work in both the breakfast room and the dining room, as I was planning on covering my dining chairs in the same fabric.  I also wanted something with a bit of red in it to coordinate with the red accents in the kitchen.

After I had the cover made, I put the cushion back in place, and with the pillows, it's the perfect little nook.

Doesn't it look good?

I had to borrow a couple of our dining chairs for the shots.  I am in the process of restoring a pair of dining chairs we had to be the new breakfast table chairs.  :)

So, whadya think?

It's not a dramatic change, but a better one and a more comfy one!  I still have a project or two in mind for this room to show off some things of my mom's.  Hopefully that will get done sooner rather than later.  Maybe next year's Spit*Shined list!

Well, I hope you found some inspiration!

ta-ta for now

New Wedding Stuff!!

If you've kept up with me on Facebook, then you know I've been working on a few new wedding designs.  It's been too long since I've sat in the design seat (graphically speaking) so I was excited to get back to work on a couple of designs that have been on the back burner for quite some time, as well as a new one.

I've been trying to get myself to broaden my horizons, so these new designs feature a new technique for me, while another design gets a little trendy.  I typically try to stay away from trends and keep things more classic or unique, but I couldn't stay away from this one.

So, without further ado, I present the three newest members of the {be made designs} Wedding Invitation Collection!!
 

{Re*Made}: Nightstand Revival

I'm slowly trying to get back in the swing of things with my design work and completing my goal list.  I know I won't be able to get it all done this year as I had hoped, but I think, for me, it was a great start. 

So, I finally have a new {Spit*Shined} project for October.  Woo hoo! 

Regrettably, I have inherited a few new pieces of furniture.  Some are going in storage until I have a home large enough to showcase them and properly utilize them.  Others are replacing pieces I currently own as they are much better quality.  But in the case of one small little piece of furniture, it was going to fill a void in my bathroom, after a makeover, of course.  :)

For as much storage as our little house has, we still need more.  But isn't that the story for everyone?!  I especially needed a little more storage in our bathroom for all my junk:  hair do-dads, specialty make-up, nail polish, that sorta thing.  All that has been in our bathroom cabinet but gets hidden behind our first-aid box, linens and shared daily toiletries. 

You may remember that our bathroom has a large vanity counter that is open underneath:  the perfect place to add in a little extra storage.  I've had my eyes open for something that would fit underneath it, but most pre-manufactured things I have found are too tall. 

My mom had a nightstand in her bedroom that she'd had for as long as I can remember.  It needed a little TLC, but I really thought it would be the perfect piece to go under our vanity.  The two extra drawers would give me plenty more space to stash my stuff and clean out our cabinet.

However, it, too, was too tall.  By like only two inches!!  But, after looking at how the piece was originally constructed, we saw that it would be pretty easy to eliminate those two inches (and a couple more) although I would have to lose the front base piece.  I really liked that little detail, but I needed this piece to work, so off it came.

Next was the painting part.  You may also remember that my bathroom has baby blue and baby pink colored tile.  Not the greatest color scheme in the world, but hey, gotta work with what I got.  I have slowly begun incorporating grey accents and I think it's working well.  So I decided to paint this little chest grey, but I wanted to 1) use cream also so it wasn't just a flat Navy-ship-grey piece, and 2) do a little painter's tape "stenciling".

First, since the cream was going to be my "detail" color, I painted those areas first in the cream.  That included the moulding at the top, the sides and the drawers.

After a couple of coats and drying, I applied the painter's tape to those areas I wanted to stay cream:  the moulding at the top of the chest, the edge and face of the drawers, and a trompe l'oeil moulding on the side.

I cheated a bit doing the moulding stencil on the side.  The right and proper way would have been to measure, use a level to make sure my lines were square, etc.  We still have tons of boxes from my mom's move and when I saw one open, I thought the flap would make a great stencil.  So I found a box that was the right size, cut off the flap and taped it to the side of my chest.  I then applied the tape to the outside of the flap, eyeballing the levelness.  My square may not be perfectly square, but you can't tell and it was a super quick way to get it done.

I used a separate circle object--a plastic bubble container you get in those gumball-type toy vending machines to be exact--to draw my curves, then cut off the excess tape. 

Once all the tape was in place, I applied the grey paint.  I went glossy with the paint, which is something I never do.  I'm just not a glossy girl.  But I thought being surrounded by glazed tile, a glossy chest would look best.  (ha ha, I was a poet and didn't know it.  Yes, I'm always cheesy like that.) 
Again, a couple of coats and let it dry.

Finally dry, it was time to remove the tape.  I love this part, seeing the idea revealed.  Plus, it's fun peeling the tape. :)

When we redid the bathroom, we used vintage-inspired glass knobs on the cabinets.  I wanted to keep that same look with this chest, and remembered I had some truly vintage glass cabinet handles stored away, waiting for their perfect place.  Perfect place found!  And I got lucky that the existing holes were the right size and space apart.

So, paint is dry, tape removed, handles installed.
Presenting a revived nightstand turned bathroom storage chest.

It really is a new piece of furniture.  I love looking at the before and afters just because it is so dramatic.  And it fits perfectly in our bathroom, now housing all my goodies.  Yay!

So, whadya think?

Hope you found a little inspiration.  :)

ta-ta for now...

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