Yet another day fighting the cold, but that didn’t stop me from being atleast a teeny tiny bit productive!

The closer I get to my maternity leave, the more I realise I need to get little tid bits done. This office project has been so long because I have been looking for the right pieces.

So yesterday on my way to the grocery store, I popped into Goodwill. I actually was looking for a dresser or two night tables which I could bump together to form one long dresser/credenza looking thingy. It would be a good way to store all the little papers that seem to add up in offices. Let’s face it, bills are inevitable!

Instead I came across this little number. I immediately picked it up for $1.99. It is a Syroco and at first I considered painting it white.

But once I got into the office, I realised that it looked cute as-is in the middle of my work-in-progress gallery wall.

Eventually I want to get this other Syroco number up too. I’m thinking it would be a nice contrast on the black wall. Just need to figure out what little knick knacks to display on it. Oh and I have to convince the hubster to drill some holes into the wall to put it up. He’s against drilling right now.

But I think it would look really nice with a few floating shelves like these that Nichole at Parlour used.

Parlour

I also painted the matte for this frame black. I think it makes this art that I won on Bijou and Boheme pop all the more.

Now I just need to find a nice dresser. I’m thinking of getting an Ikea piece and transforming it with some O’Verlays

Amanda Carol Interiors

And maybe a pretty seating area? Loving this rich black headboard. This would look nice as a banquette in the kitchen area too. Ok now my wheels are really churning!!

Ah sooooo many projects so little time!

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Sunday was not a day of rest for me. It was consumed by the desire to get this footstool project completed so I could rest my tired legs. Problem is doing this project made me feel even more tired!

But enough of that. After sanding and priming, I dug out this leftover Martha Stewart paint that I had from another project.

I just used a foam brush to paint on three separate coats. The colour is a cross between purple and black. Perfect for my living room decor.

Then the piping project started. I thought this might be fairly painless, but man was I wrong!

First off I had to cut the leftover fabric into a thin strip and add the no-sew fuse tape.

Iron on top to fasten the tape to the fabric.

This is how it should look after.

Then you cut off the excess fabric. I don’t claim to be a piping expert, so I thought I would glue the whole thing onto my footstool. The problem was that I ended up with glue all over!!

So I rummaged around the house and dug out some black velvet fabric that I had. I decided to glue it over the glue-y mess that I had made!

Problem number two was that I ran out of the trim and had to rush over to Joanne’s hoping and praying they would have more. I was not going to rest till this mission was complete!

Luckily I found what I needed and one of their staff even threw in a little diaper words of wisdom for me while I was there. So thanks to this shop, I was able to finish up this longer-than-I-thought piece.

And now I think it looks oh so pretty next to my grey, tufted sofa. I would have taken a pic of my feet resting up after all this hard work. But I don’t think anyone wants to see a pregnant lady’s feet right?!

Needless to say, this will certainly not be my last upholstery project, but I think I”ll look for pieces that don’t require piping next time!

The weekend is here!

And that means me trying to cram in my usual house chores, cleaning, groceries etc and my interior projects. Ahhh never enough time in one day!!

A fellow Mom friend of mine, cackled hysterically one day while visiting my home, warning me of my impending birth and telling me that I should complete as many projects as possible before the little peanut arrives. She’s probably right, so I have taken her words of wisdom and pushed ahead, big belly and all.

So last weekend the legs of this footstool were sanded, primed and painted. This was what it looked like when I bought it. Yes it’s ugly fugly, but that will change soon!

Today I gave it another coat of paint and I’ll do one more shot before letting it all dry and reupholstering. Yesterday I hit the fabric shop and found a mauve-ish looking fabric for $2.50!!

It’s a bit girly, but oh well, I”m the one who will be resting my tired feet on it the most 🙂

Now the big question is about the piping.

Years ago my sister was kind enough to try to show me how to use the sewing machine. Despite her best efforts, it was something that I had trouble with and everytime she left the room I would call her back again for help!! Needless to say she got sick of my antics and ended up doing the job herself.

Now her little tutorial is coming back to haunt me as I”m faced with the issue of the piping. All the blogs online say to sew the piping. But I don’t even own a sewing machine! Luckily I have some no-sew fusing tape lying around so I”m going to attempt that. More on this later.

First of all I need to figure out if I want piping that is different in colour than the upholstery fabric. I do have some grey fabric lying around from my cork board project which might work. Contrasting piping looks very professional if done well. Kinda like these.

Ana Antunes

I know this is a coat, but you get the idea. Plus I loved the colour!

Pinterest

Or I can stick with one tone piping.

I am hoping I can get this sucker completed by tonight. The hubster went to watch football which means I can enjoy all my girly shows while he’s gone! Wish me luck!

I started painting the short legs on my footstool. I figure that with this baby coming, it will be nice to put my feet up when I’m holding him. And now I”m anxious to get this project complete so I can even rest up before he arrives!!

After work I’ll make a pit stop at a large fabric warehouse and hopefully find something bold. I figure why not do something dramatic since it’s such a small piece of furniture.

What do you think of some of these patterns?

Duralee

Etsy

Trina Turk

There’s something about brass and glass that screams class. Yes, yes, cheesey I know. But tell me you don’t agree!

This is a Craigslist find, for $60 I might add. Soooo unbelievably tempting to buy it. If only I had a van. *Sigh*

I can just picture it replacing my current Ikea shelving. It would liven up my office junk and make it look so pretty!

It’s been a year since we moved into our new home and I think we have been able to get quite a lot done. Still there are many projects that are on the list for completion.

One was this chandelier. I picked it up for $10 at a resale shop.

The goal was to make it look like a million bucks on a budget! Chandeliers are expensive! Step one was to paint this white. Since it’s a neutral I felt the chandelier could be used in any room. Still for the last year, we have been eating in what seemed like the dark. So I was itching to get this thing up over the dining table, so I could actually see my food!

Step two was to find some beads or crystals that I could add to glam up this chandy. That search took me to Arton Beads on Queen Street in Toronto. Luckily for me, my clever little sister remembered that this places was chok full of nice stuff since our childhood days of making bracelets.

After burning my fingers a few times with the glue gun, I was able to get all these beads onto the curves of the light fixture.

Et Voila!

I know it’s pretty girly, but I’m so glad my husband was excited about having more light too!

This week I decided it was time to hit a few of my favourite thrift shops. But I guess since it is holiday time, there were slim pickings!

Still I managed to find a few little tid bits that I would have liked to buy, if the prices were a bit more reasonable.

These footstools looked pretty shabby, but all they needed was a coat of paint and a fresh colour.

I would go for a bright blue. Problem is they were selling as a set and I didn’t want all three.

I also liked these shiney tea cups.

I could just picture them in a pretty tea party.

This coral chandelier was huge! But so was the pricetag.

Still it would give a crazy wow factor in any room.

And I spotted this vintage looking napkin holder. Or you could even use something this pretty to stash mail.

And these old phones were oozing old Hollywood glamour!