Monday, April 29, 2013

New Life for Another Old Chair

A couple of weeks ago I ran across a pair of chairs at an antique store in Charleston and purchased them to use as extra dining seating at our summer cottage. They were in original condition and are oak. I don’t usually care for oak but for some reason these really appealed to me. They are very sturdy and quite comfortable. I gave them a good wipe down with Murphy’s oil soap and checked the webbing which was still in good shape.

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Let’s take a closer look at the back.

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Because it takes less than a yard of fabric to cover two chair seats, I splurged for an embroidered linen and covered the seats.

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Compared to most projects that I do, this one was very quick, easy, and affordable! I am very pleased with how they turned out!

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I’ll be sharing with Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch and with Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style.

Monday, April 15, 2013

The DC Cherry Blossoms

This past week my daughter and I made a whirlwind trip to Washington, DC to see the cherry blossoms. We were lucky to catch them at their peak, and they did not disappoint.

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We began our day with a brief visit to the capitol to see the new statue of Rosa Parks.

Rosa Parks Statue 

If any American deserves a statue, Rosa Parks certainly does!

We love our capitol building! I couldn’t help but snap a couple of other photos.

Capitol statuary

The statuary is great and we are always amazed at the beauty of the capitol rotunda.

capitol rotunda

We rented bicycles and road down to the tidal basin to view the cherry blossoms.

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You can see in the photo above, that it was very crowded. We had to walk our bikes part of the time.

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There I am in the photo above on my rental bike.

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The weather was spectacular and a great day for outdoor painting!

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We thoroughly enjoyed our quick visit. If you would like more details with better pictures you can visit my daughter’s blog by clicking here.

Have a great week!

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I’ll be linking to Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Updating the Living Room Furniture

Otherwise known as: Welcome to the 21st Century!!

For a while now, I have been in the process of updating our formal living room.  The update is long overdue but has not been at the top of my priority list due to more important things.

Take a look at the  living room furniture a la 1988…..

living room table before

I understand that floral chintz is supposed to be timeless in traditional interiors, but I had reached my limit.  I keep things the same for a very long time then suddenly reach my breaking point.  Such was the case with this furniture.  Let’s take a look without the tea table in the way.

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Since it is rarely used, the sofa is still in very good shape. I chose a linen blend in white this time. It’s a BIG change!

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Quite a difference!

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I chose to use the same fabric for the chairs since I haven’t yet chosen a new color scheme. The new color/décor will be based on my new yet to be chosen dining room wallpaper.

new chair 1

The drapes will definitely be going and the rug is yet to be decided too.

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new chairs

I am slowly making baby steps of progress. You can read about how I updated the lamp tables here and you can read about the thrifted lamps here.

I hope that you are having a productive week. The weather has been wonderful and I have gotten some gardening tasks marked off my list!

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I’ll be linking to Wow us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style and Hookin Up with House of Hepworths. I’m also linking to Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings the Heart of Your Home.