Kathryn Lemaster

Art and Design

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Archives for May 2013

Bench Project: Part 2

Picking up where we left off  in my previous post (Part 1)…

… while was waiting for my bench to dry, I worked on recovering the bench seat.

Step 1: Flip over and start pulling up the old fabric from the corners. Work your way around ripping up the fabric. Use scissors, pliers, or whatever tools needed to destroy any stubborn fabric refusing to surrender.

If there is another fabric layer discovered (like I’ve found on most of the treasures I pick up) simply repeat the stripping process until you uncover the actual “fluff” of the cushion. It should look something like the stripped cushion above.

Step 3: To add a little extra substance to your cushion, unroll a piece of quilting batting, lay the seat cushion and existing fluff face down on the batting, and cut out a piece of batting around with with about a 2 inch margin for wrapping around. Starting with the corners, wrap the batting tight around the edge and staple into place. Trim any excess batting.

Covered with a layer of batting, the seat should look something like this.

Step 4: Roll out your new fabric of choice, face down, over a flat clean surface. Place your batting covered seat cushion face down on the portion of the fabric you want to use. Depending on the pattern, you may want to hold in place and flip over to line up or center the pattern on the seat. (I chose a solid white linen I had extra yardage of from another project.) Cut out your fabric around the seat cushion, with a 3-4 inch margin to give you wiggle room to adjust the pattern placement. Trim off any excess fabric.

Step 5: Similar to step 3, pull tight, wrap the fabric around the edge, and staple in to place. Begin with a corner, follow with the corner diagonally across from it. Then the third corner, then the last corner diagonally across from it. Picture stretching an artist canvas – you want it pretty tight! Then fill in with as many staples as needed along the edges to hold tight and not pucker. It should now look something like the seat cushion above

Step 6: This was a total experiment. I wanted to do an insert border of grosgrain ribbon, without cutting, sewing, etc. I would have normally tried ironing it on with Stitch Witchery, but alas, all I had in my cabinet at the moment was Liquid Stitch. (Which was also a total experiment.) I laid out the ribbon where I wanted it, pulling tight, pinning, and pleating to turn corners as I went. Once it was all laid out, I went back and turned up the edges to squeeze the glue under. I removed the fabric pins after the glue had set but was not completely dry.

Step 7: Once the seat cushion and the bench base had both dried enough to handle, they were finally reunited!

I am quite happy with my new bench. Only thing I would have done differently would have been to try sewing or using Stitch Witchery to attach the ribbon to the top, as I was not completely happy with how the Liquid Stitch fabric glue dried. It was supposed to dry “invisible,” but I can still faintly see the glue lines through the ribbon even after it dried for over 24 hours. What can I say – that’s why an experiment is an experiment – they can’t all go swimmingly. It’s not that visible, but as a perfectionist I had to mention it. 😉

So there you have it folks, a $10 bench gets a makeover with for no more than the extra materials I already had on hand and a few hours spent in the spring weather on my back deck. Not too shabby!

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MORE TO LOVE:
Bench Project: Part 1
House of Turquoise Feature: Before & After Reveal of Rustic Modern Bath
Barstool Fix

Bench Project: Part 1

I hope you all had a special Memorial Day holiday! I surely did. Spent alot of time with friends and family and even extended the long weekend a day longer by following it all up with a surprise party for my parent’s 30th anniversary Tuesday night. Such fun!

But as you may have seen if you follow my Facebook, I began the weekend with a little “crafting” on my back deck. I wanted to jump into the beautiful weather as fast as possible while still doing something productive, so I tackled a few fixer-upper furniture projects I’ve been meaning to get to for a while.

I started with this sad little bench that I picked up for $10 at an estate sale a couple months ago.

It was the perfect little bonus piece I needed to fill an empty space in the kitchen to serve as extra pull-up seating, a surface for the purses that get tossed or a shield for the shoes that get kicked off.

It had potential… just needed a little TLC.

Step 1: Detach the top from the base, in this case by unscrewing the screw in each corner underneath the bench with a flat-head screwdriver.

Step 2: Prep the “splash zone” for painting. I layered plastic trash bags over my patio table.

Step 3a: Assemble the troops. Liquid sander and applicator (rag or paper towels), paint of choice (with corresponding paint tools) and disposable gloves for the splash-inclined like myself.

Step 3b: Station your trusty guard dog is at his post to keep an eye on things and keep you company. This step is not required, but recommended for a more enjoyable painting experience.

Step 4: “De-gloss” the piece with liquid sander. This is a quick and easy way to clean the item and break through an existing top coat finish. It basically makes the surface better for paint to adhere to without the mess and elbow grease of sanding with sand paper.

Step 5: PAINT!  (Prime first if needed. I didn’t in this case as I planned on two coats of thick paint, so the first coat was like my primer.) I used a high-gloss oil base paint from Sherwin Williams (color: SW 6938 Synergy) as it was a color I had on hand and had used elsewhere in the kitchen. Oil base is harder to work with and takes longer to dry… but it sure is pretty. For easier clean-up and faster dry-time, I’d recommend latex paint or even spray paint if they have the color you need.

Step 6: Wait. Follow the dry-time instructions for whichever paint you use. I let the first coat dry overnight, and put a second coat on the next day.

Meanwhile… I tackled recovering the bench seat. Which I will cover in a Part 2 post tomorrow! 🙂

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MORE TO LOVE:
Bench Project: Part 2
House of Turquoise Feature: Before & After Reveal of Rustic Modern Bath
Barstool Fix

Saturday Special: Before & After Reveal

Today I’m very excited to share with a fun before and after post! This guest bedroom revamp was part of a larger project for one my amazing clients. I’ll share more from their project soon, but today let’s just start off in the first guest bedroom.

Ready? Here we go…

BEFORE:

Exciting, huh? 🙂 To start off,  the furniture plan needed editing to optimize the function of the space. After that, the goal was to bring in a more transitional look while still incorporating some of the original antique pieces. Other important goals were being budget-friendly and catering to their personal taste by incorporating some southwestern inspired “flair.” Here was the end result:

AFTER:

The color scheme was inspired by the client’s own original artwork, the still-life triptych of pears. The bedside tables were original but placement was swapped to make the vanity more accessible. The bed was originally in the guest room across the hall, but this headboard handcrafted out of antique ceiling tin by the clients belonged perfectly in this room.

 Finally new textiles, lighting, and other accessories added much needed texture and color, bringing it all to life!

Special thanks to the fabulous Karen E. Segrave of KES Photo and her amazing husband Michael McCall of Backfocus Productions for the wonderful “after” photography (be sure and check out their websites!) Thanks also to my fun and adventurous clients. You are always a joy to work with!

Have a space like the “before” in this post and have higher hopes for what it could be? Contact me to find out how I could help!

Have a wonderful weekend! 🙂

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MORE TO LOVE:
Guest Room/Office Before & After Reveal
Heights Remodel Project Featured in At Home in Arkansas Magazine!
“Heirloom Revival” Guest Room & Bath Reveal on House of Turquoise!

Souvenir

We made it to Dallas this past weekend to visit family, friends, and some favorite stores. It was a fantastic trip, mainly because of the people we saw, but also because of places we got to go.

Our lunch destination with friends after church took us to the Knox-Henderson area, which was just packed with wonderful stores. Among them being none other than the fun and funky Jonathan Adler!

Jonathan Adler

I have admired the shiny pretty things this brand has to offer for years via the web, but this weekend was my very first time to actually step foot in a store. Yep, it was an exciting moment. So of course I had to purchase something to remember the trip by.

Jonathan Adler Lighting

So after being torn between the $1,250 Mini Sputnik Chandelier and the $2,200 Giant Sputnik Chandelier (in my dreams…) I decided on a humble $18 coffee mug. Normally I would not spend $18 on a coffee mug, but after staring at the larger price tags hanging all over the store, 18 bucks started to look like a good deal for a drinking vessel.

Blue Carnaby Talitha Mug

So here is my beautiful little blue baby, the Blue Carnaby Talitha Mug, modeling a fresh pour of French Roast.

Close up

I love the bold graphics and of course love the navy and turquoise color combo.

Mug Shot

I’m quite thrilled with my first JA purchase and look forward to adding to my collection in the not-so-near future. Gotta start saving for my Sputnik light. 🙂

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Ikea Love
Spring Inspired Color
Painting Party

Buttons

So remember in my Barstool Fix post a couple days ago when I said I’d tell you how I made buttons for them? Well that’s what I’m going to share with you today.

Picking up where we left off…

2QRko8uzD9YuJE5R1vIN_FyqbyvHDXWD73m0XLAH4-cSo I had these lovely recovered barstools. I wanted to add a touch of pizzazz with a single button in the center. After attempting to various methods of recover the existing button (not worth it), I consulted my sewing savvy friend Rachel. She recommended this button making kit available at Hobby Lobby:

This kit is super simple and comes with everything you need to make a button except the fabric. I chose an aqua gros grain ribbon.

Start by cutting out the cardboard template on the back of the box. Double your piece of fabric over, align template with straight edge against fabric’s folded edge like so:

Cut the fabric to the shape of the template:

Unfold your cut fabric piece. Place your fabric circle over the rubber mold, with the right side of the fabric facing down into the mold, like so:

Place the shell of the button face down on top of your fabric circle:

Once you press the button shell into the mold, tuck the excess fabric edges inside the shell and hold in place with the button back, as shown below:

Now you’re almost done – simply place the pusher (thimble like device) over the back of your button:

Press the pusher until you hear/feel the back snap, locking the button back into place within the button shell rim. This creates a seal so that your fabric is pulled tight and can’t escape – mwhaha. When the button is complete, peel the mold back and stare in awe at your adorable little button:

In this application, I secured the button with heavy duty needle & thread straight through the center of the seat cushion, pulling tight from the bottom and stapling the thread into place.

And so there you have it folks, a pretty cute collection of inexpensive custom barstools.

And they all lived happily every after.

(Shout out to Rachel W for the button kit tip and Laura K for documenting the process on camera – y’all rock!)

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MORE TO LOVE:
Barstool Fix
Bench Project: Part 1
Bench Project: Part 2

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Join the e-party below to get personal notes, news, decor advice and inspo from Kathryn and receive a FREE copy of Kathryn’s new e-book, “7 Steps to Design + Decorate like a Pro” as a party favor for joining!

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The coziest air bnb in Hot Springs, a couple of ou The coziest air bnb in Hot Springs, a couple of our favorite couples, icecream cake for all, hiking date for us complete with cupcakes + rosé in a cave… only for  @forrest_addison_roberts ‘s birthday!! 🥳😘 

I couldn’t let the year end without narrowing down a few favorite captures from such a special weekend earlier in December (which overlaps with our elopement anniversary now, but anniversary photos wouldn’t fit here too ha!) celebrating the love of my life. 

Thankful for such sweet friends to laugh and celebrate with. Thankful for keeping our birthday tradition of cake + wine in a cave, come rain or shine. Thankful to get to celebrate my favorite adventure partner for another year! Thanks for picking me to host your parties for the rest of your life. It’s a grande honor, and you’re the easiest to want to celebrate. I love you!

PS: if you’re traveling to Hot Springs, you absolutely need to check out @thewoodlawntudorandcottage and @thepaddockhotsprings - love these properties by @kaligoldenharris !! We didn’t want to leave and can’t wait to go back! 🏡
October highlights in 10 snaps (and a motion to in October highlights in 10 snaps (and a motion to increase the 10 slider limit as all the joy this month held couldn’t be narrowed to such a small smattering). 

This is merely a fraction of sweet memories from one of our two most festive months of the year: October brought:

- a road trip to Comfort, TX for my cousin’s wedding fest 
- Liam’s 5th birthday 
- my 34th birthday 
- Halloween parties, dates, and costumes book readings (not even enough room for all of those here!)

I can let perfectionism lead to procrastination in sharing, sorting, favoriting, editing - and then months escape me without letting a few favorites make it here to the grid, which is the closest thing to a scrapbook I have these days. So doing my best to let these few float up here like balloons to the sky before another month escapes me. 

So incredibly thankful for all of the sweet memories and grande adventures with my two fellas. 🥹 This first year together as a blended family is one I’ll always want to remember, for the treasures it’s held and the growth we’ve all experienced. 

Thanksgiving is the perfect day to remember to remember and hold it all a little closer. 🙏🏼💛

Much love and many more sweet memories moments to be thankful for to you and yours! 💝
Happy Son’s day to my sweet Liam love. Brightest Happy Son’s day to my sweet Liam love. Brightest little light of my life, teller of the most original jokes, giver of the silliest lick-kisses, imaginer of new games, snuggliest bug, the bravest boy with the strongest heart and fastest feet - and so many endless more magical things to me. Getting to be his mama is the greatest honor and a most unbelievable gift. 🥹🙏🏼🤍 I love you Liam! And I will always be so incredibly proud of you. Keep being you! The world needs all of your wonder, enthusiasm, kindness and joy. ✨ And all those “great ideas” you’ve always got brewing. ☺️😘 

📷 @brittanyrigganphoto
Cooking with Liam and “Michael Bubely”…🕷❤️🎶😂🙏🏼 While he’s loved the Spider-Man theme song for awhile, we recently discovered this version and it has been on repeat and we are happy about it. 😅 
 
#boymomadventures #thatsdarling #kitchenconcert #singingvideo #fouryearolds #cookingwithkids #thefoodnetwork #videooftheday #momlifebestlife #michaelbuble #spiderman #spidermanthemesong #kidsareawesome #childprodigy #michaelbublé #michaelbubleduet
Glorious, precious memories from “part 2” of o Glorious, precious memories from “part 2” of our wedding celebration - our reception this summer, 6 months following our elopement! Thank you to our sweet friend + amazing photographer @brittanyrigganphoto and to our friends at @reservehotsprings !! 🥹🙏🏼🤍

@forrest_addison_ - I am filled with wonder yet again as I look through these, trying and failing at narrowing down favorite moments, still in awe of this love of ours, beyond all we could’ve asked or imagined. 🥲🙏🏼

There’s a consistent calm + quiet in walking alongside you in this life, with the sound of puns + giggles, plans being made, hearts being shared, being the blessed echo for miles around. 

I’m thankful for all the space for us to learn and grow as individuals and together. Thank you for your willingness to learn with me. I love partnering with you in cultivating the kind of relationship and life we believe in! 

I’ve yet to see anger, bitterness, jealousy or other turmoil take up root in the sacred space we share, and somehow I know we never will. Your unending generosity of spirit, steady patience, and a truly unassuming heart that’s always believed the best of mine, softens mine more.

Watching and learning from you is an honor and joy. I’m still trying to wrap my head around your genuinely pure kindness. You’ve prayed for those who’ve persecuted us. You’ve “rejoiced with those who rejoice” even when they’ve wronged you. You keep no record of wrongs like I’ve never seen. You simply carry on loving well.

Thank you for being my safest place. For being to me among many things, one long exhale after years of oscillating between holding my breath and hyperventilating. 

Even as I have those moments still, you listen to my heavy heart and witness my weary tears without judgment I’ve known before, because like Jesus’s “banner over me is love” always - you, too, judge me forever and always as “beloved”. I’m learning to remember and rest in that to counter the self consciousness that comes with learning to be truly seen. 

Thank you for by your very presence and heart posture, inviting me to be myself, even when I am a taco level hot-mess.

I love you to the moon and back, to infinity and beyond! ♾
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It is a delight to work with Kathryn LeMaster. She is a good listener who has been able to help us transition into a smaller home while still keeping the essence of our family intact.

- CINDI C.

My husband and I decided to update our house focusing on the kitchen and bathrooms. We were so impressed from the beginning with Kathryn! She was easy to work with and took our vision and made it all come together! She was extremely professional and we highly recommend her. Thanks Kathryn!! We couldn't be happier!!!

- LAURA D.

I have been doing business with Kathryn for several years, where she had played an integral role to enhance the quality and appeal of the visual impact of our furniture in TV commercial s. She independently picks products that perfectly match each commercial. She is also an absolute pleasure to work with. She is flexible when needed, and always has a positive disposition.

- LAWRENCE ZIGERELLI, PRESIDENT/CEO, FFO HOME

We asked Kathryn to create sets for a food shoot with multiple items. She created sets with for each dish and had them passed them off with the client who was out of town. She was extremely organized and methodical about how she purchased and approved each set. Not only was her work exceptional, her presence made the client feel at ease.

- DERO SANFORD, OWNER, THINKDERO

We highly recommend Kathryn. She listened to us as her clients and executed ideas based upon our design style. We had bought a new house and asked her to help us furnish, design, and style It. We appreciated her detailed drawings and ability to "show" us the vision and plan. She is quick to respond and allows for flexibility based upon timeline needs. Once deciding together on budget, she works toward that goal. She is a lot of fun to work with!

- CHRISTY H.

Kathryn assisted me in styling and accessorizing our new home. She nailed my design ideas and style based on the questionnaire and my comments. I was amazed at how she was able to match my style exactly! It would have taken me years to accomplish what she accomplished in one day. I would highly recommend her and look forward to working with her again in the future.

- BEVERLY R.

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