doodledog, Author at Kathryn Lemaster

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! 🙂

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! 🙂

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. 🙂

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…

So 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!)

Barstool Fix

Sometimes for practicality’s sake, you have to purchase some “for now” furniture. Maybe there’s not room in the budget right now for that perfect “forever” piece that will become a family heirloom, passed down from generation to generation.

And so, growing weary of enjoying your daily bowl of Cap’n Crunch from the floor, you set out and find something – anything – to sit on.

That’s the position we knew we would be in when we purchased our foreclosure home last year. The priority was of course cosmetic fixes to make our home livable. So we had to get creative with our furnishings budget. One of the items we knew we could make do with a temporary fix was barstools.

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Ethan Home Saddle Stools

We purchased these babies for a whopping price of about $150 for all four online. They were the right dimensions for our bar, they were simple, they were upholstered, they would work. And of course as with may things in this low price range, “some assembly” was required.

Brothers are the best!

With the help of my awesome little bro Preston, we secured all 16 legs by Allen Wrench and had ourselves a place to eat breakfast! But just because we had to start with these lower-end pieces did not mean that they had to look like Plain Janes forever.

Zig Zag by Premier Prints

When we got a bit more settled in the house, I gave them some personality by recovering them in a chevron fabric by Premiere Prints that was less than $10 a yard. It only took a couple of yards for all four stools, and I hand stapled it all myself, so it was very affordable.

I added a couple layers of Scotchgard to protect the fabric and voila! We had ourselves a pretty darn cute and very affordable seating solution that met our needs. Sure, maybe they still require a leg-tightening session with my trusty Allen Wrench from time to time, but I’ve learned to look forward to our tune-up time together.

Last but not least, I covered and added the button tuft back in the center of each seat… but I’ll show you how I learned to do that in more detail in another post!

Pendants

It’s possible I have a pendant problem. I find myself wanting to collect them, like coffee mugs or tiny spoons. The good thing and the bad thing is I haven’t the room nor budget for such a collection.

It’s okay really. Instead I just walk around lighting showrooms until I get a crick in my neck from staring up. In addition, I love to clip and pin my way through favorite web sources, and in this way at least I can have a two dimensional pendant collection. It’s such a space saver, really.

So please, step into my “gallery” and share in my pendant fascination!

Triangle Glass Pendant Light

This one makes me think of a Jolly Rancher… yum.

Possini Euro Design Crystal Burst Mini Pendant Light

I bet if you made a wish on this star burst pendant… it would come true.

Possini Euro Darby 10 1/2" Wide Blue Glass Pendant Light

Possini Euro Darby Blue Glass Pendant Light

Ooo… I don’t even know. I just love.

Virginia Pendant

Incase you’ve ever wondered what’s up at Cindy Lou Who’s house… it’s this little guy.

Blossom Pendant

This one is just too cute! The less than $50 price point might be adding to the cuteness.

Weathered Silver Cowbell Pendant

And hey, if you need a little more Cowbell… here it is!

Happy Friday y’all!

Girl’s Night Out!

Attention ladies:

Don’t miss the next big event at the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Designer House XXII – Girls Night Out is tomorrow night, and you’re invited!

At Home in Arkansas

Sponsored by the wonderful At Home in Arkansas, this is sure to be a fun-filled and fabulous evening.

ASO Designer House XXII

For more info, tickets, and directions, check out the ASO web page here.

I am planning to be there (possibly a bit late as I will be coming directly from the class I teach on Thursday nights – still working on being in two places at once :)) and will look forward to seeing you there.

Round up your girlfriends and come join the fun!

ASO Girl’s Night Out

Crescendo!

Last night was the Crescendo Party and “unveiling” of the ASO Designer House XXII! What a fantastic night it was. Though the weather tried to rain on our parade, everyone pressed on to pull off this fabulous event, mud and all! Thanks to everyone involved for such a memorable evening.

Crescendo Party Invitation via ASO Guild

I was so happy to have my sweet husband Will there with me for the evening. Talk about a supportive guy! He should win a prize.

Me & my handsome date!

At Home in Arkansas did a wonderful job with the event programs. You can pick up your copy when you go tour the house! See the sneak peak below to read their description of my room:

Symphony Designer House publication by At Home in Arkansas

Hopefully this piques your interest and you’ll want to go see it and the rest of the rooms for yourself!

The house is official open to the public for tours starting today at 10am. The hours are 10a-4p Tuesday through Saturday, and 1p-4p on Sundays now through May 12th. Make sure to visit the website here to find out more info and check out the remaining events.

Happy Friday!

nuLOOM

Just to give you a little perspective, the average “Garden Ridge” area rug is about 5’x7′-6″ in size and may run between $200-$300 From what I’ve seen, that’s usually for a synthetic material like nylon or polyester. If you’re going for the indoor/outdoor rug look and texture and find a pattern you love, that may be just fine.

(Garden Ridge selection)

See something that excites in the above image? No? Well, maybe you’d have better luck in store. But maybe not. So this Monday morning I wanted to share with you one of my favorite rug solutions available through online retailers, nuLOOM.

I love them because they do a great job of bridging the gap between quality and affordability, and their patterns are oh-so fun! Most of their styles fall under modern or transitional, but they do offer traditional patterns too so there is a little something for everyone!

If you’re holding out for higher quality and a more personal statement without a major price jump, nuLOOM is a great choice! Some of my favorite styles average around $300 for a 5’x8′ rug that’s 100% wool and hand hooked. Not too shabby! Take a look at this sampling of nuLoom rugs available from Burke Decor:

Jazzy, right? I thought so. 🙂

So there’s your first bit of good news today – you CAN have your rug and afford it too!

Another bit of good news: this line has frequently been spotted at even lower prices on various flash sale sitesand other retail sites too. So you may have a chance at scoring a dashing new nuLOOM rug at an even lower price than the ones shown above! (Not familiar with flash sales? Ohhh my. You will just have to stick around to learn more about that little secret/weakness.)

I’m so very glad you stopped by today and I hope you come back for more practical design insights in the future.

Here’s to a wonderful week ahead!

Showhouse!

A week from today the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Designer House XXII opens to the public! I can’t tell you just how thrilled I am to be included in this exhibition and how excited I am to share it with you all very soon.

Be sure and check out all of the events and information on the ASO website, here!

A $20 ticket gets you in to tour this lovely estate while benefiting the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. As a plus, most of the items in every room will be for sale, also benefiting the ASO.

So why not support good music, good design, and go shopping? I’m telling you, multi-tasking has never been so fun! If you have any questions about let me know and I do my best to hunt down answers.

Happy Friday!