My Grandmother's hope chest

All my life my Mom has had her Mother's hope chest in their bedroom.  It was a piece that I had always admired, and I was lucky enough to inherit it 15 years ago when we I moved to Washington.

When I got the piece the top veneer was cracking and peeling, and in my haste, I tore up the veneer.  But, I was not able to get it all off.  And what I was left with was...

Basically, a big ugly mess.  And I lived with this for 15 years.  I would usually but a blanket on top, but it never really worked out.  It always looked to me like I was hiding something. And I was.

I am not really sure what prompted me to finally get around to getting the broken veneer off, I mean I have been wanting to for 15 years, but one night I decided, tonight is the night.

I got out the iron and got to work.

I used some fabric to protect the wood, and set my iron to steam.  The heat allowed the glue to release and I was able to pry up the offending veneer.

Ah much better.  Now I have a clean slate. 

I now had 2 options.  One being to paint the chest, and believe me this would be a great piece to paint, but I am going to proceed with option 2, which is to just darken the top and leave the rest alone.

I felt it was important to leave it alone.  I am happy that the stain is uneven, it makes it look a bit more natural and aged.  And here it is being temporarily used as my nightstand.

I can't believe it took me 15 years to make this simple change.

-Laurie

Give Away Reminder

Wow, where has September gone?  I can't believe it is already the last week of the month.  Have you been busy?

I just wanted to remind you that I will be closing my Gallery Wall Package Give Away on the 30th.  If you haven't already entered make sure that you do.  It is actually a low entry give away, so you have a great chance of winning- Pop over here to get your entry in.

-Laurie

Progress Report

I spent the day yesterday playing around with power tools.  I don't have many, but I used what I had, which was basically my chop saw and my jig saw.

What was I working on?  Well, I was puzzling out the shelves of the bathroom hole.

I am far from finished, but I thought I would post up the progress...

Yes!! The shelves are in!

It still looks rough at this point, but I am so thrilled to have gotten here.  I am hoping to have it completed by the weekend.  I have many little projects and organizing that must be done over the next 3 weeks, because my hubby is coming back home in 3 weeks!  So, now I am in a mad dash to clean up the house and prepare for his homecoming.

-Laurie

My little hand stitching pillow project

Look at the cute little pillow I made.

Isn't it adorable?  I kinda like it, and I like that I did all by myself.

It all started with a scrap of fabric, which was left over from lining my bathroom curtains.

And some inspiration from a fabulous little book.

source-Amazon

It was really an easy project, It took me a couple of evenings to complete, but what better way is there to pass the time while vegging out in front of the TV?

Once I found the images I wanted to use and enlarged them on my printer, I simply used tracing paper and transferred the image to the fabric.

From here I selected the embroidery floss in the colors I wanted to use.  I chose 3 shades of blue and one in a peachy-red. And just started stitching away.  I mainly used a whipped back-stitch.

 

Of course I couldn't leave the back undone...

I thought it might be cute to just trace out lines with random spacing. This is what I ended up with...

Then I just used the sewing machine and stitched them together.  Of course putting right sides together.  I took apart a spare throw pillow and used that stuffing for the new pillow.

And finally the end project.

I really didn't over stuff the pillow, in fact, I purposely under stuffed it.  I wanted it to feel like it has been around for a while.

I am thinking it will be perfect for the guest room.  That is if I ever get the guest room project started.

So what do you think?

-Laurie

Guest at Primitive & Proper

Today I am guest posting over at Primitive & Proper.  Please pop in and see what is up.

If you are not familiar with Primitive & Proper, you must comet take a look at the wonderful furniture pieces Cassie has worked on.  She is one amazing girl.
-Laurie

Bathroom progress: The window coverings

My bathroom project had been on hold for many, many months.  The main hold up was not really having an inspiration and also not knowing what I was going to do for window coverings.  And I think the window coverings was the biggest stumbling block.

I knew I had some very specific needs and wants when it came to covering the window in the bathroom.  The main one being the issue of privacy.  No one wants to have the feeling of letting it all hang out while using the bathroom, and the lay out of our bathroom poses a very specific problem and that is a low window directly next to the toilet.  As you see below.

That window is 25 inches from the floor- now go ahead and measure 25" up form your toes.  Yep, you got that right, when you stand up you are flaunting your everything to the neighborhood.  Oh and to make matters worse, that bathroom window faces the front of the house and the street.

So it is a no brainer that some sort of window covering is needed.  And life would be so much easier if I could just put up a curtain, blind or even a shade and call it a day.

But wait, if privacy was the only issue that would be the route I would go.  The other big issue I have is light.  I crave sunlight in my house.  I think I am still making up for my lack of sunlight from the years of living in Washington state.  I was crushing and dreaming of shutters, upper and lower shutters that you can operate independently. 

source- House Beautiful

But after taking a few measurements, I found out the toilet tank is too high to allow the shutters to open and close.  Curses to you toilet, Errrr!

So that left me with cafe curtains, which I love.  Really I do, but I was kind of hoping for something different.  But cafe curtains it will be.  

So now that I have overcome the physical barriers of the window I now needed to confront all the other obstacles.  The main occupants of the room are a young brother and sister, and sometimes friends and family who join us for extended visits. Which adds up to a room needing to be young and fun and yet not to juvenile and I needed to make sure the room was not too feminine (my own personal issue).

I knew my kids had decided on a color they liked, aqua. And I knew I wanted a retro print, but that was really all I knew.  I kept my eyes open and I stumbled across the fabric in a quilt shop in Minnesota.  I knew it was the one right when I saw it.

I wanted to change the proportion of the cafe curtain- meaning not having it right at the center of the window, but instead having it longer so it closed off most of the window, but still let in the light.

But when I got them installed, I knew they were not right.  They didn't let in enough light, and the proportion was off (not full enough for the length).  I just wasn't happy.  But then I decided to go ahead and make a second cafe curtain with the fabric I purchased for the shower curtain.

And that is where I found my perfect window coverings-

And my inspiration for the room-

 -Laurie

Bathroom Progress: The Medicine Cabinet

As soon as I painted the walls, I knew I had to do something about the medicine cabinet.  I have always hated the honey stained wood.  It was just never me, but since I painted the vanity, I knew I couldn't paint the mirror.  I needed to have a wood tone somewhere in the room.

I had and idea, I was not sure it wold work, but hey, my motto is give it a try and if it is a fail then you can always paint it.

I thought, what if I sanded down the wood and put on a darker stain?  My problem is my sander broke, and I wasn't sure I could get down far enough with a simple piece of sand paper.  Also, I refused to take the mirror out of the wall.

Well, long story short.  I did sand it, and added Jacobean stain and I then Easy- Easy Lemon-Peasie, all done.  And I even like the result.

What really surprised me was when my 7 year old mentioned how much she liked the darker tone of the wood.  I think those were her exact words  "tone of the wood".  She has been hanging around me a bit too much lately.

And if you are still wondering, Yes, I am still ignoring the big hole in the wall.

-Laurie

Remember, if you haven't already signed up for my Gallery Wall Give Away, you still have time, just pop over here and enter.

The hole in the wall

It all began with that hole in the wall.  A hole in the wall...? Shouldn't be there at all!. (Bonus points if you know the reference)

Nope it should not be there. And I realize when I said I didn't know what to do with the hole, I was not as clear as I could have been.  My lack of vision is not on the what, but the how.

The space is small- only 11.5 inches wide and 15 inches deep at the longest point.  The wall itself is a 45 degree angle from the other walls, and inside there is a stud that is at an angle to that wall.  Initially, I was hoping to just take out the stud, but I soon discovered the drywall to the stairwell is attached to that stud, and messing with it would open a can of worms I am not willing to deal with.

The other option would be to drywall the space, but I am ruling that one out because of the lack of space I would be left with.  I am aware that by not using drywall, I will be creating a wacky space, but in the end I want to maximize my storage.

Here are a couple of pictures to try and show you what I am up against...

And did I mention I need to install a door in the back to access the plumbing?  No, well that is another issue I need to figure out.


 ***WARNING***
Now if you are a carpenter, or have actual knowledge on how this is done,  you may wish to stop reading this post, as I will not be following proper procedures.
 
In the end I am treating this as a big puzzle- I think I have it worked out what needs to happen, I am just trying to figure out what order will work best.  I have gone to the hardware store today and got the remainder of my supplies, and hope to get started on it this week.  I am sure it will be done all wrong, but it is what I am going to do.

Now I know that this may be a big FAIL- and I have a back up plan if that is indeed the case.  Please note, I was reluctant to share my thought process on this, and I am hoping that you are kind in your responses.  For me this is a learning experience- the good, the bad and the whole ball of wax


-Laurie

I bought my tickets

OK, so I have done it.  I purchased tickets to Blissdom 2012!

http://www.blissdomconference.com/

I am totally excited and completely freaked out.

Who else is going?  have you gone before?  What do I need to know?  Help a girl out.

-Laurie

Bathroom Progress: The Walls

So, as I mentioned yesterday, The toilet is out, and I know I have to paint the wall before I reassemble the unit.  But should I paint the walls when I haven't even thought about how to fix this?

Well, my answer was yes. Hurricane Irene was coming, and I wanted the toilet back in place before she hit.  I had the paint and I would just have to deal with the hole later.

Remember back when Glidden was giving away free quart samples?  Well, I still had mine, in Teal Lake, but I wasn't sure I was going to have enough to paint all the walls.  It was going to be close, but I wanted to stretch it, so I added a bit of white and a bit of black.  And in the end I ended up with this color, a toned down version of Teal Lake...

It is a pretty aqua, not too bright, but still fun and energetic.  But my big idea was to paint all the walls in a custom chalkboard paint color.

I know that chalkboard paint is old news, but, honestly,  my kids still think it is a neat.  Not to mention it is a inexpensive way to add some whimsy and when we have guests I just wipe down the walls and they are back to being more adult-like.

To make the chalkboard paint, I added 2 tablespoons of non-sanded grout per cup of paint.

And mixed well, it has a thicker consistency with the grout added.

I found it nice to work with, however, it does not store well, so I just mixed what I was going to use.

I also decided to paint the vanity cabinet.

 I haven't added the hardware, and I am not sure I am 100% sold on the white, but that is where it is at.

And the hole????

Well, it is still there.

I just painted around it.  I know, it doesn't make any sense, but like I said this is the Illogical Bathroom Update.
-Laurie

You still have time to enter my September Giveaway.

Who needs logic?

I have mentioned before how I go about things backwards, I often take the round-about way to get to a solution versus the most logical, straight forward route.  This is not restricted to my decorating, but to life in general.  I am usually all over the map in my thinking. It is just how I am put together.

But sometimes, even my random routes throw me for a loop.  Specifically, I am talking about my bathroom project.  The bathroom that has been sporting a big hole since January.

The Hole came out of my curiosity.  The curiosity of what was behind the wall and wondering if there was enough room to carve out some additional storage.  Clearly there is space that can be added, but that is where I stopped.  I had no idea how I was going to go about creating the new storage space and, in fact,  had no immediate plans to figure it out.  Also, I was at a lack of inspiration for this room, and if I have learned anything (especially with this bathroom) it is not worth going forward until you are inspired!  So there it sat.

It sat waiting for any kind of inspiration to come: Inspiration for an over all look, feel, color, idea....Really anything.  Well, then I had a spark, a kernel of an idea, a way to keep this room fun for the kids and yet mature enough for guest.  It is our main bathroom after all.  But I was not completely sure if it would work.

I let the kids pick a color, and surprisingly, they both agreed on one.  They both loved a Tiffany Blue-like color.  Great, but I wanted the right fabric to help, which I stumbled across in a quilt shop in Minnesota- Yay! (still had no idea how they would look or if I bought enough, but I will worry about that later).

But where I was going to from there I wasn't sure, so I let it mellow.  I was going to let it mellow until I got the big INSPIRATION, but then then the toilet started to leak, and that made me get my butt in gear, a leaky toilet is never good and needs attention, leaving me with the perfect opportunity to paint that hard to reach area behind the tank. 

That was how the bathroom project got started, by sheer dumb luck and circumstances.  I wish I could tell you it is completed, but, nope, it is still in a half finished state.  And, Yes,the hole is still in the wall.

-Laurie

Embrace your colors

I have been feeling a bit under the weather lately, so today I thought I would share with you one of my favorite posts from the past about embracing colors you love.  

And don't forget to enter in the gallery wall give away

I talked in general about My Style-the Lived in Look.  Kind of sketching out what it is and what I do.  I am doing this in hope to help show how my brain works (warning...not always straight and logical) and maybe explain why things happen the way they do here at Little Blue Chairs.

Today, I want to take a closer look at one aspect I consider hugely important in creating my home.  The use of color.  I believe, that once you understand your core colors you are on the right track to create a home that will evolve with you over time.  Not a home where you will feel in need of a total revamp every 5 or so years.   Follow me on how I discovered my colors...

I like color.  I have always liked a wide range of color and new color combinations.  However, I do have a on-going internal struggle with room color schemes.  And, I am sure I'm not the only one.  Remember the post I wrote on My Love of White vs. My Love of Color.   I wish I could live in a all white room, but know I will gravitate back to certain colors, over and over again.  If I had to put money on it, I would bet most people do as well.  And, I am here to shout out that everyone should embrace their colors.  This is not about being an Autumn or a Fall, or what colors look best on you.  No, instead this is about learning the colors you are attracted to and using them to your advantage when decorating your home.

My basic color is blue.  I have always liked blue.  When I go to a paint display (and I am there often) I first look at all those pretty pretty blues. 

And then I force myself to take in all the other colors as well.

When I look back on it, I can definitely see a pattern in selecting the color blue.  When I was 10, I was able to select my bedroom carpet and I choose a bold, cobalt blue.   And that was just the start of it, many other things over the years have ended up blue as well.... cars,  prom dress, wedding colors, clothing and most recently my kitchen cabinets (yes, I will get a new reveal up soon, I promise).   I mean I even selected blue to paint the treasured chairs I inherited from my grandmother (and hence the name of my blog).  I feel comfortable in saying my favorite color is blue.

But don't stop there. I mean we all have more than one color we are attracted to.  It would be pretty boring if that wasn't true.  When I talk about embracing your colors, I am talking about your "core colors".  The 2-4 colors you always gravitate to, the ones that pull you in.

In my case, as much as I love blue, I know I could not live with out the color red. Big, bold, warm red.  I can not walk away from it, it is like crack to me.   I have a hard time not choosing red, especially in accessories.   I love red- phones and purses, red serving pieces and coffee mugs, red sweaters and coats.  I even a red prom dress (yes I went twice).  Don't show me orange, I don't get it, but I am all over red.

source

And I would be neglectful if I didn't mention my love of White.  Crisp, clean, beautiful white.  I dream of white, I mean I literally dream of white.  White flowers, white rooms, white dresses.   I especially love white trim and white linens.   **swoon**

source

So in the end blue, red and white are my go to colors (but never in a patriotic scheme).  I dabble in other colors,  and for awhile I only bought things in pink, but I did eventually go back to red and blue. I always do.  It is like a compulsion sometimes.  I use to fight my love the of red.  To me red was always so bold,  and so in your face.  I wasn't sure how to put it in a room with out screaming "Look at me, I am RED!" I wanted to shun red out of my life.  But, I kept buying things in red, and red started to just show up in places here and there.  I finally learned I will always be attracted to red, and learned to embrace it.  I sometimes make a big red statement, and other times I need to tone it down, but I have just accepted that red is here to stay.

Other mistakes I have made, over the years,  include, selecting a purple China pattern, which never gets dispalyed because it never really matches anything else I have.

Or the big sage green chair I bought to go with my earth toned living room.  I am currently in the middle of making a slipcover to help blend it into my new colors.  I love the shape, but tired of the green. (This was in my fighting blue stage)

Knowing your colors is one step in developing a look that will evolve nicely over time to create that lived in look. 

I am not saying you will never use other colors, because you can and will.  Take my past uses of colors.  The following are all color schemes I am currently using or have used in the past. (The first color is the main color, followed in order of prominence)

• Yellow, white, red, blue and gray.  
• Pink, red and white  (no blue)
• Aqua, white and red
• Mocha, sage green, brown w/ red accents (no blue, white in trim only)
• Red and white w/ sage accents (no blue)
• Gray-blue, lavender and white (no red)
• Gray, white and black (no blue or red)
• Navy, yellow and red (no white)
• Sky blue and white  (no red)

As you can see, sometimes I use all the colors in a variation of shades, or sometimes I remove one color altogether and replace it with something new. There are millions of color combinations out there to experiment with.   Latley I have been loving the plummy-purples, and if I decide to go for it, I will put away my beloved red accessories and bring in some more temporary pieces in the plum tones.  And when I tire of the plum, I can donate those items and bring back the red.

I hope by describing my journey with colors  I have inspired you to seek out yours and embrace them.  By working with your core colors you can easily evolve your spaces and not feel like you need to do a total revamp every 5-10 years.  This is one of the goals I am working to acheive in my own home.

I don't believe that anyone else can pick your colors for you, it is personal and will vary from person to person. Personally, I find it exciting and freeing once you have embraced your colors. Take a look back and see what you discover.

Until next time....

-Laurie