sources for spotted & snow cat fabric

You all must be gripping your chairs in anticipation of an upholstery tutorial, RIGHT, RIGHT?  Wellllll, it’s still in the works.  Bear with me, I promise it’ll be good!

While making the decision of which fabric I wanted to use to reupholster my French Bergere chairs, I conducted what felt like a billion web searches for spotted/snow cat fabric.  There are a ton of options out there, but I was looking for fabric less than $20/yard (actually less than $10/yard, however some of you might not be as cheap as me!).  I picked out my 12 favorite fabrics and am sourcing them for you today!

For my chairs, I bought 5 yards from a fresh stock of snow leopard velveteen fabric from Fabric.com, which was only about a month ago, and now it’s unavailable! GAH! Why!!!! Now I feel like I need to hoard my remaining supply.  Although, really it’s not a big deal because these 12 other fabric options are mighty comparable.

From top left to bottom right:

// ONE Rescue II Dalmatian Spots fabric from suzzettesfabric.com at $7.50/yard // TWO Flutter Peachskin Spots fabric from fabric.com at $7.98/yard // THREE Charcoal Dots fabric by Domesticate from Spoonflower at $18/yard // FOUR Spots fabric by Hey Tangerine from Spoonflower at $18/yard

From top left to bottom right:

// ONE Dalmatian Dog Skin fabric by Marcus Brothers from inhomedecoratingservices.com at $5.99/yard // TWO Leopard fabric by Creative Cuts from Walmart (!!!!) at $7.97/yard // THREE Snow Leopard Spots on White fabric by Timeless Treasures from Fabric Paradise at $8.25/yard // FOUR Animal Print Leopard fabric from fabric.com at $8.98/yard

From top left to bottom right:

// ONE Large Leopard Gray Black fabric from fabric.com at $6.98/yard // TWO Snow Leopard Textured Velvet fabric from J&O Fabrics at $24/yard (OK, I broke the $20 rule on this one!) // THREE Seeing Spots fabric from Designer Fabrics Online at $19.99/yard // FOUR Cheetah Microsuede Fabric from Online Fabric Store at $17.65/yard

The fabric with a pattern most similar to the one I used on my chairs is the leopard fabric from Walmart! Who would have thought! I had no clue Walmart sold fabric.  I never shop there (imagine going to a Walmart in Oakland, CA *shudder*). The second closest option is the Snow Leopard textured velvet fabric from J&O fabrics.  Sorry it’s over the $20 threshold, but it’s definitely worth the few extra dollars if you want a velvety texture on your chairs. All the other options were real contenders, the decision was tough!

where you’ll find me today

I’m guest posting today over at Kirsten‘s incredibly fabulous blog, 6th Street Design School! Click over to see the full tutorial.

a little peek

If you follow me on Instagram {my favorite venue for social media – sorry Facebook!}, you may have seen the progress of these chairs I’m working on.  I’m also working on a complete tutorial to share with you with the exact steps I took to re-do these chairs, but before that’s finished, I wanted to tease you with a little peak of my precious.

I can’t believe I’ve had these chairs for just about a year now. I got them off Craigslist just before we moved into our loft, with full intentions to tackle them sooner, but with all the other needs in our place they became low priority.  And of course, as it goes with most of my projects, I had a feeling it would hit me hard once the time was right to work on them.  I usually become obsessed with a project once I have a clear vision of the end product, and in a nut-shell, that’s what happened with these chairs.

I’ll have more to share later this week on these chairs. Sit tight!

Flamingo obsessed

FLAMINGOS! They’re everywhere, and I’m totally into it! I probably don’t have the guts to decorate with them, although if I had $4,800 just laying around, that paper flamingo from Anthropologie would look darling on my desk at home. $4800, can you believe that crap nonsense? Please, do tell, who is it that buys a $4,800 paper flamingo?

Anyway…

Flamingo wallpaper

If this strikes your fancy, here are a couple ideas to liven-up your walls with flamingos!

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Flamingo art!

The ‘play it safe’ method of decorating with these gorgeous pink creatures:

via // Image sold here

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These flamingos make me so happy.

Hope you’re having a happy Thursday!

Les Touches fabric hack

When a tiny thought gets into my mind, it grows and itches like a weed until I do something about it! This pretty much sums up how this DIY went down.  OH, and call me slow, or the last one hitching a ride on the “Les Touches” bandwagon, but this stunning fabric just made its way into my life a few weeks ago and I haven’t been able to shake it from my mind since I found out that it was a million dollars a yard.  OK $40, but still, I have absolutely no reason to justify buying $40/yard fabric.

Scanned from Veranda Magazine

So, what does a DIYer do when he/she can’t afford the real thing? Hack it!

You really only need two things for this super easy hack:

1. white fabric (I used a thick white canvas to minimize any bleeding)
2. black Sharpie (get the pen with the fine point tip on one end, and the fat tip on the other)

Using this template as a guide, I copied the pattern first with the thin Sharpie, then returning with the thick sharpie to get the finished look.  It took me about 3 episodes of Fringe to finish the whole thing.  I finished the pillow cover by following this tutorial.  If you hate sewing zippers, follow this tutorial on making an envelope pillow cover.

Finally! My need for Les Touches fabric has been satisfied!

OH, and just a precaution – try not to bleach it if you decide to wash it.  Sharpie ink tends to bleed orange (turn orange?) with bleach.

Helping a patio in need

If you follow me on Instagram, you might have noticed I was using the hashtag #helpingapatioinneed throughout the weekend while I was helping one of my best friends transform her patio.  The hashtag itself is a bit silly, but in reality it’s a major issue! There are so many patios in need out there and we must do something to help bring these spaces to life!

After having many conversations with family and friends, I’ve come to realize “the patio” is hands down the most frequently neglected space in the home.  I hate to say I agree, but it does make sense that patios are usually neglected.  We opt to beautify our homes, our bedrooms, our kitchens, our living rooms – all the spaces we spend the most time – and it makes sense the patio is the last place we go.  Beautifying our homes can be an exhausting process, therefore it’s totally understandable that once we reach a point of comfort and satisfaction, the “oh we’ll get to it later” argument kicks in, placing the patio on the back burner.

One of my best friends, Annie, experienced this same situation with her patio space.  She was so focused on creating a home inside her walls that her patio and back yard ended up on the back burner.  Annie told me this weekend, after we finished all our work, that this was the first time she actually sat and ate a meal on her patio… and she’s lived in the house for almost 3 years!

Annie got the itch to do something with her patio space after seeing all the work we did on our Home Depot Patio.  I was recruited to help her turn this sad patio from an eyesore into a fun and vibrant space she can share with her family and friends.

Watch out friends, this before and after is going to knock your socks off.  At this point we had only used once resource: PAINT!

OK, and tape, but just look at this transformation!

We primed the entire patio floor, which was originally a colorful mix of different cements and concretes.  Painting it one color completely transformed the space.  We took it a step further by painting a 2′ chevron pattern across the entire floor, which I think turned out a thousand times better than I imagined.  In painting this chevron pattern, we followed the same process I used on our hexagon patio floor from the Home Depot challenge.

Annie has a house (and garage) full of original mid-century furniture which was passed down to her from her grandmother, including this rad patio set.  The chairs and table were in great condition, they only needed a fresh coat of paint to be brought back to life.  First we sanded the table and chairs down with a sanding sponge, then sprayed about 3-4 coats of Valspar’s “brushed rose” spray paint, which is a light coral color.  We sprayed a clear enamel top coat on the chairs and table to help protect from weather, wear and tear.

As I mentioned, Annie has a garage full of amazing mid-century furniture, including these 2 hexagon side tables.  I spotted them neatly tucked under a table in her garage and frantically asked her “what are you planning to do with these?!” She replied, “oh I’m not sure yet.” My reply, “LET’S PAINT THEM GOLD!”

I think I scared her into agreeing with me.

We gave the tables one coat of primer, which we painted on with a brush, then 2-3 coats of Design Master Brilliant Gold spray paint.  I love this paint for it’s soft and warm honey gold tones that reflect perfectly in the outdoor light.

Annie found this tutorial on Pinterest on how to make a garden bench from cinder blocks and 4″x4″ wood posts.  We hacked the idea and made 2 benches out of the materials, and made a cushion from foam and batting, as well as this gorgeous Robert Allen Kiki Pinata fabric from fabric.com.

We also made over 20 pillows (with zippers!) for her home and patio.  All the fabric you see below was also purchased on fabric.com.

And just because this floor rocks my world, here’s one last view.

I hope this transformation encourages you to take a tiny risk and spruce up that patio of yours! If chevron isn’t your thing, try stripes! Seriously, a little bit of paint goes a long way. You’ll be surprised how many people want to come over and party out at your house once you do

weekend project – patio re-do take 2!

Hello and happy Monday! Phew, let me tell you, I think I need another day off.  I’m exhausted! I spent the weekend with one of my besties helping her make over her patio in preparation for a bridal shower she’s throwing next weekend.  We worked every waking minute for two days straight transforming her space from an eyesore to something spectacular!

I’m in the process of editing the photos, but I just couldn’t resist sharing a sneak peek of the patio.  It really is amazing.

I still can’t believe someone is trusting me to help make over their space, but I suppose after busting out the Home Depot Patio Challenge, you can think of me as a patio makeover master! Ha!

PS, the full before-and-after will be posted later this week.  I’m so mean, sorry!

Ikea Lack shelves, and a wall with no studs

Let’s talk about Lack shelves, shall we? Do you love them or hate them? I honestly want to know how you feel!  I have always loved Lack shelves, I love their clean and simple design.  What I don’t love is how arduously deceiving they are! If it looks simple, it should be simple to mount, right? Maybe it’s me, maybe Ikea has finally found a way to test DIYers out there and by saying “good luck mounting this to your wall studs!”

I’ll spare you the painful story upfront and tell you I won the battle against the Lack shelves! HOORAH! {That’s my war cry, if you couldn’t tell}

Like I said, I’ll do you all a favor and spare you all the details of pain and frustration that I experienced with these shelves.  Instead I’m going to share with you what Ikea doesn’t explain in the picture-book manual: how to hang Lack shelves on a wall with no studs!

I actually shouldn’t rag on these shelves too badly, they’re very easy to mount, the caveat that Ikea so kindly leaves out of their instructions is, they’re easy as long as you have the right tools and knowledge of the walls in your home or apartment.

I think our building’s contractors were asleep when they put up our wall.  There are zero, and I mean zero, wood studs in our living room wall.  I kept thinking, there’s no way I’m the only person experiencing this problem.  So, after having drilled at least 15 pilot holes in our wall searching for a stud (with a stud finder no less!), I gave up. I patched the holes with putty then hung some framed wallpaper art as a temporary fix while I researched the solution to my problem.

Ok, so maybe I am divulging all the painful details… I’m sorry! I can’t help it! I performed a bit of research and found these glorious, magical things called “drywall anchors” that could hold up to 300 lbs on just one anchor! Say wha?

Be cautious when searching for the appropriate drywall anchor, there are a billion variations of all shapes and sizes.  I tried 2 different kinds, a metal one, and this WingIts plastic anchor, and this plastic one worked like a charm.

I picked up a pack of 6, which seems a little pricey at $11, but I’m telling you, totally worth every penny! The only bummer thing about using this wall anchor is…. you’ll need to drill a 3/4″ hole into your wall…

Deep breaths! Are you still with me?

Drilling a giant 3/4″ hole in your wall is SUPER painful I know.  We (I should say “I”) wasn’t too worried, since we’re renters and all, we could just slap a big wad of putty over the anchor whenever we move out.  Plus, you really only need to drill two holes for each Lack shelf, one placed at each end of the shelf mount.  I placed a third in the middle for good measure, but it was probably overkill.

Phew! I’m so relieved to have won the battle against these Lack shelves.  Now my man and I can gaze admiringly at these shelves whenever we’re in the room, and confidently think to ourselves ‘if we can hang Lack shelves, we can do anything!’

But honestly, I’m proud to have a tad more knowledge in my DIY bank – that when push comes to shove, use a drywall anchor!

craigslist dresser makeover

Ah! I’m so in love with this makeover.  I bought this dresser off Craigslist last June right as we were moving into our loft.  My man wasn’t too thrilled, he couldn’t understand the purpose of a dresser as a TV console.  But all you ladies understand! You need drawers to hide all the random boy stuff (video games, DVDs, alllllll of the remotes).

The dresser in its before state wasn’t all that pretty.  The DIYer in me saw straight past the ugly, I knew right away this dresser could be great!

The first thing I did was scrub the dresser squeaky clean.  There’s nothing like the smell of storage locker stink, and I wasn’t having any of it in my house. Next, I had to repair a few of the drawers where the overlay was detached.  I used wood glue and a couple clamps.

I decided to sand, stain, and wax the top of the dresser.  I knew the top surface area would get a ton of wear and tear, seeing as we’d be placing a thousand pound TV on top of it.  I could also foresee that painting it would only bring headaches and scratched paint, plus I’m a fan of the stain/paint contrast.   Later, I removed all the hardware, cleaned them, and brought them back to life with a bit of Gold Leaf Rub n’ Buff.

I painted the dresser in Behr’s Cool Lava in a matte finish.  I wanted the paint to resemble a soft chalk paint, and I thought any sheen shinier than matte wouldn’t look quite right.  I first applied one coat of primer, then three coats of paint, then lastly a protectant coat of Annie Sloan’s soft clear wax.

And just for kicks, here are my three succulents, alive and well! I am one of those people who lack any bit of a green thumb, so every plant that doesn’t die is a mighty success!

Coral and gold pair so well together!  My living room has completely transformed into a serene and happy place, and balance is restored again with all the boy stuff lying around.  I have my “pink” dresser, as my fiancee likes to say, while he still gets to store all his gadgets in all 9 of it’s drawers.

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On another exciting note! You can catch me today over at 6th Street Design School where the ever fabulous Kirsten Krason is sharing my tutorial on how to create this gold foil ampersand art.  It’s SO easy!

Finding the perfect gold spray paint

If only you knew the real life of an accountant.  Being a blogger/accountant is so hard sometimes, it’s like mixing oil and water.  Seriously, all normality is lost during month-close, but I’m slowly climbing out of it and have found a spare minute to share with you the journey I took in finding the perfect gold spray paint

I don’t know about you, but I haven’t had very much luck picking out the perfect gold spray paint straight off the shelf.  The paint can caps are deceivingly shiny and beautiful, the majority of the paint cans claim to be metallic but aren’t, and I usually don’t have enough patience to test out a bunch of random gold spray paints.

Today is the day we’re going to test out some options, because I believe with all my heart there is a perfect gold spray paint out there for everyone.  I chose 5 readily available gold spray paint cans from 3 shops – Michael’s, Home Depot, and Blick Art Materials.

In all my gold experiences, I’ve come to the conclusion that the color spectrum of gold falls into a quadrant of 4 distinct shades: brassy gold, yellow gold, green gold, and a warm honey gold. Each shade holds a purpose, and it’s up to you as the designer to determine which shade jives best with your look.

Usually if I decide to ‘go gold’ on a project, I look past using gold spray paint and go straight to gold leaf.  We all know how much patience goes into playing with gold leaf!  I wanted to find a paint that would compare to gold leaf, to save myself a headache and my carpet from a bazillion flakes of foil.

let’s find the best can of gold spray paint!

Montana Gold Acrylic spray paint is a professional spray paint that artists typically use for creative tag art.  Unlike some other professional artist spray paints, Montana Gold has characteristics in its formula that parallel home improvement spray paints, in that it can adhere to almost any surface.  The paint is flexible and has decent coverage, and it sounds silly but I really like the spray cap – It’s super comfortable! I was surprised that this paint turned out to be one of my favorites, because when the paint first comes out of the can, even after shaking vigorously, the paint was clear and appeared watery.  It was as if the paint turned to gold once it hit the air.

What I love most about this paint is that it dries with a super shiny with an almost lacquer-like finish.  The only qualm I have is that the paint is a bit runny, so you definitely need primer first, then you have to spray 2 light coats in order to get full coverage.  This paint falls into the honey golden shade I mentioned earlier, it’s so beautiful and complex, and mimics gold leaf in a way I wouldn’t have expected from a spray paint.

Design Master paints are readily available at Michael’s.  I’ve never actually tried this brand until now, and I can’t believe I held out for so long.  Both Design Master paints below are high quality, and are shockingly metallic in person.  The Gold Medal paint can is probably the most beautiful of the yellow-gold variety.  Both cans of paint are so buttery smooth and rich it was difficult picking out which I liked better.  Although, if I was forced to choose I’d have to say my favorite between the two is the Brilliant Gold.

You can see what I mean about the shades of gold, right? Gold Metal above is a yellow gold, whereas the Brilliant Gold below is a warm honey gold.

The next two cans of paint are perhaps the most common brands amongst crafters and DIY enthusiasts.  I’ve used these cans in previous projects, but I can’t say I was ever ecstatic with the results. Rustoleum’s Metallic Gold spray paint is more photogenic than it appears in person.  In person the paint is a greenish gold – not my fave.  Although, I am a big fan of Rustoleum’s paint formula – it’s adhesion qualities are en point, I’ll probably skip on their metallic cans and stick with their colored paints.

Michael’s also sells Krylon brand spray paints, such as this 18K Gold paint can.  The paint is great, I really don’t have any negative things to say about it, it just doesn’t live up to the other 4 paints here.  I do think it’s a little overpriced for being a smaller can, but that’s just me being a cheap-o.  Since this paint is in the yellow category of gold, I would suggest only using this paint for small projects.  Anything larger than a picture frame will look more yellow than gold.  I also wish Krylon would change the cap – the cap looks like a beautiful metallic rose gold, when the paint is more like the color of the clock on the label.

Well there you have it! I hope this post is somewhat helpful for the next time you decide to go gold.