Imagination to reality

We are days away from the May 4 sale and just last night Matt and I cleared out all the toys and some lawn equipment from the garage so I can begin setting up the space as a showroom. As I uncovered finished pieces that have been hiding under the protection of sheets and plastic, I looked around at the products of my labor and just felt incredible.

First peek of this 7-drawer dresser in a custom mixed soft green, 

homemade leather drawer pulls from an old belt

Completing any task these days feels like an accomplishment. My three dear young ones, (3, 3, and 2), are on my heels all day, except when they are asleep. I tried to sneak in a shower recently while they seemed occupied watching Doc McStuffins, only to see all three of their faces as they pulled the shower curtain aside, holding a plastic teapot in front of me, asking if we could have a tea party. In the shower.

Being patient during yet another run to Home Depot, 

(with a stop to the playground promised afterward)

This attention intensive phase of life is a true adventure, to say the least. Creating in our garage is less about having an outlet from all things 'Mommy', and more about the desire to simply be creative. Our home is filled with 3 very wild imaginations. In the transition from kid to adult I'd forgotten how much fun it is to imagine and use the creative part of my brain. I am so grateful to have these precious kids reminding me how to imagine. Each piece of furniture that I makeover is a physical extension of me and my imagination.

My vision of what the ordinary tv tray table could be

My style is rustic

with a bit of sparkle.

Unique,

and detailed.

 I believe that small pieces have as much impact as large.

And that not everyone wants to fill their home with white, cream, and grey;

-though I use a lot of those, too, (and they never get old)

I can see myself in each piece - my imagination, style and work. 

And it just makes sense.

*Which is refreshing, because sometimes toddlers are quite hard to understand! :)

~Every piece in this post will be available this Saturday, May 4~

10am - 2pm

Herndon, VA 

-email me at chelseasgarage@gmail.com for the address! I'd love to see you there!

Please see the previous post for more photos of available pieces.

~Chelsea

Come see us in person on May 4!

There are still a couple pieces missing from this list because they're unfinished - but they will be by Saturday, May 4!

Chelsea's Garage Spring Sale

Saturday, May 4

10am-2pm

Herndon, VA

Email me at chelseasgarage@gmail.com for the address!

Complimentary refreshments, as always, and all are welcome to take a look around!

~Chelsea

Ditching the slipcovers!

With the spring sale just over a week away I have been feverishly working on finishing up the last remaining pieces in the garage and getting them up here for you to see! Tomorrow I'll be showing a little photo list of {almost} everything that will be available. There are still a couple pieces not ready to be photographed yet so you'll just have to come and see them for yourself!

Anyways, I got a tad sidetracked this week with a major breakthrough discovery that I just couldn't wait to show you! We've got the Ikea Ektorp sofa and two Ektorp Jennylund armchairs. I was removing the slipcovers from the armchairs the other day to wash them and realized that what has been hiding under our slipcovers is gorgeous! I don't know why I haven't noticed this before when removing the covers, but the fabric on the chairs is a linen looking cotton. I have been noticing, (and realllly liking), a lot of linen armchairs lately. I haven't been looking for any since I know it's not in the budget and we've already got two perfectly good armchairs. But when I removed those white slipcovers I was as giddy as on Christmas morning. And the vision of what they could be came within seconds.

 My twist on the Ektorp Jennylund armchair

Here's a BEFORE picture of the chairs - so different, right?! 

First things first: I attached nailhead trim to give my chairs an element of rustic elegance. I knew I wanted to do the nailheads in a criss-cross. This chair has such clean lines and is very plain, which I really love, but that also opens up some opportunity to be creative and unique.

The second step was adding staples. When I removed the slipcovers, I also had to remove a strip of stapled on velcro which had been used to keep the arms of the slipcover tight over the chair. When this strip, and all the staples used to attach it, was removed, I had a bit of loose fabric - and staple holes. I just went back over the seam with the staple gun to re-tighten the fabric. I am in love with the look of exposed staples. That and nailhead trim. Both are excellent ways to step-up a rustic look. 

Third improvement was recovering the cushions in some of the antique linen that my husband's grandma gave us a while back. It's not the same shade as the fabric on the chairs, (and even has rust spots here and there)...a minor imperfection that makes me adore these chairs even more.

And finally, as you'll notice in the photos, I painted the wooden legs of these chairs in Annie Sloan's French Linen.

More photos

I may be getting full of it, but to me this is like Ikea meets Restoration Hardware, (my number one favorite store; ironically I have never made a purchase)

Here is the RH Deconstructed English Roll Arm Chair in Antiqued Linen

Mine is kind of the same....hah! At least I know where my antique linen came from - it's been passed down 4 generations that we know of!

That is all; the major breakthrough discovery that I couldn't wait to show you. IF you happen to like this, (I know there are those who prefer the slipcovered look) and might be interested in trying it yourself, here is a little breakdown of what it would cost, (I just happened to have all of the supplies already):

-Ektorp Jennylund Armchair, brand new, (we found ours on Craigslist for around $20) = $199

-Gold nailhead trim, (comes in an easy-to-attach 'wheel' from JoAnn Fabrics - I didn't even use half for this project) = $20

-Annie Sloan French Linen, (ok, I used a mere dabble per leg, so you could just get a sample size for a project like this) = $13ish (more or less)

-Pack of 5/16" staples from Home Depot = $3.20

-Fabric from Etsy shop Moonspell Crafts = $19.75 (check out this listing for a beautiful ticking pattern in blue!)
Total cost - less than $260 for one chair, (and way less than double that for two chairs since most, if not all, of those supplies will be more than enough to cover two chairs).

Don't forget to mark your calendars for the Chelsea's Garage Spring Sale! About a week to go until I open the garage door on May 4 for any interested guests to come peruse! There will be complimentary refreshments, music, beautiful one-of-a-kind pieces - what could be better on a Saturday in Spring?!

Doors will be open from 10am-2pm

Located in Herndon, VA

Email me at chelseasgarage@gmail.com for the address!

~Chelsea

Linking up to Blue Egg Brown Nest!