Room makeover in progress!

By Chelsea



Hi guys! I have GOT to share this note I received from my grandma yesterday, following my previous post, (which you'll need to read to understand):

"Chelsea, the only time cows stay out late (all night) is in the summer when its warm.  The cows come home around 4:30 PM. cause they get full, if u get my drift!!!  Gm L"

My grandma grew up on a farm; I just love when she shares little tid-bits like that. Isn't she hilarious?!? I love you, Gm L. :)

Today is just a quick pop-in to fill you in on some exciting things going on here! I have a bad habit, as a blogger, of not sharing things I'm working on until they're already finished and I'm able to share the oh-so-dramatic 'after' photos. But as a blog reader myself, I genuinely enjoy hearing what some of my fellow DIYers are up to, even if they're just in the beginning stages of a project. Even ideas are fun to read! 

So, that being said, there are some really fantastic projects going on right now - not just for Chelsea's Garage, but for One Kings Lane, (again!), POPSUGAR Home, (BTW, thank you guys for selecting me as your home blogger of the week over there! Check them out here and find more talented and creative bloggers), and a handful of clients. One near and dear 'client', in particular, who's project I'd like to share with you today: my Mom! 

Cate, (my friend, SIL, and clever guest poster here on CG), and I have been in cahoots planning the makeover of a guest room in my parents' new home.

Current room:

My Mom's style is so much cooler than mine. I'd describe it as very laid back and relaxed, but nowhere close to boring. She mixes raw, natural elements with funky, industrial pieces. And she's really good at adding a small dash of unexpected whim to keep things interesting and to prevent a room from feeling too serious. The coolest things in my wardrobe have come from her and my favorite elements in my home are inspired by her. 

After Cate and I had a chance to hear some of my Mom's hopes and desires for the room, we've come up with a key check list:

-Keep the Queen bed, (rather than replace it with a King), but make the bed appear larger in the room. Hard to tell from this photo, but it is a rather large room. The room could easily handle a King, but why replace a perfectly good bed in excellent condition unnecessarily? The Queen stays, but make it appear larger than it is.

-Find a storage piece that can also be used for the TV. It's just a small box TV with a VCR, (what's that?), and the only three guests that would happen to use it, (until there are others), are my little ones. But, my Mom loves putting a little video on for the kids up in that room when they're having trouble calming down for a nap. It's a nice room where all three of them can relax on the bed and at least have some quiet time, if not a nap, when we're all over there visiting for an extended period of time. The piece also needs to have a decent amount of storage, be high enough to watch the TV from the bed, and not be so bulky that it's difficult to walk around.

-Design the room around this piece of art which my Mom picked out at HomeGoods. Isn't it gorgeous?! It'll go right above the bed and serve as a central focal point for the room. This painting is our inspiration as we collect ideas for bedding, lighting, floor coverings, furniture, everything. How fun is that!!

-Comfortable seating area for guests to read, take a nap, feed a baby, (my Mom quite adores her grand-babies), or just kick-back, (while perhaps watching, yet again, the animated Robin Hood with the kids).

Those cover some of the main elements that Cate and I have been tackling and we are so excited about a few ideas that are both imaginative and stunning. Rather than wait until the room is completely done, I'm going to do my very best to take lots of photos of the room as it transforms and keep you updated on the progress. 

Now, should we try to keep my Mom out of the room until it's completely finished, (after the painting is done)? I vote YES!!

Thank you for stopping by!

~Chelsea

Garage Sale Peek-A-Week #1 (plus, what's got us screaming with joy)

By Chelsea

Hi friends! These were taken earlier today...

...moments after our first Yard Sale sign spotting of the season. :)

Are you feelin' it, too? Shire sure is! The future love of her life is going to have to make a hard decision at some point: Either find a hobby of their own on Saturday mornings in the Spring and Summer, or embrace hers and join along. This girl can yard sale til the cows come home, (whatever that means. Do cows stay out late and break curfew?)

Back to reality. There are less than 6 weeks until the June 7 garage sale! Cate and I are super excited and working hard to bring a fantastic collection of pieces. I thought it might be fun to share with you a peek-a-week of a piece I'll be selling on June 7! With only so many weeks between now and then I won't be sharing everything, but enough to prove it'll totally be worth your time to stop by! I'm even planning to pull out my paint, brushes, and a few spare pieces to offer on-going chalk-paint demos! It'll be a fun time, for sure.

Peek-A-Week #1

Custom aqua nesting tables w/ gold-dipped legs

If you follow me on Facebook you might recognize these!

I loved these as-is, but the rattan was faded with water marks on so many spots on the top. Since I couldn't decide on what color to paint them I put it to a vote between Duck Egg blue, Paris Grey, or Old White. Although Duck Egg won the votes, I decided to tone it down a bit and mixed 1 part Duck Egg with 3 parts Old White. I LOVE this mix! So subtle but with a hint of fun.

Find this and other one-of-a-kind pieces at the market!

Saturday, June 7

9am - 3pm

My garage! Located in Herndon, VA, email me for address.

No cost to get in

Refreshments available, as always!

Thank you so much for stopping by!

~Chelsea

Tufted Mid-Century Modern Bench For Sale

Posted by Cate

What?!  That's right readers, my first piece is available for sale on Chelsea's Garage!  The hope that I would start offering merchandise has been a long time coming - since I first started guest blogging in October.  Now the day has finally come and what could be more worthy of an inaugural sale than this table-to-bench transformation?

 This bench started out as an odd little table in a thrift store.  I almost passed it up because it had all sorts of problems - had it not been for the brass feet and price tag.  

1} It was really short for a coffee table.  An awkward dwarf of a table. Way too low to the ground.  Look how it makes our petite puppy mutt look like a full-size purebred.   

2} It had an AWFUL paint job.  Whoever was trying to TLC this before I got my hands on it, did not bother to tape off the gorgeous brass feet before shellacking it.  What a crime!

So I had no choice but to start by stripping the paint off the table legs.  Based on the lines there's a good chance that in a past life, this table was once a handsome warm-toned wood mid century modern piece.  I wonder what would have possessed someone to paint it an oily black...  Stripping it was a grueling process involving a lot of chemicals with intense smells.  If you find yourself in a similar paint-job pinch, I followed the instructions on Liz Marie and was pleased with the results.  

While the legs were undergoing their chemical peel, I went about making the cushion.  I bought 4" high density foam and grey linen fabric from JoAnn's and had the foam cut to the table top's dimensions.  I secured the fabric around the foam by stapling it to the underside of the table top.

When the covering was done and the corners were tucked, it was time to add the buttons.

I prepped the button-hole placement following these guidelines from Salvage Love.  Before I covered the cushion,  I mapped and measured where I wanted to drill holes for the button thread.  Using some left-over fabric and a button-cover kit, I made buttons to match, making sure to staple down the knots to the side of each pre-drilled hole.

Now it was time to check in again on my table legs.  While I was working on the re-upholstery, the stripping chemicals were loosing the oily paint's grip.  I was then able to scrape off the old paint and give them a couple coats of fresh stain.  The picture on the left is post-strip and on the right is 3 coats of Cherry Maple Stain.  They've gone from winter pale to summer tan!

Finally it was time to accessorize: with nail head trim!

I chose what I thought was a brass finish that matched the brass feet.  However, when I opened the package I found that the nail head strip had two different finishes.  But I embraced the happy accident and decided I liked the combo because it played on the silvery fabric too.

 

The last touch before re-attaching the legs was to staple on a dust cover to protect the button holes and and loose strings from the fabric's edges.

Just for kicks, here some pics of it styled in our apartment.  {Consider this a sneak peak tour of our living room.}

46"L x 17"H x 19"D

$260

Available for pick-up in Northern Virginia.  If you are interested in this piece or have a coffee table you'd love to repurpose as a bench, feel free to contact me directly at catherine.henifin@gmail.com.

~ Cate

Available for Sale - by Cate

Thank you so much for your interest in Chelsea's Garage!  You have reached the Available for Sale - by Cate page.  If you are interested in seeing any of these pieces in person, please email Cate to set something up. You can also find pieces for sale on the Available for Sale- by Chelsea page.  Happy hunting!

Chalk-Painted Chandelier with Roping Accents

Color: "Primitive" Warm Gray
Price: $50

Something strike your fancy? Email Cate to schedule an appointment to come take a look.

OR

  

Have something like this you want to re-love?  Let's chat about a custom order!

Thank you for your interest!

~ Cate

Transformation of a tired dining set {Before & After}

By Chelsea



Hi friends! I'm SO excited today; not only is there a beautiful, brand-new transformation to show you, but I'm also overwhelmed to share that Apartment Therapy featured our Home Tour yesterday! What a humbling and exciting experience. Here is the link on their site if you're interested! The kids were excited about two things in-particular: seeing their beds and our beta fish, Gill. :)

So, I've been working like a mad woman to have this 5-piece custom ordered dining set finished in a timely fashion. It was brought over by a friend who has two young children; I don't know about you, but I would not be super interested in having to eat on the floor with my toddlers while my dining set was MIA. Getting them to sit still IN SEATS is tough enough! I definitely worked some odder-than-usual hours to get this set finished and back to it's young and busy home!

Here is the tired, worn-out set BEFORE:

The first order of business, as always with a custom order, was discussing my friend's style. In order to determine the best direction to go with her dining set, I really needed to get a feel of her unique home decorating style. Along with some beautiful pictures she sent from around her home, the first three words she used to describe her style were "casual", "cottage", and "country". BINGO! I knew that we needed to use Chateau Grey, by Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, and Old White, also by ASCP. Chateau Grey can really fool you if you haven't seen a sample of it before cracking open the can. It's not what one would call a grey, but rather a soft, natural sage green. A little bit of green with a little bit of white, and some natural wood mixed in = a perfect dining set combination for my casual, cottage, country friend!

AFTER

Along with painting and gently distressing the chairs and table base, I also removed the old finish on the table, (accomplished by 60 grit sandpaper and an electric sander), and re-stained and re-sealed the table top. No more scratches or worn patches! (Important note: I stained this table top in Minwax Early American. After editing the photos to help the color of the chairs come through, the table top looks very red. It's absolutely NOT a red wood stain, but a natural, saturated oak color).

Mason wanted to say Hi. Sweet boy.

So there you have it! A NEW casual, cottage, country dining set for a beautiful young family! 

Thank you for stopping by!

~Chelsea

Time away and upcoming fun!

By Chelsea



Hi friends! It's been a while, eh?! So grateful for some time away over these last couple weeks. And especially thankful for a beautifully creative friend and sister-in-law who shared her genius ideas with all of us while I was away! Just in case you missed them, you can see Cate's latest ventures here, here, and here.

Two weeks ago Matt and I packed up the van, loaded the kids and drove 17 hours down to sunny Florida to visit my in-laws. The time away spent relaxing and playing with my family was worth every minute of the drive. But still, I want to kiss the person who invented portable DVD players on the lips. On. The. Lips.

Here are some highlights from our vacation!

The water; I have a hunch our kids may be part fish.

Helping Nana with everything!

Catching beasts, (aka bass), in the canal behind the house.

Sunset beach date with my Matt

Watching this little love, who doesn't care for the sand, 

be brave and make the most of our time at the beach.

It was wonderful. Praising Jesus for blessing us with a vacation. What a treat! 

And while we were away I got an email from an Apartment Therapy photographer who was interested in shooting our house for the site! The only time that worked for both of us happened to be a day and a half after we got home. Whaaaaat?! It was almost a "Check please!" moment. But, Natalie, the photographer, was so kind and definitely helped ease my nerves about having the kids around, getting the house ready, etc. It was a push for sure, but Matt and I were able to use that short time to get the house cleaned and camera ready. What an honor to have our home featured on such an inspirational source! I can't wait to see it! Once it's up on their site I'll link up here on the blog so you can check it out!

Natalie was truly awesome. She showed the kids the camera and even let them take a few pictures!

Coming up; an exciting announcement from Cate and me that local friends won't want to miss! Hint, keep June 7th open.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Chelsea

Chandelier Terrarium {Part II}

By Cate

Last time I posted on a chandelier terrarium that was in fact a terrarium - see it here at Chandelier Terrarium {Part I}.  Now let me show you another take on repurposing a chandelier: a potted plant "greenhouse."  Although not exactly a terrarium{which usually has rocks, soil, and rooting plants}, this glass geometric structure is a beautiful display case for your average indoor potted plant.  

{Before & After}

I removed the chain, suspended candelabra, and that crazy Alibaba topper thing.  The roundness of the topper just wasn't gelling with the geometric lines of the lantern.  It was frankly out-dating the look so... of with his head!  I did end up keeping the chandelier loop {which is the loop where the chain attaches to the lantern} and put it back onto the top by screwing it into the existing center hole. 

 

What is great about this size chandelier, is they usually come with a latching glass panel allow for easy light bulb changes.  Now it allows for easy plant watering.

 

Dusty brass chandelier?  Meet beautiful orchid.  No more hanging in lonely entryways for you mister.  Your job now is to protect your vulnerable charge while showcasing the delicate display.

 

The gold-glint chandelier case is almost as delicate-looking as the orchid.

 

 If you ask me, this orchid seem rather happy about its new living arrangements.  Don't you think?

Now it's your turn to turn something old new,

~ Cate