A Dragon DIY

I trust that many of you had a lovely Family Day or Presidents Day holiday - depending on where you reside, of course. I spent a fun weekend with my Mom - we watched Olympics, caught The Monuments Men at the theatre, did some shopping, ate some good meals and worked on a DIY project. Because what's a long weekend without a little DIY?

^ Before & After ^

I found a pair of vintage 1980's (is that really considered vintage?) stools for the kitchen island at Around the Block just over a month ago, and the makeover is halfway complete. This past weekend I took the old seat covers off and used them as a pattern to cut the new fabric. I fell hard for Dwell Studio's new Ming Dragon fabric when I saw it on Tonic Living's Instagram feed last October; it's the perfect match to other elements in my open concept kitchen/dining/living area.

I even managed to match the patterns!!

My first time making piping was surprisingly quick & painless :)

 

Now I'm a bit stuck on what colour to paint the rattan part of the stools. White: too stark? Navy: too much? Gold: too bright? Brown: too boring? Cream: too wishy washy? Any ideas out there...?

What's Brewing for February...

Today I just thought I'd wrangle together a few thoughts about what projects are currently in the works. Hot on the heels of adding character to the dining room wall, I've been trimming out the main wall in the living room. As a matter of fact the wall is ready for paint and I'm currently trying to psyche myself up for that final step. If all goes well, this project will be completed by the end of the weekend. Stay tuned...

Last week I talked about my latest Kijiji score (a fabulous 1970's chrome dining set) and soon I'll be on the hunt for a few yards of golden/saffron/mustard yellow velvet to recover the chair seats & backs. I'm thinking this is just about the perfect shade:

Above image via.

There is one more project in the works too. A few weeks ago I found this pair of stools for the breakfast bar at Around the Block consignment shop:

^^They're interesting...right? I've been looking for a pair of stools for quite some time, with a strict criteria - the "right pair" needed to have backs for good posture & comfort, they needed to be counter height (not bar height) and they needed to be in my (low) price range. Et Voila! These babies met the criteria, although I know they'll require a little nip & tuck to update them.

I'm considering a fresh coat of white paint paired with this Dwell Studio 'Ming Dragon' fabric from Tonic Living:

 

Only three projects on the go right now!! And just when I thought I was getting close to the finish line.

Is it ever really done?