ABC DIY

The first photo is of a rug that I fell in love with from ABC Carpet. They take vintage and worn rugs and bleach(with some kind of lemon compound) then over dye their rugs. Most of the one circulating the web are really bright, almost neon. That is a little to bright for me, but when I got on there website, there was one beautiful gray version that was my favorite. At around $1200, I thought about selling plasma, but then I'm sure my husband would appreciate that money going to bills, so I thought I could DIY it.

The second photo is of my rug before I stared bleached the hell out of it. The third photo is of the bleached and starting to fray rug. The fourth photo is of my sad attempt to create a $1200 rug. In good light you can still see some of the pattern, which is what I was going for. In that same good light thought you can tell that my rug is way more purple that gray.

So, cost run down:

I already owned the rug

About $6 in dye, first black that was too purple, then gray that still didn't quite cover the purple
A few trips to a couple different stores for the dye
So all-in-all the rug DIY was a great way to experiment, for my next GRAY rug.

New coffee table...

I haven't been posting due to not liking my camera lately. I was convinced that it was not my photography skills that lacked, but my camera dragging me down.

I have spent some time getting to know my little point and shoot better, for interior photographs. These are still not perfect, but my front room is so dark, overexposing them sure helps.

This is my newest coffee table, and my husband brought it home as a surprise right before Christmas. I cleaned it up with a little soap and water, then a good scrub down with steel wool and beeswax. It's huge, with a beautiful patina, and best of all, it was free. It had been sitting downstairs in the basement of one of his restaurants covered in crap.
It is a great addition to our home, its perfect for train sets, dinners (i know!)and just for putting your feet up.

Kicking myself....

A couple of weekends ago I had a moment to stop at an estate sale, I didn't have much time, and I also at this point really don't need anything.
I spotted this little bar cart/ wine rack and thought it was great, priced at $20. I didn't grab it since I was in a hurry, and as I stated before, I no longer have any room in my house for furniture.
Well, today when I was looking on the Surfing Cowboys site, I spotted this picture of the exact same bar cart, my heart dropped into my stomach(and is still there) $750, is what this Paul McCobb bar cart is going for. KICKING MYSELF.

Gray Days...

Mama's New Chair

I am now the proud owner of a comfy Overman pod(?) chair. I picked it up off craigslist for $30, and I was told that there is an ottoman that goes with it, that she is trying to unearth for the depths of her basement.(not holding my breath)

Scavenger

I had Saturday morning to myself and chose to spend it shopping estate sales. A couple were a bust, but a beautiful morning alone and only spending $6 it was a wonderful time.

From the top, I found a whole box of old paint by numbers and these are a few of my favorites, all for a buck. The same sale I purchased a stack of vintage fabric, a small vintage red pillow, and a vintage slip cover for my daybed, and a small metal basket(not pictured) for an additional $2.

Last, but not least, at a different sale I found a pair of Eames DKX (wire) chairs for $3. I only picture one because the other is at the doctors right now having a few spot welds done.

One chair had the seat pad and the other had the back, so I put them on one chair and used a lot of vinyl cleaner and conditioner and the pads are looking pretty good, the finish on the chair is not however. I will probably sand and repaint the seat white and the legs black, and try to get it back to its original beauty, but I like to wait a while and live with the patina, but I won't be able to get it back. So I feel like I made out like a bandit, and I am in love with all of my new treasures.

Mad for Plaid

...And there it is in all of its glory. My husband hates it, I think its great, we are both glad it was free.