Urban Gypsies

Such a clever name for one of the most fun boutiques here in Sedona... the owner Shelley has taken her gypsy vibe home. She recently had me recover her leather sofa cushions in this super fun fabric and the result is stunning! (For less than $500 I might add.... for anyone considering a redo on the cheap!)

A Room Redone

These beautiful sofas were such fun to work with. I saved the original fabric, a heavy tweedy wool plaid that reminds me of something Sherlock Holmes would wear, or sit on, or admire. Have no idea what I will do with it, but just couldn't dispose of it... something will come to me. Why anyone would drape (or rather bundle) such graceful frames with wool tweed is beyond me. I think my client's choice of plain vanilla chenille offsets the beauty of these sofas... which contrast with the gold chair and ottoman.

These hands have not been idle

I think it has been six months since I have blogged. Six unbelievably busy months running the gamut of family members having major surgeries (3 to be exact), my husband's loss of his largest contract, leading to the restructuring of our business (a nice way to say we have avoided starving! ha!) and in between, kids, projects, out of town company, you know, normal life. Some of you no doubt have given up on reading this blog... and I can't say I wouldn't do the same, but I do have some fun pictures of projects finished and some big ones on the horizon... I hope I can recapture your attention! Remember these?

These beauties have a very romantic story to be told. They were purchased by an Etsy customer from St. Paul for her 5th wedding anniversary. We had such fun deciding what should be done with them. I am thrilled with the way they have been transformed. She found this amazing fabric, inspired by the chairs in Betty Draper's living room makeover on Mad Men. She decided we would paint the front wood frame and legs in glossy black. Here they are getting crated for their final destination....

Thank you Jordan!

Everything Is Illuminated

Has anyone seen this movie? Elijah Wood is simply incredible and the story is compelling. Highly recommend. The illumination I am referring to however, is those gorgeous bathroom sconces I promised to show you. I am overwhelmed by the skill of their creator Randy Hoogs. He will soon be opening an Etsy shop featuring his lighting designs... for now, if anyone is interested, please contact me and I will pass on your contact information to him. He can truly build ANYTHING you can dream up, and if your dreams are limited, let me assure you- his are not. These sconces were inspired by a Restoration Hardware design, but are one-of-a-kind unique.

Arabian Nights

Anyone familiar with the Bombay Company? I love their signature flair.... every piece looks like it could be found on a set from Out of Africa. These pieces remind me so much of their style. This is a truly unique set- found by my friend Jessica on good old CL. The couch and chair are from the 20's and the chinoiserie style satin brocade was in fantastic condition, except for the seats, where it was actually disintegrating. The foam inside had turned to sawdust- quite the mess when I took them apart! Our challenge was to find a fabric that would complement the backs and arms... and a challenge it proved to be. She decided to go with velvet, but finding the right color- we had no idea how hard it would be to find the right shade! It was a good thing we had a swatch with us while we scoured fabric stores... but finally we hit upon the perfect thing- this rich green. For $8/yd it was a steal. I think they turned out so beautifully- now if only she can talk her husband into fanning her with palm leaves while she lies outstretched.....

My Happy Place

The bathroom is finished! Well, almost... close enough, right? Just a few finishing touches left. Our wonderful contractor friend Randy is building two highly imaginative sconces to frame the mirror, as the darling antique insulator lights I found on etsy do not provide enough illumination to be sure there isn't lunch between our teeth. Also, I am working on a decorative shower curtain, some towel hooks and wall art. All in good time. For now, a little dissection of the process. Our aforementioned friend Randy had the good sense and foresight to advise us to completely change the layout of the bathroom- see before pics in my last post. This meant digging down to the plumbing and moving electrical, and as anyone who has done this can testify- three times the time and money we were hoping to spend, BUT the end result is certainly nothing to complain about!
The tub I found for $175 on CL and the outside was already that fantastic weathered blue- I didn't do a thing to that. Randy and I did however sand and refinish the inside of the tub with a handy little kit from Home Depot ($50). Randy is a can do person and did not allow the cold outside to stop us from doing this project. He brought over space heaters and set the tub up on paint buckets and we did it in the garage. Randy also created a concrete countertop for the sink which we set atop an antique dresser.
With a lot of help from other friends, the rest came together. You have to love friends who work for bottles of scotch, pizza and promises!
I absolutely love how the stripes turned out- don't you? I had no idea how challenging those were until we were helplessly watching our uber-talented painter friend mark them all off and paint for 4 hours.
Isn't it obvious why it is now my happy place? I actually did say this out loud in the middle of a workout session when the trainer told us in the middle of a SUPER hard set to go to our happy place. I asked him "Is it ok if I go to the bathroom?"

Work, Interrupted

As is very obvious from the content of this blog... we are not super diyselfers... I live in awe of those who seem unafraid to try anything and have success at everything they attempt. Kind of the Midas touch of remodeling. This is not our experience. We have carved out little niches where we feel we can excel but when it comes to ripping out rooms and starting from scratch the fear factor has always just been too big. (As well as the wallet factor...somehow big mistakes mean big money!) So we have always relied on super talented friends who are willing to trade or help or whatever... and we have learned to live with things that sorely need to be changed out... but we are waiting no more! We have bit the bullet and gutted our main bathroom. When I say main, I realize how sad that sounds. Just look at it... long skinny hideous little room. The avocado paint on the wall was a desperate attempt to draw the eye away from the generations of dirt encrusted on the corners of the vanity, faucet and grout from previous owners that no amount of cleaning products, razor blades or elbow grease could fully remove. This bathroom has been the last hold-out, the Alamo, the Masada of our home improvement life. I am so excited to see it finished!!!