My Kelly Wearstler Sofa & Style-Rite Upholstery!

Solid sofas with patterned pillows make alot of sense but how could I pass up the opportunity to reupholster my $25 yellow vinyl church sale sofa in Kelly Wearstler's Fern Tree? You may remember at the end of September I posted about my purchase of Fern Tree from Haute for only $28 a yard and asked for advice for which direction to run the fabric. I went with a vertical placement and couldn't be more thrilled with how it turned out!
The upholsterer I've always used is Mel Stokols of Style-Rite Upholstery. This was not an easy pattern to work with and I think the placement of it is perfection. Love how the fern trails up the front of the arm; it's identical on both of them.

The pattern rolls over both arms and matches perfectly down each side (forgot to take a picture of that but you can see a bit of it in the photo below.)
The sofa was delivered Friday night, as promised, just in time for a dinner party Saturday. Here's Mel on the left and fellow master upholsterer David on the right. I've had 2 other chairs and another sofa upholstered by Style-Rite and it's been perfection in my book every time.
The cost to reupholster this sofa was $1,110 - which included repairs to the springs and 13 yards of another fabric** I had bought from Mel. (**I found the Wearstler fabric weeks after choosing the original fabric.) I can highly recommend Mel to anyone in the metro DC area who is interested in reupholstering a piece. Style-Rite Upholstery, Annandale,VA, 703.256.1114. Please note this is my personal recommendation and I receive no form of compensation for my endorsement.

Two other notes - with the addition of this sofa my family room is finally starting to come together. Hope to post more about it soon.

The amazing fabric store Haute of Marshall, VA now has a second location in Georgetown at 2601 P Street NW in a space next to Jean Pierre Antiques. There are many beautiful fabrics in this location and it's definitely worth checking out.

This Paper for This Table

I've painted my yard sale find with leftover Farrow & Ball Shaded White but am thinking about using this Renato Crepaldi french curled marbled paper from PaperMojo.com to cover the top and lower two shelves. The idea for doing this came after reading this post on designer Capelloe Kincheloe's blog. However, because patience is not one of my virtues, I've already bought the paper without ordering a sample. It's beautiful but it's a bit darker than it appeared on my computer screen. My daughter liked it though and thinks it will work in my bedroom so I'll go ahead with it this weekend. Wish me luck! Oh, and any advice for attaching paper to wood and applying polyurethane is welcome.

Yard Sale Buys & the Price $ Thing

I've been on a recent lucky streak with yard sale finds. Here's a Trumeau style mirror purchased at Arlington's Civitan Community yard sale for $40 (it's the same place where Jenny of Little Green Notebook sold her truckload of amazing stuff).

When I saw the mirror, two women were eyeing it and the seller said it was $40. They walked away and when I approached and asked the price, she replied $50. Well, since I had heard her original price of $40 I offered that - which she relunctantly accepted. Still not sure why it was $40 for one person but $50 for me...? (p.s. the other women were dressed better than me)

It's very-very gold and I plan to tone down parts of it w/some grayish paint. As you can see I'm currently moving things around in my dining room/library. I'm thinking the acanthus leaf sconces will stay although I need a way to better deal with the cord. The concrete antique french trough is is from Flat Earth Designs and it's on my to-do list to plant something in it!
Saturday we stopped by a family-run estate sale and bought this dresser for $30. It's a Henredon piece and the drawers work beautifully - I'd already removed some of the hardware when I took this pic. I thought $30 was a very good price and the seller seemed happy that I simply said, "Yes, I'll take it."
Then I asked how much for this great end table. The very nice woman said $5 and as soon as she said it, I could see she was a bit disappointed with herself. So I asked her to let me pay $10 for it. I really felt $5 was too cheap, wasn't a fair exchange at that price and would have left me feeling guilty. **I hope this story doesn't come across as self-serving. Feeling guilty sometimes make me do the right thing. Plus, she was a really nice person. If she hadn't been, maybe I would have just paid $5.

So 3 situations: (1) one the price was higher for me than somebody else and I offered the lower price, (2) price was good for buyer and seller and (3) price was too low and I would have felt a bit cheap and guilty for paying the lower price.

Has this kind of thing ever happened to you?

p.s. - In a burst of unusual productivity, I've already clean, sanded and primed the furniture. Please send me emails if I haven't posted the results by Friday. I get more done with people looking over my shoulder!

Inspiration from Tobi Fairley's Table Transformation

Tobi Fairley designed a beautiful Stair Hall for the Richmond Symphony Designer House that pairs classic pieces with modern finishes and vibrant color. The focal point when you first enter the space is a striking pedestal table that she designed and had custom built by Kent Hughes of Fairfax Designs and beautifully painted by Stephanie Jones of me & mrs. jones. (photo by Tobi Fairley via A Passion for Home)Here's the before in a natural wood state with sanding sealer applied. I see tables similar to this in consignment shops and flea markets pretty regularly (although the quality of the craftsmanship in this table does set it apart). Maybe you have a piece in your home like this?
Now here's the after - stunning! In her blog post, Mrs. Jones mentioned that Tobi specified a soft-oyster white and accent trim of raspberry red. Here's a close-up of the perfectly painted lines that give extra definition to the piece.

Here's a view of the space from the stairwell - giving context to the pedestal table in the space. The Showhouse is open through Oct. 11th - the designers did an amazing job and it's definitely worth it to see it in person. (photo by Jami Carlton via RS Designer House Facebook page)

Go here to see more of Stephanie's work & for inspiration for possibly transforming some pieces in your home. Right now I have my eye on a mirror I bought at a flea market Saturday...

Barn Sale in Vienna

Sharon Hayden of Fabulous Finds is holding one of her well known Barn Sales this Saturday September 25th from 8 am - 4 pm, 1870 Hunter Mill Road Vienna, VA. I went to the last one and came home with some beautiful vintage Italian sconces. A portion of the sales will be given to the Susan G. Komen Foundation in honor of her friend Lucy, a cancer survivor. Go here to see more of the vintage items that will be available. (If you can't make this barn sale, Sharon also offers her finds via her website between sales)

Huge Tag Sale!: My friends and I

My friend Lori is moving to Georgetown - "downsizing" in the most chic of ways. The tablescape above gives you a sense of her style and great eye. She'll be selling the majority of the pieces from a staging business as well as selected pieces of furniture and accessories from her home. I'm joining her, along with fellow design enthusiast friends, to host a HUGE TAG SALE Friday April 30th 3 pm - 7 pm and Saturday May 1st 7 am - 12 pm.
Items for sale from myself, Lori and my other friends include: upholstered chairs, sofas, dining room table, accent chairs, rugs, desks, mirrors, lamps, framed artwork, pillows, bolts of fabric including designer names, accessories, custom made duvet covers, and more!

Here are just some pictures -will post more this weekend. The armoire above will be for sale.
Cane back dining chairs Lori bought while on vacation in Bangkok


4 terrific framed prints of Paris
Pillows...
Pairs of lamps, lampshades
Stool upholstered in a Kelly Wearstler fabric, ABC Carpet & Home chair, bedding that was used for staging so no one ever slept on it!
An absolutely beautiful comforter.


More pillows, bedding and table runners.



Custom made king size duvet cover with 2 european shams.
Gorgeous black see-through fabric purchased at ABC Carpet & Home. Would make beautiful drapes. I'll be posting more items that will be for sale in the next few days.

Hope to see you at our HUGE TAG SALE! Friday April 30th 3 pm - 7 pm and Saturday May 1st 7 am - 12 pm.

My Craigslist Buy

Two weeks ago I purchased this craigslist find - advertised as a Georgian mahagony fold-down- top desk from the early 1800's. Two of the three ivory key hole inserts are still in place and the secret drawer hidden underneath the bottom of the center section is a big hit w/my kids. It has a little ivory drawer pull on it. The hardware is brass but it appears to have replaced the original oval shaped hardware.
It wasn't a giveaway but at $350 I'm really happy with it. It's 46" wide and it has found a home in the family room centered between two french doors on other side. I'm changing that room completely and have moved furniture all around so right now there are only 2 pieces in there that were there last year (black bar cabinet and my $5 glass coffee table). Once work dies down and I have a bit more free time I'll post pictures of my redecorated dining room/library and my family room in progress.
For a bit of eye candy, here's a secretary desk from the home of Rosa Bernal, image from Nuevo Estilo here. Hope you had a great weekend. Michele

A Side of the Road Table & a Promise

This is a small furniture re-do but one that's been on my list for 2 years. I know that because I was picking up my son from 8th grade and spotted this 60's veneer table near his school and, much to his protest, asked him to pick up and toss it in the trunk. Between Naps on the Porch & Metamorphosis Monday gets all the credit for motivating me to finally finish this!

I sanded down the finish and polished up the brass bits that are on the legs - just above the second shelf and at the foot. I skipped priming the table as I wanted to avoid the fumes. Using a small sponge brush I was able to paint the table with 2 coats using a $7 sample pot of Farrow & Ball Down Pipe in a flat finish. (I may go back later and use wipe-on polyurethane) The gold edging was done with a tube of artist's acrylic.


Here it is all finished. All in all, I'm pretty happy with it. Be sure to check out more before and after projects at Between Naps on the Porch.

Changing a table can feel satisfying but imagine how satisfying it would feel to play a part in helping to change the lives of girls in a small village in Laos...

Several bloggers are coming together today in a collaborative effort spearheaded by Paloma Contreras of La Dolce Vita, in order to make a difference for a very deserving charity. Pencils of Promise is a wonderful 501(c)(3) organization based in New York, that partners with local communities and organizations to build schools in developing nations for some of the world’s most impoverished and undereducated children. (To watch a brief, informative You Tube video about Pencils of Promise - click here.)

Last December, the Pencils of Promise team visited a small village in Laos and by July 2009, they had built a new school for the village children who started attending classes on September 1st. This month, Pencils of Promise will be opening their third school and they hope to open the doors to education for more children in 2010.

In the spirit of the Holiday season, we are asking for your help today on behalf of these children. The donations collected through Pencils of Promise Blog Day 12.14.09 will go towards building safe, legitimate dormitory housing for girls to have access to further education. Currently, some parents are unwilling to send their children to school because of the danger of the huts currently in use. This new dormitory will house about 200 young Laotian girls.

We are in the midst of the giving season and hope that you will consider making a donation to this worthy cause today. Every little bit helps and together, we can make a difference!

TO DONATE - Click here.If you would like to stay informed about the difference Pencils of Promise is making, be sure to become a fan on their Facebook page.

The One that Got Away & the One that Didn't!

When I first saw this chair at Vicky's Yard Sale my heart started palpitating. I loved it and at $75 it was an incredible bargain -- I missed getting it by minutes to some other savvy shopper! (it still hurts...)

However, this little Moderne Art Deco gem found its home with me! To say I admire this silver plated teapot is an understatement. It is the object of my love. Family and friends can attest to this. I've made my husband and children hold it and then ask leading questions like, "Tell me what you love about this beautiful little teapot?" In full disclosure, I have done this more than once! I rather like how it looks paired with my YSL book I won from Little Augury.
Here it sits on my $5 neoclassical coffee table that I bought at an estate sale and have since cleaned, polished and, for $65, replaced the missing glass top. One of my best finds to date.
I had friends over for a post-wreath making luncheon this past Friday and these flowers were the center piece. The foilage w/the dark berries are from my backyard and the cute green pot was a giveaway from Mitchell & Gold at last year's Domino Book Party. (what a difference a year makes)

If you're looking for unique gifts for the home, head over to Vicky's Yard Sale. Right now one of her items for sale is this vintage powder horn w/brass accents for $25. I found out about Vicky's terrific site a few months ago from Christian who happens to also have great finds at Maison21 Marketplace.

(These are my personal recommendations and I receive no form of compensation for them.)