home office: before and almost after

I had planned to post a few pictures last week of the new office shelves that I've been working on, but with all the laundry, packing, and errands that precede a road trip, there just wasn't time. I was able to snap a quick before & after photo, although the "after" picture isn't quite complete. We still have a few more shelves to put up on a different wall, so there will probably be more shuffling of the boxes and books that are in the picture. As for the "before" picture... well, let's just say I might as well show you a picture of my dirty laundry. It's pretty embarrassing to admit that this is actually what it looked like. It wasn't from a lack of trying, there was just no way to organize that much stuff on the old steel shelf. It was a temporary solution, and I'm so thankful to have found the new shelves at the thrift store. It's such a nice surprise to be able to tackle a project sooner than expected.

I hope to finish up the rest of the office when we get back to Seattle next week, and I'll be sharing more photos when it's done as well as that acetone transfer project I've been promising. In the meantime, I hope to hit some local Montana thrift stores, and maybe I'll turn up some blog-worthy finds. If you'd like to keep up with our road trip adventures, you can follow me on twitter.

weekend project: the results!

I love a good deal and I don't splurge on all that many things, but paint happens to be one of the few items on which I'll spend the extra money. We have purchased a lot of paint over the last five years—everything from Behr to Sherwin Williams, but my absolute favorite is Benjamin Moore. Without sounding too much like an infomercial, here's just a few quick things that I think make it worth the price...

The Natura product line comes in a zero VOC with virtually no odor. If you've ever used primer, you'll know how bad it can stink—for days. We can use the Natura primer without worrying about making our kids high. It also covers really well and has a great texture when applying. It's not stringy, sticky, or watery. Lastly, they have a great color palette to choose from.


I've never been one to be indecisive about paint colors, but choosing the right color for our entryway was really hard! We narrowed it down to blue and yellow, and then bought samples of each color. We stared at the small patches of paint on the wall for at least half the day, changing our minds every twenty minutes. Dolphin's Cove or Yellow Rain Coat? Maybe it was the names that pushed us over the edge, but finally we decided to just go with our first reaction and paint it Dolphin's Cove. Also, I liked the way my yellow purse looked hanging on the blue as opposed to the yellow (I know, it's silly). So far, we love it, and it's really lightened up that whole area of our house. What do you think?

Before & After - Amy Butler Chair

I picked this chair up about two years ago from Goodwill for $1.29. It was a Monday, which means they put all items with a certain colored tag on sale for a flat price of $1.29 in any department. Structurally, it's really solid, but it was obviously in need of a makeover, and at that price, I figured I could afford to put a few more dollars into fixing it.

This is somewhat disturbing, but as I removed the old vinyl seat cover, I discovered that it was originally white—not brown! Apparently, it must have been owned by one of the guys from Mad Men. I've found that problem with a lot of mid-century pieces—everyone was a smoker.

My upholstery skills are pretty much limited to chair seats and pillow cases, both of which were needed in this case. I picked out some pretty Amy Butler fabric, and a $2 pillow from Big Lots. I spent a lot more money on the fabric than on the chair! It took me two tries to find a pattern that my husband and I could agree on, but I'm really pleased with the result. (note: if you are doing a project like this, make sure to use upholstery weight fabric)

The paint has held up really well, too—even after two years of repeated collisions with a ride-on firetruck. I think I used one coat of primer and three coats of white satin finish spray paint.