So, HERE is where I left the saga of my current reupholstery project: I stripped the chairs of their original pleather, pulled out the foam padding, painted the wood frames red, and had just started adding the new fambric to the frames.  As of this weekend, I have finally had some free time to complete the project!  I replaced the webbing in the seat support (as the old supports had disintegrated) and reused the original foam padding, covering it with the new fabric.  Something new I tried with this project was piping which I created by wrapping some thin rope with the upholstery fabric and sewing it closed.  I then applied it to the base of the seat cushion and all the way around the seat back panel.  Without the piping, I would have probably applied some general trim to hide the staples but I think this gives a much more professional look to the project and I think the fact that the piping matches the upholstery works better with the bold paint color and the bold print – as opposed to adding another color with store-bought trim.  AND VOILA, we have a finished chair (mostly – I still want to cover the bottoms with some muslin before I sell the chairs so that you don’t see the webbing).  But, that won’t show up in pictures, so check out the [essentially] finished chair project below:

Now that the cabin itself is largely done and has been winning awards left and right (YAY!) the client has moved on to designing the pool house (an old corn crib from PA) and the entrance gate to the property.  I was lucky enought to get to take the design lead on the gate – which is largely a sculptural expression (in addidion to being functional and security driven).  The idea behind the gate is the meeting of old and new, of rough/natural and smooth/modern/man-made and the idea of an object or place-marker in the middle of wilderness.  I was largely influenced by Andy Goldsworthy who has been a favorite artist of mine for a long time, and I was able to persuade my boss and the client on the design largely by showing Mr. Goldsworthy’s work.  So, the design consists of two stone walls flanking the driveway, one very man-made and refined the other an ordinary rubble wall.  The gate is made of huge corten panels which are sleek and modern but will rust and get a natural patina over time.  The gate doors are asymmetrically sized to accomodate cars and people and are comprised of wood planks in raw steel frames which ties back to the work we did on the cabin.  The rubble wall meanders through the landscape towards the Hazel River where it terminates in a stacked stone cairn – a marker.  I am loving the way it is turning out so far!  Check out these progress pictures:

As always, I am looking for inspiration, ideas, and things-to-buy on etsy.  This month, I have seen some awesome jewelery and some fun original artwork.  Ranging from sculpture to sketches, I have rounded up a few items that sparked my interest.  Take a look…click on the images for links to the etsy shops.

Every girl, and even some fabulous guys, need sparkle.  Over the new year, the trend has been silver, gold and LOTS of shimmer.  And let’s face it, who couldn’t use a little more sparkle in their life???  I know that I for one, having put away my twinkle-tastic Christmas trees last weekend (due to comments from the peanut gallery – aka husband – regarding the degree of a person’s insanity who leaves Christmas trees out all year), am missing that little somethin-somethin’.  So, to fill the void in my life left by the disappearance of my spectacular Christmas forest, I shopped around for some great online pictures of some sparkley things.  I stuck mainly to silver and black because it looks so darn classy, but there were a lot of gold and ivory combinations out there that look equally rich.  Take a look….

items from top left to bottom right: 5×8 metropolitan stones silver wool rug (overstock.com) $225; chandelier (overstock.com) $135; platinum taffeta curtain (overstock.com) $87; mercury trinket box (anthropologie) $18; bells serving set (anthropologie) $15; silver glitter glass chargers – set of 4 (overstock.com) $38; glass placemat – set of 2 (overstock.com) $25; sequin swirl pillow (urban outfitters) $32; sequin zebra pillow (target) $20; baxton studio bice chrome chair (amazon.com) $122.

LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!  I am so in love, if you can’t tell.  I found this baby on the flash-sale site Joss and Main for about $525 (queen bed) and it is my first purchase on one of these kind of sites.  Anyway, I have been looking for a new bed frame since the one we had was a $200 job from Marlo Furniture and just a piece of CRAP (you get what you pay for, I guess).  I was worried that a stiff breeze would collapse the old bed, so I was looking casually for a replacement online and in stores.  When I saw this one it was love at first sight…

Anyway, aside from a slight snafu with the shipping (it arrived Christmas Eve when I had already left town) and thanks to the help of my best neighbor ever, it is now in the house and assembled.  It was time-consuming to assemble but not complicated (putting together my bicycle Christmas present from the hubby was WAY harder).  I love the navy linen, the nail-head wings…ALL OF IT!  Take a look, here are some pictures of my new favorite piece of furniture….

Maybe I am just odd, but I was completely transfixed by this video.

Architect: Wasserfall Munting Architects

Location: Windhoek, Namibia

Key Facts: Located on a 1500 square meter site in a residential neighborhood, the project was part of the town plan to mix I low-density commercial uses into key neighborhoods without destroying the established residential qualities.  The original house was demolished but, by order of the client, the gardens had to remain and become integral to the new offices.  Simple and bold geometry highlight the features of this project most noticeable in the clear-spanning concrete beam that draws one through the building’s axis.  Cantilevered roof slabs allow for clearstory light and individual offices are located in glass cubes that protrude into the original gardens.  The massive, curved, red wall shields the south side of the building from hard southern sunlight which is carried through to the interior design in small doses.

Architect: A1 Architects

Location: Ceska Lipa, Czech Republic

Key Facts: Situated alongside an “s” shaped lake, the meditative structure is a modern embodiment of traditional Japanese teahouse design.  The walls of the teahouse are movable enabling the inhabitant to frame different distinctive views of the surrounding landscape.  The hearth, central to the teahouse sits beneath an open skylight that is framed by a woven sisal rope ceiling.  The natural, curving back wall with three emerging vases (based on the traditional Japanese niche for flowers or calligraphy) contrasts the strict, geometric front just as the fire-blackened exterior contrasts the blond wood interior.

I know, I know, I need more craigslist stuff like I need more holes in my head…or as the husband keeps saying, “you only have one butt, how many chairs do you need?!?”  HATERS.  I can still look, right?  Check out this awesomeness available on craigslist right now!  click on the images for links to the craigslist ads – if still available!…

I am very proud of my growing Christmas tree forest of magic and have likely explained my Christmas decoration habit to many of you, but for those unfamiliar, here goes (don’t call the psych ward).  Rather than decorating my entire house with Christmas chachkis, I generally limit myself to the tree and ornament tradition.  As soon as the husband says it isn’t psychotic to put out a Christmas tree (what is wrong with a little Christmas in May???) – namely, the day after Thanksgiving, I start decorating!  I have a compulsion to go to the Christmas stores the day after  Christmas and pick up ornaments (and fake trees) at 50% off.  Best shopper ever.  Anyway, my growing collection of ornaments has made it necessary for me to get another fake tree each year and so far I am up to 1 4ft tall white tree, one 3ft tall pink tree (oh yes), and one 3ft tall silver tree.  This post-christmas I am hoping for lime green.  To me, if you are going to go fake with your trees, then go ALL THE WAY!  So, based on our current rate, we’ll have a Christmas forest in our living room in no time! 

Also, you’ll notice in the pictures below that I took a tip from Martha (Martha Stewart for everyone NOT on a first-name basis) and wrapped all my gifts in brown paper decorated with woven/wrapped strands of lime green crepe-paper streamer.  Love the look and VERY economical!  Joy  and Merriment to you all!