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AFTER: Fabric Speaks “Volumes”!

 

Do you recognize this chair?

It was featured on this blog earlier with a sort of a non-descript oatmeal with a vaguely scary 70s plum cast to it?

A new coat of many colors, thanks to the classic Anna Maria Horner “Volumes” print, and this chair is back in circulation!

Blah exterior, we hardly knew ye!

One of my favorite things? How welting with a patterned fabric provides built-in contrast. Here’s Exhibit A…

… and B! Love it!

This chair was purchased so fast this past weekend that it barely had time to warm its corner in my room at the Mother’s Day Market!

I love that it went to a good home (even the husband who picked it up a day after purchase admired it, so I know it will be well-loved!) What more can one ask for one’s refurbished pieces?

Nothing I can think of!

Headed back to the garage to sort what I brought home and redeploy a few pieces to Linden Hills Florist, where they’ll be participating in the Linden Hills Festival (and sidewalk sale!) this weekend! Look for Lark Nest there!

Kim

May 14, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , | 1 Comment »

Mother’s Day Market Preview: Ikat, Therefore, I Can…

 

Still scurrying in prep for the Mother’s Day Market, which opens tomorrow at 9 a.m.!

Here’s one of the fabric  boards already hauled out in a load of furniture and accessories!

Don’t you love the druybrush look on this pine frame? It’s Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Greek Blue…

… and I love how it looks with this great Duralee ikat!

The frame is sealed with soft wax.

Off to drag in another load of furniture, after a quick stop at the floral wholesaler in Edina for hot pink peonies. I’ll blog some pix tonight after our setup!

Hope to see you at the market!

Kim

May 11, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , | Leave A Comment »

Mother’s Day Market Preview: “Kool Koi” Chairs!

I promised you a market preview, and here’s the first installment!

It was a long day in the garage today, with intermittent rain, but that didn’t stop the engine of industry (that would be me) from hacking away at a very sizable to-do list.

First up: These cool wrought-iron chairs, snagged at a neighborhood rummage sale this past weekend. They were green, bearing rotted vinyl-covered wood seats, and chipped paint layers revealed a coat of many colors.

I tossed the seats (they were not even good for compost, so you know they were bad!) and hauled out the sander, fortified with gritty paper, all the better to grind with, my dear. Serendipitously, I unearthed a pair of good wood rounds, circa Antediluvian Period, from the recesses of my capacious garage. They fit perfectly! A reward for clean living! (I knew there was a reason I bought these for $1 apiece two years ago at a rummage sale in the Armatage neighborhood! Two years in the junking business is Antediluvian!)

Once sanded and cleaned, the chairs got a coat of spa blue paint and high gloss sealer. I cut some fancy-pants chair foam to top the wood rounds, and covered them with this too-cool “Kool Koi” indoor-outdoor fabric from Waverly.

(I’ve got some pillows in this same material for sale at the Mother’s Day Market, too!). The fabric has a slight retro feel, a perfect match for the waving metal vines on the backs of these chairs.

After some quality time with my electric staple gun: Voila! Gorgeous chairs, just waiting for a new home.

You can view them in all of their spa blue splendor Saturday (and possibly Sunday, depending on their popularity!) at the Mother’s Day Market in Eden Prairie. Find all details here, and check back tomorrow for another update!

Kim

May 09, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: | 1 Comment »

The Mother’s Day Market!

It’s difficult to believe that a year has passed since the first Mother’s Day Market vintage sale!

Lark Nest Design‘s inaugural occasional sale took wing last May at the historic Smith Douglas More House along with vendor gal pals Jane of Mustard Moon, Sara of Salvaged and Rescued Art, Eydie of Moss & Marigolds and Pam of “hey, if there is great vintage stuff, I’m there!” It was the first of  four seasonal markets and here we are, ready to do it all over again on Saturday and Sunday!

Hosted by Ann Schuster, the vintage-loving proprietor of Dunn Brothers Coffee in the historic property, the Mother’s Day Market is chock full of vintage wares, upcycled furniture and decor (that’s my stuff!), cool antique pieces, architectural salvage, gifts, seasonal botanicals and a bunch of other great stuff we haul in for the two-day sale.

It’s a rockin’ good time with good friends, and we love seeing our finds go to happy homes! I’ll be posting this week with pix of  stuff getting ready for sale! Enjoy a cup of coffee and a scone, or a glass of wine while you shop and stroll. On Sunday, there will be brunch food and Mimosas available to purchase as well!

The 411:

WHEN: Saturday May 12, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

and

Sunday May 13, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

WHERE: 8107 Eden Prairie Road, Eden Prairie, MN 55347

Free admission! 

Watch this space this week for updates! Hope to see you there!

Kim

May 07, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: | 3 Comments »

Ripe for Stripes!

 

Have been crazy busy getting ready for the Mother’s Day Market, as well as wrapping up a successful staging project and juggling client work, but thought you might enjoy this diminutive beauty as much as I do!

The castoff frame came with standard Early American maple wood finish and that’s about it! No stuffing, no webbing, no fabric!

This has been dressed with a  great Moda French stripe (a gift from fabric maven Eydie of Moss & Marigolds!) and some beautiful brass nailheads, as well as a coat of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint!

Makes me think of summer days at a North Woods cabin!

It’s currently reposing at the Dunn Bros. at the Smith Douglas More House in Eden Prairie, in a display of presale items before the Mother’s Day Market May 12-13!  More preview items coming soon!

Kim

 

May 03, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , | Leave A Comment »

A Leg (or Four) to Stand On!

This is the ultimate “Before” post, and it feels a little cheesy/tease-y to run it without any “After” pictures, but I’m excited about the first phase of the “Before,” and want to share! I scored this set of four cool carved Indonesian wood feet at the sale of an occasional dealer who is downsizing her living space.

When I picked them up, all I could think was how great they might be on this double-decker, chintz-infested ottoman reposing in my auxiliary storage space. (After a new fabric choice that is!) The appendage-challenged ottoman only had two of four casters when I found it at an estate sale!

I got home with with furniture feet about 9 p.m. on a Wednesday and was out on the driveway a scant 12 hours later, checking it out. One fit…

…as did all four!The real test! What did it look like upright? Perfect! The feet are 8 inches tall. I ripped off the double-decker cushion on top of the ottoman, leaving a 10-inch base. When combined with its new feet, the base is now perfect at ottoman/coffee table height.

So it was off to the TLU’s for this piece. I selected a cool, nubby linen weave material from my textle stash. It will need some additional padding, too.

Can’t wait to see what this baby looks like when completed.

You’ll see it here first!

Kim

May 01, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , | Leave A Comment »

April in Paris, Part 2!

 

April in Paris at The Porch & Atelier in Buffalo is but a nice memory now, but shop owner Teresa Dejarlais continues to post pictures from the fun- and flower-filled day! As promised, I am sharing links!

(And a bit of decor!)

Meanwhile, here’s a real behind-the-scenes peek: shots from Teresa’s gorgeous French retreat, above the shop on Central Avenue!

The opening shot is the entryway, where Teresa had a salvaged leaded glass window cut into a solid wall…

… and check out the 13-foot ceilings!

All of the furnishings and accessories in her her chic French digs are salvaged or secondhand, except for one cabinet!

(You can read a piece about her and her home I wrote while at the Star Tribune in Minneapolis here!

She has continued to gild her lily -dilly of a home! Exhibit A:

Beautiful curtain panels falling from vintage rods…

…and back up the camera!

You’ll see the chandelier surround she made out of an upside-down, once-glass-topped end table!

Her kitchen buffet is a treasure trove! Don’t miss next year’s April in Paris; a tour of the apartment is included as part of the admission!

Kim

Apr 30, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: | Leave A Comment »

Greek to Me!


Don’t you love the classic Grecian shape of a Klismos chair?  This one was plucked from the ranks at a thrift store, its dark woodstain mottled, bare and spotty.

When I saw this quilted fabric tucked beneath a row of indoor-outdoor material at Hancock Fabric, I knew its tan, cream and blue palette would be a great fit for the paint job I wanted to do: rustic, distressed, cream and showing some of the wood’s original tan and brown tones.

It needed some work! New batting …

… and a whole new set of webbing!

It’s a very happy piece!

Nickel nailheads give it a snazzy update. This piece is old and has been “dressed” several times, so finding a clear path on the wood ledge on which to attach the nailheads was challenging. All it needs is a clear coat of poly and it’s good to go. Along with its matching pillow, it will be in residence at Arc Value Village booth at the Living Green Expo May 5 and 6!

Kim

Apr 27, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , | Leave A Comment »

Oh, Suzani!

 

Just back from the Talented Local Upholsterer, this slipper chair rocks in two coordinating Premier Print Suzani patterns!

(Of course, in my excitement, I neglected to iron the front panel before photographing. Live and learn in blogging world…)

This is what it looked like before…


… when I nabbed it from a neighborhood sale. Mostly sound, in need of some tightening, and needing to lose those girly ticking ruffles!

The Suzani pattern is au courant in this deep sky, chartreuse green, gray and white!

 And check out the fab matching custom feather pillow with couched seams from Nancy P! The plainer background with patterned stripe balances the plainer skirt perfectly!

Love the layers between the welting!

OK, this one is already ensconced in the front window at Linden Hills Florist (with a freshly ironed skirt, I might add!) Off to photograph and inventory the load of smalls I picked up last night from a dealer who is downsizing to a town home. Included are four carved Indonesian-style feet that will be just right for updating an ottoman languishing in my auxiliary storage unit!

Kim

Apr 25, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , | 1 Comment »

New Tables from Discarded Frames!

Just a quick post to share these cool nesting tables, newly outfitted with reclaimed wood tops! The metal frames belonged previously to a decor client. We had taken the rustic wood from the tops to cut and repurpose as sets of floating end tables for both sides of the bed in her master. I inherited the frames, which then needed new tops!

The reclaim wood was run through a planer to remove all of the old paint chips, then treated with a vinegar solution to raise the grain and gray the wood. They attach to the frame with screws from beneath, like their predecessors. The tables still need a seal coat of some sort, but I’m experimenting to find something that won’t change the gray color too much!

This set will be headed to the Mother’s Day Market May 12-13. Off to the garage to work on projects, which are stacking up like cordwood out there!

Kim

Apr 24, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , | Leave A Comment »