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The big day has finally arrived - reveal day! Six weeks, 20 bloggers and one room later, my girls' have a new bedroom and I have a new manicure coming my way (catch up on weeks 1-6 of work on the ORC here).

So in the words of Jennifer Grey in Ferris Bueller, 'let's not ruin this with a lot of talk.' Let's get right to the good stuff.

If you follow me on instagram, then you've been getting little sneak peeks for the past few days. Here is where we started.


And six weeks later, here is where we are today.








Learn more about the silhouettes here.





Learn more about the heart artwork here.


Watercolor by Mai Autumn.




Learn more about the vanity here.




Learn more about the dresser here.




And with that I am spent. Happy but spent.

I want to thank all of you for following along and for your encouraging comments and support. I accept this Oscar on behalf of all the....oh wait, that's a different speech.


And a big thanks to my friend Linda for including me. My first two cocktails tonight will be in your honor my dear.

Make sure to check out my fellow ORC ladies to see their beautiful spaces as well. It's like Christmas morning I tell ya.

Now about that cocktail...

Here we are at week 3 of the One Room Challenge (see previous weeks here) and I'm still on this blasted chair.

There are many times in the past week when I was moments away from taking a hatchet to this chair. This wench was vicious. I think she was punishing me for painting her.

For a reupholstery tutorial you can go see my other projects here and here but I will not be sharing any reupholster tips here because this was not pretty.


I broke 1...2...3 stapel guns on this chair. (half of those holes were already there, and half of those are mine)

I had to cut, and recut and then cut again to match up the lines.


Tucking fabric in, pulling it out and moving it an inch to the left and then an inch to the right.


And there is the ripped fabric. One lesson learned, fabric does not like to curve the way I would like it to.




And finally, in the stellar mom category I'm making my poor children suffer in this half broken down room.

Floor planning is slow but progress is being made, finally. Ceiling fan is down, rug is gone and holes are patched and ready for painting this weekend. A big change is on the way.

So here is where we stand on the list.

1. Come up with functional floor plan Progress
2. Paint walls/ceiling/trim
3. Paint dresser (new hardware?)
4. Update vanity (maybe some fun color or hardware) Progress
5. Find curtains and add trim
6. Add a rug and new bedding Progress
7. Hang art and create some personalized pieces
8. Find/Install new light fixture (buh bye ceiling fan) Progress
9. Reupholster chair and possibly add comfy floor cushions 
10. Find/Make lampshade(s) 

We are in week 2 of the ORC (check out week 1 here) and to be honest I feel like I'm spinning my wheels. Plenty of projects have been started, but nothing entirely finished.

The plan was to work on some of the bigger monsters and get them out of the way, leaving the fun stuff for the end. Enter the monster.


This chair was a freebie from my parents. Score. They bought it at an auction 25 years ago and it has sat in the basement ever since. It was sold with another chair, which was the one they were after, so this chair was a castoff from the beginning. Untouched for 25 years.

But my little time capsule chair was actually in excellent condition. The fabric was beyond nasty, but the frame, cushion etc. were in great shape. And I've tackled reupholstery projects before so I thought this one would be a piece of cake. I am nieve.

I got her stripped with no problem but the sanding was a challenge with all of those curves and dips and grooves. Then I went against everything I was ever taught as a child. I painted antique furniture. I probably won't be allowed over for Thanksgiving this year. But (cover your ears Mom and Dad) I'm glad I did it.

She looks so much better.


Killer finish. You always come thru for me RustOleum.


Now if I was Restoration Hardware, I'd call this chair complete. $1800 please, thank you.

But I have other plans. I've always loved the fabric on this bed (thank you Jamie Drake) and was able to find a Sunbrella version that is almost a perfect match.

Jamie Drake via Pinterest

Outdoor fabric on an indoor chair might sound a bit loony, but remember this chair is going in a room with two very busy girls. This fabric will need all the armor it can get.

Now I'd love to show you how beautiful the chair looks but she is not ready for her closeup. She's covered in some spots, naked in others. Staples showing and even a few scratches. Think My Fair Lady, before Audrey gets her makeover.

So back to work I go. It's a marathon, not a sprint...right? Let's see how the other ladies are doing.

Simple Details 

Before I jump into a recap of my weekend, let me first say a big 'thank you' for all of your comments on Friday's post. You are good eggs, each and every last one of you. And if I could, I'd hug you all. And I'm a good hugger. Just ask around. I'm kind of a big deal amongst high powered hugging circles. So thank you.

Now the weekend. It was sunny and warm. There was shopping involved and pretty dresses. Not too shabby at all.

I've got a new upholstery project waiting for me.


Had a great day with Client F where we scored many many goodies. I'll have to take proper pictures with a real camera, but here is a ReStore score/project in the making.


Brainstorming some ideas on how to work with this tile combo.


And came home Sunday afternoon to find this masterpiece ON my doorway.


Creativity seeps out of every member of the little black door household. We are unstoppable.

How was your weekend? Enjoy any good food, company or entertainment? What did you think of the Globes? Was Jodie Foster supposed to make sense? She rambles more than I do! And Tommy Lee Jones - lighten up. No one shot your dog. It's a party. Live a little.

Happy New Year to you! I hope you enjoyed a great holiday with family, friends or the remote. I enjoyed all of the above and truly had a relaxing and enjoyable time off. But the Christmas decorations are put away and the tree is at the curb, so its time to get to work.

Before I share my goals for 2013 I thought I'd see how I did with my 2012 goals.

1. Redo the master bedroom. Woop Woop. Check this sucker off. The big bedroom reveal was back in May but I've kept making updates as recently as last week (more on that later). I'm happy with the room but you know it's gonna keep evolving.



2. Repair and redo deck and stairs. I'm on a roll. This one was wrapped up in June and talk about a pandora's box of crazy. It was dirty, sweaty and a hell of a lot longer than planned, but we are digging it now and use it more than we ever did.


3. Plant a herb garden. Big fat goose egg on this one. I must have been drunk when I thought of this because the idea that my children would give me enough time to dedicate to a herb garden is laughable. We barely are able to get raking and mowing done. Maybe in a few years. Until then I'll just continue to watch Barefoot Contessa and pretend that's my herb garden.

4. Lighting. Well...sort of. I did get a new chandelier for the dining room, (which will be moving again soon - stay tuned) but I never got around to the hallway light and the deck got candle sconces rather than electric ones. So maybe 75% complete? I completed the 'light' but not the 'ing'.


5. Reupholster couch. It wasn't quick, and often not a pretty process, but I'm giving myself a gold star on this one. And on top of it all I discovered a new talent that led me to tackle this and this.


So there you have it. 4 out of 5. I gotta say, this is the best I've ever done sticking to a list. Will I be able to do as well this year? I'll post the list tomorrow and let you be the judge.

How about you? Do you make any goals? Have any new year traditions?

Good gracious. I've been cussing more than usual and my hands look like I've been working on a barge. This can mean only one thing - I'm reupholstering again.

Remember these beauties?


Oy what a labor of love they became. They took far longer than I had planned. I'm distracted easily. But wahoo, they are finished. Now no sense in prolonging the reveal even longer, let's get to it.

First step was stripping both chairs, some very light sanding and then painting them black. For some reason I had always envisioned these painted white, but my mom suggested black and I think it was a rather smart choice. Good work Jan.

newly painted chairs against my newly painted walls

Now compared to the couch, this project was a dream. No guessing on what part of the furniture to start with or thinking ahead about how each section would relate to the other. Nope. There is a seat and there is a back. Easy peasy lemon squeezey.

The outside back goes first. I made sure to rip off the old fabric pieces as much in tact as possible to use those pieces as templates for my new pieces.

The hubs helped me out on the inaugural cut.

These chairs have the same grooves as the couch did so following the staple line was really straight forward. After stapling the piece in place, I trimmed off the excess.


That band in the middle of the chair was there when I stripped the fabric. It is sturdy as can be and helps to keep the front cushion from pushing thru the back of the chair. If the first upholsterer was smart enough to put that in, who am I to argue? So back in it went.


With the outside back in place, next came the inside back... or the front back. The terminology on this chair got very confusing. Luckily the back cushions were in great shape, so I could reuse them. Score.

that's fabric. laying on top of a piece of foam. photographic genius.

After stapling and more stapling, I landed here. Staples showing but piping was in the works.


The base below the seat cushions were easy as well. Just a matter of covering the old base and stapling. Just like wrapping a present. Or riding a bike. Pick your analogy. And a cheat I made - you can see the rip in the fabric in the very back of the seat. I ran out of fabric. But a cushion is going over top of this so I didn't sweat it. If you come over and pull up your seat cushion to see the 'not all the way covered' base I'll be happy to pay for the extensive therapy you'll need to get over the horror. I'm a generous host.


Next up came the cushion. And as many of you know, I'm not sewing. I bought a sewing machine, but haven't yet taken it out of the box. Don't judge. There have been a lot of good Real Housewife franchises that require my attention. So, I sent them out to a local genius by the name of Catherine Healey (if you are local let me know and I'll give you her info). She made my cushion vision a reality.

I couldn't be happier with my little babies. Two words - contrast piping.


I also used some of the leftover piping for the back cushions. No more staples.


And with that, these chairs went from this


to this


Holla! Big difference.

A few things I learned this time around.


Although the couch was far more daunting in size, this project seemed to be harder because there are two. So everything I did, had to be done again. A big downer when you are on your third straight night of staple pulling and your hand is turning into a claw.

A chair like this, which doesn't have to be a 'central/big furniture' piece is the perfect opportunity to have some fun with fabric and patterns. For example, check out the fabulous junk in this chair's trunk.


This chair looks just as good from the back as it does from the front. And from their position in the living room they will be enjoyed from both directions. (more on that with the living room reveal)

And most importantly, embrace color. Live a little. It's good for the soul.

And now, just like with childbirth, I will promise that I will never again go thru the labor of reupholstering. Until this weekend when I see a sweet little chair in need of a little love.

And please keep your thoughts and prayers with everyone in the northeast who are dealing with the effects of Sandy.