Seat Situation

What chairs are you thinking for the dining room? What about...

Oh the topic of much conversations these past couple of weeks. We currently have 4 chairs from craigslist which we have talked about slipcovering but will most likely end up back on craigslist. We've always wanted wingbacks to flank the end of the table like these discontinued beauties from West Elm.

Wingbacks for the end is pretty much a solid, going-to-happen-eventually thing. It's the rest of the chairs around the table we need to figure out. Here is our brainstorming thusfar.

1. Faux Eames (because we are too cheap/can't afford real ones/not worth the extra $$)


These are 99 per chair, so roughly 769 (with shipping) total since we need 6. I was sold on getting these before we decided to overthink be thorough on this decision making process. We could get these chairs from overstock for 139 cheaper, but they only sell white.

2. Vienna Side Chair from Crate & Barrel

I dig these chairs. It might be my new found love of Boardwalk Empire (thank you HBO). Originally I thought we might just round up a bunch of these from flea markets, etc, but I don't know if we can find 6. Then we would have to paint them. However it may be worth it since our grand total would be 821.40 if we purchased these new.

3. Jackson Metal Tub Chair from World Market

The more we think about this option the more we think it's not for us. I like them yes but I'm not sure it's the feel we want. These are 109.99 per chair, so 659.94 + tax. Overstock has some similar that are 197.99 for four (dirt.cheap.) which would put us at 395.98. Overstocks look shinier plus we don't need 8.

4. Random collection of chairs from random places painted the same color
Of course there is no source for these said random chairs, but here is some inspiration for you so you don't think we are crazy to envision with us.

This is Sarah Jessica Parker's Dining Room

via Decorologist *Note I can still have a Vienna chair

There is no defined amount for this option since you never know what you're going to find. The price per chair could be from $15 to $50 which is cheaper than the previous option. However we then need to factor in painting the chairs which for materials, etc shouldn't be too terrible. Rather it shouldn't be more total that all the previous options. Of course this option is appealing because it means we can have 6 different chairs that we like (in addition to the wingbacks). We found a chair when we were antiquing in Denton this weekend that I loved, but sadly I had no purpose for. This would give me an excuse to buy it and other exciting chair finds. Coincidentally, this is also slightly unappealing because it may lead me on an extended search for 6 "just right" chairs that seemingly has no end in sight. Okay I take that back it doesn't sound that unappealing after all.

Dining Room

We are attempting to get back into the swing of things here at la casa. We took a long hiatus after the 1st birthday bash. We were just worn out. Add in new job (for Nick)/budgeting to be single income (yeah that's right I'm staying home...yikes)/life into the mix, we are just now mustering enough energy to deal with the massive amount of things left to do around here.

We are focusing on the formal dinning room of all places. We found this really cool piece at an antique mall in Dallas, so we've been bouncing ideas off each other ever since. (Side note: Yeah big step for us that we didn't buy it immediately without having a clear direction for the remainder of the room. Hope it's still there when/if we decide to pounce.)

We both love it. Nick fears that the room could go uber shaddy chic or traditional in a hurry if we aren't careful. This would go to the left of the window and serve as a mini buffet - a place to decorate and a little more storage. We are still debating on the "real" buffet for the long wall. Here are a few options.

The Concord Media Cabinet from Room & Board (in walnut, not the ebony that's shown)

We both really loved this when we saw it in LA. We don't so much love the price. In fact it makes me short of breath thinking about it. Maybe I can find one on craigslist in the free section.

The Luna Buffet from Organic Modernism

Nick passed by a store in New York that carried Organic Modernism. It immediately perked his interest thus spurring him into research on this option. A huge plus for this is it's reasonable and modern. Two things that rarely go together (unless you are talking about cheesy modern). It's 18.5 inches deep though which might be too deep for the room.

Of course that all depends on the chairs we go with...

Bring in the New

Here are the reupholstered cane chairs that we bought from the Dallas Flea last spring. We got some charcoal linen (and washed it twice per Emily Henderson). Gave it to someone who knew what they were doing and ta-dah beautiful.

I bought the pillows from Target because I thought they were cool. Plus I didn't have time to make any pillows and I don't think I'm good enough to pull off ruffle pillows.

2010 was filled with lots of changes for the family and la casa. I hope everyone has a happy new year. Here's to more projects at the Wills Casa and goals achieved in 2011.

1 More Thing

I forgot to mention the landscaping clean up we did before R's birthday too. We took out all the overgrown mess that was crowding our beds. We haven't tackled the re-landscaping action yet, but we are enjoying how much brighter the dining and living rooms are.

I was using an electric chainsaw and definitely chainsawed the cord.

Landscaping = not my thing

Layout Set in My Corner

I think I have the bones in place for the sew corner. The decor and details aren't there yet, but here's what we are working with people. I moved the table against the other wall. My heart still pounds a little fast when I think about it, but I'll just have to lock the door when I'm sewing so no one can sneak up on me. I stole Ramona's 4x4 Expedit shelf. Sorry baby girl. Actually, I think she will like it better because when we get a 2x4 Expedit for her room I think there will be enough space left for a slide of some sort which is her hearts desire.

My punch list for this room includes but is not limited too...

• obviously a task chair (I like the Jules from Ikea, but I don't really care for the color choices.)
• a better solution for the thread
• more fabric because well I have 2 empty slots and that's just not ok
• mount a shelf above the table
• add decor like maybe a letter A and possibly a drawing from Nick

I think this is definitely a starting point. I feel like I can cross craft room off my to do list and just work on the punch list as I find things that fit my needs.

Craft Room...er well corner

I really wanted to have my craft room set up while I am on Christmas break. The problem is this is sort of my area, so that means I'm the one who has to do all the setting up and decision making. I'm not so good at all that. Mainly because I'm lazy, but regardless I have no choice here.

I bought the rug on overstock. I got one of the last 3 they had left because it was featured on a blog I follow. Of course you'll notice from that blog post that it's a Jonathan Adler copy which of course is a win-win in the Wills house.

I know this pictures looks a little weird because the rug should run the other way with the table length but it's too long for the space that way. I would just turn the table against the other wall, but that means my back will be to the door while I craft which gives me anxiety just thinking about it.

I was going to move Ramona's 4x4 EXPEDIT shelf into the room and get her a 2x4. However I think I might leave the big one in her room and get myself the smaller one or just buy a bigger one for me. I am not sure yet. (Again the whole research thing.) The real struggle is I want it done right. The thing with a craft room is I don't think it's something that will ever be "finished." I mean I need to just get a general idea of what I want, set it up that way, then use it, and make changes along the way.

I am doing my research though, so here are a few craft room that I lust after.

From Craft:nosis

This is what I was originally thinking...

From Don't Call Me Becky

So we aren't the best bloggers

We made a mad dash of last minute projects and a serious (slightly unrealistic) to do list for Ramona's birthday in October. We were so overloaded with the amount of home improvements and the tight time line. We scrapped the whole blogging thing and figured we would catch you up later. (And by you I mean the 2 other people who even read this blog other than us.)

So here's the run down...(and sorry for the black dot in the corner of all the pictures not sure what's up with the camera)

We repainted the entry, hallway, and formal living. Technically, this was not a must since we painted when we moved in. However, Nick could not stand the sheen. Thus, we repainted. Oh yeah since we repainted those areas we had to repaint the ceilings in those areas too. (Worst. Thing. Ever.) We decided to paint the ceilings white so we wouldn't have to ever do it again if we changed our mind on the color.

That was a good call in theory, but it took us more coats with the ceiling paint than with the awesome wall color we used. We will never paint with anything other than Behr Premium Plus. It has amazing coverage. We only had to do 1 coat and some touch ups.

We were back and forth on the color at first. Nothing looked quite right, so Nick changed out the can light bulbs in the formal from the energy efficient ones to the normal indoor flood lights. That did it we found our color, Sculptor Clay and painted our heart out.

We started to change our dining room light. Then scraped that idea and just cleaned and kept it. It's very Anthropologie-esque.

We painted the remainder of the kitchen. (We had already bought the paint for it from Sherwin Williams, so we didn't get to use Behr.) We attempted to take the fur downs out when we realized there was a pipe for the AC unit hiding up there. We decided not to tackle that now since we were under a budget and time crunch.

We painted one wall in the kitchen chalkboard. While I was painting it, I thought this is either going to be epic or a total fail. Luckily, we love it. It has been so much fun. We have used it for her birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and a few to do lists! It's a statement and a lot of fun!

I painted the bath and 1/2 bath. I do not love the color, but I just kept going because we didn't have the time. It's a Martha Stewart paint from Home Depot. Again we did this before we discovered the awesome-ness of Behr. The coverage of the paint is horrible. I will repaint later.

We replaced the toilets in the bath and 1/2 bath. Along with a new pedestal in the 1/2 bath.

I made 9 (yes seriously 9) panels of drapes. The formal living room got 4... and the kitchen got 5. They are a bit messy so don't examine them too closely!

and the kitchen got 5. They are a bit messy so don't examine them too closely!

I am getting tired just blogging about this. It was so exhausting for us. We got to work as soon as Ramona went to bed and did not stop until midnight every night for weeks on end. My mom took Ramona one night so we could paint the living, hall, and entry. We didn't want her around the fumes. Plus she would get into everything!

Thus, the exhaustion is to blame for the abandoned blog and stopped home improvement afterwards because we were burnt out on house everything.