Tag Archives: furniture

Another Trash to Treasure

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One morning while sitting at the desk in front of my 3rd floor window I watched my neighbour walk to the curb and place something beside his garbage bin.  It was garbage day, that day of endless possibilities where ‘one man’s garbage, is another woman’s treasure’.  I raced downstairs and outside and met my neighbour before he had the chance to go back inside.  I asked if I could have the item he was getting rid of.  I didn’t want to look like I was scrounging!   “Sure, but why?”, as he thought the ‘old’ item to be no longer any good.  Well, my ‘new’ found item was a foot stool, with a metal tulip-shaped base, covered in white diamond-shaped quilted leatherette, approximately 1950-60’s era.   The metal finish on the base was all pitted and flaking and the leatherette was ripped and dirty as I believe it had served some time outside.  But no matter because I could see past all this, as it truly was a diamond in the rough.  I had the stool recovered in a purple vinyl and I spray painted the metal base silver.  The spray paint was not great looking so I decided to go the extra and have the tulip-shaped base re-plated in polished chrome.  Re-plating is a great way to update metal objects when the finish has aged or worn away.  The new finish is amazing and the stool is now a unique, custom looking piece of furniture with a contemporary feel and instead of sitting by the garbage bin it has a place of honour in my living room.

          

 

Spool Bed

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The other day while driving through a ‘leafy’ neighborhood I did an “OMG” and slammed on the brakes. Fortunately there was no car behind me!

What caused me to stop so quickly??  A score, a real good score.  Sitting at the curb was an antique spool bed!!  I figured it was still sitting there because the neighbours/the locals would never allow themselves to be caught picking up someone else’s ‘junk’.   I on the other hand had no qualms about that.

While I was lugging the headboard, footboard and rails into my car the owner of the bed came out to give me a missing piece from the headboard.  A nice elderly gentleman who after inquiring as to why he was getting rid of the bed explained, “The wife said to get rid of it, so I am getting rid of it.” – I could not have been more thrilled.

The bed is in very ‘weathered’ condition as it appears as if had done some hard time outside.  But the good thing is that there is no finish left on the bed so no messy stripping necessary.  Just a light sand.

The spool bed, named for its resemblance to sewing spools, evolved after the invention of the multiple-blade lathe in the 1800’s.  This lathe was originally designed for making buttons and spools for clothing manufacturers.  However, furniture makers soon realized that a stack of empty spools made an attractive decoration for beds.

I don’t have any plans yet for this bed and I’m not sure where I will use it but when I do I will post the result.  Stay tuned.

As I like to say “One man’s garbage, another woman’s treasure! “

Marshmallow Sofa

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My friend has a name for those sofas you see sitting at the curb.  Those sofas that have been disposed of, thrown out, retired, no longer part of the family.  My friend calls these sofas, ‘Marshmallow Sofas’.  Long since abandoned these sofas are all swollen and puffy from sitting many days (or weeks) out in the rain.  I am sure you have seen one of these Marshmallow Sofas; sad-looking creatures. 

But these are not the real Marshmallow Sofas.  The first Marshmallow sofa was designed in 1956 by George Nelson and Irving Harper and was officially known as the Marshmallow love seat #5670.  The designers were approached by an inventor who had created an injection plastic disc that he insisted could be produced inexpensively and would be durable. The designers took a look and arranged 18 of them on a steel frame – the origin of the Marshmallow sofa!  Truly a landmark of modern design.  The inventor’s cushions turned out to be impractical so when the Marshmallow Sofa was manufactured the cushions were covered in fabric, vinyl, or leather in bright colours.  Mostly all the cushions were the same color, but the sofa could also be ordered with cushions of various colors for a truly fun appearance.  A 1957 catalogue described the sofa’s playful design, “Despite its astonishing appearance, this piece is very comfortable”.  Fifty five years later, the curvy and fun Marshmallow Sofa is still turning heads and making people smile!

                      Image via Herman Miller

 

Eiffel Chair

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Ahhh…Paris in spring. When a young woman’s fancy turns to all things beautiful.  Ok, maybe I am not visiting Paris this spring but I do fancy beautiful things!  I am not visiting the Eiffel Tower but I do love the Eames ‘Eiffel’ chair. 

 

 

 

 

See the slight resemblance?  The Eiffel chair or DSR as it is officially known was a landmark design from Charles and Ray Eames created in the 1940’s.  It was coined the ‘Eiffel’ chair due to its distinctive chrome rod base that resembles the Eiffel Tower.  The seat was made from molded plastic. The Eames’ focus at the time was on plastic because this new material held the promise of being able to do more with less.  (sound familiar?) The plastic could be molded into organic shapes that would imitate the shape of the body. Very comfortable. This chair was the winning entry in a 1948 NYC Museum of Modern Art competition and in the 1950’s went on to be the first mass-produced plastic chair.  It was an award winner then and is still an iconic piece today.  I would love to have one of these chairs in my collection but….what colour would I choose; Aqua Sky or Lime Green or Red or maybe even White??!! Would I buy a pair or just one? Definitely a statement in any room.

Take it Outside

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Have you noticed lately that everything you read from magazine titles to newspaper headlines to advertising flyers are telling you the same thing?  Live your Life Outdoors, Hit the Deck, Take it Outside, Embrace your Outer Place, Bring the Indoors Out.  Whatever the slogan, the message is the same – get outside and experience everything spring/summer.  Truly enjoy it.  Embrace the warm weather.  I could not agree more.  After a long winter nothing feels better than the real warmth of the sun.  (not the furnace!).   So get ready and take your home in a whole new direction…..outside!  But now that you are out there maybe it is time to re-think your personal style.  Does your outdoor space reflect your same sense of style as the inside of your home?  Or do you have plastic inside too?!  (I jest!)  These days you can outfit your outdoor space with fabulous furniture and accessories from big box stores to hardware stores to luxe stores with all price points.  So once you decide on how you plan on using your outdoor space get going because garden furniture sells out quickly.  Do you like to sit outside with a drink and a good book, therefore something cozier?  Or do you like to do alfresco entertaining with dining table and chairs?  Or sprawled out for afternoon naps on a chaise?  Whether you decide to go with teak or pine, wicker or resin wicker, wrought iron or powder coated steel the choices are endless.  In my own backyard which is very small I opted for comfortable chairs with coordinating cushions sitting around a large coffee table.  Due to space restrictions I could not have a dining table and therefore the chairs have large arms to hold a plate of food or a drink.  The large coffee table is great to put lots of food on so I can still dine alfresco but also a great spot to put my feet up when needed.  For lighting and ambiance I have a candelabra hanging over the coffee table.  Add lots of pots of flowers and herbs, throw lots of candles around and there I am.  But If I could….I would have a resin wicker sectional with a few chairs and a low coffee table with some fabulous outdoor carpet underneath.  Add some great contemporary tall pots with swaying grasses, great lighting, and a water feature and there you have it.  My outdoor living room!  So this year express your personal style and serve up a thoroughly entertaining summer.   

 

 

 

MARTHA STEWART LIVING @Home Depot

DEDON: Lounge Collection www.dedon.de

Life of a Sofa

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My MIL (mother-in-law) just bought a new sofa.  After 60 years the living room sofa has been ‘traded in’ and upgraded to a new, linen covered, contemporary, ‘condo-sized’ sofa.  Suffice to say that MIL is ecstatic about the new addition.  This got me to thinking; “could I live with the same sofa for that long, could I carry on a happy relationship with my sofa for that many years?”  Mind you MIL did have the 60-year sofa recovered a few times.  My mother’s first sofa was a red sectional or rather a 1950’s, curved, 3-piece sofa.  Very mod.  It was relegated to the ‘rec room’ after many years of good service in the living room and recovered in a durable family fabric.  That sofa many years later (still with the same durable family fabric) found its way to another family member’s home.  The sofa carried out great service there until it was thrown in a dumpster after a terrible basement flood.  So this sofa too was 60 years old.  Now my living room sofa story is very different.  I am now on my 6th living room sofa.  Two were delegated to the dumpster, 3 found new loving homes and I am happy to say that my present sofa I do love.  Although I definitely know it will not be with me for 60 years.  I guess I like change and I like to change often.  I move my furniture around a lot, change cushions, add throw blankets, remove throw blankets, reupholster and have a steady stream of alternating accessories.  They say that your sofa is always your ‘investment piece’ when it comes to decorating but I say ‘yes, buy a good quality sofa but always allow yourself an option for change’.  I will never forget the moment when my parents’ house was sold and we moved out the living room sofa.  There, looking down was the un-faded spot on the wall-to-wall carpet where the sofa had sat in the same place for so many years.  It was like the chalked outline at a murder scene.  You can bet that we made a mad dash out of there!  I think it was at that moment that I realized that ‘change’ is a good thing for in movement there is life and in change there is creativity.

My Purple Chair

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I like checking out thrift/vintage shops.  To me, it is all about the thrill of what possibly lies inside.  ‘What will I find?’  I think also it is about the memories that are attached to the items.  The sense of looking into and having the sentiment of a bygone era.  Vintage finds will give you a sense of what the post-war 50’s, the swinging 60’s and the groovy 70’s may have felt like.  I have ‘scored’ some wonderful items in these thrift shops over the years.  Recently I purchased a silk Hermes scarf for $6.99 (vs. $200 plus)!  I like to wear it (proudly) but if that is not your thing, re-think its purpose and sew it into a fabulous cushion cover.  One time I spotted a ‘pink’ Saarinen-style dining table.  I stood in front of this table for many minutes not only because the whole pink thing made me smile but because I wondered, “where could I see myself using this? Garden furniture?”  I eventually moved on and left the pink classic to the next person.  But one of my most interesting finds had to be a purple, full length, 100% mohair coat ($7.99).  I purchased this coat and had it dry cleaned.  I had no intention of ever wearing this coat but instead it was the mohair fabric that I coveted.  I had been looking for months for fabric to re-cover a Louis XVI chair with.  Mohair was what I had originally wanted but the cost had kept me at a standstill.  With chair and coat in hand I visited my upholsterer.  He had a good laugh but did agree that the fabric was a wonderful solution for the chair.  One stipulation…I had to take the coat all apart.  No problem.  If I could save $$$ on the fabric what’s a little effort.  I have now enjoyed my purple mohair chair for many years and the fabric has stood the test of time.   So next time you visit a thrift/vintage shop, keep your mind open to all the possibilities that lie waiting for you!