Discarded Jewel Becomes Tiffany Star (and Paris on the Brain)

I'm obsessed with chairs. Particularly when they're left at the curb. I feel it's my mission in life to save them.

So when I saw this little gem, of course, she had to come home. 

(Why do I make chairs girls? It has to be those curvy legs I think. 

If it was a big fat recliner, then it would definitely be a boy, don't you think?)

My daughter said this chair was sick. Which, in her generation's lingo, is a good thing.

Lots of appeal, that's for sure.

The seat was well upholstered, but it didn't have a trim. I'm not quite into that Restoration Hardware deconstructed look at this point, which is what it reminded me of. Plus the colour of the fabric was somewhat faded and sported some dirt marks.

 Loved the silver and although you can't tell in the picture, it was really, really badly painted. It had been spray painted, but not very well and there were drips all over which had to be sanded down.

I painted the seat (yes, I painted the fabric!) with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Duck Egg. The paint went on amazingly well. It covered perfectly with one coat, but I put two coats on anyway for durability. I then waxed it and buffed it. It looked amazing! 

I hot glued on a silver braid trim on that unfinished edge.

I then painted the frame with ASCP French Linen, but I really was not feeling it. I missed the silver.

I got a little jar of Martha Stewart liquid silver gilding and applied it. I can't believe how far that stuff goes! It's a tiny pot, maybe slightly bigger than a bottle of nail polish and I did the whole chair and still have nearly half the pot left!

I'm thrilled with the results. The silver contrasts beautifully with the Duck Egg and it definitely has a Tiffany appeal to it.

I have to say that I was greatly inspired by Amy's chair at Maison Decor, although her  blue is closer to the true Tiffany blue because it is a custom mixed colour she created.

I'm so amazed at how well the seat turned out with the ASCP! The wax gives it a beautiful sheen.

Sterling darling.

It's so elegant, I'm still debating whether or not I should keep it or sell it!

*****

This Friday, I get to realize one of my biggest dreams. You see that beautiful grand dame on the left side of my blog, Miss Eiffel? Well, I will finally get to meet her in person. Yes, my hubby and I are flying out to Paris for two glorious weeks. Two. Weeks. I'm so thrilled. Tick one off the old bucket list! I am planning on taking a gazillion pictures, I have even bought an extra SD card for the camera. I will definitely post some pictures. À bientôt!!


Linking up to:


Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday 2805 Potpourri Friday no. 35

A Peek at my Christmas Decor

It's December 21st. The countdown is on, but I'm practically done! A few stocking stuffers to buy, a baking day with my girls tomorrow, some house cleaning and voilà!

I thought I'd share my Christmas decor with you. This year, I wanted a tree in the living room as we have a nice, tall window, because I love to see the lit tree at night from the outside. This one is a pre-lit fake one we got on sale last year. I decided to coordinate it with the soft blue accents in our living room, so the tree is decorated in blue, silver and cream, which creates a very soft effect.

De tout, de rien

And on the mantel:

De tout, de rien

I got these reindeer on sale a few years ago. I love their shape! The big bulbs I found at the grocery store, the lanterns are from Ikea. I put electric votives in them, but forgot to light them! 

The ribbon I had, and the white fabric is from Dollarama. I must explain that in Canada we have this awesome chain of dollar stores called Dollarama. It has a cult following. Even well known designers have been known to discover treasures at these stores.

De tout, de rien

De tout, de rien

De tout, de rien

In fact, these snowflakes are from Dollarama. I pounced on them when I saw them! 

De tout, de rien

 I used a lot of decorations from Dollarama in my tree as well as expensive ones. I'll leave you to figure out which is which!

De tout, de rien

De tout, de rien

De tout, de rien

De tout, de rien

De tout, de rien

De tout, de rien

I got this beautiful glass ball at Bronner's in Frankenmouth, Michigan. If you don't know what Bronner's is and you love Christmas, you must go visit it, it is THE quintessential Christmas store. It is gigantic! We went in the summer and by the time we left, I was craving eggnog really badly, lol!

De tout, de rien

Of course, all my wrapping is coordinated...

De tout, de rien

On the chest in the front foyer, I tied these giant cinnamon sticks with a white ribbon.

De tout, de rien

This is a little vignette I created in a cloche on the dining room sideboard:

De tout, de rien

De tout, de rien

De tout, de rien

This ornament below is one of my favourites because it combines a couple of my obsessions. A bottle brush tree and a cloche:

De tout, de rien

De tout, de rien

Told you I was obsessed with bottle brush trees!

De tout, de rien

I went for simplicity on my table centrepiece. A set of Ikea candles on a brown tray and a few glittery greens: 

De tout, de rien

The tree in the family room is real and more traditional in colour, red, cream and gold:

De tout, de rien

Another obsession of mine, cardinals! Isn't this one so gorgeous?

De tout, de rien

De tout, de rien

I can't wait to show you our baking creations on my next post! In the meanwhile, I hope your week is not too hectic. Take the time to carve out some peaceful moments for yourself and your family, that's what it's all about after all and it's what you will remember when all is said and done!

I'm linking up with: