The North End Loft: April 2012

Apr 30, 2012

Ruffled Slipcover

I was bitten by the Color Bug over the weekend. The symptoms were an overwhelming desire to add color to my neutral black, white, and brown loft. I'm happy to report that I'm now fully recovered!

My prescription was this kitchen stool slipcover I saw on Kelly Rae Roberts' home tour.

Kelly Rae Roberts

For my loft craft studio version I started with this $6 thrift store stool and painted the legs white.

With no pattern to follow, I made up my slipcover as I went along. I made a paper pattern of the round seat and cut out a circle of the first of three (Jo-Ann 40% off coupon) fabrics.

To the circle I sewed a strip of fabric to fit around the side of the seat and used an old pillow case, deconstructed and re-sewn, as a base on which to sew the ruffles.

I gathered and hemmed my ruffles and attached them one at a time.

There was a lot of measuring and pinning going on, using the stool as a dress dummy. Finally, all three ruffles were sewn in place.

The first pop of color in my loft, and my color bug symptoms began to disappear.

Amazing what a little color will do to lift your spirits and make you feel better. In no time at all I was back to my old self.

Fortunately, I might be feeling a slight relapse coming on today, and I'm hoping a second dose of colorful fabric will help. But first, I have to consult Pinterest on the proper way to apply it.

Thanks for coming today, and watch out for that Color Bug. It just might be catching!

Apr 27, 2012

Friday Finds

Blogland was full of beautiful spring inspiration this week.

Imagine being able to spend your mornings eating breakfast on this sun drenched banquette. I love everything about this room, from the light streaming through the windows, to the wrought iron chandelier, to the color-popping pillows and the clear contemporary chairs (not to mention all that storage underneath!)

Better Homes and Gardens

Fruit slice coasters made from felt in bright summer colors are just the thing for my deck table. I think I'll store mine in a pretty tin with a tight fitting lid so I can leave them outside right on the table. The Purl Bee has the tutorial to sew these little cuties.

The Purl Bee

I have a ho-hum plain white plastic clock that doesn't do much for my room other than tell the time. It won't be ho-hum for long once I line it with colorful fabric like Raechel has done in this tutorial from Finding My Feet.

Finding My Feet

Gail at My Repurposed Life made this birdbath from an extra large candlestick and a pot lid. So creative, and I love the color!

My Repurposed Life

You can probably tell I have the outdoors on my mind as I think of future summer dinners out on the deck. These recycled soda can lanterns from The Star Online will add color and sparkle by day hanging in a dark shady corner of my yard under my maple tree and sparkly light at night when the candles are lit.

The Star Online

Lemon Drops are one of my favorite martinis, and when I saw this Raspberry Lemon Drop recipe at Nugget Markets I knew I had to add it to my summer drinks recipe file. Oh yum!

Nugget Markets

Lynn, at The Vintage Nest, left a super nice comment on my Paper Pinwheels post this week that led me back to her blog and these sweet pinwheels she offers in her booth. (I'm going to borrow her idea for using cute buttons in the center.) Wouldn't these make a great Mother's Day bouquet?

The Vintage Nest

And speaking of cute buttons, The Button Floozies have made some adorable button tags. They'd be perfect tied onto a spring package or as gifts on their own.

The Button Floozies

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I hope you have a great weekend.

Happy Friday!

Apr 25, 2012

French Label Pillows

Woody Allen's film, Midnight in Paris, is like a love letter to the city of Paris. The cinematography is breathtaking, and I just can't get enough of the leisurely opening scenes showing Paris in all its splendor.

Midnight in Paris

I love the old world charm of Paris, and I love the white and faded colors of vintage shabby French decor. The only place this look fits well into my home, though, is my loft; I paint almost everything up there white, and if it stays still long enough, I put a French label on it. What is it about French labels? The label can translate in English to Muddy Acres Hog Farm and Manure Factory, but if it's written in the French language it looks beautiful. N'est-ce pas?

So here are a couple of French Label pillows I made for my loft.

One is of linen with a French label iron-on transferred directly onto the linen. The other is burlap with the French label iron-on transferred to a square of unbleached muslin, then sewn onto the burlap. Both French label graphics are free from The Graphics Fairy.

The Graphics Fairy has many more beautiful French Label graphics, and I have many more pillows, trays, boxes, coffee tables, and... well... you get the picture. If it will stay put long enough, I'll put a French label on it!

If you have a mother who likes Paris like I do, the video of Midnight in Paris might make a lovely Mother's Day gift.

Thanks for stopping by today!

I'm linking my pillows to the Pillowpalooza link party sponsored by It All Started With Paint , Thistlewood Farm, and The Cottage Market, where you just might find more

gorgeous pillow inspiration in one place than you've ever seen before.

Also linking to

Rooted in Thyme

French Country Cottage

Common Ground
Faded Charm
Funky Junk Interiors
The Graphics Fairy
From My Front Porch to Yours
aka Design

Apr 24, 2012

Paper Pinwheels

Miss Mustard Seed shared a tutorial for some charming glitter-edged paper pinwheels last week, and I just had to make some of my own to brighten up and add some whimsy to my loft.

A bouquet of pretty pinwheels would make a sweet Mothers Day gift.

Visit Miss Mustard Seed today to see her adorable pinwheels and for the tutorial to make one (or a bunch) for yourself!

Linking up with

From My Front Porch to Yours

The Shabby Creek Cottage

French Country Cottage

The Shabby Nest

At the Picket Fence
Funky Junk Interiors

Apr 23, 2012

TV Console

This is my husband's old ugly desk. It's about 3 feet wide and 5 feet long and is so heavy it takes three people to move it. He bought it at a consignment shop years ago and lugged it up the stairs to his home office under the eaves. When the kids got old enough to use the computer, we wanted their use to be where we could monitor it, so we actually lowered this monster over the loft railing to have it in the family room below.

This became the family office. It was great for bill paying and homework because the kids could spread out their books and papers and still have room for the printer and old computer monitor (remember how big those old monitors were?) When the kids went away to college and my husband and I got laptops, we retired the desktop computer and incorporated the home office into my craft room back upstairs.

We were older and wiser now, and there was no way we were going to lug the "monster" upstairs again.

So I started scheming to get rid of it because it is so huge and so ugly!

Before I could convince my husband to get rid of it (what is it about men and their attachments to huge heavy ugly pieces of furniture?), we replaced our tiny 22 year-old television and needed a new stand and somewhere to store all the TV stuff. The new 47" flat screen television broke the budget, though, and there was no money left for a new piece of furniture, too.

Then I saw this Craigslist redo online about 18 months ago. It was the first time I'd seen a television console made from another piece of furniture. I loved the simple idea of removing some drawers in a dresser for the cable box, DVR, and DVD player.

Nuestra Vida Dulce

And I thought, hey, I can do that with the desk! My handy husband made some shelves for the knee hole of the desk, and I stained them to match the desk trim. We retrofitted the inside shelves behind the fake drawer front on the left side to fit two huge plastic under-the-bed boxes from Target to store DVDs in one and assorted chargers, cables, iPods, manuals, etc. in the other. You just open the door and the big plastic boxes slide out like drawers. In the three real drawers on the other side, we keep miscellaneous household stuff. You would not believe how much stuff this one piece of furniture holds.

But the thing is, the one that I copied is cool, and mine is still really ugly, it still takes up way too much floorspace, and I still want something that looks nicer.

After pricing nice looking, well-built television stands and consoles, I decided I just can't ~~waste~~ spend $500 (or more) on a new one. Instead, I'm on the lookout for an interesting piece of used furniture in good shape with lots of storage that I can refinish and remake into one. One that's taller, narrower, lighter weight, and not ugly.

There are a lot of people thinking the same thing because today I found all of these television consoles online made from other furniture at a fraction of the price of a new one.

Ana White

Sweet Pickins

Danielle Oakey Interiors

Liz Marie Blog

Farm Style Studio

Addicted 2 Decorating

Ana White

Less-Than-Perfect Life of Bliss

Apartment Therapy

I Am Momma Hear Me Roar

Be Different Act Normal

Aren't they beautiful?

Wish me luck on my search for the perfect piece of (cheap) used furniture for my new television console.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Linking to
Funky Junk Interiors