danish modern revival -updates

Purchased at a community yard sale for $1 each, these Danish gems will be a nice compliment to our lil' dining nook.  All they need is a bit of TLC to make them sing again... after pics coming soon!

 Some more images of the process of refinishing these lil gems are below. I tried to do some research to see what colors these chairs were available in and if the paint was a later addition. These are the closest images I found so I decided to replicate the look. 

 They were in pretty bad condition when we bought them so I started off by scrubbing them down with an all natural comet like cleanser and a sanding sponge. Most of the paint came off instantly, thus I was determined to strip them further by sanding.  The back spindles and legs revealed a nice golden oak. The seat was made of particle board and plywood so I decided to repaint that surface and stain the other parts with a natural tung oil finish.  I used a can of enamel paint I bought at the paint store in the mis-tint section for $1.50. Lucky for me, it was a close match to the original color.   Here they are so far...

 

 finished pics coming soon!

into the woods- DIY wall murals

For the past couple months I have been contemplating what to do with the living room walls.  Since we live on the second floor of a cape cod style home, the angles of the room resemble an attic space. Ceiling lines are juxtaposed with windows and closet doors. I knew that I wanted to use a pale hue so as not to draw any more attention to the myriad of angles.  My first idea was to use a very pale cool grey complimented by a bold turquoise wall in the dominant corner of the room.  I had the paint swatches taped to the wall for weeks, still not able to commit.

I was also not yet ready to commit to dropping 30+ dollars on a gallon of paint that I may not be happy with in the end.  I am a sucker for doing things on the cheap and on the fly.  I often resort to perusing the "miss-tinted" section of the local hardware store, hoping to find a 5 buck gallon of paint to do the job.  On a recent trip to the Benjamin Moore store (a great place to find high-quality miss-tint paints), I came across a gallon of off-white eggshell interior paint that would allow me to mix in some of the darker grey I had used in the entryway in order to achieve that pale hue I desired.

Once I had committed to the gray color I hand mixed (closest match: Martha Stewarts' Heavy Goose MSL261) by painting the main wall, I decided to take it a step further. While saving some of the original white color to make room to mix, my idea for the living room changed.  I decided to use the white to do a subtle and simple tree mural on the main wall. I have always loved the way communities whitewash trees on city streets.  That look paired with my love of birch trees brought me to the following solution. 

Before

   With a small hand brush I quickly drafted the trees to build the overall pattern and then filled them in leaving a crisp edge.  After I was done, I used the gray color to clean up any rough edges and was satisfied with our new woodsy nook.  The window looks out into the wooded backyard so it offers a perfect blend! 

 After

 

A painted floor lamp and handmade palm leaf pillow add whimsical touches. The decorative pillows were made from some Africa wax prints I bought during my last trip to Togo. Coming soon..for sale.

where the wild things are...our lil' beast at home in his new domain

For more inspiration and  designer tips check out these examples below ....

 

warm neutral tones play up a nice herringbone pattern found on design sponge  Use painters tape  and a measure to lay out the pattern and go large scale so that the overall feel is not too distracting.

 Get wild with a non-uniform design...scattered lines represent this visual masterpiece found in a Metropolitan Home bedroom.

 I love the colors and expression of overlaying stencils and paint washes to mimic the patterns found in a cozy pair of muk-luks.

Incorporate wall units in a way that highlights the background design.

 Eric and Ammo went bold and organic showing the merge of both in this room highlighted on apartment therapy

 When in doubt ..go large and soft and use anything as a stencil from a plate to a bucket.

 

Who said paint pens were just for letters, Kelli used these to hand pattern a hallway.

Think art installation.  Sometimes wall art doesn't need to be bound by frame and nail.  Get a little funky and bold like  Brazilian artist Titi Freak did in his exhibition Vida Apaixonada.

Don't be afraid to be abstract.  If you are of the elegant sort, look to a soft blue link pattern with Restoration Hardware hues.  If you prefer the bold minimalist order, go wild on the wall and keep it simple on the floor by pairing simple furnishings and leaving the accent behind.

of oil and turp....

a little glimpse into my studio and the work in progress.....

mid century modern gets a facial

I stumbled upon a group of Herman Miller Eames Shell Chairs abandoned on the curb in my neighborhood.  If any of you know me well, then you would just guess what would happen next.  I did what many would consider unthinkable given their condition. I decided that they would become my next restoration project.

  Upon checking the back of the chairs I found that they were dated Jan 16th 1959 and had a faded sticker that described their maker as Herman Miller Furniture Company, Zeeland MI.  The name was at the bottom of a long list of patent codes. Had they been in better shape the label would resemble the one below it.  The chairs were first manufactured in the late fifties and designed by Charles Eames, best know for his molded plywood lounge chair circa 1941.

Eames worked at Herman Miller Furniture crafting pieces that concentrated on organic shaping and clean lines, removing the bulkiness of most furniture styles and allowing form to follow function. He turned to industrial materials like fiberglass to create economical pieces for everyday life while still holding true to the integrity of good design.

Now, how did the project go?  Was I over my head with this one?  At times I thought I was but I don't go down without a fight so I'll continue:

First,I began by rinsing off all the loose dirt and debris and giving them a nice soapy scrub.  The other labels were gone, leaving behind a yellow mark where the adhesive aged so I carefully removed this one with a single edged blade to preserve it's identity.  Since there were layers of dirt caked into all the cracks in the finish along with additional yellowed varnish that must have been applied later, I took to exploring all possible methods to bring them back to the original color. The method that worked the best at removing the aged varnish was sanding it while wet using a sanding sponge. Be sure to wear rubber gloves so the shards of old varnish do not irritate your skin.

 

 

Once all the top layer varnish was removed I worked on excavating all the caked in dirt that had dug itself into the fibers of the fiberglass. I tested bath tub cleaners, oxy clean, softscrub, comet, and even an earth friendly vinegar and water. I tried multiple scrubbing pads and scouring scrubs and in the end found the most effective way to be soaking rags in undiluted bleach and applying them like a compress for a facial.   After leaving it on for about 4hrs to overnight the results were astonishing.  The beach ate at all the dirt in the fibers and revealed a crisp white surface as shown in the before and after images below. This was possible because due to years of exposure from being left outside, the original gel coating was pretty much gone. Just made sure you do so in a well-ventilated environment, and again, wear gloves.

After the scrubbing and soaking was completed I begun restoring the original chrome splayed legs and preparing the chairs for a new surface sealant. While researching others who have taken on the task of making marvels out of madness, I found that most referred to using a oil paint conditioner called Penetrol.  Penetrol is also used to restore fiberglass and metal surfaces.  Before applying it to the metal legs, I scrubbed them down using a wet pumice stone.  The pumice stone works well at removing all the loose rust and dirt. 

After a few coats of Penetrol and a bit of buffing, I was able to reconstruct the finished pieces and VOILA!

Charles and his wife Ray celebrate my excitement for a restoration well done!