Because I love my readers so much... (and because we're poor)...

To me, the perfectly decorated room is mostly traditional, but has a few very well-chosen modern elements thrown in for balance. As far as modern furniture goes, I think you can't go wrong with a Saarinen table and the C&B Petrie Sofa. Both are clean and white and look great mixed in with more traditional furnishings. I'm always on the look-out for these.

If I needed a sofa, you can BET I'd snag this almost-new Petrie off Boston's Craigslist for $450. (This sofa is $1500 normally). You'll need to sink $100 into a professionally upholstery cleaning, but you're still $1000 in the black.


I think the Petrie is a pretty dang good-looking couch...

Jason Martin Designs via Desire to Inspire

I thought it was the best part of the movie "The Break Up"

via

Design by Summer Thornton

via Blueprint

via Flickr

And who doesn't love a good Saarinen table? If you only need a small plain white (non-marble) top, I've used the IKEA Dockstas before and think they are great for their price. BUT! If you're like me, and really, really want the oval-shaped marble top, and you live anywhere near New Jersey (you can pick it up for free), this eBay auction is an absolute steal. The same looking table retails for $6800 at DWR.
I think Saarinens are completely classic and will forever be in style. Check out these marble beauties...

via Domino

via Erik Piasecki Photography

Tom Scheerer (a huge fan of the Saarinen) via Pure Style Home

Photo by Grey Crawford via Katiedid

Design by Tom Scheerer

Other "modern" favorites of mine - the Parsons table and the sputnik chandelier. What's your favorite way to add a splash of modern to a room?

Make an Ottoman From a Coffee Table

I love the look of using an ottoman as a coffee table. But large upholstered ottomans can be so (!) expensive.
I think I shared this story before, but a few years ago we lived in Washington D.C., where there is a Restoration Hardware outlet. One magical/terrible day I walked into the store and there, right in front of me, was the most gorgeous and glorious upholstered ottoman (normally $1200). Price tag? $150. No joke. With the understanding that the salesperson knew I wanted to buy the ottoman, I stepped out of the store (no reception inside) to call my husband about the purchase (our rule is no purchases over $100 without a team discussion). I skipped back inside the store after getting the go-ahead from Michael, only to find the ottoman no where in sight. Someone else had bought it in those few short minutes and I felt like such a fool. Saddest. day. ever.

Fast forward two years and I'm still thinking about the gorgeous velvet ottoman. Since I don't have $1200 to spend on the same RH ottoman, I decided to try and make a similar ottoman out of a coffee table.

I decided that I needed a smaller size ottoman for our living room. I thought 35-40" would be the right size. And it couldn't be more than 16" tall. And I wanted a square table, not a rectangle. And I wanted sort of chunky, turned legs. I know, picky, right?

But Craig's List came through for me again. $25 for this heavy, solid wood piece.


Perfect dimensions (36x36x16). Just needed some paint on the legs for that dark-stained look I wanted. I used Ralph Lauren's "Galvenized" in eggshell for two coats and sealed it after that.


I marked out where I wanted my 16 tufting buttons to lay and drilled holes in the table top.


Then I used a little spray adhesive to hold my 2" foam (from JoAnns) in place.


I also cut up some of the left over foam and adhered foam strips to the apron of the table to fill in the empty space under the lip.


Then I wrapped the apron in batting and then the whole table was covered in a sheet of quilt batting (no photo of that step, sorry).


Using the 16 drilled holes as my guide, I adhered the tufting buttons (which I made with a button kit from JoAnns) with upholstery thread and a long needle.


I used regular plastic buttons to anchor the tufts on the underside of the table.


Once all the tufts were in place, I stapled the fabric edges to the underside, being sure to pull the fabric really tight. Then I tackled the corners, which was the trickiest part.


I decided to use upholstery nails on just the leg area where I did sort of hospital bed corners with the fabric. I might end up redoing this part, but I think it's fine for now.


Here's the finished product. What do you think? Does my $60 project compare with the $1200 Restoration Hardware ottoman? Maybe not, but it will do for now!

Calico Corners + Craig's List = LOVE

Next time you're doing an upholstery project, you might want to check out Calico Corners for fabric. Look what they were able to do with this old camelback sofa:

Before -

After -

Isn't it amazing what modern prints can do to the look of a really traditional sofa? For this project they used a duraguarded cotton, silhouette in kiwi, at $24.99/yd.

Here are some other pieces of old furniture that would look really great with new upholstery using fabric from Calico Corners:

From San Francisco's Craig's List: a Pair of MCM side chairs.

I would paint the legs No. 2 pencil yellow and reupholster in this fabric, Aviary (available in some awesome colors) for $23.99/yd


Use both chairs to flank a console table in the entryway, sort of like in these two rooms:


From St. Loius' Craig's List: an adorable dressing table bench for $35

I would paint the wood tomato red and use this great cream and blue silk for the cushion. (Rabinal, $49.99/yd - you'd need less than a yard) and cover the tufting buttons in a contrasting red fabric...


Inspired by Zoey Deschannel's apartment published in Domino.



From Dallas' Craig's List: A vintage chair for all you lucite lovers. $50.

I love this bright yellow print and I think it would look great with the lucite.

Della in Lemon


From Washington D.C.'s Craig's List: An Antique Chippendale-style bench for $25. This would be SUCH an easy DIY project, with the drop in seat.

I would use Fretwork in Aqua for the seat fabric. I love the Greek Key pattern.


From Boston's Craig's List - a really cool retro steel office chair

The steely grays in this mod print would be the perfect complement to the metal on the chair.
Dahlia in Aegean, $20.99/yd


Also from Boston's Craig's List - a nice settee for $145.


I think my very favorite fabric at Calico is this large-scale floral. I couldn't seem to choose between all the great colors though. So here they all are..
Stockholm for $23.99/yd.






From New York's Craig's List - a beautiful vintage sofa made by Hickory Chair for $300.


Chip Outdoor Mint for the body of the sofa (Hooray for kid-friendly outdoor fabric!)


For drapes in the same room - Fabriano in Cocktail $27.99/yd. Love all the great colors. Wouldn't a bright red pagoda chandelier look awesome in this room?


This chevron print would also make a great accent fabric. Indra $34.99/yd


I hope you're inspired to give new life to a piece of vintage or antique furniture. Craig's list is so full of amazing finds, especially these days, when everyone is looking to off-load unused furniture. You know what they say - one man's trash...

P.S. If you are interested in any of the Calico Corners fabrics, don't forget to sign up for their $20 off coupon!