Office Chair Makeover

Just wanted to pop into your Sunday to show you OUR NEW OFFICE CHAIRS!!

Looking at these bright and happy chairs, you would never know what problem children they have been! We found the little beasts at Scott's Antique Market last year and paid $100 each for them. They were in a sad and ugly state, but they had good bones, and their petite size was just what we needed for our home office.




































Brent was on the fence from the get-go, not that he didn't like the chairs, but he feared they would end up costing us an arm and a leg before it was all said and done. Well, let's just say he wasn't  exactly wrong. Luckily it took us over a year to actually get to the part of the project where we picked out fabric and got the chairs upholstered. So, while the cost was the same,  having it stretched out over a year helps, right? Hey, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

As the office started coming together we began the hunt for the fabric. We made multiple trips to various fabric stores and came home with tons of samples. After much deliberation we decided on a bright and happy floral and a white vinyl.

Because of the way the chairs are constructed we had the opportunity to do two fabrics; A white vinyl for the part of the chairs that we would actually sit on and a floral for the back. We decided to go with two different fabrics for two reasons. One, we plan to really utilize this space, so we figured the vinyl was our best bet for fabric that we would sit on everyday.  It's easy to care for as it can be easily wiped down if it gets dirty or spilled on. And two, because of the orientation of the room, the back of the chairs will be visible at all times, so we thought the bright, happy, floral would be cool here to infuse some additional color and interest into the room.

The floral fabric was not cheap at $35 per yard, but the vinyl, which we needed more of was only $9.95 a yard at a great local fabric store called Fabric & Fringe Warehouse. It was literally $15 dollars cheaper PER YARD at this place than an in town shop and was virtually the same thing!

 I marked up this photo as a road map for the upholsterer.  

Once we finally got around to selecting the fabric(s) and delivered the chairs to the upholsterer we were only about a month a way from the Junior League Tour of Kitchens. The plan was to get the chairs back right before the tour, but unfortunately the upholsterer got sick and I think the vinyl was a little more problematic than anticipated, so we didn't get them in time for the show. We were really bummed at first, but we ended up getting some fill in chairs for the tour, which worked fine.

We finally got the call that the chairs were ready and headed off to pick them up from the upholsterer yesterday. As soon as we saw them we were SO excited with the final results.

A little front and back perspective for you....

And another shot from the back....

These chairs were the last piece of our office remodel puzzle and we are SO pleased with how they turned out. This room is easily one of the happiest in our whole house. The natural lighting is SO good and these chairs were the icing on the cake for an already cheerful space. Full office reveal coming to a blog near you VERY SOON!

All photos are my own. 

Junior League Tour of Kitchens 2015

This weekend was SUCH a rush! 

Saturday our house was on the Junior League Tour of Kitchens!

Our home was open from 10-4 and hundreds, yes HUNDREDS of people (300 +) came through to tour our space. In the midst of the tour there were two cooking demonstrations AND a Keurig representative giving out hot drinks.

Needless to say things got pretty crowded and it was surreal seeing all of the people lining up to get into our home. Everyone was so nice and patient and they were full of sweet compliments and great questions. 

Because of the way our house is situated the entire downstairs was open with the exception of our two guest bedrooms. People entered through the front door and exited from the deck, so they got to see a lot of the projects we've completed along the way, including the outdoor kitchen and our recently completed office solarium! It was cool because I was posted up in the inside kitchen to greet people and answer questions, while Brent was posted up on the deck with the outdoor kitchen waiting to do the same. Surprise, surprise, the outdoor kitchen and TV cabinet were a huge hit and gave the actual reason for the tour (the inside kitchen) a run for it's money!

As you all know our house nor our kitchen is big by any stretch of the imagination, but it is full of a lot of heart and consideration. I was excited for our house to be on the tour to represent Bell Kitchen & Bath Studios for a lot of reasons, but especially to show people that great storage and functionality is not synonymous with an abundance of space. When we began designing this kitchen I pulled every rabbit I knew of out of my hat to make each and every cabinet count. Custom cabinetry is great on a lot of levels, but for small spaces like ours it was especially useful as it allowed us to make our space the best it could be by capturing every storage possibility we could. 

While Brent and I have been very happy with the kitchen, you never know how people will react. There were definitely times in the months leading up to the tour that I worried people would be underwhelmed by our small space, but boy was I wrong. I was thrilled to find that a lot of the people that came through really connected with our smaller space and were excited to see the storage components we used and hear about our thought process. There were so many questions, comments and oohs and ahhs. It was awesome!   

It was a proud day for sure and Brent and I are SO happy we participated, but BOY do we feel a huge weight lifted off our shoulders now that it's over! The good news? This tour forced us to get our butts in gear and complete a bunch of projects in and around the house. So, get excited because I have all kinds of new projects and finished spaces to show you all in the coming weeks!

All photos by Lori Foster. 

Save The Date(S)

I've got a lot of exciting things in the works, two of which you may have seen if you've received your copy of Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles March issue.

Next week my kitchen design for the Atlanta Homes & Lifestyle's Luxury Living Show debuts at Phipps Plaza during the Design Bloggers Conference! The kitchen will be on display at Phipps Plaza for the entire month of March.

The Bell Kitchen & Bath Studios crew has been working hard getting all of the details nailed down over the last few months and we are so excited to see the kitchen come to life! The middle of the night installation begins tonight, so I will circle back with a whole process/reveal post for this project like I did last year.

In the meantime, mark your calendars, March 1 - March 31st. Phipps Plaza. GO!

I'm also excited to announce that my home will be on the Junior League Tour of Kitchens this year!

The Junior League of Atlanta hosts this two-day event each spring and I am beyond excited that my house is included! If you have been reading this blog for awhile you know that Brent and I purchased our house and renovated our kitchen in 2012/2013. While I have done a few posts, here,  here , here and here, I have yet to do a full "MY KITCHEN " reveal on the blog, so this is the perfect opportunity for all of you to see it. IN PERSON!

The tour is the weekend of Saturday, March 28th & Sunday March 29th. There are 14 houses on the tour, 7 houses per day.

My house will be shown on Saturday, from 10:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Tickets are $40 at the door or $35 if you buy in advance. For more ticket information or to purchase now click here.

 14 kitchens, 2 days and a whole lot of inspiration! Don't miss it!

I'll tell ya, thus far 2015 has been a whole lot of ....

SO. Many. Exciting. Things......SO little time..... and I'm loving it!