A chair to rock your Summer

Alex's Emmabo Rocking Chair finally gave up its ghost. But he resurrects them into this outdoorsy deck chairs. How perfect for summer.

He says, "I've retrofitted wooden slats to an Emmabo Rocking Chair frame. It's now suitable for outdoor use as a deck chair.

The metal frame is salvaged and fitted with wooden slats from Home Depot. The wood is pressure treated to withstand outdoor use and then painted with one coat of black-brown ebony stain. When dried, the slats are then fitted on to the frame using 3/4" cable clamps, which are for electrical use but fit the rod of the Emmabo frame perfectly.

See more of Alex's Emmabo deck chair.

Back Soon!

I've been busy working all day and also preparing for a client meeting so there was no time to write up a post. Check back tomorrow for more coverage of the Traditional Home Hampton Designer Showhouse. Wish I was at my favorite beach in Southampton right now! Sigh. Ok, back to work!

Lack shelving bench

Anette found a discarded Ikea Lack shelving unit and hacked it into a bench.

She says, "I added chrome legs from the local hardware store. The upholstering was the biggest challenge as I had never tried it before, but I bought thin foam and some sturdy fabric and got to work with my friends' staple gun. I stapled the foam down first and then added the fabric. I didn't sew the fabric at all, but just made sure to carefully fold in the edges of the fabric before putting in each staple.

My chalkboard obsession.

I am starting to develop an itsy bitsy problem. It started a year or so ago with my first chalkboard experience, and I just keep adding to my collection. I'll show you my first one in a minute, but first, my most recent chalkboard from Goodwill...

I showed you this goody on Twitter during a recent shopping trip:
I actually passed by it a on a couple different occasions, and this time -- I saw the potential in those hideous little bears. Here's a close up just to show you how cauuute they were circa 1986: I needed a new spot to hang our clean clothes since I removed the door in this room, and I thought with a little bit of work, this could do the job.


I gave it a quick sanding, took off the board that the bears were on off the back and spray painted the shelf like mad. I turned the bears over and painted the backside with chalkboard paint, replaced it with glue and then put hooks were the pegs were:
I stacked some little bowls I got at Goodwill for a buck each and a little vase on top, and it's good to go for now. Love it! And since I put it in with anchors, it will hold plenty of clothes. When I do the laundry that is, which is not so often.
Not bad for $2.99. Not bad at all.


I've shown you this chalkboard I already had in the laundry room:
It says "I love chalkboards," for those of you who can't read my scratchings. Good thing I'm not a teacher. I wanted a clock, I wanted a chalkboard. Perfection -- a clock and chalkboard in one.

My first chalkboard creation was well over a year ago, and it's still my favorite. When the Bub was little, I thought it would be adorable for him to have a chalkboard to play with in the kitchen. We have an odd wall in there that was perfect. This is it most days, like 363 days a year:
This is it when we have parties or I need to show it off on a blog:Ahhhhh yes.

It was super easy to do -- I taped off a large rectangle with painter's tape. Then used magnetic paint and did about three, nine twelve coats. It really helps to shake the can a lot. Alotalot.
Then a couple coats of chalkboard paint and that's it! I added some molding I just wiped down with a quick stain:
But you can just leave it as is -- no need for molding. I was just fulfilling another obsession. :)

I found a container I screwed into the wall for the chalk and magnets, but I need to find something that will hold up to a two-year-old:
This is the second one we've had and they fall apart immediately. Something a bit stronger perhaps?

The day I created it, I stood back to admire my handiwork, asking Hubby, "Isn't it the cauutest thing ever?"

His brilliant response -- "So if we let him to color on the walls there, what will keep him from coloring the walls all over the house?"
Crickets.

Chirp.

Chirp.

Excellent question Hubby. Didn't have an answer for that one. It was just cute, so I told him to shut it. Luckily this hasn't been issue. Yet.
Crickets.

Chirp.

Hampton Designer Showhouse: Pool House by Lillian August

A friend just told me yesterday that he heard the home used for the Traditional Home Hampton Designer Showhouse sold for the full asking price. I think it's a great house and I hope the owners look into buying some of the furnishings used for the showhouse since the designers did a great job decorating it this year. The amazing two story pool house designed by Lillian August is definitely one of the areas they should think about keeping as is since it has a perfect casual beachy feeling. This little house would make a great real house in most other areas of the country and since it has two full baths and bedrooms, it could also be used as a guest house. There's even a laundry room! I'm so jealous!






















Photos by Heather Clawson

Coffee Table

A really slim coffee table. Great if you have a small space and need something to just fit right in.

KayJay says, "It's fairly small and not a functional for someone with a large space. My living room area is tiny. I mean... HELLA TINY... like, five steps wide tiny. So, I needed something to act as a coffee table that could hold a drink/remote/magazine, yet still offer me enough room to maneuver and not trip over it all the time or feel overwhelmed.

In my old apartment I had a 39 3/8" Grundtal tempered bathroom shelf that I loved. In January I moved to this new apartment that was newly remodeled and showed nearly zero signs of wall studding. I didn't want to disrupt the walls too much so I chose not to use the shelf. I *almost* sold the shelf at a garage sale when, a day later, I came across this posting for a makeshift coffee table. I was in great need of a coffee table of some sort so I headed straight to Ikea to find a Mossby shelf. Whatdya know? They were plum out of Mossby shelves.


Remembering I had the tempered glass from the bathroom shelf I bought a piece of their basic unstained wood shelving for, like, $3.50 and Bjarnum shelf brackets. I took the items home, covered the shelf in $1.99 paper from a craft store and set the tempered glass atop with glue dots. Took about twenty minutes to create the table.

The Fashion Issue

I think my favorite month for magazines has to be September since they are all devoted to fashion. In the case of Elle Decor, we get to peek into the stylish homes of some of the top fashion designers and executives. The living room above belongs to Robert Duffy, the President of Marc Jacobs International who has been Marc's business partner since the beginning of the designer's career. You can think of then as the American version of Giancarlo Giammetti and Valentino.

I had a friend who used to work for Robert Duffy so it was fun for me to see into his Provincetown, Massachusetts home that I have heard so much about. It's a uniquely personal space that wavers from clean and spare, the influence of his architect Stephan Jaklitsch and designer Richard McGeehan, the same team behind the Marc Jacobs boutiques, to warm and collected. The library reminds me a little of his West Village home which is full of beautiful antiques. I think those who work in fashion have the most interesting homes that reflect their creative careers and they are also another example of how many different ways there are to dress your nest!

Photo by William Waldron courtesy of Elle Decor

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