handmade adirondack chairs {for sale}

readers may not know much about my husband, but he is an architect and really talented craftsman. he has returned to his love of woodworking in his spare time and is making adirondack chairs this fall! the chairs are incredible – a custom design, handmade from solid cedar like our personal pair. they age beautifully in weather and smell amazing! he is selling them as singles ($300) or a pair ($550). i love these chairs so much – they are incredibly comfortable. local pickup would be easiest here in nashville, but we can arrange shipping for additional cost. comment or reach out if interested! these are perfect for all the fall firepits in our futures. thanks for reading ❤

madeline

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diy : shibori dyeing

this winter before it got too cold, i thought i would try my hand at the shibori indigo dyeing trend that i am seeing everywhere. blue is my favorite color and i wanted to use make tablecloths and napkins for parties and specifically, a baby shower. my sister and i tackled this project together and had so much fun. i bought this indigo dye kit and these cloth napkins to dye. i am so happy with the results and am sharing some of the lessons we learned.

{indigo dyeing kit, wood blocks, and rubber bands}

{napkins folded six ways}

{the ‘bloom’ on top of the dye bucket}

{mixing in soda ash}

{wet bucket, dye bucket, and rinse bucket}

{post dyeing dry out – start as green and fade to blue}

{the results after unrolling}

{hanging on diy rope line}

{six different designs}

{tablecloth hanging to dry}

{tablecloth design made with woodblocks}

this turned out to be a really quick and easy diy, and now i have some beautiful textiles to use. thanks natalie for your help! a few tips:

• make sure to buy more rubber bands and more wood blocks than are in the kit. we used a large bag of rubber bands and made some large wood blocks for the tablecloth design.
• spend the time to get everything set up before starting – the lines, the rinse buckets…so you can quickly dye and hang.
• if doing a large amount of fabric, use large clean five gallon buckets.
• dip into the dye more than once. we only dyed once and the colors fades when dry. they will look very dark at first, but only because it it wet.
• wash in the washing machine once after dyeing process with no detergent on cold.
• these two tutorials are really great for folding designs. (one and two) i also made up a few of my own designs.

there are endless possibilities. be creative and enjoy!

xoxo

madeline

holiday wrapping essentials

has anyone else been a tad busy lately….? i have not been updating and have missed it! this week has been full of office parties, shopping, and gift wrapping. we decorated the house and hosted our christmas party this week and i will be sharing more on these tomorrow. for most people, this is the week spent getting that last christmas gift and gift wrapping. i have always loved wrapping presents – i am detail oriented….the love and time put into the wrapping are another part of the gift. gift wrapping is best while watching a movie or listening to christmas tunes. here are some of my holiday wrapping essentials that i keep in my studio year round and have ready for the holidays.

image above: wrapping papers from target

 

the paper

cardstock kraft paper / lace doilies / handmade stickers / initial rubber stamps / gift hang tags / personalized holiday labels / letter stencils

 

the supplies

craft paint / gold permanent marker / mod podge / chalk pens / crinkle cut paper / tacky glue / muslin bags

 

the ribbon

bakers twine / crepe paper / ribbon / washi tape

 

the greenery

fir branches / magnolia leaves / rosemary stems

 

happy wrapping!

yard sale lamp restyle

ok…this is a simple restyle. really simple, but still makes a difference. i really prefer small projects that don’t take entire weekends-because who has time for that?? my friends and i recently had a yard sale. i found a few things i thought i could rehab including this lamp (thanks laura!). the shape is pretty and clean; it just needed a little spray paint. i used design master spray paint from michaels and painters tape to cover the cord.

better, right? gold fixes all.

xoxo madeline

hairpin ottoman restyle

Our weekend has been full of much needed family time as my sister and brother-in-law were in town from Houston. A weekend of reunions – family, neighborhood, old friends, and sisters. Every time my sister and I see one another it is like no time has passed; for this I am thankful, because I can not go long without her in my life.

With some time to reflect on Sunday night in front of the firepit, I thought I might share my hairpin ottoman restyle story. Our home is a 50’s rancher with a lot of character – but we are still working on making this character look current. Insert picture of wood panelling.

{before: living room with wood coffee table}

We have been ‘borrowing’ this wooden coffee table to pair with our 9′ (?!?!) long sofa because not many tables will work with it. How do you arrange furniture in this forever long room? I was out shopping in the antique district in Nashville and ran into Pre-Post Modern, a local favorite. I spotted this hairpin leg ottoman and snatched it up.

{vintage ottoman find}

The atomic ranch fabric may work for some – but not our style, so I started shopping around for fabrics. I have seen a lot lately in bold graphic black and white that I have liked and later almost settled on a navy velvet. I went home to mull it over and looked through old fabric scraps and found something that will work for the interim – the fabric I chose is still busy enough to not show every imperfection.

{fabric shopping: graphic stripe + navy velvet}

It took a couple of hours total to transform the piece – I unscrewed the legs, suspended them and spray painted them gold with trusty Rustoleum brass spray paint. I love this product and highly recommend. There were not 1, not 2, but 6 layers of old, dingy fabric under the atomic ranch fabric. Removing the staples went quickly with a flathead screwdriver and pliers. The foam was in decent shape so I cut the fabric to size, restapled to the frame, and replaced the legs. This is the easiest upholstery job for amateurs like myself.

{stripping the old fabric and staples}

{after: ottoman still drying}

I really love the final product in our home and we have enjoyed having a place to kick up our feet or work on our computers. We are planning on also using hairpin legs on our DIY dining table – post coming soon.

{living room with new ottoman}

madeline