Pub progress

Sometimes, I admit, I love making things myself, especially with my new(ish) sewing machine. I've made tons of pillows for this house, and am currently working on making bedding for our master bedroom, which is a great feat unto itself. So you can just imagine how psyched I was to have to make cushions for our outdoor furniture along with everything else I'm sewing (hint: not very).

Luckily, while out with Mom running her errands, we were walking down the aisles of Home Depot when our eyes alighted on their summer cushion clearance section. Right in the middle of the bunch were cushions made from my exact inspiration fabric for the pub, which was Solaruim Outdoor Canvas in Buena Onyx.



I swear the fabric isn't faded--it was so bright outside it looks over exposed.
At almost half the cost of one yard of fabric (not including filling or inserts), I snatched up four of them after verifying that they'd fit the benches. SIDE NOTE: Thank God for technology. I was able to use my Blackberry to see the plans here on my blog which had the measurements of each bench. It pays to publish! ;)



Mom and I also grabbed two pillows for the wicker chair which complimented the black and tans (my new name for the benches!) almost perfectly.





I still need a coffee table, but have decided to forego an outdoor rug (Mom pointed out that you wouldn't exactly find one laying around in a pub anyways). Then all that's left is a few accessories and our pub will be done!

The pub is underway!

On Sunday Mom, Step-dad, Brother Colton, and Colton's friend Mike came out to the coast and help set up the gazebo I picked up. Of course I shouldn't say "help" set up, because really, Mom and I watched from inside while the guys tried to sort out all the pieces!





Once all the furniture was in, they posed for a cute shot for me to send to Jason. I think I'm going to frame it--don't all pubs have little black and white photos of their laborers? ;)



It still needs a looooooot in the way of accessories. But the gazebo was $150 on clearance at Target, and all the furniture was free, minus the $50 I spent on the wicker chair Mom is sitting in, so at least I haven't gone too hog wild with spending on my foundation. I'm anxious to start playing with the arrangement of everything (side tables mostly, the seating will definitely stay where it is), finding a chippy old coffee table for the boys to set drinks and play cards on, making cushions and finding a curtain solution (buy mosquito netting? make new ones?) and really trying to bring that pub feel to it.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated and if you have a pub of your own, share! I love looking at real-life inspiration pictures.

I'm hoping by this weekend I can knock two more things off my Master Bedroom list. I have fabric coming for another pillow cover (and will debut them both soon!) and my second over-sized-euro-sham since the first attempt didn't go so well. What do you think the winning fabric will be??

Back on my feet & covered in paint!

Thank you all for you well wishes--not only with my accident but on our anniversary (which is actually when I fell). I received a clean bill of health this week, and aside from a few lingering bruises and a rug burn on my knuckle, I'm feeling pretty back to normal. Good thing to because this house has been ne-glected!

Today I woke up sweating; while most people hate that, I was thrilled because it means summer has finally hit our little beach town! As I type all my windows are open, the fans are on max power, and I have still have a bit of sweat forming along my brow. I'm in a super cute sundress from American Eagle (purchased on deep discount on July 4--woot!) and it finally feels like the typical California day. So what have I been up to? PAINTING!

I've previously mentioned this white wicker chair that I picked up for our outdoor pub that I've been slacking on working on. I picked it up for $50 at Urban Barn in Escondido. While super sweet, shabby chic doesn't exactly mesh well with Irish debauchery.



So, a quick coat with some leftover Rust-Oleum Espresso paint (seriously? I have an arsenal of this stuff--how did I amass so much?!) took some of the charm out of it.


(Forgive the chop job)

Then as I was waiting for it to dry, I realized I just might have enough flat black paint to get our old IKEA night stands converted as well for the master bedroom project. I also busted out an old shower curtain rod for a quick make-over (you'll see it in action in just a sec).



I still plan to go over the tables with a coat of a semi-gloss paint to make them a little more scratch resistant, but I learned my lesson when it comes to using glossy spray paint on flat surfaces (remember this coffee table?). So I think I'll stick to a roll on paint.

As for the shower rod...

I wanted to hang some sort of partition in our "dressing room" that connects our bedroom to our bathroom. When Jason comes home I'd like for him to start using our bathroom again instead of keeping all of his stuff in the guest bathroom. So, to allow him to actually be able to see when he's shaving at four a.m. without waking me up, I knew some curtains were in order.


(Obviously this shot is from when we were first moving in)
I'd been using some old off-white sheets as the curtains, but I just wasn't feeling them. Lacking any motivation until today I just let them hang there until I remembered some amazing faux-silk panels I'd retired to the Goodwill bag in our garage. Thankful that I hadn't actually made it over there recently, I dug them out of the bag and immediately hung them on the newly painted rod. Yes, they're a little short on top, but I don't think it's going to matter any.


The rich chocolate color up against our white walls is stunning (waaaaay better than the off-white sheets), and I love that I was able to use them again--I had loved them so much in our home back in North Carolina. Here they are acting as window panels on our front door.


They matched our accent wall in the living room to a tee!


(Maybe this is why I still have a ton of espresso paint--leftover loves??)

So, that's what I've finally gotten around to doing! I'm thinking I might swing by Home Depot today or tomorrow for some headboard materials. I've been tossing the original plan back and forth and have a feeling the bed may change a bit. I'd like to do something a little more romantic-modern than farmhouse-meets-bed-and-breakfast. I'm trying to keep the idea fairly simple because I'm attempting to talk Jason into upgrading to a king sized bed when he gets home (!!), which means I don't want to do anything too permanent structurally-wise.

Sunday Mom and Step-Dad are coming over to help set up the gazebo. I'm so antsy to get the furniture out of the garage and into the backyard! I can't wait!

So good to be back...

I'm linking up to:
Fresh Coat Fridays @ Life in the Fun Lane

An outdoor pub

I'm so excited! During one of our recent e-mail marathons, Jason and I started talking about ideas for the backyard. I had been considering more of a beach theme. But when he brought up the fact that the house was getting plenty of "feminine touches" in his absence, he asked me to design a more masculine outdoor area; more specifically, an Irish pub. I love the idea because it requires very little making-over of the furniture. They're going to stay in their original conditions to give it more of a time-worn-collected-over-the-years feel like all good old fashioned pubs have. Only one piece (a white wicker chair) will be getting a little face-lift with a new coat of paint. White wicker doesn't exactly scream "pub."

Of course excitement like this can't be contained, so I had to start working on an idea board right away! ;) Here's the current plan.



The color scheme is going to be black and tan (a nod to Guinness beer) with touches of greens and red-oranges. Other textures will include a chalkboard with pub "specialties" written on them, and some lanterns to keep everything well lit when the sun goes down. Of course we'll have playing cards and some cigars stashed in a side table for when they boys want to kick back and gamble a little, and I also plan on getting a few beer steins with our last name on them (Jason received two from my step-mom one year for Christmas, so I think I need to add to his collection).

I'm looking forward to working on this in conjunction with the bedroom (which truthfully has seen very little action lately). My attention span seems to be on a short leash these days, so I'm breaking my rule and working on several projects at once. First things first, it's time to talk my mom and step-dad into making a day trip over here to buy and set up the canopy! Then I can start building our pub!

Wishin' & Hopin' (a.k.a. a new project)

I'm so sorry in advanced if anyone now has that syrupy sweet song stuck in their head! =) But that's what I'm doing for tomorrow's outing with Mom. We're going to a local industrial-salvage-flea-market-farm place in hopes that I'll be able to find some of those things I've been searching oh so hard for at other places. I know, I know, I'm being cryptic. I'll tell you what the heck I'm jabbering about.

Jason and I have never had a proper outdoor space. From our first teeny-tiny-can-barely-move apartment, to the newly-built-you-have-to-do-all-the-work-yourself-and-you-don't-know-anything-about-DIY house in North Carolina, to the holy-hell-it's-actually-hotter-than-hell-out-here grassless backyard in 29 Palms, our current home is the first time we've actually lived in a place where a backyard isn't just a dream, it's actually a reality. And I aim to take advantage of that!

I started by cheating. I began to look at all the matching sets they carry in places like Wal-Mart, Sears, Target, BB&B, and so on. In my defence, K-Mart was running their "layaway" commercials and my subconscious was duped into believing it needed a retail set. I had this one all picked out from Wal-Mart.


But, that was until The Nesting Place shared this photo from Home Sweet Inspiration.


And that's what I've been looking so freaking hard for--vintage, used, old outdoor furniture. And would you believe me when I say it's the hardest freaking stuff to find?! Does no one thrown out wicker anymore?? I've also got my eye out for an old metal baby crib. I saw this one when Miss Mustard Seed shared her space with us for the parade of homes. I thought it would work equally well outdoors (using outdoor cushions and fabrics of course)!


There's still a matter of some sort of canopy or gazebo, but I think my little brain has whipped up an idea. Of course, the idea won't exactly work unless there is furniture underneath it! So wish me luck, as I hope to find a few pieces tomorrow with Mom!