First of all, I wasn’t allowed to hold the nail gun one time and I’m still ticked off about it.
Welcome to WEEK 4 of cc+mike do the One Room Challenge – Breakfast Nook on a Budget Style. As you will see, this week was all about staining and recovering the chairs for our breakfast nook area. In case you are here for the first time, you are probably going to want to check out Week 1, Week 2, and Week 3 to catch up, or, if you prefer, I can sum this up for you really quickly: There is a super cool event every October and April called the One Room Challenge where designers and bloggers take the challenge to transform a space in just 6 weeks while blogging and updating everyone on our progress. I totally signed us up for this event without giving Mike Miller a heads up. Why? Well, because we had a room off our kitchen that has been completely empty ever since we moved into our house—which was a year ago by the way—and I had the phenomenal idea of making the space into a sitting room. However, Mike Miller did NOT agree with the sitting room idea when he saw the design board I made for the space. Ok, if I’m being honest he did NOT agree when he saw the budget that went with the design board. So, we did that thing that all married couples must do—we compromised. And by compromised, I mean that I signed us up for the One Room Challenge and said we would do the room on a $500 budget using repurposed and thrifted items I already had, forcing Mike Miller to help me pull it all off since he said no to the sitting room idea.
So without further ado, I give you week 4 of our ORC challenge where we tackled staining and recovering these thrift store chairs that started with 7 coats of paint and nasty, dated beach print fabric—”that really stinks and smells like an old person smell”—to quote Mike Miller’s exact words. Oh yes, and I’m not scared to enlist some kids to help with my projects either as you will see. You gotta raise them right which means they need to know how to go thrifting and do some flipping and remodeling and repurposing.
First off, we had to put the clear coat on the chairs. If you want to see what these babies looked like before, make sure you read Week 2. That was no freaking joke stripping those chairs and I gave in after 4 solid hours of trying to strip ONE chair and still not finishing, and took them to a professional. They came back beautifully sanded down and ready for a clear coat. Here’s the brand we chose—Minwax clear matte protective finish.
After we were done with the clear coat it was time to get this ugly, dated beach fabric that apparently “smelled like old people” off these seat covers. Like I said, I enlisted help as you will see.
OK after we stripped the seat covers down, it was time to recover them with my pretty new Ralph Lauren fabric that I ordered from Calico Corners in Tulsa. Mike Miller said he was feeling very manly as he ironed the fabric and helped me cut it. Yes, we 100% enlisted our daughter to take some pictures for us while we were doing this project and of course, it turned into a competition. Mike Miller said he was a better and faster fabric cutter than me. Yeah right. We will just let the pictures do the talking about this portion of the project….
And finally, here is the finished project. I can’t show you too much because I don’t want to ruin the reveal but you guys…I’M OBSESSED. Mike Miller, you can give me that apology you owe me any time. Remember when I brought these chairs home when my sis found them at a thrift store and you were super annoyed with me and didn’t see their potential? Well, they turned out amazing so like I said, I’m ready to accept that apology and hear a “You were right Carissa, they look great” just whenever you are ready. PS…I’m a faster fabric cutter than you AND you stole the good scissors and you know it. I know you’re reading this.
Oh yes ! Let me end week 4 with a glimpse of that West Elm waterfall chandelier in the nook area. You guys…I’m starting to see it come together—waterfall chandelier, wishbone chairs with gorgeous fabric on the seat cover, Elodie rug, white modern table, gold bamboo frames, chinoiserie plates. I really feel like it’s going to be simple but beautiful and I can’t wait to finish this project up and show you guys the final room reveal. Only two more weeks to go!
Here’s what I have left to do…
- Choose my print and have my thrift store frames matted and framed with the new print art. You can read more about that in Week 3.
- Go thrifting and find more blue and white chinoiserie plates for the plate collage wall
- Hang plate collage on the wall
- Find vase and centerpiece for the table
- find plant stands and decide on DIY hanging plants project
That’s it! We are on the home stretch! Thanks so much for following along with us as we take on the One Room Challenge. Please make sure to check out all of the other amazing bloggers and designers participating in this event here.
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Love the fabric so much!!! It could not look more beautiful with your rug! Glad to see you are delegating tasks to your children….maybe you should have had them strip those chairs!
Jen why didn’t I think of that!?!? Although I’m afraid they would have turned me in for slave labor had I made them strip those chairs! Haha! Can’t wait to go read your post. Did you show a glimpse of that wallpaper?!? IM DYING TO KNOW!
Wow! That is so cool! I love the fabric pattern.
Thank you so much Marcie!
That fabric is just gorgeous!
Thank you so much Carmel! Can’t wait to go check out your post for this week!!!!
CC, you and Mike Miller are way too cute for your own good! And way to involve the entire family in the One Room Challenge! I’m feeling waaaay behind after seeing what you have left to do! By the way, if you’re looking for ideas on the hanging planters, I have a DIY tutorial for a macrame little number, here: http://foxyoxie.com/diy-macrame-plant-hanger/
Oh! Almost forgot! THAT CHANDELIER!!!!! All the heart-eyes emojis over here!
XO, Oksana
Thank you so much Oksana! So sweet of you to help me with the DIY planter. Can’t wait to go check out your post!
Can you tell the name of the Ralph Lauren fabric? Thanks so much. Kim
Kim, I’m not sure of the exact name but if you either go to Calico Corner fabrics in Tulsa or email them and show them a picture I’m sure they can help you order!!! Hope that helps!
Seriously, those chairs! I’m obsessed.
I’d come steal them, but they are so perfect with the rug and chandelier that it would be some sort of design-crime to separate them And obviously design rules are more important than general human decency and the law of the land! Also, pretty sure I’m not going to point out to my husband that you’re pulling this gorgeous room together for $500. We can’t set those kinds of expectations for every space, so I’ll be silently impressed with that part when I show him the pictures. Good luck with week #5!
Thank you so much Melissa! We will see if I come in under $500 or not. It’s going to be a close call that’s for sure!
you all are so cute!
I love those chairs! They look so nice. Good luck on your thrifty journey. I will also be thrifting this week. 🙂
Can y’all please get a reality show? Please and thank you! Love everything you do!
Lord have mercy talk about a hot mess
haha you totally crack me up! I loooove the fabric but i am super biased when it comes to blue and that choice is amaze-balls. i can’t wait to see how it all comes together but i am loving everything already! great job!
Thank you so much Yuni! Can’t wait to go read your post and see what you’ve been up to for Emmy’s room! Been swamped with Halloween and birthday stuff for my daughter but will definitely go have a read this week!
Holy Schmoly! It’s already SO GOOD! I love those chairs. I probably would have passed them up not seeing their full potential. Good job CC! I kinda want that waterfall chandelier in my dining room now. hmmmmmm. xoxox
Emily I’m so glad you love them!!! My husband didn’t see the potential but my sis and I did! She lived in Edmond by the way probably not far from you at all! She found these at a thrift store there and we both LOVED the bones of them.
I love following your work and I love this fabric! I’m on a desperate search for it to use on window seats but I can’t find it anywhere. Calico corners says they don’t have it! It’s a new print? They say the only Tulsa they have is discontinued and not even a Ralph Lauren. I’d love any help you can offer. Thank you!!!
Calico Corners said they no longer have that fabric! I just bought it not that long ago. That is so weird! Did you show them the picture?
And yes Megan it was a newer fabric and they had an entire chair in the store covered in it. Let me call them for you and I’ll see what I can find out. Can you send me a phone number or email?
CC, I love that everyone is pitching in and that fabric is awesome! Your little San Fran rendezvous didn’t stall you one bit! I can’t wait for the last week to see the reveal (and to see if you WERE able to pull it off with the $500 budget!)
Thank you so much Kelley!!! It’s gonna be a close call but I do love a challenge!
That fabric is stunning, CC! I’m SO excited to see the finished space!
Thank you so much Jenna!!! Can’t wait to read your post from Week 4 and 5!!!
That fabric is AMAZING!!! Budget shmudget – this room is going to look like a million bucks! And I love that it’s all been a family affair!