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The Ugly Chair Makeover

If you’ve ever had a piece of furniture you found so ugly you could not bear looking at any longer but felt you couldn’t throw it away either, a family heirloom perhaps, then this post might interest you.  When we first moved to our current apartment, we had a plan. We thought we’ll be staying in Amherst short-term, a year or two at most so things were purchased with a tight budget in mind. We were also saving up to buy a house somewhere where my husband’s job would take us next so we made quite a few shortcuts when it came to decorating. I designed a cozy furniture plan that would fit our lifestyle and filled the missing pieces with (very, very low) budget finds. A brand new IKEA Ektorp sofa was comfortable and pretty enough, and oh, so affordable. A few discards from friends, a couple of lucky antiques shops and local Craigslist finds and we were done. Never mind the overall flea-market feel and the fact that nothing was perfect or what we really wanted. We were willing to live with it if it was short term. And because we love to entertain weekly, one of the first things we bought for our apartment was a pair of armchairs from Wayfair. The chairs are VERY comfortable and light, easy to move around when we have people over. The brown upholstery hides all sins and is soft to touch but is also, very, very ugly! A brownish-reddish-synthetic-velvet lookalike that has been a challenge to decorate with. I initially chose the chairs mainly because of their pleasing shape, it has some appeal and I knew that with a few tweaks and a nice slipcover they could look decent, even pretty. They were also a STEAL and had good reviews so I pounced.

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What to Do with an Ugly Chair? Or Two.

Have you ever had a piece of furniture you couldn’t stand looking at any longer? But still felt like throwing it /donating it/ gifting it was not an option? A family heirloom perhaps? Well, I have. And in fact still do. Our living room is cozy and comfortable but the seating options are far from glamorous, a hot mess really – a brand new Ikea Ektorp sofa, which I kind of like (bad design blogger, sorry!), made friends with two hideous but extremely comfortable brown Wayfair bargains and a pair of swivel English roll arm chairs, discards from a friend. I love the sofa and the swivels but the two brown Wayfair chairs have been my decorating nemesis this entire year. No matter now much I style our living room, no matter how many flower bouquets or pretty coffee table books, candles or knick-knacks I rotate, they stand out like eyesores. 

This is not as bad as the brown ones I got… mine SOLD OUT and are no longer available! 🙂
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Q&A with Tessa Foley of Nine and Sixteen Home

Note: Due to a few technical glitches behind the scenes, a number of past Café Design posts have been lost. Unfortunately, the Q&A post with Tessa Foley of Nine & Sixteen was among them and since I know that that one had been one of reader’s favorite last year, I have retrieved the interview with updated images and inspiration. Enjoy!

A few months ago we started a blog series of interviews with inspiring women entrepreneurs, talented ladies whom I’ve connected with through social media and who run their own creative businesses. The goal with these interviews was to celebrate & inspire fellow creatives to follow their passion and launch enterprises that reflect their true calling, be it baking, decorating or gardening… We started with Alison Carabasi, co-founder of Hillbrook Collections – a mother-and-daughter company that brings to life the most whimsical garden houses you’ll ever see. Next, we sat down to chat with the lovely Heather Strommen, designer, writer and founder of  The Vignette Box, a carefully curated selection of items you’ll love decorating with time and time again. Today, I am delighted to welcome Tessa Foley, the talented writer and decorator behind the blog Nine and Sixteen.  

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Q&A with Lynn Morgan

I have been an admirer of Lynn Morgan’s work ever since I first laid eyes on a project she had published in House Beautiful magazine, in their April 2009 issue. I have studied her portfolio countless times since and over the years a lot has been written about her fabulous rooms. Today we will explore some of her iconic interiors as well as more recent projects from her portfolio. In addition, I am delighted to welcome Lynn for a Q&A! 

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The Search for Home | A Colonial Farmhouse

Long before we knew we’d be settling in Amherst, we thought about buying a house in the area. My husband had just gotten a position at the college, a position extendable for up to three years. The question was “should we buy or rent in the meantime? “ We decided to rent because as much as we loved it here, we wanted a permanent position as soon as possible so our family can start growing roots and feel like a part of the community. That being said, we had no intention of staying here longer than necessary and buying /selling in a whirlwind could have resulted in major financial loss – a risk which did not make sense to us at the time.  Nevertheless, we had a peek at the market in those early days and one of the first houses we looked at still tugs at my heart strings so I thought I’d share it with you. 

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