Marcel Breuer Cesca Chair Makeover

Here's the story. 

So these Marcel Breuer Cesca chairs caught my eye on Pinterest. 

And I love mixing chairs at a dining table. 

So I began the search online and found four Cesca-style chairs for $20 on Craigslist. Yes, $20 for all four. The framing was brass, rather than silver. The seats were rusty brown velour. Ugly, but they were sturdy and the caning in perfect condition.  

I got a few fabric samples. 

But none were quite right. So I decided to take things into my own hands. 

I loved the painterly look of this Anthropologie chair. 

And I know how to paint. 

And I love Franz Kline and Motherwell.

So this happened.

On some raw canvas.

Then this happened.

I have four total and will show them styled with the whole kitchen soon. 

They were totally easy to reupholster and are gorgeous. 

Love when a DIY project falls into place. 

Usually, something goes wrong, but the hiccups were minor.

$20 chairs

$20 fabric

$20 paints

$12 batting

$72 total for four chairs

SCORE!

Mid Century Pink Bathroom Renovation

When we bought this 1960 ranch, I was smitten with the pink bathroom. It was retro, quirky, weird. I'm a big fan of Retro Renovation, and our goal has been to keep the vibe of this house mid-century without it feeling like a (granny) time capsule. But after about 18 months, the novelty of the pink bathroom had worn off. I wanted to "Save the Pink Bathroom" and decided on a makeover rather than a complete gut renovation. Removing and replacing the pink tile on the walls and in the shower would be cost prohibitive, plus I just wanted to keep the pink. It felt true to the house and it was in excellent condition. My budget was about $2,500.   

The Starting Scene

Besides being pink, the bathroom has the added challenge of only being about 30 square feet (not counting the tub) and the only natural light it gets is from the upper glass block window which actually has the master bathroom on the other side. (This also explains the difficulty in getting good photos of the bathroom.) More details:

1. The light bar was cheap builder grade and not mid-century.
2. The vanity was just crazy. Pink. Marble. Laminate. It was shorter than average. It always smelled slightly funky. And the sink was flesh colored, rusty, and disgusting. The faucet was leaky and the finish worn. Even if I could have sourced a new pink sink with the rim, I really wanted more counter space and I was really having a hard time keeping that silver rim clean. When we demolished the cabinet, the grossness under that rim almost made me hurl. 
3. The pink toilet had to be replaced with a white toilet the first month we moved in--the original pink one could not be repaired and we didn't have the time to source a pink toilet. 
4. The pink tub was flesh colored as well, and had hardly any finish left on it. Even after I cleaned it, it looked dull and scummy. Plus, it no longer matched the toilet and that was not going to fly with the OCD part of my brain. 
5. The mosaic floor had flesh color tiles in it, which clashed with the laminate and the pink tiles on the wall. Plus, it was the exact tile that was on the bathroom floor of the hospital that my mom was in last summer and being reminded of that on a daily basis was not exactly uplifting.
6. There was a 36" wide mirror with a crack in it.

Ta-da! This is the photo from the real estate listing for our house. 

This is the interim version of the bathroom. The walls were greige and I was able to find a shower curtain at Target that had pink, flesh, brown, and white in it that sort of tied everything together. But there were just too many patterns going on in such a small bathroom.

The first thing I did was have the tub professionally re-glazed. Immediate improvement. Bright and so much easier to clean. About $300. (Update one year later: The finish on this has not held up as well as I had hoped. No chipping, but doesn't look as clean as I'd like even though we are careful and have followed all the suggestions of the vendor. I suspect we may have to reglaze a few years down the road.)

After getting at least two dozen samples, I decided on matte white one inch hex tile with gray grout. Vintage looking, though not exactly period. But I wanted something small because the bathroom is so small and the scale works perfectly for the room. I considered carrera but didn't want the upkeep and also thought I should stick with as much plain white as possible. Because the original floor was so solid, we tiled over it. I used an underlayment product called Durock and it worked fantastic. The tile and underlayment was about $400 and it is a huge improvement.

 Even the built in medicine cabinet was pink laminate. I have primed and painted this white but have bigger plans for it. Stay tuned for a future project post.

Here's another shot of the vanity. When we moved in it had the original handles, but one was being held together with duct tape. I just replaced them all with these cheap handles so they would at least match. The holes for the handles were not a standard size, so my options were limited and since it was laminate, I couldn't drill new holes, because there would be no way to fill the old ones. 

Fleshy and rusty sink and little counter space. 

Here is the new vanity counter. Because I wanted the sink to be offset so that it would center between the original ceramic toothbrush and soap holders, I couldn't really go with anything "off the shelf" from the home centers. And the vanity could only be 36" wide. Quotes on custom built vanities came in at $700-900 and a quartz or carrera marble top was another $700-900. There was no way I was paying $1400-1800 for a vanity in such a tiny bathroom. It just didn't make sense to me. I eventually found the perfect vanity online for only $950 including the carrera marble top and the undermount sink. I was terrified to order it without seeing it in person but the risk paid off. The quality is fantastic, the marble is gorgeous, and I love everything about it, even the single hole faucet. I was really skeptical about that but I really like it. It is easy to clean around and easy for Audrey to use. I had to get that online too ($250) because the selection of single hole faucets was kind of pathetic locally.

So, here is the reveal. The vanity, flooring, and tub make the biggest impact, but I also replaced the giant flat cracked mirror with a very large mirrored medicine chest ($200) and of course, replaced the broadway lights with a light bar that looks more period to the house ($200). Those were a little challenging too, because of the offset sink. But again, it all turned out great.

 I made some artwork to brighten it all up and added a crisp white cotton shower curtain with gray trim. So even after adding in paint (a white shade called "You're The Boss") and a few supplies like a grout paint pen (best invention ever!) and a silver paint pen (to brighten up the shower rod flange), I came in slightly under my $2,500 budget.

 

Tiny paintings. Most fun. 

Ta-da! A beauty! So bright and clean and she looks like she belongs in our house. By keeping the pink tile, installing a retro-style light bar, and having the vanity top match the window sills in our house, the bathroom keeps a vintage vibe that works with the rest of the house. The orange, black, and turquoise in the artwork injects some modern pops against the white, which helps to tone down/balance out all the pink. Storage galore! I'm elated with the finished project.

Now I would not have begun to come in at my $2,500 if I didn't have my dad doing the bulk of the labor. We completed most of this project in just three days. He and my mom are INCREDIBLE in about a thousand different ways and I can never thank them enough for all that they do for us.

$10 headboard

I bought this pretty rough headboard at an estate sale in May. It was on a Sunday and half priced at $10. It had a back to it, dangling on by staples, and a lot of shellac. This weekend I sanded it.

Then I gave it a couple of coats of bright turquoise paint. I used some fabric and batting that I had in the basement and padded the back piece.

Then I stapled the back padded piece to the back of the headboard and voila! We moved it into Audrey's room and now she has yet another spot to collect sticks, rocks, feathers, toys, books, empty paper towel rolls...you know...kid's stuff. And since I had all the supplies for this already on hand, the whole thing cost me $10. Win-Win.

Padded Headboard Tutorial

I've been on the hunt for a padded headboard. But the ones I find are too tall for the low profile bed we have and the idea of cutting the legs off the bottom just didn't feel right. I looked at many tutorials on making a headboard, and finally came up with my own makeshift version. The best part, it cost me only about $85 and didn't take a huge amount of time. So if/when I find something better, it won't be the end of the world. See how I did it below.

Materials

• 3-5 seat cushions depending on width of bed
• 2 pine molding strips cut to the width of bed
• sticky velcro, cut to the width of the pine molding strips
• paint to match wall
• sewing supplies

Directions

1. Measure the width of your bed and determine the length you want the headboard. 
2. Find chair cushions that you like and that will work for the size of your bed.
• Ideally, don't select something to heavy or bulky that can't be supported by velcro. 
• Ultimately, the added width of four cushions went over about 2 inches on each side of our queen bed, which I didn't mind. 
3. Sew the cushions together. I did this by hand, holding the cushions together on top of one another and then sewing at the seam on the back of cushion. When I turned the cushions around, you could not see the stitching.
4. Cut pine (or any wood) molding to size. 
5. Paint the same color as your wall.
6. Drill 3-4 holes in each wood strip.
7. Position the cushions where you ultimately think you will want them. You will probably need help with this step. Make sure you consider how many other pillows you have on your bed and adjust accordingly. You will want to install the first molding strip about 2-3" below the top of your cushion and the next strip about 2-3" below the first one. Mark walls.
8. Drill holes in wall that match up to the holes in the wood strip.
9. Screw molding into wall.
10. Apply heavy duty sticky velcro to the strips on the wall and the back of the cushions, lining them up. 
11. Adhere cushion to the strips and press down hard.
• Depending on the fabric of your cushion, you may have more success with sew-on velcro for the cushion. I used sticky velcro and so far, have had no problems.

I'm pretty pleased with it. Now all we have left to do in the bedroom is find nightstands, paint the dresser, install the blinds. I also want to look for new lighting, both overhead and lamps. And finally--artwork. I have some things bought, but the pieces over the bed, I want to make, so stay tuned.

Homemade Ornaments

Full of ambition and optimism, I packed all of our Christmas stuff in the pod back in July. Then, when we couldn't find a house, we decided to wait to sell our house until 2013. So this year, we are having a very homemade holiday, and actually, I'm really looking forward to it. We are simplifying the entire season out of necessity. On Thanksgiving, the three of us made ornaments from tree branch slices that my dad made for us. It was a fun family activity and Audrey was very proud of her decorations. She bedazzled the heck out of them. I can't wait to have a real tree this year, strung with popcorn and yarn poms.