Belle: wishbone vs plastic chairs

so you've all seen my grey made-over dining room chairs that i purchased on craigslist, yes? well, they are on their last leg. most of the paint is knicked in places, the upholstery has gotten very dirty, and one of the chairs is broken and completely unusable. so with the move to the new place, i knew it was time to start looking for some new dining chairs.

i was thrilled to be contacted by the home goods website Euro Styling Lighting - a site that believe it or not, offers so much more than lamps and lighting fixtures. in fact, i found two of my most favorite chair styles on their virtual pages (for less than half the price at other retailers). the wishbone and the molded white plastic that looks like it's standing on a four-legged tripod. a quadpod?

behold the wishbone chair at its best:

in the words of buddy the elf... beauuuutiful. this has been my faaaavorite style chair since forever. i even had danielle take a photo of me sitting in one on our trip to abc carpet and home in new york city last fall.

but then there's the super interesting look of the white plastic chairs:

oooo... ahhhh... this style is half the price at eurostylelighting. tempting.

so to back track for a minute. our new dining room table arrived thanks to the folks from fashion for home. as i said in my last post, it takes months for most of this site's items to arrive - we ordered the table back in late july. but that's how they are able to sell their products for half the price other retailers do. each item is made to order. and i must say, it's quite awesome. i've never owned such a sturdy piece of furniture. i'm also loving the brown wood texture. mike influenced me to stray from my preferred white lacquer finish and i'm glad we did.

so now the question is: wishbone chairs or white plastic chairs?

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vote above and/or in the comments!

follow along my new apartment decorating process!

Let's discuss my dining room, part 2

Today I am going to inundate you with pictures of my dining room as it looks right this very minute because I am OBSESSED with my new antique birdcage! It's turned out to be the piece that was missing all along - something unique and beautiful, something to give the room that extra Oomph! I really wanted to place the birdcage on my buffet, but it would have covered up one of the mirrored wall sconces and I just love those a bit too much to hide or take down. So I played around a bit, and I ended up placing it next to the buffet, on the antique marble-top table (passed down from Nate's great-grandma). I LOVE it.

But as promised, I wanted to share with you the story of my dining chairs. As you all know, a single chair typically goes for at least $200 a pop (even Ikea's chairs start at around $100 a piece, unless you're looking at their folding chairs). Naturally, I did not want to spend more than $400 on chairs. Enter Craigslist. I found the chairs above listed at $90 for the four of them. I think I paid $75.

I tried out a few fabrics that I thought could work with the brown graphic rug that I had already purchased for the living room - knowing that the two spaces opened up to one another. This one was TOO similar to the rug.

I loved this one from Calico Corners and still think I might get throw pillows done in it. It's called Tilbury Lapis. But ultimately, because I wasn't sure what colors I'd want in the room, if any (remember, I had plans for a completely neutral space), I went with a soft neutral striped fabric my mom had sitting in the basement that she had bought on sale but never used. Say it with me, "Yay! Free is good!"

Busted out a few cans of my favorite brand of spray paint in 'Granite' Satin finish...

...to cover up this god-awful glossy veneered wood.

And voila! The aforementioned striped fabric. I did all the other chairs back in December, but for some reason never got around to finishing off the last one until a week ago. Hence, there is one dark chair in all the pictures I've ever posted of my dining room. Well, NOT ANYMORE, folks! I now have FOUR grey chairs. Hooray!

And remember this beauty I got from the Brown Elephant Thrift Store on Halsted for $25 or so?

...and recovered in this fun pink geometric fabric?

Well, that got a spray paint facelift too this past weekend.

And because I got a little camera happy... here are the two rooms as they are now!

I LOVE how the teal lamp and birdcage compliment one another. Add a dash of pink and some soft gray-blue accents, and you have the Domino cover (which you'll see in the previous photo sits perfectly atop my coffee table further complimenting the teals in the room).

So pretty! Just need to figure out what to do above that chest... 143 of you voted to hang four different prints. But it was a VERY close vote!

Don't you love that marble-top table?

Love the whimsy of the mushroom salt and pepper shakers, courtesy of you-can-probably-guess, combined with the whimsy of the birdcage.

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Here you can see how the two rooms flow together. All I need is this rug from CSNrugs in the dining room, some white drapes, a new coffee table, two accent pillows in the aforementioned Calico Corners fabric, and I'll be happy as a clam.

Do not hold me responsible for the horrendous light fixture on the dining room ceiling. Apartment rental, remember?

I loves!

Thoughts?

Kitchen table redo: Dark table, light chairs

The kitchen table and chairs in my mother's house were in desperate need of a pick-me-up. Seeing as the set belonged to my great aunt (we're guessing from around the 1930's), the chairs squeaked any time someone sat in them, they were uncomfortable, needed new upholstery, and the finish was nicked all over. Plus the stain and upholstery my mom had chosen ten+(?) years ago was dated. So she called in an estimate to have it all refinished. The cost of redoing the chairs was not worth it, but the quote on the table was extremely reasonable. So goodbye chairs via CraigsList. Hello, Pottery Barn sale!

When it came to deciding on the color, I won. I'd been telling her for years to stain it a dark color - maybe even black - and pair it with white chairs. In my opinion, the combination is a more striking and less generic look, as seen here...

How charming is this room? Feels like afternoon tea is being served. The coral seats just pop and compliment the turquoise walls perfectly.

A Victorian spin on dark with light
And a contemporary take
I absolutely love this room. The antique table, chippendale chairs, high ceilings, and tangled chandelier.

Light-colored upholstery pulls off the same effect.

Designer and blogger Erin Gates' dining room. She stripped and painted the chairs on her own. Tres impressive. We share an affinity toward zebra stripes.

Our finished product. BIG smiley face.

Before

The wood photographed more red than it really was, but still. Not a good look.

After

We found the chairs from PB on sale so the price on the website does not reflect the deal she got. They are far more comfortable and don't make a peep when you sit on them!

Now it goes so much better with the rest of the room's decor.

As you can see closer up, it's a very dark walnut with a black tint even though it looks black in most lighting.

2009 Hinsdale Antique Fair

Bright and early Saturday morning, checkbooks in hand, my mom and I headed over to the Hinsdale Antique Fair. I was surprised there were only twenty or so vendors; I thought there'd be more. But this ended up being a good thing because it took us a couple hours just to thoroughly scour all of them. If there had been more, I doubt I'd have left without putting a significant dent in my bank account and a serious sunburn.

I most enjoyed looking at the vintage and antique furniture and home furnishings (compared to jewelry, toys, clothing, etc.), because I'm always on the prowl for affordable, quirky, new pieces that will one day furnish my own abode (and at a more reasonable price than Pottery Barn and other big name stores). Here a couple of my favorite finds:

This yellow table and chairs set circa 1970s for $125.

Affordable - check.

Quirky - check.

Chic - check.

I absolutely adored this antique bed in a worn, light-green finish. It's actually the original paint, it's just chipping off.

I almost bought it but didn't because it was (as all antique beds are) for a full-sized mattress. I own and will always have at least a queen. But for $440, it was a steal. Stores like Anthropologie sell vintage-inspired iron and brass beds for prices circling $2000.

Beautiful detail on the headboard.

Gorgeous garden furniture. If I gardened...

My mom purchased: (left) bee catcher (right) antique wine bottle. You can see the swirl stains from the wine on the glass. As for the bee catcher, so interesting. You fill the inner base with sugar water or honey, bees fly into it from the hole at the bottom, and they don't know how to fly back out. Ta-da! Bees are caught. She, however, will just be placing these on her fireplace mantel. No bee-catching in this house.

My purchases: black-framed oil paintings. I'd love to hang these on a dark wall. Maybe in a powder room painted a dark grey. Again - once I have a place of my own. Minor detail.

Antique milk glass candlesticks. The vendor let me take the hot pink candles. Love em.

All in all, a successful day. Neither of us splurged but we both managed to leave with a few great pieces.

If you like the look of vintage furniture check out these french beds! They look amazing.