Transforming a Lane Mid Century Buffet...into Turquoise Loveliness Part I

This awful quality photo is of a Lane Mid-Century Buffet I was lucky enough to find on Craigslist for $50 this week. I can't even tell you, peeps, this is Craigslist gold. For $50 and from a nice man named Bob, I got his very cute piece for the Library/Bar.

(BTW, If you're looking at those doors on the left and crinkling your nose, I'm not offended. I did the same. More on the doors below.)

Here's an example of the same type of buffet I found online.

Adorbs.

Now here is the actual piece again, this time, with the rattan doors gone and wearing its matching wood doors. Ha! The doors are something like the dress on my Peaches-n-Cream Barbie I had in 1984... Reversible! If you had that Barbie, I'm your soul sister. But back to the doors and their reversible abilities... How mod, I swear.

But the buffet is so solid, peeps, and was in such great condition. No veneer, it is all wood. There were some watermarks on the top, but the drawers glide like buttah.

& my favorite part? Those legs.

*Sigh*

I'm a sucker for Mid Century Modern legs!

Now here comes the tricky part. The piece is GREAT, but if you remember my blog post about the library / bar, it's part of a grand plan! & I want to paint it turquoise. My inspiration comes from pieces like these:

A great turquoise dresser from Primitive and Proper. Check out Cassie's blog. I've only recently discovered and I love it.

Another gorgeous piece featured on Cococozy. Coco offers daily eye candy for me and I love seeing what she finds!

Well, with all that in mind, here are three shades of turquoise I've narrowed down that I'm thinking of for the fab mid-century buffet to put in the modern-esque pacific coastal room I'm putting together.

No.1 Tropical Tide from Behr.

No. 2 Surfer from Behr

No. 3 Lagoon by Martha Stewart

Very subtly different. I'm leaning towards Martha's color. Up close - and I'm not sure if it shows up in the photos - it has a grey-ish cast that tones the color down a bit. If you don't know, I'm afraid of color. I'm one of those people. But I'm breaking out of my shell, peeps. I'm embracing the turquoise.

So... which do you like?

House Tour - Progress!

Thought I would share some updated photos of our Hawaii house. It's coming along and I have to say we've made some progress with decorating this week. If you remember we bought in a newly developed neighborhood, chosen from a number of different models. The exterior is cookie cutter, but I was hell bent on making sure the interior was not. So we chose floors, counters, etc through the developer's extensive design house choices and I was pretty excited with getting the bones right, but I've been waiting to get the furniture pieces to my liking, and I think I'm getting close. Below, a small tour in recent photos...

Living room and kitchen. We just got this great, huge and WHITE washable sectional. The couch pillows are Thomas Paul. Those big, wood screens are actually antique doors from China. The table is also a Chinese antique.

The Library/Bar comes along, but still needs work. I need more shelves, more books, more barware. & I especially need more color in here. It's pretty monotone right now, so I need some cool accessories to keep the feeling young and also to tie the room to the rest of the house.

The kitchen, with a view of the french doors in the library/bar.

A view from the main hallway/entryway.

I'm super excited to have the house come along so far! What do you all think?

Do you think Don Draper would approve?

Sofas are a crazy thing. Vintage Mid-Century Modern ones even more. For whatever reason, I have to have the real deal - must be vintage, no recently made lookalikes. Which means I must live with imperfection. But you know me, I find the beauty in that. Here is the latest sofa find I'm thinking about for our library/bar. I am in love with the lines and the legs on this thing! Worst of all, Hawaii is so, so small that finding a vintage piece is not the easiest task. I'd rather wait than get something I won't really love, but I think this piece would look great with the right touches. We're still in the dating phase, so I can't get my hopes up completely because she is technically not mine, but I think she'd look fabulous in the space. What do you all think?

I'm planning to put together a board that would combine the pieces for the library/bar. I'd like to keep my other mid-century modern find in the room with it. This is the chair I wanted to re-cover in cowhide, if you remember from a previous post. I spoke with an upholsterer after getting nervous about doing the job myself and the cost seems a little high for two cushions. Alas, the chair will stay as-is for now, but I have hope! It would look great either way, and if I can't cover the chair in Bessie, the cowhide can live on the floor and would still look great in the space.

By the way, I'm seeing cowhide peak out everywhere, most recently at my favorite source of inspiration, Restoration Hardware. Here are some pieces that I'm ogling at the moment. But alas, usually with Restoration Hardware, I can only ogle from afar. Their prices freak my wallet out more than the J.Crack ever did.

1950's Copenhagen Chair Hair on Hide Front, Restoration Hardware

Brazilian Cowhide Pillow Covers, Restoration Hardware $69 - $99

I'm picturing some book cases, preferably a thin tower version, on either side of the Don Draper sofa, to be filled with bar accoutrements and books to complete the theme. I like the two shelving units here.

Vintage Industrial Tower, Restoration Hardware

Reclaimed Elm & Iron Leaning Shelving, Restoration Hardware

Must go now and get the Little Guy ready for school, but drop me a line and let me know what you think so far of the bar/library? Is it the vintage feel I'm going for?

My Very First DIY: 1930's Norman Bel Geddes Vintage Metal Dresser

Scrolling through my new favorite, Cracklist -- oh my bad... Craigslist, I found an awesome, two-toned, rather beat up metal dresser. The guy wanted $20. I had to have it. It had these rounded edges and good genes. I knew it had potential.

I primed and repainted the bad boy in a hammered metallic black finish, and threw on some spanking glass knobs to give it a little something. & I love how it turned out. :0) Those girly glass knobs really look cool against that industrial, utilitarian dresser. & the best part is if I get tired of the look, I'll just change them out!

Next time, I'll take lots of photos of the process. I wish I had kept photos of what the bad boy looked like originally. It wasn't pretty.

What I did find, is a manufacturer's sticker with company name and found similar dressers online... those rounded corner edges really gave it away. The dresser was designed by a man named Normal Bel Geddes in the 1930's - 1940's. Geddes was an industrial designer who brought the streamlined metal look to fruition. He believed in form following function and perfect aerodynamics. I also found dressers that are in original condition selling for more than MacBook Air.

Well, I spent $20, invested in a few cans of paint and glass knobs, and I love what I have. It makes the entry way look amazing and I feel like I have a piece of history! But now... this DIY thing is catchy. Looking for something else to restore and repurpose!

Deciding on Counter Stools for a Clean & Simple Beach House

Who knew picking a counter stool would be so difficult, peeps. I mean, it's a counter stool, not a couch, or a dining table, or any other significant piece of furniture. The way I used to nerve wrack over J.Crew purchases, I've somehow channelled that anxiety and overthinking into my counter stool purchasing. It's good to see neuroses never die!

First, let's talk about the stool requirements and the set the stage a little bit. I'm in need of 3 counter stools, around 26" in height, for my kitchen island. The kitchen and family room are right next to each other and form a large open space. If I could have a theme running through the house, it would be, "Clean, Simple Beach House." Everything needs to go with what we already have, peeps. But I've come down to some common elements in each of the rooms downstairs:

1. White walls

2. Dark distressed wood floors

3. Distressed wood antiques of the Asian variety.

4. Lighting fixtures with clear bulbs.

5. Touches of bronze in ceiling light fixtures and floor / table lamps, and drapery rods.

6. Stainless steel appliances in the kitchen.

7. Dark wood plantation shutters and white, long drapes on the windows.

Now that we got that straight, walk with me down counter stool lane and I'll go over the finalists I've got on the brain. I'm in need of some direction, ladies. Some serious, Come-to-Jesus-style direction.

The Modern Industry stool from Sundance Catalog. $125.

Me Likey: The white metal contrasting with the dark wood floors and the way the stainless seat would pick up the accents in the kitchen. I also likey the price.

Not So Much: It seems to lack warmth and doesn't look that comfortable.

Modern Times Factory Stool, Sundance Catalog, $195.

Me Likey: Again, the white / stainless combination. In particular, I like how much more this one is distressed (chipped paint and all), and I love the swivel seat.

Not So Much: It looks unsturdy and slippery. & again, it seems to lack warmth.

The Lyon Fixed Height Industrial Stool, available online for $83.

Me Likey: The stool on the right. & I'm seeing it spray painted a funky color, like an interesting green or something. It would be a pop of color in my very color-neutral house. It also looks more sturdy than the other stools so far, and I love me the price on this one.

Not So Much: It looks too industrial. Definitely lacks warmth, and may not go well with the distressed wood we have elsewhere in the house.

& Finally, the Colby stool from Potterybarn, $99.

Me Likey: It would add the warmth I think is missing from the other stools and add that depth of distressed wood in the kitchen and tie the other rooms' antiques together. It would definitely add that "beach house" element I'm going for, with the rough hewn look it's sporting. I'm relaxed just looking at it. It also seems sturdy and the price is right. Where's Bob Barker at when I need him?

Not So Much: It doesn't have that "industrial" tie I'm looking for, and is a bit of a safe choice.

A final contender: Restoration Hardware $169

Me Likey: The swivel wood seat. Brings in that wooden, vintage feel to tie in the antiques and add warmth to the kitchen, while keeping the industrial vibe I so adore. Adds dimensions of the black colored oiled bronze we have going on in each of the adjoining rooms. The metal accents would tie nicely with the stainless steel in the kitchen and it would contrast nicely with the dark wood floors and white kitchen cabinets and walls. Overall, my favorite for its balancing act of price, requirements, and aesthetics.

Not So Much: The max height is 25.5 inches and I'm worried about how sturdy it is "under pressure" at that or at 24 inches high. It's RH, so the quality should be great, but you never know. The seat diameter is 13 inches. That's a lot of possible rumpus hanging off the edges.

The choices are maddening!!! So now that you've seen all the finalists in the line up, which one would you go with?

The House Comes Along

Ok, so I don't deny that I'm moving at a sloth's pace when it comes to getting the house in order. By "order" I mean, "Up to my fantastical standards of fabulousness," bien sur. But slowly, the pieces of the puzzle are coming together. Thought I would share some of the happenings going on with getting our house ready for Housewarming next month. It's an uphill battle, for sure.

Here's a sort-of ghetto fabilis photo of our kitchen, thus far. Pretend you don't see the coffee press on the counter or the mac book air.

We decided to go with these pendant lights for over the kitchen island, three of them to be exact. They are by Roost, and were purchased at the Sundance Catalog. BTW, if you haven't gone to look at the home section at Sundance, you are missing out. They have some pretty terrific finds. Sundance calls these their Meridien pendant lamps, and Hubs installed them pretty quickly with some Edison bulbs to advantage of all that clear glass. They add such a great, clean touch to the room. Photos of course, to follow when the house is Dwell / Elle Decor ready.

Purchased a new console table from Hawaii store Pacific Home. Check it out, they carry great things and I love going in there to just glean ideas. I'm hoping that design ideas will just seep through my pores, osmosis-style, by my just being in their shop. They have a great, laid-back style that I'm trying to capture in my house. This piece is called the Parisian Console table by Carina Sherlock. It's supposed to be modern meets French Country, which is somehow working with my clean, beachside, Pacific vibe. Hubs had decided to install in-wall speakers, which has inadvertently made my Chinese plasma console unusable. Thanks. So now that bad boy is on Craigslist waiting for a new owner and I'm going to throw my TV on this baby. It seems random at first to put the TV on this table, but with baskets underneath in the living room, I think this is going to be a good fit.

Last random purchase while at Pacific Home last night, Roost's glass sea urchin vases. Peeps let me tell you they are so freaking adorable. At $12-$15 each they were an affordable indulgence and with candlelight in the background? Soooo pretty. One of my favorite purchases in a long time.

Alas, I have no J.Crew to share. It's a recurring theme of late. No fun fashion purchases. But hopefully you'll stay with me and be interested in the crazy things going on at the NoJcrewinJapan House!

Happy Chinese New Year and Year of the Rabbit to everyone and enjoy your February this week!