Back to School...
It's that time of year again, when backpacks, lunch boxes and school supplies replace the patio furniture and pool toys at Target. With school-aged kids back in class, the days quickly return to a familiar routine... homework, after-school practices, and regular bedtimes. But for those of us with college-aged "kids," it's the end of an era and the beginning of a new and unfamiliar "normal." We've packed up boxes and loaded up cars and U-hauls, only to return home to empty nests. Sure, there's less laundry and grocery shopping - the package of Oreos doesn't disappear overnight - the house stays clean, and we can go back to watching whatever we want on TV. But as I wander through the tidy rooms, I am met with a quietness that makes me long for those messy, noisy days of summer and childhood. My "kids" (now 19 and almost 22) are back at college and sharing an apartment halfway between both of their campuses, so I only have to travel once to visit them both! It was so much fun helping them set up their new home - I repainted, repurposed, recovered and refreshed furniture, housewares and decor, giving a new life to old items.
True Friends disciples, they wanted a dining set with mismatched chairs. As luck would have it, we found the table with a "free" sign on the side of the road - one person's trash is another's treasure! The chairs are a collection of hand-me-downs, and painted cheerful, coordinating colors. The clock was on clearance at Cost Plus World Market, and didn't fit in my car, but Chloe was able to pick it up later in hers. When we were attempting to make it fit in my car, someone walked by and said, "that's why it was on sale!" Big, empty wall space is always a challenge in first apartments because even large posters and frames can be expensive. In their dorm rooms we used cotton tapestries to cover the bare walls, but they wanted something more "grown-up" for their first home.
This Ikea sectional started out in one of my first homes almost 20 years ago, moved bunches with me, and even spent some time at my parents' house and beach cottage. It was fortunate that this one broke down into three smaller pieces, because the apartment elevator was not very roomy. Slipcovers are one of the best tools for extending the life of furniture, and Ikea slipcovers are inexpensive, washable and replaceable. The coffee table is a trunk we got at Goat Hill Faire, and has room for their DVD collection. We found some Mexican serape fabric at Beverly's in Soquel, and just a few yards recovered a bunch of mismatched pillows and gave it the beachy-boho-surf vibe the kids were after.
Chloe wanted a "vintage Hollywood" look for her room, so I painted her childhood bed and an old console table a glossy black, and recovered some pillows with black and white striped sheets. The stack of vintage suitcases makes a clever nightstand with hidden storage.
For Max's room, I sanded and reupholstered my grandmother's mid-century armchair. I was so excited to get started on this project that I completely forgot to take a "before" photo, but the finish was kind of orange, glossy, and all scratched up, and the cushions were covered in a loud (not the good, vintage kind) floral. It was pretty awful. The bolster pillow is one I grabbed during a 30% off sale at Anthropologie, but now Target has some that are much cheaper and just as cool.
The kids are lucky to have an oversized balcony where they can keep their bikes and watch the boats come and go in the harbor. I gave these old World Market Adirondack chairs a good sanding and a fresh coat of exterior spray paint, and added a couple of pillows sewed from the scraps of the serape fabric. It would be a great place to study... (hint, hint!)
I miss them bunches, but I think their new "home" is going to be a great place to make many happy memories. I'm already planning my first visit...
xo...kimberly
It's that time of year again, when backpacks, lunch boxes and school supplies replace the patio furniture and pool toys at Target. With school-aged kids back in class, the days quickly return to a familiar routine... homework, after-school practices, and regular bedtimes. But for those of us with college-aged "kids," it's the end of an era and the beginning of a new and unfamiliar "normal." We've packed up boxes and loaded up cars and U-hauls, only to return home to empty nests. Sure, there's less laundry and grocery shopping - the package of Oreos doesn't disappear overnight - the house stays clean, and we can go back to watching whatever we want on TV. But as I wander through the tidy rooms, I am met with a quietness that makes me long for those messy, noisy days of summer and childhood. My "kids" (now 19 and almost 22) are back at college and sharing an apartment halfway between both of their campuses, so I only have to travel once to visit them both! It was so much fun helping them set up their new home - I repainted, repurposed, recovered and refreshed furniture, housewares and decor, giving a new life to old items.
True Friends disciples, they wanted a dining set with mismatched chairs. As luck would have it, we found the table with a "free" sign on the side of the road - one person's trash is another's treasure! The chairs are a collection of hand-me-downs, and painted cheerful, coordinating colors. The clock was on clearance at Cost Plus World Market, and didn't fit in my car, but Chloe was able to pick it up later in hers. When we were attempting to make it fit in my car, someone walked by and said, "that's why it was on sale!" Big, empty wall space is always a challenge in first apartments because even large posters and frames can be expensive. In their dorm rooms we used cotton tapestries to cover the bare walls, but they wanted something more "grown-up" for their first home.
Chloe wanted a "vintage Hollywood" look for her room, so I painted her childhood bed and an old console table a glossy black, and recovered some pillows with black and white striped sheets. The stack of vintage suitcases makes a clever nightstand with hidden storage.
With some fringe and a round pillow form, an embroidery scrap we found in my grandmother's linen closet became a boudoir pillow. To create the look of old, oil paintings, I brushed clear, matte, acrylic medium over new posters and framed them in vintage, thrift-store frames (detailed instructions).
For Max's room, I sanded and reupholstered my grandmother's mid-century armchair. I was so excited to get started on this project that I completely forgot to take a "before" photo, but the finish was kind of orange, glossy, and all scratched up, and the cushions were covered in a loud (not the good, vintage kind) floral. It was pretty awful. The bolster pillow is one I grabbed during a 30% off sale at Anthropologie, but now Target has some that are much cheaper and just as cool.
xo...kimberly
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