Monday, September 26, 2011

Unplugged

I spent last week in St George on vacation - and it was one of those vacations where I came home rested and feeling like I accomplished something.  I don't have a TV or the internet at my house there, so except for a daily visit to the library to check email, I spent the week unplugged and it was just what I needed.


For the first time I attempted a bit of furniture painting - and while it didn't go exactly as planned I think it was a decent first attempt and I learned a few things I'll use on my next projects.


I found this pair of chairs at the DI (Utah's version of Goodwill) for $6 each.  They'd seen better days, but I loved the shape.  It took a couple of tries to find the color I was after, I have blue feet thanks to spay paint fumes, I discovered that wearing a mask while sanding is a must and I have decided I will never again forget to borrow a power sander.


I'm still trying to decide on a fabric to recover the seats with, but I'm loving the bold blue color.


I also rehabbed some old bookcases that have been knocking around my house for years.  I think these things have survived at least 5 moves, but then needed a fresh new look.  The white made them feel fresher (they were a blonde wood shade before), but I thought they needed a splash of color too so I painted some foam core board a sunny color and put them in the back of the shelves making it easy to switch to a new color when the mood strikes.

In honor of my unplugged week - here is an unplugged version of a song I love: Sarah Buxton & Jedd Hughes' Big Blue Sky.
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20 comments:

Trissta said...

Wooohooooo!!!! :) Awesome finds, Jamie! I'm totally loving the dark blue on those chairs!!

Much Love,
Trissta

~Kristina said...

What great finds! Love the yellow.

liz said...

The chairs are fabulous, love the new colour. Liz :)

Anonymous said...

Great finds; the foam core is a brilliant idea!

Anonymous said...

Fantastic work with the furniture painting!

I've decided to stick to my daily posting experiment for one month (4 days to go), wrap it up, then do some unplugging, too. I'm visiting my parents at the moment, so I really want to focus more on my family and forget about the computer for a week or two.

k said...

an unplugged week sounds pretty good right about now :) it's all here when you come back isn't it?!

Maureen said...

Love that dark blue, what great finds. I just love repurposing things. Good for you going unplugged. I don't watch much TV at all, but I'm sure connected to the computer. I've tried a few times to pick one day on the weekend to not sit at the computer at all. That's as close as I have come to being unplugged.

Anna said...

The blue on the chairs is perfect! I also think that your foam core is a great, easy change-it-up solution. Sounds like a productive and satisfying week!
I finally got my raindrops in spiderwebs posted. Stop by if you get a chance.

Diana Joy said...

Love the blue chairs..they do have fabulous shape/style to them. I sometimes need to 'unplug' also.

michelle@decorandthedog said...

An unplugged vacay sounds wonderful!!

Love the color you chose for the chairs!!

Carrie @ Hazardous Design said...

The navy is awesome! Definitely more fun than plain old black. Great tip to use foam core on the back of the shelves also...perfect for the commitment phobe :)

urban muser said...

I am loving what you did with those chairs! sooo much!

Anonymous said...

Those look great! I've been thinking about painting my dresser and I will definitely be keeping your tips in mind!

Courtney said...

Welcome back! SO glad you enjoyed your week at your new house being unplugged. So nice to do that every now and again, isn't it?! Like your projects!!!

Vintage Restyled said...

Love the blue chairs! You will be non-stop DIYing now! Love that you unplugged, need to do more of that around here!

Laura lok said...

the chairs look great. unplugged can be difficult if you don't have somethign to distract you and it looks like you did. glad you had a relaxing time

elena nuez said...

I hope you enjoy your week!
Welcome and good luck with your new project (those chairs are fantastics)

a big hug,
elena

The Blonde Duck said...

You can come decorate my house. :)

The Felix Family said...

YES!! I have been waiting to see what you worked on. I wish I could have come over in person to see all that you did. I Love the blue and the fabric you have with the chairs looks great.

Anonymous said...

Foam core? You're a genius! Okay, that was my token comment on any blog for the last month, hopefully I'll find my way back to the blogging world before another month goes by. :-)

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