Sooooo excited to share the results of the nursery rocker re-upholstery project! One of the things I love so much about the mid-century modern movement is the furniture; how well it was made, and made to last. I don’t think there’s anything more fun than rescuing a vintage piece of furniture, and bringing it up to date – INSTEAD of buying new, over-priced furniture that is both cheap and did I mention over-priced? HA! New rocking chairs for a nursery run into the 4 digit figures. Can you imagine paying $1000 + for a rocking chair or glider? Me neither. On with our story.
A very good friend referred me to a local guy who did a fantastic job with our Craigslist-found chair that rocks, swivels and swishes.
I’ll cut to the chase – and feature the before photo:
BEFORE
I found some fabric that made me swoon at PopDecorFabrics on Etsy. As soon as it was delivered, I ran it over to my main man, Ruben.
PopDecorFabrics, you rock me!
He does beautiful work, as you’ll see……
Holy Orange Goodness!!!!
No seriously. Let’s see that again:
Now to make it baby puke-proof… but that’s a project for another day.
This week, I’ve been painting up a storm on my “Goodwill bookcase project” – and I’m hoping to be able to reveal that next week. This is going to be a DIY nursery if there ever was one, and I’m going to take you with me step by step!
I’ve been so focused on my Etsy shop that I haven’t spent much time working on baby’s nursery. Mostly out of guilt, I’d like to share my room inspiration found on Pinterest. This weekend, our family descended upon the Long Beach Veteran’s Stadium Flea Market to find a credenza for baby’s room and I’m so excited about what we found. First, let’s start with the idea board:
Here’s the idea board found on Pinterest. Credit: WeeHeart
I can assure you my kid will not be a “mini hipster” as the caption suggests…but he will be surrounded by bright pops of color, and mid-century modern décor.
We don’t need a geometric rug as baby’s room is carpeted – so I went to Joann’s Fabrics and scored this fabric at 50% off:
My incredible aunt will be making window panels for me out of this “HGTV Boxed in Peacock” fabric. Hooray!
Being thrifty and keeping in mind we’re on a tiiiiiiiiiight budget for baby’s room, I happily repurposed my first son’s original Ikea crib. In past years, it had been loaned out to family, and painted a different color. Off to Home Depot I went for gray spray paint.
Here’s the before photo. You know the saying: Yellow is mellow, Brown goes down. LOL. (Brownie points for the first reader to name that t.v. reference!)See the original blue? That probably wouldn’t have worked either.
Gettin’ it done.
DISCLAIMER: I do not recommend any of you preggos follow my lead and sand and spray paint anything. I was very careful, used a mask, walked away from the project quite often and took my time getting it done. If you have willing family members-ask for help.
All in all, including spray paint and Matte Clear Coat, this project cost $23, saving us the cost of another crib (which would be over $100 – even if we went super cheap and went back to Ikea).
“Granite” in all its gray glory.
I’m thinking about using some sort of stencil & white paint on either side of the crib for poops and giggles. Haven’t decided on the stencil design itself…so readers, if you’re so inclined, suggestions are welcome.
Here’s my inspiration for the credenza….which will double as a changing table and kick ass storage for YEARS to come.
And here’s what we found this weekend at the Long Beach Flea!!!!!
Baby’s Credenza…just waiting for some Howard’s Beeswax
The top is laminate, which is fantastic. It will either be lacquered white (just the top!!!!) or left as is. I’m super scared to alter it in any way, but the jury is still out on the matter.
Me. Excited. At a Flea.
And today? Today was the day that the GORGEOUS “tangerine” fabric from PopDecorFabrics arrived. It’s soft but durable…it’s orange….it’s perfect. Check out their store on Etsy for more colors!
PopDecorFabrics, you rock me!
The fabric above will soon be covering the vintage rocker below found on Craigslist.
So there you have it! I guess I haven’t been as distracted as I’d originally thought. The room hasn’t been altered or painted yet, but we’ll get there. One day at a time!
Do you ever just get so excited about something that you want to shout it from the rooftops? Well, I’m that kind of excited about following my passion in life. This blog is dedicated to treasure hunting, D-I-Y’ing and breathing new life into otherwise unloved or forgotten pieces from the mid-century era. Through this blog, I’ve been able to share my adventures and lessons learned while I made over my home in typical 1950’s 1960’s mid-century modern decor. When the mid-century obsession stuck, I decided to open up an online store. I’ve had an Etsy shop open for about a year and a half now and I’m still loving what I get to do as a shop owner. I love the thrill of the hunt, finding things I think other people will love and then getting to share them with the world. BUT, until recently, I hadn’t taken the leap of faith to do it full-time. In March, I decided I would focus my energy on making the Etsy shop a priority in a way that would begin to help supplementing my family’s income. I’m still a long way off from making a difference financially, but I know I’ll get there.
I feel fortunate to have a supportive husband who wants me to seek out my dream and has advice for me when I ask. I love that my son doesn’t mind going “treasure hunting” with me, as long as there’s an occasional Starbucks cake pop in it for him. I love the solitude of long drives away from my hometown’s over-priced “thrift” stores and cackling aloud to myself in the car when I’ve found something that makes my heart race.
Most of all, I’ve enjoyed meeting like-minded people who are as equally crazy as I am, and who have supported my little venture. I had been so hesitant to get into social media for the shop…but knew it was sort of a necessary evil to get the word out there. There are so many things I dislike about sites such as Facebook. I was afraid I’d be bothering people, or that people might be rude, or unsupportive. It’s much easier to be that way behind a computer profile…
So I polled some Facebook friends in a mid-century related group that I belong to and the response was overwhelming. “Do it!” “GO FOR IT!” “Social media is a necessity these days to reach those you wouldn’t normally reach!” And then I remembered that this is a business. You can’t please everybody (as I so often aim to do) and the people who want to “like” your store will….the people who don’t, won’t.
I guess that’s the lesson I’ve learned this week. If you really love something, you gotta go for it…and not let your own fears or preconceived notions get in the way.
If you love MCM…or if you know someone who does, please share this with others. Go to FB and “Like” the store. That way, you’ll get updates on new additions/treasures/furniture and décor in your newsfeed. (Max one post a day- scouts honor!)
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