You probably remember I was thinking about reupholstering our Lee Industries sofa. I’ve never really loved that it was a two-seater sofa and we’ve had it for a long time, so I felt like it was okay to consider parting ways. Then I fell in love with idea of getting a George Smith sofa. I stopped by the showroom sample sale a couple months ago and I probably would have sold a kidney on the spot for one of those three-seater roll arms. They were so, so pretty. And I just couldn’t get over the softness of the down cushions. But seriously, even the floor samples were absurdly expensive, so obviously I was just window shopping. I haunted eBay and craigslist for a couple months, but every time something came available it was still just too expensive to feel right about.

Then one day a couple weeks before our move, a listing came up on Craigslist for a vintage Baker sofa that had been kept under a plastic slip cover by the same owner forever. The thing was pristine.

The all-down cushions were so soft and the dimensions were just right for the long living room in the brownstone. And for only $175, I was super excited! Then the seller emailed me a photo of the legs and I couldn’t paypal her the money fast enough!

When we got it home, I pulled the skirt right off. I love a good skirted sofa, but this one looks better with exposed legs, I think. There are four legs showing in the front, and I love the look. (more photos coming up!)

I’m so excited to reupholster it, but it will probably take me some time (there are so many things on the house to-do list, the fabric’s in good enough condition that I don’t mind waiting). I found this velvet at a close-out fabric store and it’s a perfect match for a swatch I had of a Perennials outdoor velvet (which I am a huge fan of). I’m thinking the color will be perfect with the new jute rug, the camel chesterfield and the black bookshelves.

I’m so relieved that I didn’t splurge on the George Smith! I get sick of furniture easily, so it really doesn’t  make sense for me to invest in pieces like that. The Baker is a close match in the comfort department, and I think the straight, more modern lines are a better compliment to the chesterfield and to the jute rug. And the exaggerated roll arm look might have been too english countryside for what I’m after in this house. Honestly, I think I was suffering from a case of label obsession. Have you ever been there?

With Labor Day right around the corner, we are trying to get the back yard in a better place so we can enjoy the last couple weeks of great weather. We’re really anxious to get a grill out on the balcony for some end-of-summer barbecues! But right now, the balcony is anything but welcoming. There’s no lighting out there, so the party ends fast when the sun goes down, and worse, the ground is covered in decades-old astroturf.

I pulled back the astroturf today and the situation under the ugly astroturf was just gross. Lots of old and chipped glue.

I scraped up some of glue and a lot of it came off after only a couple minutes of work. I think I’ll buy a better scraper and maybe rent a wire brush grinder and see where we sit.

I’ve been looking into different types of concrete filler/resurfacing products and it looks like getting a cheap and easy-to-mix bag of thin set is a good way to go. I’m not necessarily after a perfectly new floor, just something a little cleaner and more smooth… because I have a little floor painting idea that I just can’t get out of my brain…

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I’m a little nuts about dinner time.

I really want my kids to have an appreciation for good food and all the time and effort that goes into creating a meal. And I want them to be happy to eat healthy foods and be willing to drink plenty of water (less sugary juice!). And I also really want them to have good table manners. My mom was so, so good about doing family dinner right consistently when I young, and I think that was a huge factor in strengthening our family bond.

Shot of the dining room from move in day. Ugh, that light fixture is so, so bad in real life.

Even though my life is crazier than I’d like it to be, I’ve been trying to make dinner time more special at home.  I feel like now we are in a real home and my girls are getting older. It’s time to be more consistant. I’ve noticed a couple of things are really helping. I have the girls help with meal prep, but I also have them help set the table. They absolutely love doing this – folding the napkins, making the silverware perfectly line up, filling water glasses – and I think teaching kids how to properly set a table signals the importance of the thing. The more effort they put into the meal and the table, the more excited my girls are to try the food.

The other thing we do is have the girls use the adult dinnerware and flatware for dinner time meals. I’m so happy that they have learned to use a knife and fork and they are very careful with the fragile plates and glasses. Not that we haven’t had a few accidents, but I think it’s really important for kids to be given responsibilities. They will always rise to the occasion! Want to see your kid drink a full glass of water at dinner? Put it in a goblet and I guarantee it will happen! :) (These might help too)

For breakfast and lunch though we do use fun dishes. We have personalized striped plates from La Plates that are the girls’ favorites, and also the Food Face guy from Fish’s Eddy is adorable. I also picked up the polkadot bowls above in the dollar aisle at target. I love them and wish I would have bought a dozen more! They’re the perfect size. We also have some colorful IKEA plastic flatware, but I wouldn’t mind investing in a set of playful stainless flatware like the striped ones here from PBK or the bamboo set.

What do you guys do for your kids? Am I the only crazy one that makes their three year old eat off porcelain on principal? I guess we all pick our battles :)

Apparently the sliding doors in our living room that go out to the deck were installed about 15 years ago. The wood was never sealed or painted, so it was pretty dirty when we moved in.

In my original plan for the living room, I was going to paint the sliding doors black to match all the other interior doors in the house. But then the wood started growing on me (it sort of starting reminding me of the limed paneling in this favorite room). Plus the bookshelves are going to be framed out in black moulding, so I thought the contrast of stained wood and painted wood would be nice. Kind of what the mirror is doing here in my mock up.

I started by using a medium (and the fine) sanding block. It was easy to really clean the wood up! I love fast, rewarding projects like that!

After cleaning off all the sawdust, I wiped on some low gloss tung oil. I didn’t want to change the color of the wood or the sheen, I just wanted to protect it and just make a little more finished.

See the difference? The tung oil is on the top half.

The putty color of the door hardware was bothering me so I thought about spraying them both with oil-rubbed bronze, but there wasn’t an obvious way to take the hardware off. So I sanded the pulls a little bit, put on a rough coat and then a final coat of flat enamel (which is a hard-wearing oil-based paint.)

One of my cheater paint tips is to hold up a freezer bag instead of using painters tape. Fast and easy! And I like the way the black looks on the wood. I’ll probably seal the pulls in a couple of days to give them extra protection.

It was an easy morning project to sand and seal the doors (with two coats) and paint out the hardware, but I think it’s made a huge difference in the room. (I’ll take off the screen door in the winter so we can get full sun.)

I’m usually all for painting out wood trim, but sometimes it just works. And if down the road I decide to paint the doors black, it’s still an easy option. Now, I can’t wait to hang roman shades and crown moulding and art and lighting, etc, etc, etc…

I’ve been wanting this exact faucet for our kitchen. Similar unlacquered brass faucets run about $1000 though. That’s a no-go here.

But I did find this faucet from Kingston Brass on eBay for only $60. It’s pretty right? I like the knobs and the bridge a lot. I know it will be shinier than I want it to be (and cheaper looking), but I want to do concrete counters, which are really matte so I think the contrast might be just fine, at least for now.

A reader asked if I was going to mix all my finishes in the kitchen. YES! There’s going to be a little of everything in this kitchen – brass mixed with stainless, and some black thrown in there too. Fingers crossed it doesn’t look cheesy all together. :)

Did you mix the finishes in your house? The faucet in my inspiration kitchen is polished nickel and I think it looks great with the brass pulls.