Old Made New: Tastefully Textured Dining Set

I have been searching high and low for a dining set that felt right for my space. Everything in my budget was either very modern or plain or brand new. My style is transitional so I was looking for something traditional or neoclassical that I could refinish. One day I was sitting at my girlfriends mother's apartment discussing her move into her new house. Sitting at her dining table I asked what she planned to do with it. She told me she was going to throw it away! When I said I would take it she offered to bring it when she moved. I couldn't believe my good fortune, a free dining set and free delivery! Not only free but not plain or generic in style. As I sat there something happened, the table and chairs spoke to me. They said they were tired of being ordinary, that they wanted to be noticed for their beauty and strength. That is when I noticed how truly beautiful the set was with its neoclassic elements! The oval shape of the table was perfect for my tiny apartment (no corners to bump into). Quadrangular, tapered legs of the table terminating in rounded spade feet. The chairs had the same legs without the rounded spade feet, saber rear legs, rectangular back with a central splat with cane insets, and finials. The material on the chairs was very old and could be easily replaced.

The table and chairs when I received them.

I got excited because I saw exactly how it should look in my mind. This set needed to be glossy and black with silver accenting the minimal carving in the chair backs and table legs. The tabletop was in pretty bad shape so I decided to do this decoupage faux leather treatment I had been dying to try. The technique is simple:
1. Prepare your surface (clean, sand, etc.)
2. Tear and wrinkle brown paper bag (or brown craft paper).
3. Brush on a thin layer of modge podge, put the torn paper on it, then brush modge podge on top.
4. Repeat step 3 until entire surface is covered, including covering the edges if desired.
5. Once that dries wipe on water-based wood stain, apply second layer if desired.
6. After completely dry apply spray-on or brush-on lacquer for a lasting finish.

Decoupage faux leather technique.

I also knew I wanted to use completely different but complementary fabrics on the chair seats. To me that offers contrast, and a more custom, less generic feel to the chairs.

The brand new (old) dining set after I refinished it.

Faux leather tabletop (top left); Chair back up close (top right); Table leg and chair seats up close (bottom).

All in all it only took me a day to complete giving this old furniture new life. It was very inexpensive since all I had to buy were the supplies which came up to about $30.00! I already had the fabric (samples I got from Dogwood). I could not be happier with the way it turned out. It looks perfect in my dining area at my apartment!

I am eating, sleeping, drinking and living art!!!

So, I recently transferred from Gwinnett Technical College to Brenau University. I’ve extended my time as a student by a couple of years but, I’m pursuing dual degrees at the same time. I will have a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Interior Design when I’m done. Anyway, I am so excited about a class I took last semester! It’s called 2D Design and one of my favorite instructors from Gwinnett Tech, Carol Platt, teaches it. I thought it was going to be floor plans and elevations, but it was a full on art class! This class challenged and pushed my creativity to a whole other level. I have been doing so much art that I will be blogging a lot about it as well.  I am extremely happy with the direction my artistic expression is going!

This is an example of what we did in the class. The point of this project was to obscure the square using positive and negative. We had to start with an 8 inch by 8 inch square of bristol board paper.

8 inch square white bristol board

Then we used an x-acto knife to  cut out freehanded shapes on the edges of the bristol board. Once you cut out a shape, you flip it outward away from the cut. You then see the shape as two-sided, half positive and half negative.

Ergonomic x-acto knife is way more comfortable to use.

After that you just continue to cut shapes and flip them (you must also cut shapes out of the shapes). It started simple enough but I kept seeing more I could do to obscure the square. The cutting seemed to never end for me! This project seemed to be growing as I made more and more cuts.

Before I taped and moved it.

I used removable tape on top to hold it together while I moved it. I positioned it on the mat board so I could see where I needed to start gluing it down. Once I did that mounting it on the board was easy using a permanent, heavy-duty glue stick.

Starting to come together

Finally,  after I had the cuts lined up and secured with the glue stick, I cut the mat board down to size. The cuts ended up being about 16 inches by 16 inches. 

Finished product mounted on black matting

As I look at it I can still sort of see the square but it looks dimensional instead of flat. Sometimes it looks like oil and water or flowers or sometimes a wacky face with a big nose. I'm proud because it always looks really cool when I see it on my wall. It is interesting to see it morph from one thing to another while you look at it. This was a great, inexpensive way to have a great conversational art installation. You should try it!

It has been way too long!

Hello design enthusiasts! I absolutely cannot believe it has been over a year since I posted on what was then my brand new blog!! Well I guess its brand new again!!! I went through a bit of a personaland professional rebirth over the past year, a real live Phoenix rising from the proverbial ashes! I will NOT disappear again. Buckle up, its time to talk design!

Design Is...

September 2010, Launch Cover

Design Is Magazine is a brand new free online magazine that launched its first issue September 2010. This magazine is geared towards homeowners and renters that appreciate a modern aesthetic but may not have the resources or know how to implement it.

October 2010, Cover

Articles on interior design, architecture, lifestyles and garden design will be featured in every issue. I have checked it out and I think it is a great online resource for designers, renters, and homeowners alike! Design Is Magazine is hosting a Design Show House during the first two weeks of December 2010.

Design Is Show House (after exterior restorations)

The Show House is a 6000 square foot historic mansion (formerly a bed & breakfast) in midtown Atlanta, that is being renovated as four luxury apartments and a carriage house studio. All of the units are for rent and the furnishings will be available for purchase!

2-Point Perspective I drew and rendered for Dawn White's winning Show House design.

Congratulations to Dawn White on her winning entry to design the guest bedroom of Unit A! Dawn commissioned me to hand-draw and render (I used marker and colored pencil) a perspective to represent her vision for this space. I later found out my drawing will be included in an upcoming issue of Design Is Magazine! I am waiting with bated breath to see what the various designers came up with to update these spaces. Don't forget to mark your calendar to go between December 4-12, 2010 and see the amazing transformations! I hope to see you there!



Loving pattern and color...

One-Point Perspective Rendering For a School Project

I absolutely love to use color and mixed patterns when I design. Sometimes I have a particular color scheme or pattern in mind that's not readily available on the market. You know it is always about current popular color trends when sourcing textiles. We are also at the mercy of the textile designers when it comes to the patterns of the textiles. Well I have great news for you, my fellow design enthusiasts, this is not the case anymore!