OUR FABULOUS NEW VINTAGE ARMCHAIRS

Our latest furniture acquisition has been a pair of vintage armchairs. If you follow me on Twitter, you may remember how I was agonizing over whether to get them or not. We're in the midst of apartment hunting so it seems kind of impractical to get new furniture, especially when you don't know what your future space is going to look like.

But I saw these chairs when we visited Attic Treasures on Commercial Drive - a great resource for midcentury modern furniture and other vintage goodness, by the way - and they just really tugged at my heart. I wasn't even in the market for new armchairs since I already got one a few months ago. It's always when you're not looking for something in particular that you find that piece you know is perfect for your home. I simply fell in love with these chairs and I wanted them badly. But I didn't purchase them right then and there. I gave myself a week to think about it, and when I decided that I really did want them, I hoped and prayed they'd still be there. And they were! Hallejulah! 

What I love about the chairs are the tufted cushions, the strong 70s vibe, and the manly chrome frame, which also lend them an airy look. Most of all, they're just full of character. They actually remind me of E.T. for some reason; perhaps because they're short, squat, and brown. The armchairs now occupy the space where the ugly and very uncomfortable loveseat used to be.

I'm an advocate for buying used as much as possible when it comes to home furnishings. It's just a sound and sustainable way of decorating your place. That's why I'm an avid vintage home decor collector. I love looking around our place and seeing all the unique pieces I've accumulated over the last few years by scouring thrift shops, vintage shops, Craigslist, and estate sales. Hence, adding yet another piece of vintage furniture to our home feels like winning to me.

REUPHOLSTERED CHAIRS

This past summer I worked on a dining room chair reupholstery job for my relatives. I love the contrast between the simple clean lines of the fabric and the graceful antique chair. Having contrasts is one of the best ways to liven up a space. If everything is too matchy-matchy and coordinates seamlessly, then the room looks flat and sterile, i.e. booooring.

Upholstering the seat of a dining chair is the easiest type of upholstery that one can DIY. This is my favourite Youtube video on how to re-upholster a chair. There are also a countless number of tutorials out there. I read a few to figure out the best technique.

The obligatory before and after picture.



I'm a nut for stripe patterns. If I allowed myself, I'd have striped everything.

We acuired a teak lounge chair back in September. It was on sale at Sugar Barrel Antiques on Main St. so we snatched it up. Unfortunately, the cushions were friggin' ugly, and the fabric was worn through and ripped on parts of the the seat.



I wasn't confident enough to take on the reupholstery project myself. So I paid someone a lot of money to do it for me. It took almost a month to get them back because they were super busy. Hence the reason why this blog post is long overdue.



Unfortunately, I'm not quite happy with the results. It was the first time I ever had anything professionally upholstered so I didn't give specific directions. What I really wanted were boxy cushions, but of course, to my great irritation, the person couldn't simply read my mind. Anyway, I think in the future I may try to reupholster the cushions myself.



It's a beautiful chair. I agonized over whether to get it or not. But it was such a good price that I couldn't pass it up. It's only going to go up in value because there's only so much midcentury modern furniture in the world and everyone wants a piece of the action it seems. SBA is a great source of MCM furniture and accessories in Vancouver. All their MCM stuff is in the basement, and I go weak in the knees looking at their vast collection every time I go.

We recently acquired a pair of vintage armchairs (from Attic Treasures on the The Drive), and I can't wait to show them off here. But first we need to get rid of the loveseat (the last piece of ugly furniture we own) before they can take their proper place. Our living room is an unholy mess right now.

STUFF I BUY FROM ETSY: BOOKHOU

Although Bookhou is an Etsy shop based in Toronto, I actually made my purchases at the CircleCraft Christmas market a couple weekends ago. I'd been eyeing the stuff at Bookhou, especially the bag above, for a while now. And when I found out that Arounna was going to sell her wares in Vancouver, I went to CircleCraft without hesitation. I wanted to see the products in person before buying.

I love everything about Bookhou, especially their products that feature geometric patterns. I also couldn't resist getting this 2012 tea towel calendar. It's hanging in our dining nook, which had a big empty wall until now.




Seriously, buying handmade is the best. I'm always happy to buy things that are well designed, and it feels good to support the creative efforts of a real person(s) behind the product.

While on the topic of buying stuff from Etsy, my own Etsy shop, is having a sale this Thanksgiving weekend. Because we live in Canada where we already celebrated Thanksgiving in October, it feels odd that today's Thanksgiving and we're not doing anything to celebrate. Oh, well. Every year I mean to do a Thanksgiving dinner but things get in the way (this year is Photoshop class). That's expat living for you.

I'll also be offering special discounts on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. So be sure to check the shop on those days for all the details!

STUFF I BUY FROM ETSY

Every morning when I open the kitchen cabinet to grab a mug, I'm greeted by Lionel Richie. When I first saw this mug from Lenny Mud I knew I had to have it. I'm not even a fan of Lionel Richie. I don't know any of his music. But I just could not resist this mug for some reason. I also bought the Mr. Tea mug from the same shop because I used to be a huge A-Team fan.

This is the song "Hello" that inspired the mug.



I plan to sing it the next time we go to karaoke.

The other day I was feeling really bummed out about the impending Canada Post strike, so I went out to Main Street to see what the hipsters were up to. Just kidding. My main purpose was to check out an antique shop that sells midcentury modern furniture that someone recommended and to visit my favourite clothing consignment shop, Front and Company. But I got distracted...

I went into a vintage store I've never been to: I Found Gallery. And I fell in love with a pair of vintage sunglasses. So I got them and brought 'em home. At 30 bucks, how could I resist?

They've got prescription lenses so they need to be changed. I will keep this pair forever. They're a classic and will never lose their stylish mojo. It's made in Italy. Those Italians really know good design, eh?

This stupid postal strike that's about to happen is really going to hurt my online vintage shop. Also, I was going to launch my new Etsy shop today, but now I have to delay it.

The last of the wall shelves were installed in the living room against the maybe-too-bright red accent wall. The shelf brackets and rails came from Home Depot. The wood is a white cedar 1x10 cut to size from Kerrisdale Lumber. It's was lightly sanded and left untreated.

Most of the stuff on the shelves is personal junk mixed in with some things I sell in the shop. The yellow vase at the very top is by Huronia, a Canadian pottery company that closed in the 1970's. I'm so taken with that shade of yellow that I'm considering hunting and gathering similar ceramic pieces by Huronia.

The cactus print is from an Etsy shop called PerlaAnne. The ball of yarn is from Bristol County Dyeworks, and it's currently being knitted into a pair of handwarmers.

The print of the branches is also from PerlaAnne. The set of pipes is on sale in my vintage shop.

The next thing on the agenda is getting a new loveseat. We got the current one when we were poor as dirt from a sketchy used furniture shop because I was tired of living months without a couch. It's not comfortable and it's too bulky looking for the tiny space it's in. Something lean and leggy would be preferable.

Founds lots of cool stuff when I went thrifting last weekend, one of which was this lamp. I really like it, so I'm considering keeping it for myself rather than selling it in my vintage shop.

Its woody chunkiness is what got my attention. The current lampshade on it though is a tad bit too small. If I were to keep it, I would dress it up with a big sexy black lampshade.

Below is the lamp that it would potentially replace. I found this lamp at an estate sale last summer. It was a gem in the midst of piles and piles of junk. Love its midcentury modern coolness. Airy and graceful.  The very opposite of the specimen above.

Hmmm...not sure what to do. I have a feeling I'm going to agonize over this decision. Can't keep both because we don't have space for two.

The horse is a new addition. I got it from my favourite Etsy vintage shop, Hindsvik. It's a ceramic horse bookend. I love, love, love it. It's the first time I bought something vintage from Etsy. The Dude thinks it's butt ugly and doesn't get it, *sigh*. Maybe if it were a robot or Godzilla he'd appreciate it.

I have a love-hate relationship with craigslist. I suppose most people who use it do. Trying to sell stuff on craigslist is usually a pain because of flaky shoppers. And trying to buy stuff is a pain because of flaky sellers. Nevertheless, I have to admit that it's a great internet tool for buying and selling crap. Well, this past week I had two consecutive good experiences selling and buying on craigslist. It was as if all the stars were aligned or something.

First, I bought an awesome, old storage chest for $50. It's got the right dimensions and even the loud turquoise colour works for the colour palette I'm going for. I've been hoping for months to find a wooden chest that would function as storage/coffee table/extra seating for the living room. And I can't believe I found one that fits the bill perfectly. We just need to slap some casters on this baby and it's golden. The best thing about it: not IKEA.

Second, we finally sold a black armchair that I've been trying to get rid of for months. After taking a hiatus, I re-posted it and it sold within days - huzzah. Now the living room feels a bit more spacious. The armchair had the wrong proportions that made it look odd with the rest of the furniture. I bought it last summer at an estate sale and it turned out to be one of my "early mistakes."

Now we only have three more pieces of furniture to purge: the Dude's big-ass ergonomic chair and two bookcases that are standing in the place where the new storage chest/bench/coffee table is going to go.

  rib & hull

My purse diet officially ended when this tote arrived from rib & hull. It's the first handbag I've bought since 2006! I'm pretty sure that was the last time I bought a purse, and what a fabulous purse it was, a vintage snakeskin clutch that I use for special occasions. Anyway, I've been gifted a few purses during the dry spell, but I'm proud that I resisted buying a handbag for myself in all these years. My purse addiction is no more - I hope. 

Bought this fun orange tote from an Etsy seller based in Poland. It's constructed very well and worth every penny I forked over. I love buying handmade. I also bought from the same seller a case for my scratched up iPod touch, which I mainly use as an alarm clock these days. But now that I have this cool iPod sleeve maybe I'll take it out more often.

Finally picked up the pine armoire I mentioned before. This is now the second biggest piece of furniture in the apartment. I spent the better part of yesterday afternoon polishing it up with some Feed-N-Wax. I don't think it made a difference. Maybe I should have cleaned it first with wood cleaner before polishing it. Anyway, next month I'll give it another polish and see if it visibly makes an improvement. In the far, far future I want to sand it down and refinish it.

Now the pine armoire has one outstanding flaw, among other problems. It's not square - it does not stand up straight at all. It drives me nuts that it slants very obviously to the left. Sometime in the future I hope to fix this problem. Other than that I love it. It provides a lot of storage, and the dimensions are perfect for our living room. But I feel it's not worth the $369 we paid for it. IKEA had an armoire for $200, but I went with the pine armoire instead because I want as little IKEA furniture that I can get away with. I just tell myself it's worth the price because it's not IKEA, and it replaced a crappy IKEA dresser that used to be in its place, and it's made out of solid wood, and it looks rustic, and we saved it from becoming firewood. Now I don't want to come across as an IKEA hater. I do love some of their products. I just don't want our place to look like an IKEA showroom.