Thoreau-ly Pumpkin

"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion."
--Henry David Thoreau

Ah, yes, Thoreau--I agree, but what about a pumpkin velvet chair all to yourself?
(I highly recommend Walden to hunker down and read in this cozy season and feel all kinds of waldeinsamkeit.)

April Bulletin 2019

Fluttering, pastels, and resurrection

February Bulletin 2019

Poetry, posies, and cupids

January Bulletin 2019

Rest, a blank canvas, and a new season of creativity

Blue Skies

Cheery yellows and blues and birds!

March Bulletin 2018

Sunshine, celebrations, and dynamism

Chair-aphernalia

I found this sweet postcard of a little boy poised next to some furniture and swiftly adopted him, as well as this copper and wood chair block from a printing press, both from a local antique store. The chair on which they sit was made by my great-grandpa, who created scale repro Early American doll furniture as a lucrative hobby. 

Looking Out Chair

 I realized I had yet to share the latest addition to my ever-growing chair collection, so here we are, this is the prize of my The Sidecar win! It's my Looking Out design on Eco Canvas fabric on a Maran Slipper Chair by Roostery. It's quite a comfy little marshmallow. I used some Pure White Chalk Paint on the dark brown legs to better coordinate with the airiness of the fabric.

 Roostery is Spoonflower's awesome sister company for homewares (chairs, pillows, tea towels, etc.) and all of my designs and others' in the Spoonflower marketplace are available on their products.

Inspiration: Sweet Country

A rustic baby blue rocker and spindly potted blooms

Découpaged Flower Chair

This project began with me hoarding magazine clippings of flowers for 7 years.

I wanted to cover a chair in them, but was waiting for the perfect chair to drop into my life. One day I was driving home and realized it was garbage day in my neighbourhood. I took a detour looking for furniture at curbs and slammed on my breaks when I saw this chair upside down on someone’s lawn. I threw it in the back seat as the neighbours stared, and I smirked gleefully all the way home. The chair has funky mid-century lines. 

I washed it and ripped the decomposing upholstery off the seat; there were 3 layers of atrocity to work through, the crowning glory being this exquisite '70s fabric. Needless to say, ew, that was a task and a half. 

Then I started gluing the flowers to the surface with Mod Podge. 

And gluing...

And gluing...

It took too many hours to count, but it’s exactly the cheerful piece I first imagined oh so long ago!

Here's to the warm and flowery days to come!

Delightfully Danish

My mom found this mid-century Danish chair at a thrift store for $5!

I love its wide seat, curved back, thin spindles, and tapered legs.

The patina is gorgeous.

It has its original spray coat of greyish white paint on its wooden form.

The bottom of the seat is stamped with this maker mark and features this instruction sticker in 3 languages.

Such a fun chair!

Thrifty Thonet

I found a Thonet style chair at Value Village for $7! 

This one could be from the '60s or '70s, going by the wear and tear. 

I love the gentle curves of the blonde wood, the caning (hole and all), and the fact that the chair is super lightweight!

Christmas Chair

We are starting our present pile on this vintage red chair.

Mid-Century Modern Chair: Before

I bought this funky chair for $8 secondhand. 

I'm not a fan of natural wood, but I may resist the urge to paint it for a while because it belongs on this design, and has quite a beautiful grain.

After unscrewing the seat I spent a nice summer afternoon painstakingly picking the staples out of the bottom of it, and peeling off the revolting brown fabric and rotting foam. Yum.

I'm going to reupholster the seat in one of my fabrics.

Stay tuned...

Chalk Painted Geometric Chair for Sale

I've had the IKEA chair below since I was 5. It was my desk chair out of necessity, but I never liked its plainness.

Note the name scribbles under the seat.

 So I painted it. I used the X as inspiration to transform it with a geometric print.

 Old White and Provence Chalk Paint make up the light blue, plus I used Graphite, Antibes, and Old White for the rest of the pattern.

 The painted areas have also been waxed.

 It is for sale! Please email me at creativelygraceful@gmail.com if interested!

Peach Velvet Bergère Drawing

Bergères, richly upholstered armchairs, were first used in Paris during the Régence period from 1715 to 1723. It was a time of comfortably inviting furniture intended for personal social gatherings. 

Blue Floral Chair Drawing

I just finished this pencil crayon and marker drawing of a bright chair! The real-life chair, complete with hand-painted floral upholstery, was created by the owners of a defunct company called Found Design Miami--what a shame they are closed, since it is such a cheery piece!

Leggy

Tables and chairs! That's the theme of this week's Spoonflower challenge. Funnily enough, I was so inspired by the prompt that I was floundering in my ideas. I was running out of time, thinking about how long it would take me to draw a bunch of full tables and chairs, and then this pared-down idea hit me. Leggy showcases my favourite part of furniture: the beautifully carved and turned legs. 

The Vintage Yellow Chair

Recently, when my mom and I were on a drive, we saw this chair sitting at someone's curb. It looked as forlorn as a bright yellow chair could possibly look, but we weren't sure if it was actually out for the garbage. Since we didn't want to walk up in broad daylight and steal someone's chair from the edge of their lawn, we decided to wait. The next day it was still there. The day after that it had not moved...so we took action. To be neighborly, my mom left a note in the owner's mailbox saying that we took their chair and, if it had not been for the taking, to call her at the number she left. The owner called her that afternoon...to let her know that the chair had been out for the garbage, in case she was feeling guilty! I thought that was quite kind! 

This bright little chair is very old, potentially from the 1920s. I like how it is missing some chunks of paint, because it looks loved. I'm sure it will make a cute décor addition or prop for a photoshoot. It certainly looks jaunty with a pot of Johnny Jump Ups!