A Campaign for Hacked Ikea Dressers

I have another dresser to introduce to you.

And NOW, an obligatory assault to the eyes:

Ikea laminate furniture in its full glory. 

Complete with a grad student apartment context and what appears to be a small pharmacy crammed onto the surface. Aaah, please make it stop!!

The sheer magnitude of improvement almost disturbs me.

I became aware of campaign furniture from....Pinterest. The look subtly masculine, yet chic. Campaign furniture was originally made for travel, specifically army travel. The UK Army and Navy manufactured a lot of this furniture in the late 19th to early 20th century, as reported by Wikipedia.  Now I, too, have my own little piece of history, and it houses a little birch Ikea dresser beneath its satiny grey exterior. 

Here's a brief list of items I procured from trusty Home Depot to make my vision come to life:

Brass corners ($2.50/pk x 4 pks = $10): to be completely honest, I'm not even sure what is the original intention of this product. 

They can't possibly be made for the sole purpose of creating campaign-inspired furniture?

Behr satin finish paint "Creek Bend" ($13): this color is the It color right now for interior decorating. It's so hot, I'm afraid it will evaporate and I'll be left with a birch dresser again. Worst. Nightmare. Ever.

Oh, please also refer to my last dresser adventure wherein I laud the merits of Zinsser Oil-Based Primer. This product gave me the support and confidence I needed to see this silly project through to the end. I would like to thank it for my Lifetime Dresser Painting Achievement Award.

Cup pulls ($4 x 4 = $16): At first I was angry that this cup pull did not come in brass at the store. Online there were so many finish choices (copper, brass, nickel, polished nickel), my head was spinning (or was that the paint fumes?). But I wanted so badly for my dresser vision to come to fruition that I just Went For It. I think it was a good move. The mixed metal look adds some interest.

After one coat of primer (applied with a roller, then smoothed over with a foam brush), I applied two coats of Creek Bend (grey paint). I painted the whole thing with a foam brush---it created a much smoother texture than my last dresser which I painted with the roller.  The roller left all sorts of ridiculous fuzzies onto the paint.  A detailed discussion of fuzzies is probably not good for my sanity.

Poor Mike drilled all the holes for the brackets and pulls. At least he didn't have to do them by hand!

I think it looks like a treasure chest! Ahoy matey, what bounty lurks beneath! (Actually nothing right now, as we need to pack for our move in less than 2 weeks!!!)

I may be MIA again for a while, as I have to move to another city, go on vacation to NOLA, transform into a pulmonary & critical care medicine fellow, and then take my medicine boards.

*explode*

Dressy Dresser

Hey look! It's a new dresser....wait a minute that looks familiar.....

I caught the furniture makeover bug baaadly after spending too many hours on Pinterest.  My poor Ikea Malm dresser did not stand a chance. 

Here are my ingredients:

Paintable wallpaper ($15): applied to the front of drawers.

I cut strips to fit, then soaked them in the bathtub.

As I carried them from room to room, wallpaper paste dripped everywhere.

Oil-based primer ($8): miraculous product unanimously recommended by furniture DIY bloggers.

It allows one to paint over laminate furniture without sanding or pre-treating in anyway, which is perfect for apartment dwellers like me who lack tools and workspace.

Behr paint (color = Pot of Cream) ($13): dries within 2 hrs and ready for a second coat!

Unfortunately, I did not splurge on paint conditioner so brush strokes and fibers of the roller were quite apparent. Oh well!

Brass cabinet pulls ($1.69 x 10 = $16.90): adds a baroque zing.

I contemplated crystal knobs for their swanky feminine look, but they were $4 a pop! Oh well!

It was NOT easy to measure them out, drill TWO holes per pull, AND screw them in. 

Luckily I had the help of....

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drumroll

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Husband with drill (priceless + $39): Mike got something out of this adventure, too: an electric drill! 

Whoopeeeee!  He is sporting his favorite J.Crew shirt and new Levi's.

Oooh, and here the dresser is adorned by my newest acquisition ;)

Now, I still have a roll of textured wallpaper, 1/2 a can of primer for my next victim project, and most of the glossy white paint. Husband and drill also still available for commission (I hope).

Chairdresser...Part One

Recently, I lamented that my yellow vintage furniture was dangerously straddling the line between vintage and disintegrating. See how the seat was punctured and sadly repaired with tape? This is how my poor chair dragged on for the last 10 years or so. How embarrassing!

I went on an amazing adventure all around town to gather the items necessary to rectify this important problem. After a whirlwind tour of an upholstery shop, I brought home some new yellow vinyl (it was in the discount room for $8! Ha! They probably thought they wouldn't be able to sell it.) and some other fun-pattered fabrics. I also bought a staple gun at Home Depot. Be afraid...be very afraid. (That was addressed to all of the chairs in my home.)

Behold, the crime scene:

Before and after (actually, after and before):

The new chair sits higher than the old one because I even got new rubber stoppers for its legs and now it is standing tall and proud, and slightly bouncy, too. The chair on the right is still in reasonable condition, but I probably will reupholster it, too, so that they match. Sadly, it is impossible to find the exact vinyl that is used for these chairs.  There are maybe just 2 companies on the internet selling this "cracked ice" vinyl and they charge $35/yd!!!! Holy moles that is expensive vintage vinyl! I think $8 plain yellow vinyl will suffice, thank you ma'am. I now have enough yellow vinyl to cover at least 8 more chairs. Anyone interested? Maybe you will be after looking at one last chair picture.

Convinced? I thought so.

Stay tuned for Part 2!

Interior Decorating Stories: Iden-Table Crisis

I have a 1950's formica kitchen table that is old and bright yellow.

You've probably seen it lurking in the background. Sometimes it's in an outfit post. Other times, there's food on it. It's my crazy yellow table that I can't seem to part with.

Despite being a bright yellow table, it's disappointingly indistinct. It's just sitting there, under the food, under the Noah's Ark puzzle, playing second fiddle to the Marco Tagliaferri bag (oh wait, it was my intent to feature the bag in the picture). Therein lies the core of my concerns.  I don't want an indistinct table! I want an awesome one! This table has been our kitchen table since 1996.  My parents got it from a thrift store. My parents (and Mike) argue that its age, decrepitude, outdated look, and shameful tenure in a thrift-store qualifies the poor table for a one way trip to the local dumpster. Or at the very least, the local craigslist ad. 

Alas, Counselor Quyen will now present her side of the case with evidence obtained from the last several hours of intense pinning on Pinterest:

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What do all these pretty pictures have in common? They all have retro tables! So much character, especially when juxtaposed in an otherwise contemporary decor setting. These pictures make it even harder for me to part from my table. Plus, I love yellow! Yellow stands out so briskly against cool neutrals. And these tables are not in tip-top shape either...the "aged" look is part of the retro package.

I just scrutinized my own table and two chairs and here is my assessment of the condition they are in:

Formica surface: very good, dare I say EXCELLENT

Chrome table edge: good

Table legs: slightly aged but not that noticeable. Missing 1 leg peg, whatever you call that.

Chairs: BLAH.

So, it's really down to the chairs which really stress me out. The vinyl is cracked on the seats. Someone attempted to repair the damaged vinyl with tape.  The legs are somewhat oxidized. Sadly, after a vigorous rub down with steel wool, nothing seemed to happen. Mrrrr. Now I am in a quandary. Let's just say, I think the future holds a staple gun purchase and a trip to the local upholstery shops.

An interior decorating adventure awaits us!

Outfits to Span a Season

Oy...I just emerged from beneath a rock and realized that October and November have elapsed and December lurks dangerously close.

But look how festive our apartment has become, adorned in twinkly lights!

It goes without saying that my protracted disappearance from this blog reflects my ever-presence in the hospital and/or other locales. Ok, mostly in the hospital.

One of these "other locales" I allude to is Atlanta.  I went to Atlanta for a national scientific meeting! During my 4 days there, I rotated the same key clothing pieces in various combinations, ever-changing from day to night.  Not a soul was aware of how light I packed (I detest checking in  luggage). Here are some examples:

J.Crew (No. 1) pencil skirt (ca. 2011), Etienne Aigner boots, and Forever 21 scarf display their versatility

I love that funnel neck sweater. The funnel seems to have slouched down in that particular picture but I still love it all the same :)

Back home, I proceeded to blast through the ensuing autumnal chill while maintaining my loyalty to color (as you will see in the ensuing line up). Unfortunately, I did not emerge unscathed--I suffered a horrible cold and actually had to take the day off as the inside of my face melted and was expelled via incessant sneezing and nose blowing.

It was during this nadir of November when I discovered Downton Abbey.

J.Crew (Collection!) Midnight Trench does not insulate that well but looks and fits great!
Talbots espadrilles add some height to make a long skirt work (found amongst my mom's Toss Pile.)
First time wearing the J.Crew Clea dress (spring 2012) to work, made sillier with addition of F21 glasses necklace.

Spearmint hues with Anthro San Pedro skirt and Free People squishy sweater.
I went to the mall wearing these J.Crew Hutton Trench Trousers and everyone liked them.
Sometimes when it's cold, I don't take my hair out of  my sweater.

A Pink and Brown Milieu!
In the end, I actually chickened out on the F21 pink pants and wore black skinny pants instead.
Mixing maxi check and feather paisley was hard, but all the brown elements tied it all together  (I hope).

J.Crew Pixie Pants are becoming more and more ridiculous and NEVER go on sale! I keep entertaining the thought of obtaining them in charcoal but having 1 indestructible pair is quite is enough for now...
Thanksgiving food shopping made possible by adding and sweater and trusty J.Crew Carlin Coat (ca. fall 2009).

 Bought this lovely pink top in Madrid many moons ago. It was a EU size 8, therefore it fits??
Anthro Just Right Skirt looks good with everything in all seasons!
New thick cotton J.Crew top boasts awesome back zipper. 

 I've strangely lost the desire to label all of my outfits. So I decided to make random comments about them instead. I just recovered from several events, including interviewing for fellowship, submitting my rank list, quaking in wait for Match Day, and cooking a full Thanksgiving Dinner (post to come). But look, even in the aftermath of having people for Thanksgiving, the apartment stayed clean and nice:

Note my psychedelic drawing in the wall and our wedding album...among all the other crazies :)

Next up: Thanksgiving cooking adventure and who knows what else!

The Island of Lost Outfits

I wanted to share some recent unposted summer outfits before the weather becomes inappropriate for them and I end up dressed like this:

Coat: Anne Klein (returned)
Scarf: H&M
Hat: Mike's

Top: Free People
Skirt: Express
Purse: Forever 21
Flipflops: Old Navy

Top: Free People
Jeans: Gap
Shoes: errr can't remember but you can't see them anyway
Coat: Express (old)
Necklace: gift from Mike!
Purse: Mango

This weekend, we got new beds.  I had been quite obsessed with redecorating our bedroom.  I can't seem to find a single color scheme so suffice it to say, it looks like a rainbow in our bedroom.