Take a seat

Sit down. Let's talk chairs. As in my ongoing obsession with cute side chairs.

Looking back on it, I think it all started with a caned seat dining chair that I purchased at a thrift store in Denver over one of my Spring Break trips out west. During my week long visit, I managed to paint that baby shabby chic into a mosaic of about 25 different colors. It had to live in Ben's bedroom until I moved out a couple of years later - I'm sure he was so proud of it - and then before packing up for Guatemala, it came to rest on Craigslist. I know I've got a photo of it somewhere, but I can't find it for the life of me right now.

When I finally found myself with a space of my very own and a bit larger budget, we splurged on this upholstered number.

Crappy photo of the chair, but can you sort of get the feeling of the space?

I loved the life out of that cute yellow chair. It made the empty corner of the bedroom my happy little place for reading and such, at least until winter came and it was too freakin' cold next to that brick wall to think about lounging in that meat locker. Unfortunately, my happy little chair isn't so cheerful here in Charlotte. Somewhere between a year in storage and being manhandled into the moving van where it was squished between various bicycles, it has seen come to see better days. Nothing some new reupholstery can't fix one day, but for now it's sad, sitting in the corner of our dining room.

So now that we have this whole big house to fill, I've been stalking Craigslist for some hidden chair gems and last week, I scored. Not only is it classy in form, but it came with a matching footstool. Plus, Mia and I got to explore the neighborhood of another lake here in Charlotte when we went to pick it up. Now don't judge too quickly. I'm sure it was a real winner in the early 90's!

I love it, don't you? Hmm.......somehow I'm not feeling your love.

What about if it looked like this?
or maybe this?
Are you feeling it a bit more now?

That's the plan. White or black with nail heads. Love the black, but with a furry blond dog, black does not love us. But the white is breathtaking, isn't it. I think I'd go for the more modern feeling of the black but with a nice white fabric (stain proof, of course). The foot stool may be where I have some fun and mix things up a bit with a burlap-like, but softer fabric. Do you think it's ok to upholster them differently? The plan is for the combo to hang out in the corner of the office, so I think I'll wait until our custom desk system arrives before I make any final decisions on fabric.

Speaking of nail heads though, they are my latest lust. I want to nail head everything I own. Check out these beauties for inspiration.

This army green is almost as fab as the chic lines of that chair!

And this lovely has been on my must have list for years now.
Too bad Pottery Barn no longer makes it.
I really like the larger nail head.

And these cuties are custom made from a design upholstery shop right down the street.
I'm thinking 2 might make a mobile "coffee table" in my cute little back room.

Just like everything else around here it may take a while, but stick with us and you'll be sure to see nail heads in your future too!