DIY: Blush Pink Flokati Throw

What kind of blogger would I be if I didn't regularly sing my praises of Jenna Lyons and her chic office? There's a reason everyone loves this space. She is the coolest.

I realized I was subconsciously channeling her office style while doing some updates to our studio space this month when I had the thought to dye this little faux flokati throw pink.

It was a super easy project and here's the how-to:

I picked up my throw at HomeGoods (it was made by Safavieh) for about $15. IKEA sells a very similar version in both acrylic (which is what this one is made out of) and the real deal wool sheepskin (which I used in this and this upholstery project).

 Before dying the throw, I rinsed it really well and made sure every fiber was all the way wet.

Then I mixed a small dye bath in a tupperware tub in the hottest water my tap would give me. I use about 3 parts Petal Pink colored liquid RIT and 1 part Lemon Yellow.

I let the throw sit in the hot dye bath for about an hour before rinsing it in cold water.

 I let the throw drip dry over night and then I gave it a brush and blow dry to make it nice and soft and fluffy before throwing it over one of our white S chairs.

Because my throw was acrylic, the dye only barely tinted the fibers. The natural wool version would have been much darker, but I don't really mind the subtlety here. A little pink can go a long way. :)

Studio Updates and a Holiday Give Away from Poppin

Remember when I got that really beat up desk at Goodwill and made it over? That spurred a whole series of updates to our studio space. We're getting really organized and I think everything looks so clean and pretty now!

I'll be sharing some tutorials soon, but I'm sure a few of you long-time readers will be able to spot a few of the big changes off the bat!

We wanted to both add and take away color from the room. This new inspiration board is probably my favorite colorful addition.

I had a piece of homasote board cut down to fit the wall space between the window and the wall and then (just like in this project) I upholstered it in pale mint linen.

We're also working to streamline our filing system and to declutter our office supplies. I am a big believer in making the every day stuff as pretty as possible, if only to help mundane chores feel exciting. :)

Poppin sent us a few new office supplies this month to help with the makeover. I love everything Poppin makes - and have for a long time! Everything is modern and beautiful, and it all works so well! Their pens are my very favorite (with their all-white scissors being a close second place!).

They also make a new heavier-weight pen (mine's in chrome, below) and it's beautiful. They make it in a really pretty gold too!!

Poppin has generously offered to give away two $100 gift certificates today! Their products make the perfect stocking stuffers or gifts for office mates!

Their new line of metallic notebooks are perfectly classic, but so holiday-worthy!

Entering to win one of the $100 gift certificates is super easy - just visit Poppin's site and browse their beautiful offerings and then leave a comment here. Contest runs for one week and the winner will be selected at random and emailed.

PS Poppin is running a promotion through the 6th, where you get a free tote when you spend $50 or more. Check it out here, and don't forget to enter the give away too by commenting here! Good luck!

DIY: On Fixing Up Chipped Veneer

A few weeks ago I found a desk at Goodwill that was in not-so-great shape. The veneer on the table top was badly chipped and what was still there had pretty intense water rings and discoloration. The table base though, which is what really caught my eye in the first place, was in pretty decent shape, so I decided to buy the desk and cross my fingers that I could salvage the top.

I took a closer look at the veneer when I got the desk home and quickly realized the only real choice I had was to remove the worst of the veneer and paint the top.

To make the surface as smooth and even as possible, I whipped up a couple batches of Bondo that I applied in thin coats.

Bondo feels a little hardcore the first time you work with it (so, you know, maybe don't try Bondo-ing an entire staircase like I did). It's like epoxy in that you have to mix in a hardening cream and that you have only a few short minutes to apply the mixture before it starts to harden (also it has a very... distinctive smell). But, truly, it's not that scary once you have a batch or two under your belt - and it repairs and seals like nothing out there.

Bondo's finish is so smooth, unlike wood filler, and so strong, unlike plaster or putty. It sands beautifully so it's not that hard to just get a rough coat down and then sand away the extra until you have a smooth surface. Just remember it's easier to sand down the Bondo than to try and apply a perfectly-perfect surface with a spatula in the first place.

I Bondo-ed over the center seam (since the table didn't come with a leaf) and around all the rough spots, waited a good 30 minutes or an hour before sanding and then wiped everything down. There were a few places I missed the first go-round, so I made one more quick batch of Bondo and did some touch ups before painting the top.

I just used my trusty standby of Rustoleum's pre-mixed enamel line. I wanted a creamy white this time so I made my own color - about half of their white with half of their Almond color. It's so easy to get a pretty finish brushing on oil-based paints when most of the surface is horizontal. The paint spreads and smooths out so beautifully. I put on a pretty thick coat on the table top and applied two or three lighter coats on the vertical edges, to help avoid drips.

Oil-based paint takes a long time to dry, but the hard-wearing (and water-repellent!), extra beautiful finish is worth all the effort to me. 

The wood base is still in "vintage condition" but it cleaned up pretty well with a quick wipe down of Restor-A-Finish on a rag and that was pretty much it! It's so fun to have a new, super unique desk in my studio for almost no money!

DIY Folding Screen from Bifold Doors

I've always loved a good folding screen! They are super useful and versatile for large homes and tiny apartments alike. And the best part is they are a cinch to make yourself using inexpensive hardware store bifold doors! 

I got these flat masonite doors at Home Depot for $40, which was cheap enough, but looking back I probably should have checked Habit ReStore before buying new. They sell a ton of closet doors just like these for just a couple bucks usually.

The masonite was pre-primed, so we rolled on a good coat of my forever-favorite Safety Red enamel paint as a first step.

We rolled on the backs first and then all the edges. We left the fronts white for the floral fabric application.

I had yards and yards of this pretty Brunschwig and Fils floral that was the perfect candidate for the decorative fronts of the screens. I should have taken a photo of the full width of the uncut fabric, but it's basically a thick wall of florals in the center of the pattern, with lots of black negative space on the edges. Since each door panel is only 15" wide, we were able to make the most of the black space (which felt a little more modern to me) and then create a new pattern with placement of the fabric repeats.

I wanted the fabric to look almost wallpapered, so we cut two sets of each pattern repeat, so there would be two sets of two matching doors.

The fabric decoupaged chair project worked out so well that I was quick to pull out the Mod Podge again on this project.

I brushed on an even, thick coat on the unpainted side of the doors, about two feet at a time.

I used the black edge as my guide and smoothed out the fabric as I went. It's really important to get out all the air bubbles before the Mod Podge dries.

Once the fabric had dried a bit, I cleaned up the edges with an X-acto knife, just like with the chair project.

Then we brushed on a top coat of Mod Podge, to even out and seal the fabric, especially around the edges.

After the top coat had dried, we flipped the doors over and screwed in new brass hinges. Each pair got three hinges installed on the backs, just like this, with the spine of the hinge facing down:

And then the two pairs were connected with three hinges installed inside the inner lip of the doors, so that the doors would zig and zag and fold correctly. Again, the hinge spine was facing down here.

Isn't the brass so pretty against the glossy red of the door backs?

And the pop of red peeking out from behind the black floral is so striking!

It's hard to tell in these photos, but the top coat of Mod Podge made for a really dreamy, matte wash over the pattern. It is SO pretty.

I really love the folding screen application, but I'm also thinking this would be a great way to dress up boring old bifold doors for a closet space! It's a really cheap way to get a wallpaper look in a room without the cost, hassle and commitment.

Have you seen any other folding screen projects around lately? I'm looking around my house thinking of all the places that could use one. They're so easy to make and so pretty! :)