Mint Green Step Stool

Hey friends! I hope you had a great long weekend! Ours was so perfect! It felt really long, which is about the best way a weekend could feel. :) Last night was especially fun. We went with our friends Dennis and Jenna on a sail boat down by the Statue of Liberty. The weather, food and company were amazing.

Earlier this weekend I had a little time to finish a project on my list. I bought this step stool at a vintage shop for $20 a while back. I filled the joints with a little wood glue to sturdy it up and then it was good as new and ready for a coat of paint.

I love the diamond pattern on the old rubber treads. 

I picked up this mint color (I think it's Remember Me) from Ace Hardware and used their Cabinet, Door and Trim paint. I'm such a huge fan of water-based alkyd paints.

After two coats of paint (I did prime first with Zinsser), I dug out the rest of these small brass nails and used them to flatten the rubber tread that was starting to pop up a little. Did you know the easiest way to place a nail in an exact place is to use a pair of needle nose pliers to hold the nail while you tap it in. Work SO well!

Man, I love mint green! 

The stool has been so handy in our kitchen. We don't have a ton of cabinets, so we actually use the items stored on our top shelves on a regular basis. It's nice to have easy access to the shelves all the time now. The girls are really good about not using the stool without me around. I usually fold it up when I'm not using it anyway.

It tucks into this little nook really well for the times we want it out of the way. Or I can put it away in the pantry if I want it out of sight.

 

But the color makes me so happy, I doubt we'll put it away much. :) I especially love the way the gold looks on the green.

Websites, Catalogs and In-store

Wow! What a whirlwind week! It feels like I haven't had time to even blink since last weekend. Do you have any fun plans for the holiday? We're staying in town, but hoping to get out of the house everyday for some adventures. Also hoping to see the new Wes Anderson film, which is getting great reviews. Can't wait!

Yesterday Michael helped me move some things to our storage unit in preparation for the move (I'm getting SO excited!) and then last night we did a little shopping outside the city. The sales are good this year and we bought Michael some new suits (which helped me feel less guilty about the summer shopping I've been doing lately for me and the girls. Must stop!). We also dropped by Home Decorators in NJ. Did you know they have a handful of brick and mortar stores? It was so nice to be able to check out a few items in person before ordering them.

It frustrates me that it feels so risky to order things online! Wouldn't it save so much hassle for customers and for the companies just to include lots of images (close and far away), with truly accurate color representation? I hope this gets better over time. I've noticed some eBay sellers include a hex color code for fabric they are selling so you can refer to a second source. That is SO smart! More retailers should do this!

Anyway. Home Decorators was interesting. They had some cute accessories that I didn't take many photos of - glass cake stands and tons of great planters.

And I really loved these two large wall clocks. Aren't the hands awesome? Feels like it should be in a Kate Spade store.

Even though it's a bit pricey, I'm thinking about buying this one. I've been looking for a more modern-feeling square clock forever and this one is a good size.

I had considered these chairs based on the online photo (don't they look like they'd be a breeze to reupholster?), but in person the proportions were not good. And the chair was totally uncomfortable - you could feel the frame underneath the foam seat.

These were comfy though, if you're looking for a good price on Louis style chairs. ($169 ea)

I also saw the zinc table I was so excited about.

From a few feet back it looks really great and I like the smokey blue gray color.

But the finish was a little different than I was expecting. It's a little more bumpy, which doesn't remind me of zinc. I don't know if it really bothered me, but it was good to know I guess. It's on sale and there's free shipping this weekend. so.....hmm.

I'm still thinking about pairing the table with these Bertoia style chairs (the vintage ones I looked at before were too beat up for the price). Plus, I wouldn't feel bad about painting these a fun color.

Hope you have a GREAT weekend! xoxo

Mixing Metals

I'm a gold jewelry person, through and through. It just looks better with my skin tone I think. But when it comes to hardware and metallic finishes for the home, I like to mix things up and throw in some polished nickel/silvery finishes with my brass pieces. I feel like I have an abundance of brass lately and should probably round things out with a few more silvery things.

This lamp has always been a favorite and I'm thinking it might be time to finally try the DIY version - fingers crossed it looks okay!

This basket project from MS Living was gorgeous! SO in love with that finish and want to use these in a nursery project I'm working on. Every room needs some sparkle, but that does mean it has to be a 'glam' look, you know? These baskets still feel very boho.

This new desk from West Elm is going into a consulting client's design plan. I saw some zinc and aluminum-wrapped case goods pieces at ABC a few months back that were about 10x this price. It's a great look and the West Elm price point is much more affordable.

PS I'm also loving rose gold and I'm coming around to copper. These new copper chairs from Blu Dot are like woah.