quick curtains

the store I work at recently moved locations, and me being the resident seamstress and alterations expert my boss came to me to make curtains and seat covers for our new space. the catch was we had to have the new store open 4 days after we had closed the old. it was a major time crunch but I got them done and they look fantastic in the space!

duck blind

a few months ago my cousin got a new boat. he wanted to use it to go duck hunting and asked if I could make him a blind to protect him from the weather when he is in the boat. I never thought it would turn into the project that it was, but in the end it was pretty amazing to see the final project! it is two large canvas pieces with three rows of elastic and a TON of grommets all around it.

simple changes

One small project I suggested to my mom was that in our dining room we had these big heavy curtains made of a beautiful silky monotoned damask fabric that piled on the floor with this giant valance above with fringe for years…We were trying to update the room and couldn’t find a good curtain fit and finally I suggested we take off the valance buy a pinch pleat rod and I shorten the curtains, so they just brush the floor. They look so much better! And so trendy! The fabric is still beautiful and now they lay so much better since they don’t pile on the floor. It’s funny how one little change can transform a whole room.

directors chairs

When I thought all the redecorating was finally over my mom surprised me one day by coming home with a torn-up director’s chair that she had trash picked on her way home from work. She was so excited to bring a new life to it! We decided to use an olive-green pleather to do the new pieces for it and with the color the wood is stained it looks so chic! Luckily this was an easy project and once I had the fabric only took me a few hours.

sewing room rent

To get all these projects done I overtook the breakfast room in the house as my sewing area. In the process of me taking it over I paid my mom to let me work there by recovering her bench which was covered in the same lovely early 2000’s fabric that our window seat had be made from. I recovered it with a beautiful natural toned floral pattern with a white base Sunbrella (my mom is obsessed) to tie in the light stained cabinets we have with the grey tones my mom recently painted all the walls in our house. We then paired it with the two amazing bee paintings hung above from a cute little boutique furniture store in the town next to us, and my sewing area had a new life!

bay window bench

This project was one I saw coming for a long time. Years ago, when we moved into our house my grandmom (who taught me to sew) made a cushion for the bay window in our family room. It was very on trend when she made it with a brown woven that had a multicolored thread running through it. But 10 years of party’s friends and dog naps kind of killed it so I took it apart and made a new one. I helped my mom choose a cool grey synthetic poly blend that wouldn’t fade in the sun and would hold up to wear and tear of our giant family. It also has a subtle stripe to it which I love! I made a few pillows and bought a few more and just like that our bay window seat was brand new!

bedroom makeover

The next project was my own. I got home after 4 years of college and my room was still that of 15-year-old Tara and though I loved the memories it was time to update! Teal walls and polka dots are no longer my style. I started by painting the walls a pale yellow and buying a new area rug which is just a cream colored short haired rug. After that I was in the market for a new comforter and I couldn’t find one that matched what was in my head, so I left it alone. Then one day I was in Philly helping a friend look for fabric and I saw this gorgeous oat colored linen with a floral pattern embroidered on with a chunky wool it was perfect! I bought it and a deeper earth tone brown basic quilted fabric for the bottom and my comforter was ready! After that my dad and I spent a day assembling my giant Ikea closet cause the closet in my room is an ideal size for the clothes of a 4-year-old. Once it was done the white was so plain, so I decided to take up macramé and make a dream catcher and another wall hanger for the other side. Eventually I think I will add another when I have time. I added my makeup desk, a few more decorations and done! My room is now much more suitable for a 23-year-old.

trashpick remodel

one of the first project I did when I got home was a set of outdoor furniture cushions and pillows… my mom came home one day with a giant couch and two arm chairs with awful orange cushions and a reddish stain on the wood to match. This set was right out of the 70’s. but my mom was confident we could make it better! We chalk painted the chairs (which I had never heard of until we started this project) and then I started the journey to find the right fabric and new foam for the seats after a lot of back and forth we decided on a white Sunbrella with a large weave to give it some detail. I made the cushions and a few pillows and now they look amazing on our back porch! After all the chairs were done we tackled the wood art that is on the wall which was another whole project, but I won’t get into that.