Recovering the Klobo

The IKEA Klobo loveseat is a great little piece of furniture. We've had ours for over 5 years, and despite being clean and tidy folks, the white fabric inevitably picks up stains and spots, especially since we now have a dog (muddy paws!!). It was getting to the point that we had to do something--very embarrassing!

Quickly I realized upgrading to a new sofa was out of the question. A good budget-friendly solution turned out to be recovering the Klobo, as structurally it was still in great shape, it just looked disgusting. So I set out on a mission to find nice fabric for a nice price. I scored at Joann.com with a half-off coupon code. I bought 9 yards (turned out I could have gotten by with 8 but it would have been very close) for a grand total of $45. The hardest part of this undertaking was finding a fabric and at a price we both could agree on. Finally we found a lovely dark grey with a subtle printed texture.

The beauty of IKEA furniture is that they can be easily disassembled. I sewed the more fitted areas (the arms and back) and stapled everything to the underside, then put it all back together. Also, because the Klobo didn't have a whole lot of soft padding to begin with, I added a layer of memory foam (from an old mattress pad we weren't using) to the seat and arms and now it is SUPER comfy!!






















To finish the whole thing off, I got a can of 3M Scotchgard protector for fabric/upholstery to help keep it looking nice even longer.
Does this qualify as an IKEA hack? Either way, we just got at least another good 2 years from our $99 loveseat!

I think these two approve. 

Cuttin' a Rug

Happy news in the Matt&Bobbie family.....we are now puppy parents! Ok, we've had Zooey over 4 months now, but that's just how behind on this blog I am.

 She is a great dog--we love her so much!

In other news, I got restless with my current pillow collection and wanted to mix things up. In a momentary fit of insanity, I almost dropped $100 on three Turkish kilim pillow covers on Ebay. Not sure if Zooey is out of her chewing phase, I realized it would be crazy to spend that much.

 So, during one of my rare (wink) thrifting outtings, I came across a very large woven rug with some very interesting colors and shapes in it. The rug as a whole I did not like, but I could see at least a couple pillows being cut from it. So, for $5, I bought the beast and proceeded to chop it up.

I could not be happier. In the meantime, I have no idea what I am going to do with the other 90% of the rug, but that's what junk closets are for.

Studio Tour

Decorating tip: don't overlook your doors for art-hanging opportunities. 

                           
It was a long, hard road to get to this point, but I can now say that my studio is complete, and lovely, and just the way I want it. Why did it take so long, you ask? Well, when we moved into the house, this room served as the catch-all for all the junk we didn't know what to do with and continued as such for quite some time until I put my foot down and said, "This is MY room...I will only allow things in this room that I love and/or are useful to me." Now, that came with a lot of purging (why I had held onto a mountain of paper scraps and ugly fabric I would never use, I do not know) and thinking and re-thinking furniture layout in a small room.

For a long time I HATED this room--there was something seriously feng-shui wrong with it, combined with the junky clutter that I just couldn't handle. But now it is calming, beautiful and very conducive to creativity. Without further adieu, please enter my studio tour (a-la Apartment Therapy)....

I have my afternoon planned....

These wall-mounted shelves are inexpensive, fairly easy to
install and help utilize space all the way to the ceiling. 

My reading nook.

The Klobo loveseat from IKEA is invaluable in a small space.
 They have been well used and well loved in our apartments over the
last few years. 

 

This shelf is just a cool vintage wire basket I found for a couple bucks
and some wood cut to fit. It holds some of my work and other
 inspirational objects. 

My work table is simply four table legs painted a fantastic orange,
with MDF to top it off. It is the perfect size. 

what art studio is complete without an inspiration board? 

I found these shelves at Target for $20 each--they are the perfect
size for this spot. 

part of my collection of plant books

a few of my favorite pottery pieces

Design Dreaming

As you know, I have been trying to design and carry out plans for our upstairs and transform it into a warm and inviting master bedroom. I have a small chunk of the horrid pink walls painted a lovely sandy beige, but progress had been halted. Over the last week, we have purchased a beautiful bathroom vanity, uber-modern faucet, and white subway tile. I figured it is easiest to put up the wall tile before installing the vanity. After modifying the wall heating vent and ripping up a small portion of the floor, this bathroom project was clearly becoming a big one. But I'm thrilled and excited and motivated.

With this ever-expanding bathroom project, the upstairs plans have been put on hold. But I am eager as ever to tackle it. Here are my ideas:

image from: freshome.com
This is color and feel I'm going for with the wood ceiling. 

While at our local home improvement store, I scoped out the laminate flooring options for the ceiling. There is major square footage to cover, so budget is very important. I found a medium-tone (not too dark) highly variegated option for like $1.50 per square foot.  

Image from: the-brick-house.com

The only lighting we have upstairs is a tiny wall sconce at the top of the stairs. For some romance and drama I want this sexy beast hanging above the stairs. 

I OWN YOU!!!! Yes, I have had my heart set on this rug from World Market for several weeks. Last weekend was a 1/2 off sale so I splurged and it arrived Friday. I absolutely love it and I think it will provide a nice stepping-off point for the design of the rest of the room. Oh, and I think I got one of the last ones because it is no longer available online. I rule. 

image from: krrb.com

Ikea always has a way of elbowing in any budget-conscious home update. A simple, modern, low Malm bed would be perfect for our bedroom. They have a great new color option too: a medium walnut with a more prominent grain.







One of the last projects will be a divider to separate the closet area from the sleeping area. I really like this wood slat number, and it would be an easy DIY. Unlike these folding screens, I would do a permanent built-in screen, as we have sloping ceilings and a brick chimney smack in the middle. I like the slats because it would let light through from the window on the other side.

We're talking a lot of wood (part of the floor will also be wood/laminate or cork) warm colors and texture. With all the ideas and long wishlist I have, we may very well be still working on this next winter. 

New Year, New Projects

 I've been terrible about keeping up with my blog--apologies and excuses. Anyway, as much as Matt and I have accomplished on our house (see past posts) there's more! Our priority has been getting the living areas livable and saving the upstairs master bedroom for this very moment. Exciting, I know. 

 We've broken the project down in 3 parts. 3 parts in 3 months. Sounds do-able. First is to paint. Call me crazy, but the pink is quite ugly. We've chosen a nice earth-tone which will be a welcome change to the all-white downstairs. 

Part 2 will be to remove the horrid ceiling tiles and replace them with some type of wood. We'll know when we see it, but I'm thinking some kind of salvaged hardwood. We're going for a very warm, architectural- modern feel. 

Finally, if all goes to plan, new flooring will go in. 2/3 of the large room will serve as sleeping and closet area while the front 1/3 will be a place for low book cases and a reading nook. We will delineate these spaces with a low-pile carpet in the bedroom area and a cork or hardwood in the lounge area. 

Last will be finishing touches like putting in baseboards, trim around the windows and something to separate the closet from the bedroom, like a Shoji screen or more bookcases. 

The area to the right of the chimney will serve as a spacious
walk-in closet.

I almost forgot the chimney. After painting and before doing the ceiling, we have plans to knock off the drywall covering the chimney to expose the brick underneath. Why cover real brick with fake, I will never understand. Depending on what it looks like, I'd like to paint the brick white. What? I love white. 

Overall, I expect the upstairs to be fairly easy compared to the rest of the house. We don't have floors to refinish, endless hours of paining, and disgusting messes to clean up. Just installing NEW stuff. 

Ok, that was a lot of ugly you had to look at. Here are some nice things to soothe your eyeballs.

This may be my favorite little corner of the house. I have two epiphitic cacti hanging
in a bright window over the kitchen table along with our perfect pendant lamp
and my beloved "yarn painting"

The kitchen cabinets look amazing with my DIY handles. 

Eames chair deserves its own nook

I've discovered that hanging a small textile on the sides of
our Ikea Expedit bookcases adds so much warmth and texture
to the whole thing. 

I found this hand-woven trivet at a thrift store (shocking, I know). It adds
nice visual interest above the sink. 

Grow!

Surveying my large plant collection, I got to thinking about the upcoming winter and the dismal lack of sunlight we get here in Wisconsin. It is apparent I do not have enough window real estate to satisfactorily sustain my brood. So, my next option seemed to be grow lights. 

I got myself to Menards (our local home-improvement store) and bought two full-spectrum 60-Watt light bulbs and two clamp lamps and voila! grow light central. The beautiful shelves you see in the photo below were newly installed in my studio the day before.  

I had two nifty wooden wine crates laying around which became the surface for the plants to sit on, and also holds such plant-growing necessities as watering cans, fertilizer, soil and gravel. 

I think it looks like a lovely little oasis. I hope this helps my plants thrive a bit more over the long winter. 
P.S. this is only a small fraction of my entire collection. So what? It's not a problem if you can admit to it...