Kitchen...

I've been thinking more and more about the burlap chairs. At first, I thought they were a terrific idea - cheap, durable, neutral - but then I realized my cat would love and adore scratching them up. I was even planning to upholster teal underneath prior to stapling on the burlap for a little color. However...not sure cat scratching post-seat cushions are the way to go for me.

Then I found this photograph


And I fell in love with the aqua chairs. The caned backing is so similar to mine, and I just love the pops of color. My uber-traditional husband, however? He has a hard time with WHITE furniture - can you imagine the heart attack he'd have at turquoise chairs?

So I'm on a new track. I would like a large-print turquoise houndstooth on white chairs (so yes, I'm back to upholstery), or perhaps even yellow...if I could paint the not-yet-purchased-waiting-for-the-perfect-one china cabinet turquoise. The walls in the kitchen are a neutral grey/blue, at the moment, so I think this would work.

The Michael Miller yellow houndstooth


I am smitten with this Duralee print - the repeat is perfect scale - but at nearly $150 a yard it is in the stratosphere concerning my budget.



I suppose it's a good thing I have no time to refinish the table at the moment, since I can't make up my mind.

kitchen table & chairs

We were lucky enough to have a dining table with leaves and chairs given to us by my mother's friend. It desperately needs a paint job, but with a new baby and my indecision about upholstery, it's been put on hold for a while. I'm definitely painting the set white, and I originally wanted aqua geometric print like one of these Waverly prints:




However, with the prospect of a toddler in the near future (and my incredible clumsiness), I'm not sure a pretty print is wise. I was browsing Joann.com and happened upon burlap, which is cheap and the perfect shade of brown to hide my coffee stains and baby food. Then I remembered that Layla at The Lettered Cottage has used burlap in several places in her home (my favorite - the dining room curtains in this post) and felt like a genius.

After consulting with my dear friend Mr. Google, I found that Melaine at My Sweet Savannah upholstered a chair in burlap. Our chairs are a lot like Jennifer's at The Old Painted Cottage, which you can see here (and see her amazing cottage reno in this post).

Here are our chairs (with a couple of prints from Calico Corners and please excuse the terrible photo):


And my main inspiration photo - the table closely resembles my table and I do love those mismatched chairs:


Just one thing...I haven't told the husband my plans. No doubt - he will think I am completely nuts and that it will be ugly...but I'm sure he'll change his tune once I'm done!

p.s. I would have posted more pictures instead of all the links but I'm not sure what the blog etiquette is quite yet.