Human Lifestyle

                                                                                 Style at Home
Always getting what you ask for in a negotiation--always hearing yes and never risking no--means that you never ask for enough. Excessive caution, rather than protecting you from rejection or losing face, can actually prevent you from getting all that you're worth, all that you deserve, and all that's available...When you aim high in a negotiation, you adjust other people's perceptions of you...You communicate that you expect to be treated fairly and that you're willing to stand up for yourself...Life will open doors a little more easily to you, and it's worth hearing no now and then for that, isn't it?
                                                                                -Linda Babcock & Sara Laschever,
                   Ask for it: How Women Can Use The Power of Negotiation to Get
                                What They Really Want (excerpt from O Magazine)

I'm resuming my Trash to Treasure feature and seeking submissions!

Trash to Treasure is a feature where readers submit photos of furniture that they're not quite sure what to do with and I share my expert advice with recommendations for refinishing and reupholstering. Not sure if that old dresser is a keeper? Send it to me and I'll selected a handful of colors and fabrics that would work best with your piece, plus I'll feature it here on my blog.

A reader recently submitted this chair looking for inspiration on how to reinterpret its look for use in a master bedroom project.

What we are today is a result of our own past actions; Whatever we wish to be in the future depends on our present actions; Decide how you have to act now. We are responsible for what we are, whatever we wish ourselves to be. We have the power to make ourselves.
                                                                                      -Unknown

I've been planning on organizing my office for quite awhile, but the last few months of school made it nearly impossible to get anything of substance done.  I have a laundry list of projects/goals that I need to get done including adding shelving to the closet (to hold the majority of my books & magazines), painting the top 1.5 inches of the wall (thought I would be installing crown moulding, but it doesn't look like it . . . ), and sourcing and refinishing a new (to me) desk & chair. Well I found and finished the desk, and recently finished a dining chair I've repurposed as an office chair.  Here's the before:


I chose this chair because it was in excellent condition and had just the lines I was looking for!  I wanted something with a straighter back (to provide support while I'm toiling away at my desk) and yet still have classically feminine lines.


My favorite details are the fluted legs and the scalloped back, and if I had to guess, I would say this chair is what I imagine a modern Sheraton chair to look like (if you added leg stretchers), but unfortunately I have no clue where/who it's from!    Regardless of  its origin, for only $12, this fit the bill perfectly.


After a quick application of primer, I sprayed the chair a bright, glossy white and decided to use Kravet's Sommers fabric in the Atlantic colorway.





I love the modern print, and the variations of blue in the fabric are the perfect complement to my wall color (think Benjamin Moore's Brittany Blue).  After adding additional batting and reattaching the cushion, here's a look at my completed chair.




After allowing it to cure and off-gass for a few days, my office chair is finally ready to go, and it's the perfect complement to my campaign desk.  My next project is making (or sourcing) a large bulletin board for the area above my desk--stay tuned!

I am so behind on emails and "blog work", but now that I'm basically done with school (tying up a few loose ends), I hope to catch up on everything and a get back to schedule soon--please bear with me!


Jennae from Green Your Decor (a great blog focused on sustainable decorating) emailed this chair she picked up from  Freecycle, and wanted some suggesting for upholstering with a preference of organic, or at least natural, fabric.  


I love this Channel Back chair and think it's the perfect candidate for a makeover (sidenote--you can find some really great stuff on Freecycle, and if you're not familiar with it, I suggest you click the link and check it out)!  Searching around for organic fabric led me to some great finds that I didn't previously know about . . . 


I love this Grand Jubilee in Licorice from Mod Green Pod, which is printed on 100% organic cotton grown in the US using non-toxic pigments.



Even though the print on her bed is similar to the one found here, the bedding will be changed more frequently than the fabric on the chair, so I think the chair fabric should be selected to be a focal point in the room.  


The legs of her chair would look great painted black (or pink or yellow), and for eco-friendly high quality paint, I would look no further than Benjamin Moore's Natura line.  


 With no VOC's (Volatile Organic Compounds--the smelly solvents that get released into the air as paint dries) a virtually odorless finish,  and an endless array of colors to chose from (really, they can match anything), Natura is the perfect paint to use on this eco-friendly project.  I also found this Bloom print from Mod Green Pod which, while it clearly doesn't match her current master bedroom scheme, is still fabulous and would look great on her chair.





  (100% organic cotton--$40/yard)


From her email I know that these prints from Rubie Green are probably a little more her speed, but they're also the most expensive of this group.  They do, however, feature 100% certifiable organic cotton fabrics and are to die for!


Tillinghast, a 100% certified organic cotton ($90/yard),

Mary, $90/yard

and this Portobello headboard fabric (which I LOVE), @ $90/yard.


Etsy seller/store Daisy Janie, also features some amazing organic fabrics like this LULU remnant and offers fabric printing as well.





Clearly organic fabric is only relatively inexpensive, so if you're in the market for it, your best resource is probably the custom textile site Spoonflower (which Jennae told me about), that allows you design and print your own fabrics for anywhere from $18-$32.  This is definitely the cheapest I've found so far, but I'd love to know if any of you know of any great organic fabric resources.  Leave me a comment or send me an email, and Jennae, I hope this helps--thanks for sending in your chair!