Before and After: Living Room Armchair

I finally had an armchair reupholstered that I bought a while ago (okay, full disclosure: 2 years ago) at Brimfield.  It was delivered this morning, complete with a replacement for the caster that's been missing all this time (to add to my shame).

Before:

After:

The new fabric is a woven wool-cotton blend that reminds me of an antique paisley shawl.  The piping is silk.

Custom sectional for the sunroom

The company that has been making my custom upholstered pieces just sent these photos of the sectional they're building for the sunroom.  They're delivering tomorrow and I'm very excited to see how it looks in the space.  It will be so great to have extra storage for garden equipment underneath the skirt, a slightly higher than normal seat for a better view out the windows, and a bit more support if we decide to add a dining height table.  Fingers crossed too that these down cushions are as comfy as the ones on the chaise that's currently up there.

First signs of spring

Some photos from the roof garden earlier this week:

Above: Crocus chysanthus 'Cream Beauty".

Above: Helleborus niger.

Above: Galanthus elwesii, which has been blooming since the end of November.

New bed for the guest bedroom

The bed I bought for the guest bedroom arrived last week.  It's the Devyn bed from Restoration Hardware:

It both looks good in the room and is extremely functional.  The guest bedroom is also our TV watching room, so the fact that the Devyn is styled more like a sofa than a traditional bed is key.  It's so much more enjoyable spending time in there now that there's a headboard to lean back against.  The upholstery color is a little more gray and a little less beige than I would have wanted - and than the photo above suggests - but it still works.

Coasting

This may seem trivial to you but it isn't to me: I bought coasters today!  Yup, it's a small thing but I've been looking for nice ones that are neither totally traditional, nor cheesy/flimsy for more than half a year now.  I thought I'd found some at Jayson Home and Garden a couple of months back but the color on the website didn't match what they had in stock.  I like these agate ones too, from HSN of all places, but refuse to spend $120 for a set of four, even if the rims are gold-plated:

What I bought were eight of these petrified wood ones from Anthropologie. 

Less trendy than the agate anyway.  The ones I picked up are different shapes and colors than the ones in the photo (it is a natural product after all).  They're more beige, less black.  Anyway, it is *such* a relief to know that I can offer guests a drink without worrying about condensation circles being left on antique wood surfaces.

Two furniture purchases

I think I forgot to share two recent furniture purchases with you.  I bought this coffee table for the sunroom from CB2.

The room is small, so the lucite keeps it feeling a little less cluttered than it otherwise would.  The rest of the furniture is mostly antique so this is a fun shot of something youthful.  I've also already had ample opportunity to appreciate the relative softness of the plastic, since I tend to bang into the corners when I'm watering the plants.

Speaking of mirrored, I also sprung for this screen from Restoration Hardware:

It's in the exercise room, which occasionally pinch hits as a second guest bedroom.  The mirrors are useful when exercising and the fact that it's a screen will let us wall off the weight rack and bench when someone is sleeping over.  Between the screen and the new patchwork hide rug, the exercise is feel a lot more welcoming these days.  Next up for it are custom silk curtains.  I think I found the perfect color but am waiting for a fabric swatch to examine in the room.

Mirror for the front entryway

Today there was some disappointment when the mirror I'd ordered from Restoration Hardware for the front entryway arrived but was too tall. This "Palladian Mirror" is what I'd chosen:

I like the way it's reminiscent of a window: the space doesn't have any natural light and is small so it feels closed in.  I'd thought that a mirror - and especially a mirror designed like a window into another space - would make the foyer feel more expansive.  RH makes a smaller version of the ill-fated mirror, but it's pretty narrow: about 33".  The wall is slightly more than twice that wide and I don't want something there that looks like a a little sliver.

I hunted around on the RH website and the best I came up with was this:

It's stately and the gold would look great with our gold ceiling and the brass chandelier but I'm concerned that it's too much of an ordinary picture frame-type mirror and not architectural enough.

I also found this much less expensive mirror from Ballard that is more in the "window" vein:

It's slightly smaller (an inch and a half narrower and half a foot shorter).  I'm not sure whether that will make any appreciable difference.  Also, the glass is antiqued.  I do want the mirror to be functional for last-minute wardrobe checks before heading out the front door so I'm not sure that's a good idea.  I guess I need to "reflect" on that a bit. (Sorry!)  I'm inclining towards the Ballard, though.