how to: DIY no sew entry table

if you’re interested in learning how to make a no sew skirt like i did with my entry table, here are the directions.  all-in-all it takes about 8 hours or a few weeknights and a little bit of your weekend. 

items you’ll need:

table that you don’t mind messing up with staples, fabric drop cloth, 1” wide fabric tape or ribbon, heavy duty stich-witchery, fabric glue, right angle ruler, pencil, staple gun & staples

instructions:

{you may want to iron your drop cloth before starting to make sure that your fabric lays flat.}

1. measure your table (width & length of each side and top).  if you are using a three-sided table then you should have the measurements of both ends of the table, the front and the top.

2. using a right angle ruler(so that your corners are square) draw out lines on your fabric.  make sure you draw out 4 side panels instead of only two because you’ll be using two of them to fold around the corners.  using sharp fabric scissors cut out the pieces that you have drawn leaving about a 1” border around the lines of the front and sides and a 2” border around the lines of the top.  you’ll be folding this border down later.

2.  once you’ve cut out your fabric then iron down the edges at the pencil lines so that you have nice folds and a guide for the stich-witchery.  (only do this to the edges of the side panels and not the top panel)

3.  insert the stich-witchery into the folds of your side panels and iron them in.  (do not insert stich-witchery into the top of the panels.  just leave them empty because you will be stapling them later.)  i personally prefer to iron the front side and the back side.  i feel like it makes the stich-witchery hold better.

5.  once you have your side and front panels hemmed with stich-witchery then take your fabric tape and create your design. on the front side of each of them.  you can do a design like mine or you could also just do an outline instead of adding the triangles.

6.  when you have your perfect pattern laid out carefully life the fabric tape one section at a time and insert pieces of stich-witchery.  iron over the top of the tape and on the back side of the fabric to fasten the tape.  you’ll have to hold the iron on the tape a little longer than usual because it’s so thick. {sorry guys.  don’t have a picture of this step}

6.  attach the top panel to the back side of the top of your table only using your staple gun.  DO NOT ATTACH TO ALL SIDES YET.  {don’t have a picture of this step either}

7.  once you’ve attached your top.  attach both side panels to the corners of the front and side using your staple gun.  this step helps hide your table legs and also give the table a tailored, pleated look.

7.  next attach your other side and front panels in the same fashion.

once you have all of your sides attached then it’s time to attach your top piece.

8.  pull the top piece down over the table top and trim the edges so that there is just enough of the edge to staple it down to your front and sides.

9.  pull the front tight and staple it to the table.  repeat for each side continuing to pull tight.

can you believe it…you’re almost finished.

8.  for the final step.  measure out the amount of fabric tape you will need to wrap around the edges of your top so that all the ugly staples are covered.  then attach the tape with fabric glue.

when you finish that step you’ll have something that looks an awful lot like this…minus the dog and the accessories.

GOOD LUCK finishing your own DIY no sew table.  send me pictures of them when you get them completed.

LiveJournal Tags: our house,no sew side table,diy

the dump

i’ll be bringing you the tutorial on my diy entry table tomorrow.  today, let’s talk about the dump.

the big buzz in atlanta all last week (let me rephrase that)…the big buzz on billboards and tv ads in atlanta last week was that the dump was having their atlanta location grand opening this weekend.  luckily billy was willing to go over there with me.  i think he was pretty curious what all of the fuss was about. 

we headed over to lindberg on saturday around lunchtime.  i’m not sure whether it was the beautiful weather that brought everyone out or whether the dump really did generate that much traffic, but i swear it was like 5 o’clock rush hour while we were trying to get to that place.  it took us a while to find a parking space but we did and made it inside.  when we first walked in i was pretty excited.  i loved the gi-normous pendants that were hanging everywhere.

i guess the gi-normous chandeliers are in proportion to the complex.  i don’t know exactly how big it is but the complex itself is massive.  for those of you who haven’t been to it it’s in an old home depot building…and it takes up the whole building.

things were looking good as we started to walk along.  i saw quite a bit that i didn’t like but quite a bit that i did.  i wasn’t too impressed with the prices though.  i think i expected too much.  from the way they advertised i was thinking the prices were going to be dirt cheap.  in my opinion they weren’t even close to dirt cheap.  i think it’s probably one of those stores that’s hit or miss.  i did see a few pieces that were a good deal but they were few and far between.  there was also a mix of run-of-the-mill furniture and very cool pieces.

i wish i would have taken pictures of everything.  i mostly took pictures of things that i really liked.

the olive paint on the inside of the hutch above is so striking.

  there was a large selection of reclaimed wood pieces which i really liked.

   

everyone loves birds right now and i thought these canvas prints were so sweet.

most of the art on this wall wasn’t as great.

i really liked this bedding.

there was a huge rug section

yes the tag on that sofa does say $7995, and just so you can see how big that sofa really is…

i probably won’t be going back to the dump for a while, at least not until the newness wears off and the traffic dies down.

LiveJournal Tags: the dump,atlanta design stores,lindbergh

no sew entry table revealed

on saturday afternoon i finished my no sew entry table and i’m so excited about it.  our condo is really small, and it has an extra small entry hallway.  when i first moved in over three years ago i quickly realized that i needed to find some kind of small table to fit into the entryway.  i looked everywhere for a table with a depth of less than 10” and never found one in my price range.  my last resort was building my own table.  i headed to home depot and picked up a wood shelf, a few table legs, some stain and made my own table.  it looked pretty sad for the last three years until this weekend.

the table (shown above) was functional but that’s about all it was.  it definitely wasn’t something that you would expect to find in the entryway of a designer’s home.  after billy and i decided that we were going to take our house off of the market and stay in it for a while i knew it was time to give my cheap little table a facelift.  i had some pieces of a drop cloth left-over from a previous project so i used that for the fabric.  then i added new black fabric tape to give it a more decorative look.

here is how it looks after a little cosmetic surgery.  since the table is by the front door anytime i headed that way my dog sweetie thought she was getting to go for a walk. 

so much better than before.  i also have extra storage underneath the skirt.  {huge bonus!!}  the best part is that it was super cheap and easy.  the total cost of the skirt was only $25.00.  the total cost of the table (way back when) was approximately $30.  so for less than $60 i have a pretty good looking table.  can’t beat that.  stay tuned to hear how to make this super-easy table skirt.

LiveJournal Tags: our house,no sew side table

suzanne kasler for ballard - very pretty stuff

the new ballard catalog came in the mail over the weekend.  i was so excited to see it because i knew that suzanne kasler had done the styling for many of the photos in this issue.  i’ve been loving the direction that ballard has been heading in for a while but i think in this issue they have it all right.  it seems as if they are getting away from a lot of the more country look and going to a more industrial/cottage style {my fave}.  suzanne kasler did an amazing job with styling one entire home for ballard.  house beautiful interviewed suzanne and part of that interview is in the catalog.  the rest can be found here.

my heart skipped a beat when i got to the picture below.  this is exactly what i would do to a home office for myself…if i had one.  i really think that everything about it is perfect.  i can’t wait until i have a home office one day. 

susanne kasler really did do a phenomenal job with styling for ballard.  looking at this issue is really almost like looking at a house beautiful magazine.  i can’t wait to see what they come up with next.  here are some other images from the issue for you to enjoy.  i thought i would tell you my favorite things about each of the photos.

photo #1: fave – chandelier (i can’t believe this chandy is only $299) and coffee table

photo #2: fave -  wall of shelves used to display every-day-ware.

photo #3: fave – pleated bedskirt and pink walls (i’m not a huge pink fan but i think i like it in this room because it’s such an unexpected color.)

all images – ballard catalog march 2010

LiveJournal Tags: ballard designs,house beautiful,susanne kasler

loving…

there is much to love around the blog world this week.  here are just a few things that i’m loving…

1.  the new summer collection from pottery barn.  head on over to belle maison to see a sneak peek before the catalog comes out.

images- pottery barn via belle maison

2.  the home of lee kleinhelter, owner of the store pieces, featured in atlanta homes & lifestyles.  it’s so clean and fresh.  i saw it about a week ago on the the atlanta h&l website but somehow forgot about it until full house posted it on wednesday.  i’m not quite sure how i forgot about this home because it’s beautiful.

 

images – atlanta homes & lifestyles; photography - erica george dines

3.  designer jill johnson.  love her style.  i hadn’t heard of her until today when erin from eos did a post on her home.  jill is madly talented.  click over and check out her portfolio if you get a chance.

images – waterleaf interiors

4.  this AMAZING giveaway going on over at this photographer’s life(in search of style).  blayne beacham, the author of this blog, is giving one lucky winner an ad space in the publication “the beacham series.”  how cool is that!!!  if that’s not an awesome giveaway, then i don’t know what is.  this isn’t a typical “post a comment” giveaway so make sure you go through all of the steps she has listed to enter the giveaway.  oh, and the best part is the actual magazine is absolutely beautiful.  complete eye candy.  blayne, one of the principal photographers of “the beacham series,” is an extremely talented photographer.  the magazine features multi-million dollar homes that are for sale around the atlanta area. 

gorgeous photography + multi-million $$$ atlanta homes + beautiful interiors = one HOT online publication.

head over to blayne’s blog to check out “the beacham series” and to get the details on the giveaway.

image – courtesy the beacham series

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oh, and if you haven’t signed up for one kings lane and received your $10 credit make sure you do so before march 10th.  anyone who signs up for okl through my sign-up site receives an automatic $10 credit just for signing up.  check it out here.

have a warm weekend.  i think atlanta might hit the 60’s this weekend.  i’m super excited about that possibility. 

LiveJournal Tags: loving...,belle maison,pottery barn,lee kleinhelter,pieces,atlanta homes & lifestyles magazine,jill johnson,elements of style blog,this photographer's life,blayne beacham,the beacham series

tomorrow night and a sneak peak

tomorrow night i’ll be here…

the tory burch store at phipps plaza.

and i’ll be hanging out with jennifer boles from the peak of chic blog.  she’s hosting a great blogger event.  i’m looking forward to meeting her as well as other local atlanta bloggers. 

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i’ve also been working on updating my entry table.  here’s a little sneak peek of what it looks like.  i’m loving it.

LiveJournal Tags: tory burch,the peak of chic,my home

a little decorating fun

about a month ago i couldn’t sleep one night so i put together an inspiration board for our family room/dining area.  creating these boards for clients has become one of my favorite things to do, second only to selecting fabrics.  i’m sure our family room won’t end up having every item from this inspiration board but hopefully it will have some of the more important pieces…like that lee industries sofa.  :o)  it’s one of my favorite sofas.  i used some of our current artwork and furniture to create the inspiration board as well as new pieces.  i want our house to have an industrial but comfortable feeling, and i want it to be filled with lots of character.  i’m so indecisive when it comes to my own home though.  things could change before it gets completed, but hopefully after we get our tax money back we’ll have a family room that looks something a little like this.

LiveJournal Tags: our house,lee industries