Blog – Page 11 – No. 29 Design

Now everything needs to change…

Since I added my banquette bench I started some work on changing the look of my kitchen. I’ll be painting, ripping out some cabinets and adding a cool feature or two. I’m looking to brighten and lighten up my kitchen and create more of a rustic industrial space. Warm wood, lots of white and some industrial accents are coming your way. For some ideas on how to create this look in your own space you can read more about it here… via House Beautiful

Indoor summer decorating with an outdoor rug…

homeware In many homes across the country summer is the time of flips flops, picnics, days at the beach or pool, and lots of outdoor fun. Realistically this means dirt, sand, random puddles and lots of little messes. One of the best ways to combat that while still keeping your home looking like it did at the beginning of the summer is to invest in an outdoor rug for the indoors. I’m over at the Homeware blog today giving you some ideas to make that happen. Come stop by!

from tv armoire to banquette bench…

Once upon a time I had a tv armoire. It was getting old and showing its’ age. Lot of bumps, knicks and other unprettiness. It was 10 years old and not the greatest piece. Probably 70% particleboard and veneer, 30% wood. I had tried to sell it twice on Craigslist with no bites. It was too heavy to even take to the curb in the hopes that someone would have pity on it (or me) and take it away. It was totally controlling the layout of my living room and I wanted it gone. Yesterday. I was in the beginning stages of building a banquette for my kitchen, tossing around how I would get this project done. I planned on buying some cabinetry to build a bench with a back. Then one night I sat on my sofa sketching out some ideas and I happened to look across the living…

no sew bench cushion

Continuing on with my banquette, the next (and final) step in the entire process was a bench cushion. I ordered myself a three inch piece of foam custom cut just slightly larger than the measurements of my bench. I would be wrapping this tightly with batting and fabric. I wanted the cushion to extend just a bit from the base of the bench. Since this would be a bench I was using everyday I wanted to get good quality foam. I ordered Lux High Quality foam which is suggested for seats, chairs, cushions, benches and mattresses. The typical life span of this foam is 16 years. It arrived all rolled up so I let opened it up and straighten out for a day or two. In the meantime I had a piece of MDF cut at Home Depot to the measurements of the bench. (Note to self: always check the…

eye candy {rustic industrial kitchens}

I’m into a new look lately. My love of everything industrial is slowly coming to life in my kitchen but with a softer touch. Rustic Industrial design combines the softer elements of natural woods and materials in rustic decor with the harsher elements of the industrial style. Warm natural woods combined with repurposed industrial accents are then topped off with a strong color. In my personal favorites this color would be white. via decourban via emmas blog via my sweet savannah via desire to inspire via style-files via decoist via inrichting-huis via elle decor via cdn.homedit via Lonny via tumblr via flickr This look is coming soon to a kitchen near you. I have some painting to do….

creating the perfect family room…

Do you ever find yourself in a rut when putting together a new room. Today I’m over on the Homeware blog giving you an example of a family room using items from the Homeware line. Everything from rugs to chairs to tables to artwork are on the list. Go take a look!

what’s wrong with this picture?

Staying true to form my banquette bench project has led to another project. And then another one. First up, my round, light colored buthcherblock table just isn’t jiving with the banquette. Wrong color, wrong scale and wrong style. I’ve seen some banquettes where a round table looks great. via Enviable Designs, Inc. via Southern Living via Tiffany Eastman Interiors, LLC Banquettes work well with round tables when they are corner banquettes. Smaller scales and similar styles help as well. Mine is not one of those. I decided pretty early in the banquette project that the banquette and kitchen table weren’t complementing each other. I’m going to try my hand at building a table. Gulp. The second project that has been happening at the same time was pretty big. As in removing permanent pieces big. I might have needed a crowbar for this project. And a dumpster. Here’s a preview..

the banquette bench {securing the back}

With the back of the bench upholstered it was time to attach it to the bench itself. It would then be attached to the wall as well for extra security. I started out with some small pieces of wood that were screwed into the back of the upholstered back. These would serve as connection pieces since the back had a frame around it which bumped out about one inch. Using these pieces allowed me to have both the upholstered back and the bench sit flush against the wall. I then attached longer pieces on top of the smaller pieces, measuring carefully to make sure the longer pieces had enough room to attach to the back of the bench. They needed to extend about eight inches down since there was a support piece along the back of the bench eight inches down. Once both pieces were secured the whole back was…

don’t forget the outlet!

The banquette in my kitchen was built for a couple reasons. I like them. I wanted more fabric and color in my kitchen. I wanted a bigger table area. I really wanted to hide the outlet and cable jack on the wall. The outlet and lopsided cable jack are in the worst possible location. I’m not sure why they are up so high on the wall. The only reason I can think of is maybe the previous owner had their television high up on the wall, hospital style. Although they are horribly placed the outlet is used. A lot. My 11 year old has discovered the joy of a glue gun and this is where we plug it in to do projects at the kitchen table. Since I don’t want her using the glue gun at the dining room table I had to somehow have access to this outlet. It would…

the banquette bench {upholstering the back}

So things have been moving along on my kitchen banquette bench. Let me catch you up to speed. The back was constructed and it was time to upholster it. I found the fabric I needed in the form of a tablecloth from Target. That was the only part I paid for since my dad just happened to have a huge old roll of one inch foam in storage in his basement. No joke on the “old” part of that sentence. It is the same roll he used to upholster my dining room chairs about 17 years ago. I would be stapling two layers of foam to the back and then stapling the fabric around that. My only tools were a huge pair of scissors and my staple gun. I first laid an old sheet down on the floor to protect my fabric. I was using my three season porch as my…