burnt orange surprise!

I love a good vintage find. Especially the ones that no one else see potential in.  I have this awesome vintage burnt orange velour chair that I have yet to slipcover.  Ive had the best of intentions, just never the time.. In fact, this chair is soo orange that when we were selling our St. George house we received an offer where the buyer basically wanted all of my furniture but stated, "you can keep the orange chair..." I kid you not!  Its a glorious chair and yes, it sticks out like a sore thumb, but I see the potential in it and its gonna be amazing!

Just like my orange chair my cute client had a pair of the same type of vintage chairs!  She got them at a garage sale and paid $15 for them!  Its a steal if you ask me.. but don't ask my husband.  Anyways, the chairs already had slipcovers on them, my client just wanted something different.  She bought 5 yards of fabric for each chair and boy oh boy was that tight!  The chair cushions were not the original cushions, but oh how wonderful they were. these babies are down filled cushions that were custom made for the chairs, but they still hung over a little bit in the front.  So, I worked my magic on these orange beauties and boom!  Here is what they looked like before...

 After my magic....

I just love the lines of these little chairs!  We changed the ruffled skirt to a box skirt and I tightened up the cushions so they would not hang over as much.  I tried to match up everything I could, but I had absolutely not fabric to work with so I had to get creative!  I love the result!

She also had me make a pair of pillow covers with fringe to go with the chairs.  Its a great little combo and it will be perfect for her new home, which I am secretly jealous of because its a farm. My dream.. But I am soo excited for her! At least I can help beautify her farm, one slipcover at a time.

I am also just now getting around to posting a photo of the chair I demoed at Furniture Fest back in January.. I know, huge slacker!!! but look how cute it turned out.  I just used a Ikea parsons chair, because I needed one, and they are a good candidate to show how to make a slipcover in a short period of time.  And its the perfect size for my little nook!  I added a 2" knife pleat skirt to it because I like the exposed legs... what do you think??

A little bit of housekeeping.. my schedule is filling up fast.  Right now I have 2 remaining spots open for April but they will be filled quickly with clients who are searching for fabric. Its always first come first serve.. May the best "fabric hunter" win!  Contact me if you are waiting something slipcovered or need help figuring out how much fabric to purchase.

Lastly.... Remember my Slipcover 101 workshop???? Pretty awesome, right?! There are 4 spots open for my May 1-2 workshop ( I was planing for April 24-25 but I forgot about spring break..). The cost of the workshop is $400 and will be non-refundable and required to hold your spot in the workshop.  You'll get lunch both days and a goodie bag of things to help you start making slipcovers. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact me!  You can find out more info about the class here.  Its gonna be a blast!  Plus you'll go home with a finished project made by you!

Ruffled up

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentines Day and President's Day weekend!  While my husband is in high gear to get our house fished before his landscape season begins, I was busy in my "sweat shop"trying to get this lovely lady finished before my clients' company arrived.

This darling client of mine loves her chaise!  Its her reading spot.  Doesn't it scream "curl up on me with a good book"? She had some 80" floral damask fabric lying around that she had been wanting to use for it and believe me, I used almost every inch she had of it!  This chaise goes in her guest room that she has redecorated in a shabby chic fashion, so naturally it needed a more frilly look.  So we added some pink and a whole lot of ruffles and ta da!!

Shabby Chic chaise!  I never get tired of seeing furniture transformations. Maybe thats why I love what I do soo much!  It definitely makes this masculine chaise feel jour feminine! And the fabric had a silky finish to it so you know its gonna be a comfy spot to read a book!  She was soo thrilled with how it turned out!  I can't wait to help her out with more pieces in the future!  

Speaking of future..this same client works at the Springville Antiques Treasure Mall.  When she dropped off the chairs she told me that they had just wrapped up 2 days of filming with HGTV at their shop.  Apparently there is an American Fork couple that fixes up really old homes, like historic homes and HGTV is doing a 6 episode series on them, kind of like Chip and Joanna Gaines from Fixer Upper, which is my all time favorite show!!  They were buying a tub and a bunch of things from my client for one of the homes so they filmed in her shop!  She was thrilled and can't wait to see it on air...  She said it is suppose to air in March.. So keep your eyes open!

Right now I am booked till about mid to end of March.  Feel free to contact me to get on my schedule if you are wanting something done!

**Also, little side note, Home Fabric is starting to carry fabric that they keep in stock and can order yardage!  They have a huge selection of twill, linen, prints and the list goes on.... and they have grey and robins egg blue!!  That usually flys off the shelf as fast as they come in so.. if you are having a hard time looking for fabric, check them out!  It may just save you time and a large headache...

Gingham style

Eh- Sexy Lady
Op op op op
Oppan "gingham" Style

Thats what I think when I look at my latest clients chair transformation!  sorry, I had to do it.. My client had 2 big red over sized wingback chairs that she was not sure what to do with.  She had given the ottoman to her neighbor to reupholster but she was still on the fence as to what to do with  it.  Here is one of the 2 big red chairs with the ottoman...

When she realized that slipcovering was an option, she jumped all over it!  She grabbed a small blue and white gingham fabric for the bodies of the chair and then a navy upholstery fabric for the piping from Home Fabrics for $5 a yard!! Thats fantastic when you need 30 yards of fabric....  I love it when my clients can go outside the box with the fabric combinations.  It just makes the finished product pop soo much more!  She wanted to change the look of the chairs and ottoman by adding a 10" box pleat skirt and boy oh boy did it do the trick!  Here is how it looks now!

They turned out better than I could have imagined! Its amazing how something as simple as choosing a different fabric for pipping and changing the existing skirt can make it look like a completely new chair!  See.. thats why slipcovers are soo great!! 

This coming week I have quite the load!  A chaise lounge, some massive bench cushions and finishing up my roman shades to go in my house! 

I can't wait to show you all how our little "Fixer upper" has transformed!  Its been a love hate relationship but Id like to say I'd do it again.  Maybe.. just not in the next 6 mo to a year....

I am starting to book up pretty fast so if you have something you want slipcovered for spring, contact me to get on my waiting list! Its just around the corner!

white to bright

I received an email a few weeks ago from the team over at Charish, a great online store that makes it fun and easy for design lovers to buy and sell vintage furniture, decor, jewelry and accessories to one another. Their shop exclusively features curator-approved treasures in a full-service and trustworthy environment. Its a pretty cool concept with really great stuff! Anyways, they asked me to create a design board for a room revolving around one of their great rugs, taking something from "white" to "bright". Here is what I came up with..

Chairish.com design board by katie-machin-mortensen featuring indigo home decor

Almost everything here was found on Chairish.com I love it!
I would install these floors in heartbeat! I love that they have a warm and cool feeling to them, and they can go with both gray and beige.. The paint is Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray. I've used it in 2 of my houses and love it!

I love, LOVE this rug!  I was drawn in by the blue but loved how the other colors played off of it! You, know me, I love a good slipcovered couch, so of course I had to add one, but not in boring beige, but in this awesome blue!  I love the lines of this couch, its livable but has major style! Its a piece that can adjust to new color schemes with a simple change of the cover.

I wanted a coffee table that was transparent, there is no point of having such an awesome rug if you can't see it.. so I found this antique brass and glass table..  not only is it gorgeous, but the glass corners are rounded.  Perfect for a house with small kids!  I went more retro with the side tables next to the couch.  I wanted to warm up the space and add some interest with the wood.

I found these great lamps to sit onto of the side tables.  I love the shape of the base of the lamps, it give the space a little whimsy.

Next I found these fun blue and cream print chairs!  I love a good print and its a great way to add interest to a space if you are nervous about committing to a print on a couch!  Between the chairs I found this little table with fun legs.  I thought they tied in well with the blue lamps and gave warmth to the space. and of course, you can't forget a lamp for it..

Across the way I added a tall back settee and pouf.  You can never have enough seating in my book!  Plus in my mind its a big room...

Next come the pillows!  Lots of fun colors and prints that tie into the rug.. I also added a pop of green to it too!

As for the walls I love to find old vintage prints and use them as art work.  And Chairish has plenty of that!!  Here are a few that worked well with the rug and added lots of interest to the space! I also found these ( 1,2,3,4) prints that I could not pass up!  How fun are they??

And so, there you have it folks.. This is what my blank space would morph into if given $$$$ to play with!  I absolutely love how it turned out!!  Thanks to the team at Chairish for the fun opportunity to let me create a space from their amazing site!!  Go see for yourself!

Aloha!

Well, I am finally ready to face reality that we don't live in Hawaii and that I won't be spending my days on the beach with my family every day.. Boo! But I am happy to be home and getting back to normal. I think..

Kona, you have our hearts! We spent 10 fun filled days doing absolutely nothing! and we loved every second of it!

We are just about finished wit our little fixer upper! I am putting the finishing touches on the main floor right now while the basement gets an overhaul.. I can't wait to show you the before and afters! I really love this little house of our and what it has transformed into. Its crazy what a little imagination and guts can do!

I am starting back to work on Monday, but I get to teach a class today at the South Jordan Water Conservation Park to a bunch of awesome people who want to learn more about what I love to do! I've got a full class and can't wait to share my love for the "slipcover craft"!

I also want to remind you that I'll be teaching a more in depth class on how to slipcover furniture next Saturday. You can find all the details here. If you are wanting anything slipcovers by me, feel free to contact me. Right now I am book till about the end of February. I hope you all have had a great start to your 2015! I know I am excited to see what it has in store for me!

Wrapping up

Its been a spell since I have posted but its not for the lack of work, in fact I have been swamped and I am just now getting a chance to post about it. It has been a very busy last few weeks. Work, holidays and my husband wanting us to move into our little house before Christmas.. Did I mention its about 80% ready, ya. So I've been trying to figure out how to deal with that. When I say 80% I mean one of the 2 bathrooms is functional (well almost..), the laundry room still need to be finished (ya, I can't do laundry) every interior door needs to be hung,and a ton (like a TON) of finish work that still needs to be done. My husband wants me to start getting slipcovers and drapes and decor up, but I refuse to until the rest of the cabinet doors are hung and the paint buckets and tools are ALL out of the family room. Oh and new windows get installed.. The list goes on and on but never the less, here we are. Still in an adventure. But man oh man, the transformation is incredible!! And yes, I am gonna keep you waiting for pictures.. ha!


We had a great Christmas! Even if I had to do 8 loads of laundry at my moms house on Christmas day, but hey, it got done.. Plus we all got some new clothes, soo thats fired up! Here is my little family on Christmas day, in front of our little tree that got put up on Christmas Eve, whew! I did not think we'd make it.. and if you look behind the tree, you'll see a lovely collection of tools. Santa did not bring those.

Of all the goodies Santa left under the tree, the $2 umbrellas were the fav.. I may need to rethink my strategy next year.. all in all it was a fabulous Christmas! I hope yours was fantastic!

This is what I had to finish the week and half before Christmas. My cute client just moved here from the Bay area in June and needed a bunch of stuff done and of course I was happy to help! Here is a shot of her family and dining area. She wanted the green chair and a half, ottoman, floral sitting chair, parsons chairs and curtains made.

She wanted a french country vibe so we added pops of blues and red in to go with her rug, it all tied in pretty great but she said the next thing on her to-do list was painting the whole house.. Yikes! here are the before and afters of the furniture.
Chair 1 went from a shabby chic floral to a fun pop of blue and neutrals!

It just looks so bright and happy! This is the green chair and a half

The green toile was country and all, but lets face it, its not cutting it! So we slipcovered it an a neutral with a small cream floral print. It gives it a facelift and ties in with her curtains. She did not want to have the ottoman match so she is on a fabric hunt over the holiday break.
We also slipped her dining chairs. They were from down east (Pottery Barn parson chairs) and were just a plain beige before, nothing special, but boy did she amp it up with the fabric and trim she chose! I really love the red and robins egg blue combo and it looks fabulous in her home!I added a 4" band on the skirt to break up the pattern and tie it all together. I love how they turned out!

I made her a few pillows to throw on her white couch too!

She has not sent me a picture of her curtains yet, they were massive panels for the window behind the couch. I can't wait to see it all together! After the holiday we will be finishing up the ottoman and a bunch of pillows. But for now, this is what ya get!

I also did a glider for a lady out in CA. I get a lot of inquiries about this glider I did for a fabulous designer client's own nursery, pretty great, right?! Her glider was pretty old, but luck for me my mother-in-law had basically the same one! I was able to have her send me fabric and then fit my mil's chair. This is what it looked like on hers..

I love how it changes the look of it because lets be honest, gliders are just awful to look at! Now it looks a little more inviting plus, with kids you can just throw the whole thing in the wash if it gets dirty!

I am taking a break until January and trying to get my little house in order, well the best that I can for now. If you want anything slipcovered, feel free to contact me, I can put you on the list. I also have a few spot left in my January Slipcover workshop! If you can't make this one, don't worry, Ill do a few thru the year! I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and will have a fabulous New Year!

Perfect!

I Today was going to be the "perfect" day! I had it aranged so that I could get mucho stuff done today.  Both kids dropped off at school. My kindergartener would go play with Her favorite Aunt and cousin after school.  Heck, she was even going to pick her up!  That means for me, I have from 8:45am till about 2:45pm to be as productive as an be!  Getting a morning ride on my horse, because the weather we are having is marvelous and I know the days are numbered...  Next, off the my work space to finish up a few projects and start more and then, start chipping away at the Christmas shopping.  Perfect day! 

But alas.. It was almost too perfect.  I got to about 11:00am on the schedule when I got a call from the school, my 2nd grader has a high fever and he does not feel good. So now, everything must wait! Luckily my little guy was just a little warm, nothing a soup and time with mom and a little snuggles can't fix;). These are the moments that as a mother, I would never trade!  Nothing is better than being needed by your children or loved ones! So today turned out to be not so "perfect", but absolutely positively PERFECT!

I am sure that yesterday's activities of hauling my poor kids around after school to do drop off and an outing at IKEA had nothing to do with his fever.  I am sure of it;) So here you are, #1... This cute little settee was a $45 find on ksl.  My client saw its potential, and not was she spot on!  Here is the before

Pretty cute! Well she washed up some natural linen, which I love and had me add a box pleat skirt to it to kick it up a notch!  I love how it turned out!  She was thrilled at the results as well.  So thrilled that she sent a picture to the lady she bought it from!!  

#2 on the list was dropping off 4 dining room seat cushion that I made for a client who bough a few of my chairs.  She wanted a white cushion with a gathered skirt and big fat ties.  I really love these seat cushions! 

Soo fun!  She moved her other chairs over by the fireplace, they look so good together!

#3 I also covered these two little ottomans for a cute friend!  She was ready for a change, and a change is what she got! Before

After!!

They look fantastic!  I ran Velcro under to keep them secure and now she can pop them off any time for a quick cleaning!

I am pretty h booked up they the first part of February, contact me if you are wanting to get on my schedule!  I still have a few spots left in my workshop for the end of January.  I hope you all are getting you shopping done, cause I sure am not!  Not at this rate anyways...