Once upon a time, on the Upper, Upper West Side of Manhattan (112th Street, to be exact), I found a chair on the street. She was a lovely chair. I painted her green and put her just inside the door to my new sublet so I'd have a place to leave my purse when I came home.
Eight years, five apartments and two paint-jobs later, the poor thing needed to retire. Someone sat on her last month and she literally collapsed underneath them, much to my humiliation! Sorry chair, you had a good run, but it's time to go.
Enter the bench.
I've been thinking about a bench for this space for a few months. I liked the idea of having a bench for extra seating; two people can sit on him, instead of only one, like my chair. Also, I thought a bench would look great under my sewing table - something to echo the simple rectangular shape of the the design. I knew exactly what I wanted, but couldn't find anything in traditional stores (Target, etc.) so I began to scour craigslist. It took me a while, but I finally got the bench of my dreams from a very nice lady in Midtown who was moving and selling a bunch of stuff. $40 - not free, but I would hesitate to pick up something upholstered off the street. I'm not shy about garbage picking, as evidenced here, but I draw the line at fabric/upholstery. Why, I couldn't tell you. I just do, okay?
Four coats of paint (yes, really) and a $6 yard of fabric later and I have this:
Ta DAA!
Not bad, right? I'm so happy with the result! The white paint-job really accentuates the shape of the bench and how perfectly it echos my West Elm Parsons desk. I recently painted that wall Benjamin Moore's Labrador Blue and now everything pops against the color. I love that I can access the drawers of my desk without having to pull out the chair, which is a bonus I didn't even think about.
Ugh, this shot isn't white-balanced but I wanted to give you a close up. The blue of the fabric is actually more a teal but it looks very similar to the wall color in the picture. It's not that match-y in real life.
And here's a wide shot of my office/sewing nook. I bought that rail and hanging cups from Ikea and it's changed my life. I love having things (scissors, Sharpies, etc.) out and easy to access but this keeps them up and out of the way - the best of both worlds.
Stay tuned for more Before & After action - coming soon!!
2 comments:
this looks amazing!! wanna come over and give me advice on my apartment? i'm serious, it's been 13 years, time for a change!
My advice would be to read lots and lots of shelter magazines and look at Apartment Therapy every day! Seriously! I spend hours looking at design websites and bookmarking things that I like.
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