Creating a room design around thrifted and found treasures can be um… a little challenging sometimes.

The reoccurring missing link in Cara’s Office makeover was the stool. For the love of everything that is holy we could not find a stool. Not a cheap one, not an expensive one, not one that could be converted into something fantastic. NOTHING.

To this problem, I may I may have pitched the idea that standing while you get your makeup done is in fact EXCELLENT for your circulation. Cara was not amused.

So what do you do when life doesn’t even give you lemons? You pray. And you hope that somewhere buried deep in the pages of Craigslist that you will find a lemon tree…or even a lemon drop. Beggars can’t be choosers.

Just give me something to work with.

The last 2 hours of the last day that I was in Vegas to finish the office, finally cracked a glimmer of hope. On Craigslist I found a listing for 3 brass barstool bases. They were old and HEAVY and tarnished. Their previous life had been in an old school casino slot bank. Ah the stories that these boys could tell.

They were absolutely PERFECT.

(This is where I would normally insert a picture from the CL ad but alas, it has been forever lost in the abyss of my picture files…)

I think I may have freaked the seller out a little. Sometimes I can be a little over excited. I cant help it. I am like a puppy.

But the good news is that we were able to meet up and for a measly $36 all three were mine.

We mad dashed into the nearest Goodwill store for anything that had a back. Picture Minute To Win It room makeover edition. The winner was the most horrendous conference hotel chair that you have ever seen. It is so bad its cliché.

I mean, dont you want that in your house? Maybe Motel Glam is going to replace Shabby Chic one of these days….

Luckily for everyone that values their eyeballs, today is not that day.

I took the legs off of the hotel chair and attached it to the brass barstool base.

Looking better already! #amiright?

I then used 2 flokati (white furry) rugs from Homegoods and made sort of a pillow case/ slip cover with them by sewing two together (right sides together) .

After I flipped it right side out, I put it over the chair like a pillowcase. I had to cut a slit in the bottom so that the slipcover could wrap around the brass base. Once everything fit nice and snug I used a staple gun to secure Miracle’s new dream coat in place.

And voila!

So next time my lovie you are in the market for an amazing chair, remember to not judge a book by its cover,  or a chair by it’s fire-proof 1993 beige and burgundy fabric for that matter.

Total cost for this project:

Base: $12
Chair: $8
Rugs: 2 @ $17.99

Total: $55.98

Witnessing a real life Miracle? Priceless.

The post Miracle the Mighty Stool appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

I LOVE WICKER! Phew, I am so glad I got that off my chest…again. A month or so ago I was so excited to find this little bentwood cane foot stool at my local thrift stool for $12.

Everything about it is just so good. I debated using it in Cara’s Office for as long as I could. I mean, I really wanted it. But ultimately my good Samaritan decorating philosophy won out.

I have become a wood purist from the early days of Vintage Revivals when I spray painted everything, just because I could. It is hard for me to change something that I already love. But to keep this table wood and have it by the velvet couch (that is already the darkest part of Cara’s room)  it was just too heavy.

It needed a lighter brighter makeover. I have been super inspired by all of the colorful thread wrapped antlers, for well, years. So that was my jumping off point. Then as I was googling “Thread Wrapped Antlers” for different color combos this picture from Feliz came up and it was EXACTLY like I was picturing. I love/hate when that happens.

When you are spray painting, you first step is to thoroughly clean your piece. If you don’t do this your paint will bubble and crack and look really horrible.

After I wiped everything down I took the top off of the table because I did not want to paint the woven canning on the top.

When you are painting something that is rounded and/or has a lot of dimension you want to make sure that you hit it from every angle,  otherwise you will end up with spots that are unpainted.

To paint the top of the table, I used a piece of cardstock that I bent along the edge of the canning to shield it from the paint.

I didn’t worry so much about the underside of it and just sprayed it lightly to make sure that there were no drips that leaked through to the front.

If you have a few, sandpaper is like an eraser. Use a light grit (like 220) and an even lighter hand to remove any mistakes.

Head to your favorite craft/sewing store for embroidery floss. (They have great color selections at Michaels and Joann’s!)  For the stool we used every bit of this thread, and to be honest could have used more. So I would recommend overbuying and then returning what you don’t need.

Start by tying a knot around your stool. Trim off the excess.

Wrap your string evenly around the wood. This is sort of one of this simple but mind numbing activities. To make it look fantastic you will want to stack the strings as your winding them (instead of going all willy nilly). Use your fingertips to push the threads together.

Add in another color by tying the ends of the 2 different colors together and tucking the knot underneath as you are wrapping.

For a more uniform look you can mirror the thread on both sides of your stool. Or if you want something that is a little different, you can do them totally differently.

This idea is so simple, you can thread wrap anything! Like a lamp,  or a picture frame, or any thing with legs (except your children, because of the whole “cutting off circulation” thing.)

psst! if you have any left over thread, this project is perfect! And if you missed the tutorial for the Plywood Pinwheel Art you can find that here!

The post Thread Wrapped Stool appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

If I have said it once, I’ve said it 1000 times. Art is hard. Art is either expensive, or so mainstream everyone knows that you bought it at Target. I would LOVE to learn how to paint (sigh, one day friends.) but best news ever… you can totally make this art with zero skills.

Last month I was flipping through the September issue of HGTV Magazine (my fave!)and saw this image.

It stung me to my freaking core. Now I know that there was probably mad technique involved. But to my pick-it-apart-until-I-figure-it-out mind, I saw peg board, straight lines,  lots of color, and texture. And immediately thought, I can do that. Or at least do something that is inspired by it.

In Cara’s office we needed some art that was large and in charge to balance the entire wall of shelves that are on the opposite wall. Without something that took up a lot of space the room would feel very weak on one side. I also knew that filling in all of the spaces would be too much for the calming, comfortable vibe that I was going for. Hence the inspired by, not exact replica mentality. Side note:  if you see something that you love, the funnest part of the entire operation is taking what you love about it, and making it your own.

Surprisingly the biggest hurdle that I ran into in this project was the fact that Cara and I both have small cars and couldn’t fit a 4×4 piece of ply in them. Which lead to using 2 2×4’s. In this case we had to take a page from my girl Nester and just say “It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.”

Start by gathering your supplies. You will need a few different types and colors of paint. Acrylic, Watercolor, Gold Leaf Paint , and plaster are the ones that I chose. The Plaster that I used had really great packaging, so that is why I bought it. Valid reason right? I mean, that guy is so cute.

The most important supply in this art project is a roll of painters tape.

I am a ScotchBlue girl until I die,  for this particular project I recommend using the ScotchBlue Advanced Multi Surface with Edgelock. Because you are painting on Ply you wont need to worry about pulling up the fresh paint. So get the one with the green writing.

Start by finding the center point on your wood. I chose to make mine off center to make it a little more interesting (*cough* and so I didn’t have to measure anything *cough*) from there you just start taping.

Make sure that your center point is where both pieces of tape meet (seems a little obvious, but I had to retape a few times because I missed the mark.)

Mix your paint, water, plaster, whatever you have planned for this strip, and get to it. Quality tape=perfect paint lines every time.

When you are using water putty, mix it with an acrylic paint color. If you try and use an oil based paint you are going to have major problems. Remember my love, that when you are rocking the plaster that you want a lot of texture. Smoothness= Lameness. Got it?

Peel off your tape while your paint/plaster is still wet,  it will hold its shape, but you will see some seepage from the water. This is totally fine and will dry.

I LOVE the loose watery effect of using watercolor on wood. Because there is so much water involved in this paint, once again seepage will happen, but that is what makes it look SO AWESOME. These stripes are like the cool kids in high school, they don’t care,  they are just going to do what they are going to do and everyone is going to be insanely jealous and try and figure out how they are so effortlessly awesome.

The really fun part of this project is customizing it to something that is perfect for your house. Mix colors, channel your inner Da Vinci and make sure you send me pictures!

This post is a collaboration with ScotchBlue Painter’s Tape. To join the creative community, visit www.facebook.com/ScotchBlue.

The post Plywood Pinwheel Art appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

So many treasures so little time my friends. Lets get started! Oh, but first I feel like I need a little bit of a disclaimer. One of the things that I love/hate about being such a hardcore thrifter is that so many of these fun items that really make the room arent readily available. The plus side is that the room is one of a kind, the down side is that if you want something,well you are sort of screwed.

For this post,  I am going to be sharing all of the shopping sources. If there is something that is not listed it is because its a project and the tutorial is on its way!

It is a little hard to tell in the pictures how small Cara’s room is. It had to have a couch (or some sort of seating) but a regular sized loveseat would have literally taken up 1/2 of the room. For weeks I scoured every source imaginable and came up short. Then one night at 2 am I found an ad on Craigslist for her settee. It was at an Antique store in (what we very lovingly refer to as) the dirty strip club labyrinth. Unless you know EXACTLY where to turn, every road leads to herpes.

The store is called Not Just Antiques and it.was.AMAZING. If you are in Vegas, it is a must stop. There were 3 or 4 sofas/chairs that would have worked wonderfully in her room. But after seeing the settee, we knew it was meant to be for $200. The matching item in the picture was a set of chairs.

While we were there we found a whole multitude of treasures. Like the card catalog for organizing all of Cara’s makeup for $350

The amazing crystal art deco chandelier for $120. The cord was miniscule and needed to be attached to something longer. After wiring them together I covered the entire thing with duct tape to 1. hide the ugly electrical tape. And 2. to make it look like it was intentional. Its like magic yo.

a bunch of vintage and antique beauty items like these lovelies:

and just like when you are Christmas shopping for everyone else,  you have to get something for yourself too. So I bought this awesome Kilim rug that has been gracing a few room shots lately.

The trick to getting great prices at stores like this is to play my favorite game Lets Make a Deal (I have a whole post written on the art of negotiating here)

Cara LOVES Kevyn Aucoin. Like border line stalker love. So we framed the cover of his book Making Faces. The little bike picture is one of her favorite quotes. Both frames are from Homegoods. The plywood pinwheel art was a DIY (it is SO GOOD right?!) and the tutorial will be going up on Friday so you can make your own! Pillows from left to right are Nate Berkus for Target, Homegoods and Homegoods. The throw is also Homegoods.

The wicker table was a thrift score treasure that I found for $15. Tutorial coming for the makeover.

Books are thrift store,  lace potter is Homegoods and the succulent is from Home Depot. The rug is from (you guessed it) Homegoods. The brass lamp was another thrift store score for $20

The original plan was not to put in drapes, but it was just needing something so Cara picked up these blue velvet ones from Ikea for $59.00. The silver antlers (just like the ones I am giving away!!) are Homegoods, and the Vogue cover was printed online.

The assortment of boxes and jars are mostly thift store finds that were painted a different color. The purple jar and the bird art are from Homegoods. As well as the hexagon mirror, qtip jars, mirrored box, star, wooden inlay box, and flying pig. Miracle the barstool gets a post all his own really soon. The blush mirror I had in my hoard after taking down the Wall o Mirrors. The geode string art tutorial is right here if you want to replicate that project.

Try framing wrapping paper for a quick punch of pattern. This wrapping paper was purchased at The Container Store.

All of the supplies for the industrial pipe shelving were purchased at Lowes (tutorial coming for that!) A few of you have asked about the price and if I remember correctly, it is around $600 for all of the supplies.

One of my favorite ways to really infuse specific colors into a space without making it too “Look at me! I am trying to make the room look more pink!” is to use books that are the colors you want. (I also did this in Hailee’s Living Room with teal.)  Make sure too look behind the cover protectors to see what really lies beneath. Is Cara really going to read “A Smart Girls Guide To Sports”? Um..no. BUT it is the perfect shade of pale pink,  so it stays.

If you need a neutral, try flipping the books so that the spines are facing the wall,  or take off the covers for a worn Restoration Hardware vibe. (Geode from Homegoods)

Obviously if I could only shop at 2 stores it would be a thrift store and Homegoods,  the key to creating a room design that looks collected, is to collect. Find things that you love and store them until they have the perfect home. Your husband might not love it, but sometimes he has to take one for the team.

If you have a specific question about an item,  leave a comment and I will be more than happy to answer it for you!

Dont forget to enter to win the MaskCara’s Office in a Box giveaway. Just imagine,  a HUGE box of treasures so that you can recreate this room design in your house! Enter here.

The post MaskCara’s Office Source List appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

This is the best day of the whole summer, right here, right now. 

2 months, 6 trips, and 100’s of life stories later,  my girl Cara has a brand new makeup oasis.  Today is the day that you FINALLY get to see it!

I love working with other people and their design parameters.  In my house I can experiment to my hearts content, but when you are designing for someone else, they have all their own ideas that you get to work with (that is one reason that Dyl’s room turned out so fantastic!)

When I asked Cara what she wanted her room to feel she immediately answered with welcoming, calm, creative and glamorous. (she obvs thought about it long and hard.)  Creating a space based on feelings is my favorite.  Because so many of her readers come over for makeovers, Cara wanted the room to be a destination,  somewhere totally special and beautiful.

Here is what it looked like before.  It was totally not functional for what Cara needed it for.  Imagine trying to shoot beauty videos in a dark,  mustard-y beige cavern.  There is a fantastic chance that you will look like you are in liver failure.

Liver failure…that is what we started with.

This is what I turned it into:

One of the big hurdles in this space is that Cara rents (as do so many of you).  Now before you go all Hildy on a room make sure that your landlord is ok with it.  Rental agreements are different everywhere.  That being said.  We all know what it feels like to not love a room.  You know where you make excuses when people see it, or in Cara’s case, it is just not functional for what you need?  Why not make it amazing and then when it comes time to move out, spend a few days putting it back the way you found it? 

People are freaked out about patching small holes, when in all reality it is not a big deal at all.  My advice when you are working in a rental is to make sure that everything you do is reversible.  Take our wall treatment for example.  It was painted beforehand and not caulked.  Each board has 2 tiny finishing nails in it, and can be pulled off the wall without damage.  Spend a few hours filling holes and its like it never happened.

The art was inspired by a piece that I spotted in HGTV Magazine (they are my fave).

The amazing antique velvet settee is the stuff that dreams are made of.  Literally.  The blue velvet is in perfect condition, and it is trimmed out with pale lilac.  Who does that?  My guardian angel,  that’s who.

More than a beautiful room, Cara needed a space that was functional.  I am talking major storage and somewhere that she could actually work her beauty making magic on.  So transforming this idea I created a custom shelving unit that rocks the industrial glam hard.   I cant wait to tell you all about the stool…his name is Miracle (for reals) and he has a little secret under his pretty white coat.

The ginormous ceiling fan HAD to go.  In its place is an antique crystal art deco chandelier.   Because the room is on the small side we were able to swag the light over the table and not worry too much about light displacement.  That my friends is called a win win win.  Also this is the part where I stop talking, because I know you just want to look at pretty pictures anyways…

So good right?! 

As amazing as this room is though, the best part was finding a bestie for life.  Miss Cara I love you!

Next week begins the whirlwind of sources, step by step tutorials, and behind the scenes mishaps that went into creating this space from the ground up.

Ok now.  Lets be honest.  Dont you want to take a little bit of this room home? 

EEEK! I want you to be able to take a little bit of this room home too! 

I am doing something that I have never done before.  I am giving away MaskCara’s Office in a Box to one lucky reader.  It is a box chock full of treasures to create your own industrial glam oasis.  Complete with pillows, rugs, art, and tchotchkes galore.  I am going to be sneak previewing all of the goodies on Facebook and Instagram throughout the weekend, so make sure that you are following Vintage Revivals in both places!  On Monday the giveaway post goes live!  So make sure that you come back then!

And just for fun,  lets look at the before and after again…

pssst newbies!  Want to see more room reveals?  Check them all out here.

And we are dying to know,  what is your favorite part of Cara’s new room?

The post MaskCara’s Office Makeover Reveal appeared first on Vintage Revivals.