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 August Blues

sherri@augustblues.com
Denton, TX
940.597.0208

 August Blues

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Blog

Home, Part 1

July 29, 2013 Sherri Rice
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During this vacation, I have been thinking about home. And probably more about the concept of home than the actual place. If you will indulge me, I would like to share a few thoughts and ideas in a series of posts. None of this will be earthshaking or new, it's just what I have been contemplating, and maybe it will stir a few thoughts of your own... I thought I would start by sharing some pictures of some of the places I have lived since leaving my parents house. Not included on this list are: a basement suite, 3 apartments, and the house we currently live in, the latter because, while it is perfectly functional, does not quite represent the style that these favorites have. I would say that these here most closely represent the style that speaks to me, that feeds my sense of "home."

I shared this house with some roommates while we were in university, one of whom, while she is also my second cousin, has become a dear friend. You know, the ones that every time you are together, you just pick up where you left off, even if there has been minimal communication in between (and every time I resolve to change that :/ )? Oh, there are stories from this house...

August Blues - Craftsman
August Blues - Craftsman

It's a fairly typical Craftsman bungalow, with a  great family room addition on the back. Most of the original moldings were intact when we lived there. There was even a claw foot tub and doors with frosted glass windows and hardwood floors - lovely!

This next house was the first house that the Professor and I bought (and the blue-and-white color scheme was totally coincidental!). We loved this house! It was a little (730 sq. ft on the main floor!) cottage built in 1914 and located across from a lovely green park. The backyard was filled with gorgeous perennial borders put in by the previous owner (thankfully, because I do not have the greenest of thumbs). Unfortunately, it's looking a little worse for wear now, but there are so many memories in this house...

August Blues - Cottage
August Blues - Cottage

And this last house is the house we left behind when we moved to Texas. And that was a little tough. We came upon it by going to an open house on a whim. We looked at the house, and carried on with our day. But, we kept thinking and talking and realized that it had a lot of what we were looking for in our next house (we realized that 730 sq ft would probably get too small at some point ;) ). And the price was right. So, we had another look, put our house on the market and when it sold in 6 days, we were the proud owners of this beauty!

August Blues - Row House
August Blues - Row House

This house is located a few blocks from downtown, on a lovely tree-lined street filled with similar homes in various stages of renovation. There is a coffee shop and small grocery store around the corner and a park a few blocks away. The river is just another block further.

Built in 1912, the house has 2 1/2 storeys and 1930 sq ft, with 4 bedrooms and a large kitchen addition on the back. It had been a rooming house at one point in it's life, so it had some quirks (including a walk-through closet and sinks in two of the bedrooms). But the hardwood floors were wonderful and it had most of it's original moldings. The Professor quickly claimed one of the third floor bedrooms for his office (it really felt like a tree house!) and I got a pass-through room on the main floor for mine (we both worked from home at that time). We loved to entertain in that house - the large kitchen and open/connected spaces on the main floor meant lots of room for everyone. And we loved that front porch! And I could go on and on...

As you can probably tell, we are drawn to older homes with tons of character. They do require work and being able to live with quirks, but the sense of history is difficult to duplicate in a newer home (imho). Someday we hope to find another old beauty, but for now, we will be thankful for these and continue to work on the one we have.

Are you drawn to a particular style of house?

Sherri

P.S. If you know the location of these homes, please do not reveal the address in your comments - thanks :)

In Musings Tags architecture, home, house, style
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Inspired Dining Room Slipcovers

July 22, 2013 Sherri Rice
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This was such  a great project! Remember the matelassé wing chairs? Well, these were the first project I did for that same client. She has a lovely dining room across from the living room where the wing chairs live. She was wanting to update the look of the whole room, and had already put fresh paint on the walls. At one of our first meetings, she was adding new color to the back of her china cabinet. Initially, she just wanted seat covers for the chairs, as she had already fashioned simple covers for the backs (including cute stenciled monograms!). We talked some more and emailed ideas back and forth and eventually landed on this inspiration picture...

Dining Chair Inspiration - CountryLiving.com
Dining Chair Inspiration - CountryLiving.com

(Image from Country Living; slipcovers by Gracie's Custom Interiors)

... which made me quite excited as I had seen this picture in a magazine years ago and loved those covers! I never dreamed that I would get to recreate them some day! My client selected an ivory brushed twill for the fabric, understanding of course, that it would not quite perform like the linen in the picture, but would be sturdy and washable.

This project was accomplished in stages. First, I fashioned a sample cover to get the fit, shape, and coverage right (the red toile had to be covered with minimal "peak-through" on the sides of the top panels). Once I had the shape right, I made a pattern and cut all the pieces I needed (did I mention that there were 6 chairs? Hence, the need for a pattern!). I also cut plain muslin for the lining. Then, I made the yards of pleated trim - Quick Pleaters to the rescue again :) I cut and finished the edges of all the ribbons. And then it was assembly time!

And I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

August Blues - Dining Chair
August Blues - Dining Chair
August Blues - Dining Chair Back
August Blues - Dining Chair Back

We used ribbon ties so that the front and back panels could be separated if needed.

August Blues - Dining Chair
August Blues - Dining Chair
August Blues - Dining Chair
August Blues - Dining Chair
August Blues - Dining Chair Pleats
August Blues - Dining Chair Pleats

And here they are in place...

August Blues - Dining Room
August Blues - Dining Room

What a pretty room!

Have you every created something based on a picture you have seen somewhere (Pinterest, anyone?)?

Sherri

In Slipcovers Tags chair, details, pleats, slipcover, slipcovers
4 Comments

Vintage to Fabulous

July 13, 2013 Sherri Rice
back-close-up.jpg

Greetings, friends! Just a quick post during our vacation to show you one of the last projects I completed. We started with a solid, but decidedly vintage chair. It has sentimental value to my client (who happens to be a good friend!), so she wanted to update it so it could find a home in her everyday living areas.

August Blues - Before
August Blues - Before

She chose an organic cotton duck cloth to go with some curtains in her home, and requested a box-pleated skirt and back closure details. We also decided to leave some of the wood details exposed. And here is the after...

August Blues - After
August Blues - After

More details...

August Blues - Side
August Blues - Side
August Blues - Wood Exposed
August Blues - Wood Exposed
August Blues - Back Lacing Detail
August Blues - Back Lacing Detail

There were some tricky parts, but it all came together nicely in the end. And now she can continue to enjoy her special chair every day.

Do you prefer to update vintage pieces or keep them in their original state?

Sherri

In Slipcovers Tags chair, details, pleats, slipcover, slipcovers, vintage
5 Comments

A Little Retail Therapy

July 7, 2013 Sherri Rice
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I hope you have been enjoying your July 4th weekend! We have some actual vacation time planned in the next few weeks, so I needed to finish one more slipcover project. It had it's challenges, but I am happy with how it turned out:). I will post about it later in the week.

We delivered the chair and took the opportunity to make a quick stop at IKEA. It was a win-win for everyone - I got to do a little shopping, the boys got to eat lunch out, and the Professor was happy to take advantage of the kids-eat-free deal this weekend :)

It's so hard to stick to a list at IKEA - anyone else have that problem? I did pretty well, only picking up a couple of things that weren't on my list.

August Blues - IKEA Things
August Blues - IKEA Things

I ended up with a decidedly modern country collection.

I had seen the set of two metal vases (Socker here) highlighted somewhere else earlier in the spring. Our store only had the cream color, but other colors looks like they would be great, too.

I was so happy to find the glass canister (Burken here)!! I have a couple of the them in my pantry and have been looking for another one; the last time I was at the store they didn't have any, but this time they did!

August Blues - Basket, Hooks, Vase, and Napkins
August Blues - Basket, Hooks, Vase, and Napkins

Also on my list was another basket for the shelf here (Byholma, but this one is not on the website).

And anyone else have trouble resisting the napkins? I wasn't going to get any this time, but this pattern in these colors? Well, they went into my bag :)

And finally, we have the Leksvik hooks up all over the house - I just needed one more set for one of the boys' bedrooms. Great look and so functional!

Do you have favorite IKEA products?

As I mentioned at the beginning, I will be taking a little vacation time over the next few weeks. I have a couple of slipcover projects to show you and will be starting new projects in August. I am booked into September, so if you want to get on my wait list, let me know (I will continue to check my e-mail).

Hope your summer is going well!

Sherri

In Musings, Organization Tags chair, country, details, IKEA, pantry, slipcover, slipcovers, summer
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Front Entry Redo

July 1, 2013 Sherri Rice
canada-day.jpg

Happy Monday! I am excited to share the "prequel" to this post!  Mostly because it is finally done (the kitchen table has looked like this for the better part of a week - projects don't always happen very quickly around here :/  ),

Table
Table

but also because I am really happy with how it turned out!

Here is the before...

August Blues - Entry Before
August Blues - Entry Before

... it was just feeling a little tired and in need of a change. It's not a big space, but it has to live large since we use this entrance the most; our stairway from the second floor also comes down here. I had put the stripes in some time ago, with the ultimate goal of finishing off the space with crown molding (the adjacent room, the August Blues work space, has crown molding put in by the previous owners).

August Blues - Entry Before
August Blues - Entry Before

The large cupboard was great for storage, but it was feeling quite large in the space and I really wanted that storage to be available in our family room (anyone else struggle with Lego storage?). The shelf on the other side was ok, but it was getting bumped when we moved furniture in and out of the house, so we needed a more moveable solution.

First step, put up the crown molding! I kept this low budget by using molding we already had for another project and, the best part, we found the corner blocks on clearance at Lowes - REALLY on clearance (we may have cleaned out our local store so we would have them for future crown molding projects)! We had the paint, nails, and caulk on hand.

The corner blocks make the installation so easy! No fancy cuts with a fancy saw. I painted everything with primer and a first coat of paint first. I installed the corner blocks (inner and outer corners) with Liquid Nails and a couple of finishing nails to hold them in place while the liquid dried. Then I just measured in between the blocks and cut the crown molding to those measurements. A little Liquid Nails, some finishing nails and they were up (thanks to the Professor for helping me get them up!). I caulked  (don't miss this step!), filled the nail holes, and painted the final coat of paint.

AUgust Blues - Crown Molding After
AUgust Blues - Crown Molding After
August Blues - Crown Molding
August Blues - Crown Molding

So much better (and now the stripes make more sense)! And here is the rest of the new look...

August Blues - mirror and chest1
August Blues - mirror and chest1
August Blues - view from stairs1
August Blues - view from stairs1
August Blues - bench
August Blues - bench

I shopped the house for the rest of the new look:

  • the shelf on the wall is the shelf that had been on the opposite wall, just painted white
  • the hooks had been here in the entry way in a previous version a few years ago
  • the baskets were from IKEA - they found a home here to store the Professor's caps
  • the storage bench came from the playroom upstairs. It now holds my shoes, but previously has also lived in the family room and has been seating at our kitchen table
  • I grabbed the pillows from the family room and guest room
  • the large metal basket came from Hobby Lobby a few months ago - it works great for the shoes I use most!
  • the antique chest came from the guest room (after a brief stop in the family room). I love this chest! We purchased it from an antique mall while we lived in our first house. It was covered in red high gloss paint that was starting to chip. It was cute for awhile, but then the red had to go. It was quite a job, but very worthwhile!

We are very happy with the finished project (our youngest said it looks like we live in a "fancy" house now!). It's functional and feels a little more like us. And now with all those corner blocks, more crown molding projects await :)

Have you tackled a new project lately? (I'm linking up here and here)

Sherri

P.S. Did you catch this?

canada-day.jpg
August Blues - Canada Day

Happy Canada Day!

In DIY Tags budget-friendly, Canada, cushions, details, DIY, organization
7 Comments

One Room Three Ways

June 27, 2013 Sherri Rice
blue-hydrangeas.jpg

Well, this was a fun project! Have you seen the One Room Three Ways challenge? A group of bloggers were challenged to make over a room three different ways, with minimal expense, primarily shopping their home. So, I thought I would join in :) I decided to work on our front entry-way, a small (7 1/2' by 5') space at our front door; the stairs from our second floor also lead here. It opens directly into what should be the dining room, but it functions as my sewing room. Full-disclosure: I started making some more significant changes to this space a few months ago, so this project spurred me on to finish the job. This post will just focus on the "pretties" that finish off the space; I'll do another post at a later date with the larger before/after details.

So, here we go - one room, three ways!

Here is the look (with slight variations) you are most likely to see if you come to visit...

August Blues - mirror and chest1
August Blues - mirror and chest1
August Blues - view from stairs1
August Blues - view from stairs1

This space has to live large so I try to include as much storage and function as possible. The look is simple and a little eclectic.

August Blues - shelf1
August Blues - shelf1
August Blues - bench
August Blues - bench1

Then, I thought I would try a blue-and-white version...

August Blues - Mirror2
August Blues - Mirror2

A little less function, and a little more pretty. Someday I will have room to display more of my blue-and-white collection :)

August Blues - Bench2
August Blues - Bench2

Finally, I thought I would push the pretty a little further and go a little more shabby chic...

August Blues - Bench3
August Blues - Bench3
August Blues - Shelf3
August Blues - Shelf3

Definitely pretty, and not so functional for a house with little boys!

August Blues - Mirror3
August Blues - Mirror3

It was certainly fun to play with different looks; as I worked I thought of a few other variations I might need to try out sometime ;)

So, do you like to play with accessories? Do you have a signature "look" or do you mix it up?

Sherri

P.S. Linking up here...

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In DIY Tags blue and white, budget-friendly, details, personality, shabby chic
11 Comments

Birthday Friday Five!

June 21, 2013 Sherri Rice
crepe-myrtle.jpg

Good Morning! I hope you have had a good week. I have another birthday Friday Five for you today - this time it's my birthday, aaannd that's enough about that ;)

August Blues - Scale
August Blues - Scale

1. I picked up this beauty a couple of weeks ago. It's a birthday perk :) Have you joined the Explorer program at World Market? It's free and totally worth it just for the little gift they send you for your birthday. I saw this scale on their website a couple of months ago and knew right away that I would be spending my birthday gift on that. Isn't it gorgeous?

August Blues - Lemonade
August Blues - Lemonade

2. We made this lemonade recipe earlier this week. Couldn't be easier! Not the cheapest way to make lemonade, but it's the real thing and it sure is tasty. Next time I think I will try it with a little less sugar ;)

crepe-myrtle.jpg
August Blues - Crepe Myrtle

3. Does anyone else have a crepe myrtle like this? We have two of them, planted a couple of years ago. They were supposed to have white flowers, and now you can see they have both white flowers and pink flowers on the same tree - I don't think that is supposed to happen... but we are ok with it :)

4. I linked up this projecthere (Link #54 if you are looking). Wow, if you want blog traffic, this is one way to get it :)

5. "Kid hangover" - if you are an introvert parent with extrovert kids, you may get this :) Seriously, I love the way Emily talks about transitioning to a summer schedule for those of us who attempt to work from home (she links to the post that describes the kid hangover).

Have a wonderful day and enjoy the first official weekend of summer!

Sherri

In Musings Tags birthday, summer
7 Comments

Friday Five

June 14, 2013 Sherri Rice
friday-quote.jpg

Happy Friday! I hope your week was good and your weekend promises to be even better :) Well, I worked on the fireplace yesterday, but you'll have to read to the end to see the "after"  ;)

1. We made it through our first official week of summer vacation! The boys had two days of day camp (awesome!) and we managed to fill up the rest of the time with trips to the park, therapy appointments, errands, a playdate, and some down time.

2. My favorite product of the summer so far? Sunscreen stick - have you tried it? Not very exciting, but if you are a mom, I'm sure you'll understand. It's probably been around for awhile (I'm a little slow). It just works so great for the boys!

3. Ok, I have two favorite new products ;)  Have you tried Tazo Decaf Chai Latte concentrate? I found a carton at Kroger (apparently it's also at Starbucks) and, wow - it makes a delicious drink! A great treat without leaving home :)

4. I got brave and joined my first linky party yesterday - check it out here!

5. Ok, here is the fireplace after (check out the before here)...

August Blues - Fireplace After
August Blues - Fireplace After

I basically used the technique she describes here, and I'll give more step-by-step details another time :)  We all like it much better! Now the mantel really looks not-quite-right (and we'll have to do something with the black hole), but we'll live with it for awhile so we can figure out what kind of mantel we want.

And the fabric for my next project arrived yesterday, so it's sewing time!

Do you have any projects for this weekend?

Sherri

In DIY, Musings Tags boys, fireplace, linky party, summer
4 Comments
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Welcome to August Blues - I'm so glad
you're here!  August Blues Slipcover Studio strives to enable your home to better serve its purpose, by providing you with quality custom slipcovers that enhance the appearance and functionality of your furniture pieces. Established in 2011 and located in Denton, TX...Read More




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