Settee Update

11 Sep Settee Update

Remember this mess??

Well, after sending my damaged settees off to the pros (if you are in the DFW area, I used Little Jack Horner’s, and they did a beautiful job!), they are back.  Truth be told, they have been back and sitting in my living room for awhile now, along with boxed-up kitchen items due to our addition, and other client’s furniture.  Yes, it is looking lovely in there.

I pondered leaving the wood raw, but the type of wood that was underneath the old speckled finish was really wood meant to be painted.  I still wanted the grain of the wood to show through, so I had the refinishers do a light grey wash.  I’m so happy with how it turned out!

So maybe you’re thinking, “Grace, they look great!  Why are they shoved in a corner of your living room again?  Get those babies reupholstered!”  If that is indeed what you are thinking, you would be echoing my husband’s sentiment exactly.  And mine too, for that matter.

In my defense, I have been thinking about it.  I’ve played around with some fabrics.

I have decided the backs of the settees will be a pattern, and the front will have a wide stripe down the middle.  I wrote about this here, and there are tons of inspiration photos in that post.

bella cottage

The problem is, I just haven’t found a fabric I feel totally inspired by.  Picking colors and fabrics and furniture layouts for other people comes naturally to me most of the time.  But sometimes with my own home, I just get stuck.

For an idea of the colors of my living room, here are a couple of old photos.  Most of the furniture in these images has been sold, and the curtain fabric is changing.  But the campaign chest, large dry sink cabinet, yellow velvet sofa, and my beloved vintage chinoiserie screen (you can see the pattern and colors in my blog background) will still be in the room.

photo by Kat Phillips, TheGrayAttic.com

My living room is more of a long and narrow shape, so I really like the idea of back to back sofas (I wrote about this layout here), and I think the settees will end up being back to back in the new setup.

photo by Kat Phillips, TheGrayAttic.com

These settees need to be able to withstand four little children so I have pondered going dark.  Maybe a lighter pattern on the back of the settees and a charcoal gray and aqua blue linen stripe down the front?

house beautiful

horsley home

I think I may need to go geometric on the settee backs since the pattern in my screen (a major player in the room) is so flowy, but of course,  I am drawn to the fun patterns, too.

ruby lane

arianna belle

Of course, how could I go wrong with a simple solid color?

elle decor

But the photo that speaks the most to me is this one.  Perhaps a pattern like this for the back?

karina gentinetta

What would you do with these settees?  They are a blank slate for you to work magic with.  Really, I’d love to hear your ideas!

P.S.  I had a reader tell me a few days ago, “I’m missing you with my morning coffee”.  It is always my goal to have a post up super early in the morning for those of you who like to wake up, have breakfast, and do some fun reading before your day begins.  But as I adjust to having a kindergartener (this adjustment has been a way bigger deal than I thought – getting four kids 5 and under awake, fed, dressed, and out the door by 7:45 is…whoa), and as I gain strength back from surgery, I am having to figure out my new normal.  Bear with me, and I promise, we’ll be back soon to having morning coffee together.