Adventures in Reupohlstery

Now that we've spent all our money on our mortgage and renovation... where do we find the dinero to decorate?  This is the situation many of us working folk find ourselves in after finally buying our first home.  


Some of us out there are such amazing crafty people whipping together whole pieces of furniture out of reclaimed wood but I have to be honest, I am not carpentry inclined.  I would even go as far as to say that I am not very paint friendly either.  This is new territory for me.  


Anyways, lately to decorate on a budget, thrift stores and craigslist are my best friends.  Recently, I bought two classic framed chairs, a French style Bergere and Classic Wingback for $20 each.  Now, I am on my new adventure to reupholster them and make them shiny, new, modern and me.


I stopped by Diamond Foam & Fabric but the prices seem a little high.  Although they gave me and my friend, Tuan some fresh baked sourdough bread upon entry.  I am going to stop by Michael Levine (in downtown) and F&S Fabric on Pico to check out their selection and prices as well.  I cannot decide to use a black and white color pattern (see fabric swatches below) or do something more bold and colorful.  As they say on Project Runway, I am just going to let the fabric speak to me. Will show some more fabric swatches after my trips out to those other stores.


What do you all think?  I wish Nate Berkus would come and finish the rest of my house!!  I am going to try and get myself on his show.


Here are some pictures of the chairs...

This is the beat up classic wingback chair

This is a slightly dirty but still lookin' pretty decent French style Bergere chair.

Here are two fabric swatches I found so far.  Was thinking of doing the wingback in the faux python black fabric and the bergere in the stipe.

Our First Home & Renovation--Part 2

I thought I knew but I didn't REALLY know how crazy home renovation is.  First of all, you have to really put thought into every little thing that goes into the house.  Each door handle, each light fixture, each paint color, etc. Sometimes it is difficult to find affordable ideas. I think that the best advice I can give is to try and get as many things from Lowes and Home Depot (use all the coupons you can get from these places) but Overstock.com also has a great home repair section!  We bought our kitchen door handles, kitchen sink (great selection) and lots of furniture from there. They also provide lots of coupons!


In terms of larger things, my most fabulous buy was our front door which we bought at a local door showroom in downtown L.A.  We bought a mortise lock (which is one of my most favorite things on the house) online to search for the best price.


Although our contractor was a family member, it was still important for us to pick out every detail.  I recommend someone be present when they are installing big things like the floor, kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets, etc.  There are always last minute decisions that need to be made.


I would also recommend doing research on the process of whatever the project is before your contractor gets to work so you know what you're talking about.  I always end up looking at www.askthebuilder.com to see what he thinks is the best way.  I was just looking at his website to see how to properly install wood siding, which is our next project.


Here are some more pictures of our renovation...

Here is the bathroom before. It was ok but dingy. A lot of rusted faucets.

Here is the bathroom now! New wood cabinet/vanity and granite counter. We also replaced the mirror and light sconces. We got our granite from a warehouse so the granite in the kitchen is the same in the bathrooms which was cheaper.

This is the new tile floor. I love black and white.

We moved the toiled over. I don't have a before picture but the toilet used to be where the toilet paper holder is now. It made the space very tight between the cabinet and the tub so we moved it. It feels more open now.

Pretty nasty, right? This is what all the sinks were like before. In fact, many of the sinks in the house were not draining properly so we re-did all the plumbing as well and upgraded it to copper plumbing.

This is the sink now! So clean. I also like a higher faucet. For me, it is always about making things feel more open and free.

This is the old bathtub in our main bathroom/guest bathroom. Nice, huh? I don't think that anyone had used it in 30 years.

Here is the tub now! Also with new white subway tiles, new faucet.  It is a cast-iron tub so it will be around longer than we will.

This was a closet bath/half bath that is in our guest bedroom. It wasn't too bad but we wanted to create more space or symmetry in there. 

This is the closet bathroom now!  We put a new small bath cabinet and sink. We also brought the subway tiles up halfway (as it is in all our bathrooms). Also a nice classic oval mirror from Home Depot. We actually got the bathroom sink/cabinet combo from Lowes.

Here is the closet bathroom now with new fixin's.  Plus the new black and white tiles used in all the bathrooms. It is updated but still has the vintage/classic look of the house.

This was the old laundry room. It was partially being used as a storage area for random things.

Here is the laundry room now! We have to still replace the windows but it has my favorite new appliance... the new Samsung front loading washer dryer in fire engine red. Fell in love with it. I also love our cheap little laundry sorter with a hanging rack from Bed Bath & Beyond.

The laundry room is off of the kitchen.  We replaced the tile floor in there as well to the black and white tiles.  There used to be laminate floors which are no good to anyone.

Mismatched Vintage Dishes for the Hoildays?

We are hosting our first holiday dinners at our new house and since we are on a tight budget, I was thinking of stylish and green ways to spruce up our home.  I was thinking about tableware and remember seeing some wedding blogs where brides collected mismatched vintage china and dishes to serve dinner.


I am going to start stopping by local Goodwill stores and vintage stores to buy up their dishes. Anything that looks like good quality for cheap.  I will need at least 15 plates.  I can reuse them for other occasions and we don't have to resort to using paper plates, etc.  My mother in law gifted me some of her old silverware so I can polish those up to create a pretty place setting.


Where are your favorite vintage stores (leave some comments)?  You can help me on my search.


Here is some inspiration that I have...

Our First Home and First Home Renovation--Part 1

After months and months of searching, we finally bought our first home at the end of last year and have been renovating it!  


It was built in 1919 and is in a style called Post Colonial Renaissance.  Our neighborhood recently became a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ) so as we renovate the outside, we have to keep it to the original design of the house.  Inside is a different story...


We just finished renovating the inside of the house. I tried to keep the original architecture of each room but modernize it through color and the new wood floors we put in.
(Also, I finally figured out how to rotate the pictures!)


Below are before and after pictures of the bar area, fireplace/living room and the dining room. Hope you enjoy!  Our first home is our biggest labor of love, challenge of our creativity and pressure on our budgets!

This is the fireplace when the old owner was living here. Can I emphasize how much I HATE blinds! U-G-L-Y!!

Before the chaos, painting, etc.  The quiet before the storm.

This is what it looks like now!  The walls are painted a taupy grey color and the fireplace and moldings are white.  Right now we are still figuring out where to put all our lamps so excuse the mess :) Friday Khalo is guarding that part of the room.

The wall between the dining room and the kitchen was taken up by this larger than life built in buffet/credenza with a ghastly mirrored arch.  I don't think this picture really shows how ugly the cabinets or the mirror really were.

This was the only major wall we knocked out in the house but it creates a more modern flow in the house.  We created an archway but debated just blowing the whole wall open.  Maybe I will do that in 10 years.

Here is a closeup of the arch as well as our new chandelier. You will notice that I LOVE chandeliers. They make me happy so I have them in every room.

This is the bar area before we did anything to it. The owner of the house before was really using it as storage.

The demo crew tore all that 70's cabinetry out.

Ta-Da!  Here it is now with granite countertops, a sink, wine cellar and a min-fridge!  This was my husband's little pet project since we both like to drink and entertain.

Chuseok/Korean Thanksgiving! Celebrating Harvest and Hope

In celebrating our cultural traditions in a modern way, I recently hosted the Korean fall harvest festival, Chuseok at our first home this year.  Growing up, my mom always gathered our close family and friends to our family home to share in the fruits of the harvest and play some traditional games.  I remember joyous evenings where my aunties would bring marinated greens, barley rice, stewed meats, the Chuseok traditional taro soup and of course wine and soju!  Spirits alive, my parents and their friends would eat, drink, sing and dance.  I remember sitting in the living room with my cousins and brother delighting in their joy.

I wanted to bring that joyous holiday to our growing family which now includes my husband and in-laws. This year was special because my in-laws just moved here from Ohio and never celebrated Chuseok.  I wanted to begin this tradition to share with them that feeling I had when we celebrated all those Chuseok holidays growing up here in Los Angeles.

My version of Korean braised short ribs. It is braised in soju and soy sauce.

My mom wasn't sure how my short ribs were gonna turn out so she can prepared with her delicious spicy pork ribs. Oh, she of little faith! My short ribs were fab!

Bok Choy salad that my mother-in-law made. Fresh and delicious!

Barley brown rice and Korean chive salad.

My braised short ribs finally done and falling off the bone... yumm.

My loaded stove with pots from my mom and aunt.

Chuseok table almost ready to go.

The men in my family looking and setting the table.

My uncle even brought sashimi! My family is from Pusan so it is all about the fresh seafood.

For my version of Chuseok, I wanted it to be more like a potluck style event because I like the idea in many Korean holidays where different members of the village bring different pieces of the meal or gather all their different rice and grains and cook it together.  Sharing food cooked by different hands is a part of sharing the harvest so I wanted to continue that in a modern way... potluck of course!  

Also, I wanted to include the symbolism of harvest on my table.  Koreans believe in filling the table with food which is why we always have many side dishes or Banchan but I also filled my glass vases with grapes, foliage from my backyard and jars of barley.  For my family, the last couple years and the economic downturn have really impacted our ability to consume and buy so I wanted this Chuseok to really represent that we are always full of family, love and hope.  Barley and fruits, for me, represent the fruits of labor and the hope of what is to come.

Afterwards, we had a rousing game of  Yut Nori or Korean Monopoly as my husband calls it.  This is traditionally played on Korean New Year or Lunar New Year but I got a free Yut Nori set from the Korean market.  It was really fun because everyone in my family is very competitive and it was a great way for the younger and older generations to engage in something together.  Everyone loves a good game!

Creating Traditions for your Modern Family

Looking back, many of our fond memories are of family holidays, traditions and celebrations.  As we grow older, many of those traditions take on a new meaning.  For me and some of my friends, we have been trying to re-capture our cultural and religious traditions to reflect our values as adults.  I think many of us are exploring how to convert these family traditions for the modern day.

One friend of mine started her own Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead celebration to remember loved ones who have passed on in our families and communities as well as learn more about the Mexican holiday. I have always been drawn the the Day of the Dead celebrations especially since we have similar celebrations in Korean culture.  It is a holiday where you celebrate that your loved ones are among you and there is nothing to fear in the afterlife.  One of the main themes in Day of the Dead is the skull or skeleton which are decorated beautifully with bright colors.  My friend bought ready-made sugar skulls from a local vendor and we made royal frosting to use as decoration and glue for sequins, sprinkles, etc.

The sugar skulls before decorating. They looks beautiful alone too.

Here is the skull that I made :)

We made a big tub of simple royal frosting and added gel food coloring in bright colors and then filled them in pastry funnels for all the adults and kids to use easily!

My friend also laminated directions which can be reused each year!

This is the altar made to those who have passed on which includes fruits, sweet traditional bread, Mexican chocolate and pictures of loved ones.

There was also a station to make paper flowers!  It was so fun!

A cultural traditional holiday like this one can be used as a day to gather together as a family and community to celebrate life and share a tradition where there are parallels to so many other cultures.

How have you re-interpreted or modernized your family traditions and cultures?

First Post!

After talking to so many friends and loved ones, it seems like this year has been a struggle for so many of us. Like me, many of us are looking for work that meets our passions, values and expenses (right!) while other are trying to strike that delicate balance between work, family, friends and still find time for ourselves!

I hope this blog becomes a space for ideas, dreams, practical solutions, spiritual questions and a place to see what cool, real people are doing to make their lives work in this economy in the city of Angels.

Happy Reading!