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All Things Home

All Things Home

dining chair upholstery tutorial

I almost completely forgot that I left this chair makeover tutorial hanging after I shared how to make the slipcover for the seat!  I was traveling and visiting family and wasn’t reminded about part two until someone mentioned it on Instagram.  Anyway, I dusted off the video footage and got everything edited, so I could share how to strip and reupholster the back of a wood frame chair, like this one… It doesn’t matter if your chair has a different shape.  If the back is framed in wood, this tutorial will work for you. If you’re new to upholstery, this is actually a great project to start with, because you don’t have any tricky places where fabric panels meet. Here are the supplies you’ll need… Upholstery Staple gun by Porter Cable  Porter Cable Pancake Compressor  3/8″ staples Staple pulling pliers & Staple puller Fabric Foam/batting, if it needs to be replaced

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All Things Home

new kitchen wall color

Well, we were home for less than two days and I already started painting the kitchen walls.  I had the paint (purchased for the hall and foyer), so it was easy to impulsively start painting.  It began as an oh-I’ll-just-paint-a-test-swatch and turned into painting half of the kitchen and eating area. The color really needed to be changed.  It was bugging me all the way on the east coast! So, here it is… The new color is a half-tint of Stonington Gray by Benjamin Moore.  As a reference, the door is the same color mixed at full strength.  It looks worlds better with the tile and counter. Here is the color before… It was Pearly White by Sherwin Williams.  I chose it, because I used it in the living and dining rooms of my last house and I always loved it.  It was a cooler off-white that worked well with

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All Things Home

a new love for dip pens & other found art supplies

I have found a new favorite thing…  dip pens.  Yes, they are completely impractical by modern standards and you have to get used to the rhythm of stopping to dip your pen every couple of lines, but there is something about the scratching sound on the paper and the grace of the delicate nibs that captivate me. I recently bought the D Leonardt & Co Drawing & Mapping set and it comes with a nice wooden nib holder, a small tin for storing nibs, and five nibs made for drawing and mapping (as opposed to calligraphy nibs.) It’s a great set and I’m hooked.  Now, I’m on the hunt for antique dip pens, inkwells, and nibs. I actually had an antique inkwell with a sterling lid that belonged to my great-grandmother.  I didn’t know it was a inkwell until I started searching for antique ones on Etsy and eBay.  I

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All Things Home

dining chair slipcover tutorial (updated)

I recently made slipcovers for my kitchen chairs and, I reserved the last one for the purposes of making a tutorial as I worked on it.   I posted a dining chair slipcover tutorial HERE a few years ago, but the style is slightly different and the tutorial is in pictures and written directions.  You can check that out, though, if you learn better that way.  This tutorial is all on video, because I think that’s an easier way to show you everything I’m doing. The style of the slipcover is tie-on with a ruffled skirt.  You can make variations of this slipcover to have a longer skirt, a micro ruffle, a pleated skirt, or even something that looks cleaner and more modern, like a kick-pleat.  You can also change out the ties to be thinner, use ribbons or twine, etc.  The principles are all the same. Here’s is what my

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All Things Home

kitchen backsplash details

If you missed the reveal of my new kitchen counters, you can see them HERE.  In this post, I’m following up with some details about the backsplash. I thought it might take a few weeks to have it done, but I was referred to a local “tile guy” who was able to fit our project in around larger jobs.  I had considered doing it myself, but after installing the tile backsplash in my last house, I decided tile work was something that was best left to the professionals.  The end result looked nice, but let’s just say that grout covered a multitude of errors! I selected venatino marble subway tiles from Lowe’s.  It had just the right amount of gray in it, so it would add some texture and color, but would still be neutral.  I decided to have it installed in a 1/3 running bond pattern, with 1/16″ grout

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All Things Home

kitchen counters reveal

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by HanStone Quartz.  As always, all opinions expressed are honest and my own. I am so excited to finally share my new kitchen counters! More than one person thought I was a little crazy for replacing granite counters, but they weren’t my taste and we hope to live in this house for a long time.  The kitchen is the heart of the home and we want it to be “us”. And, I have to say, I am completely over the moon with how it turned out.  I have wanted white marble counters for as long as I can remember and now I have beautiful quartz counters (HanStone Quartz in Monterey) that give me the exact look I want without the concern about etching and staining.  They are perfect. Before I gush, here is how the kitchen looked when we first moved in…   What a

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All Things Home

antique finds from cannon falls

I decided it was finally time to start exploring my local area a bit more in search of new-to-me antique honey holes.  I’ve been so busy with the house and the kids and just trying to establish a routine in our new city, that I haven’t been outside of the bubble of Rochester very many times.  I haven’t even done a lot of exploring within that bubble, but have stuck to a few places I know. I found myself missing my antique spots in PA and the days away from my workspace.  It’s nice to step away and get some inspirations, new ideas, and maybe a few new finds for my house. A couple of weeks ago, I went to Stewartville and found a couple of antique shops to mill around in.  I have a list of things I’m looking for, like a large gilded mirror for the dining room,

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All Things Home

a simple fix to a fuzzy situation

You know those annoying little things around your home that you just live with, because you figure that’s just the way they are?  Like a chair with a leg that wobbles or a remote button you have to push at the top right corner to make it work, or the oven you have to set 20 degrees higher than the dial, so it gets to the proper cooking temp? ….or the fuzz and dust that collects around any chair, stool, or table leg that has a sticky felt slider underneath to protect your wood floor?  That’s been bugging me for years!  Sometimes, it’s so bad that it looks like a small furry animal was pinned under a leg. I finally decided to try something different.  On the bottom of each leg of my barstools are plastic caps nailed into wood.  Those are not wood-floor friendly, so I stuck a felt

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I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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