Getting the Living Together

The Formal Living room is really the last room that I should be thinking about. We don't NEED it. But, it's the first room you see when you walk in and architecturally, it's so beautiful. I can't not tend to it!

I've been working on the coffee table situation. Wasn't quite sure what I wanted. Then, landed on a large ottoman. Thought it would be PERFECT. So I searched for weeks. And then a large one in excellent condition popped up on Craig's List. We drove all the way to Covina with a tarp and pulley straps.

And "large" was no.freakin.joke. It's 5'x5'. That's as tall as I am. We strapped it to the top of the car and it hung off each side. It's probably the most enormous ottoman known to man.

It's totally not going to fit for what I want, but it was super cheap and we'll find a use for it. Somewhere.

We've spent the last two nights on it, hanging out in front of the fireplace with a glass of wine and good friends. Last night we even roasted some marshmallows and made some S'mores! We've also fallen asleep on it for the last two nights because we're exhausted old people.

The next addition. The chair. Remember that chair I bought EONS ago? I found someone to reupholster it, then took a bit of time to find the fabric. I found it and called her. She was out of town. Then she was sick. Then we finally found a time to drop it off! Then she was sick again. Then she had to work. Then she broke her ankle. Then she had to go to Vegas. 10 weeks later, after a bit of angry emailing, I got my chair back. Just the way I'd left it. 10 weeks earlier.

So I found a new place! It's done and I love it!

Except that I have to keep it covered with red sheets because my cats have decided it's their new favorite scratching post! And the thin fabric rips.

What to do!?

Pasadena Flea Market Finds

I have been a bad bad blogger. Does "I'm so crazy super busy" hold water anymore? :-)

Last Sunday we made it to the Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market. I am suddently OBSESSED with all things old/ugly/disgusting/in-need-of-refinishing. It's my new thing.

We bought two things that fit the bill. The first, my new friend, Bill. Bill was all kinds of different colors. Mostly pastels. So I sprayed him white. And now he sits on the mantel in the pool room.


I've been wanting to do this for a LONG time. I found an old picture frame and painted it white. Then cut down a piece masonite to fit and painted it with chalkboard paint. It'll go in my office!


In other news, I walked into the garage to cut the masonite with Chris. It's like a freakin' Home Depot in there! 5 different kinds of saws, clamps, tools, saw horses... all kinds of stuff. Apparently we've been collecting stuff since we moved it... I had no idea. Where have I been!?

Decor: Chandeliers

Chris has this way with things. He always wins the prizes or somehow gets the most amazing deal. Except when car shopping, but that's a whole different story.

Anywho, I came home last week and was pushed into the kitchen and told that I wasn't allowed into the front room. His mom and dad were here, and the three of them convened in secret meeting in the living room. If my footsteps neared the living room, I was reprimanded.

I was scared. There's absolutely no telling what could occur when the three of them get together. I feared walking into the room that had been repainted with zebra stripes. No joke.

But I walked in to this.


Freakin' awesome chandelier. At the Habitat for Humanity. For $100. The tag retailed it for $3,600.

It's ENORMOUS... at least 4 feet tall and probably five feet wide. It has quickly become the centerpiece of the pool room. I'm thinking of maybe painting it black... umm...

Decor: Desk

I could potentially open an ick furniture store in my garage.

I had a vision for the desk I wanted in my office. BIG. Wood. Black. Interesting legs.

Found her on Craig's List for $80! Its previous home is just around the corner from the house and the seller even dropped it off for us!

It's the heaviest, most ridiculously solid table. I'm going to refinish it with a black stain and put it in the center of the room. My computer will go on the left side and on the other end, Chris' computer will go on the opposite corner. Then we can stare at each other :-)

Decor: More Chairs

I'm going to have to change the blog from "The Jordana Project" to the "Buy a Bunch of Junk and Turn it into Something Awesome (Fingers Crossed) Project."

I bought more chairs. And a table.

I've been searching for these chairs for WEEEEEEKS! Trolling all kinds of sites day after day hoping for something junky that I could refinish and turn into all kinds of amazingness. Still in it's ick stage, my new most favorite office chairs.


How close to what I was looking for?! I think I even like them better than the other version. They are beyond fantastic and I can't wait to sit behind my new desk in this fabulous chair, with the amazing fabric I bought weeks ago with the perfect vision in mind. Ahhhh!

We went down to the Santa Monica Flea Market to take a look on Sunday. And in the back corner, just when I thought it was a total waste to drive all the way down there, I spot these. And I think, "They're going to be AT LEAST $80 a piece and it's sooo not worth it." So I ask. $20 A PIECE!!! ACK!


And one of them is broken, so I tell her I will only pay $15 for it. She's fine with that. EEK!

There's also a table. All kinds of broken. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with it but I kind of love it. I'm thinking about painting it all black and having glass or wood cut to fit the top. Or maybe something off the wall like stainless steel or concrete.




I'll have to go to town with the wood glue. And perhaps never put anything of value on it should it collapse into a million and a half pieces.

Decor: Chairs, Chairs Everywhere

I am currently obsessed with antique chairs of the Louis variety. Obsessed.

I found this one on Craig's List and picked it up on Friday. It's not going to work for my office because it's too small, but I'm thinking now for the living room. Painting it black and then reupholstering it with something fantatsic. Maybe white. Or maybe a print. Or maybe I'll leave it a bit until I reorganize my brain.

Decor: Photo Wall in the Pool Room

Remember the smurf blue living room? Well, it has been renamed the pool room and Chris wants to hang chlorine tablets from the ceiling. The color and the rounded walls into the ceiling do feel pretty much like an upside down pool. Kind of like floating at the top and looking down at the bottom. Perhaps we will repaint at some point in the future, but I'm tired of painting. And I don't want to. Chris' father suggested hanging 3ft, 6ft, 12ft signs on the walls. I suggested hanging them upside down. It's kind of funny :-)

(the green in the dining room was not my choice. It will be changed as

soon as I drum up the energy to put my painting clothes on again.)

But we're here for the photo wall! I'm so freakin' excited about this wall. I've wanted a giant wall that I can with as I please FOREVER. But I've just never had the space. Now I have more walls than I know what to do with and I knew exactly what it would be. An entire wall of black and whites. It's absolutely heavenly and I adore it. I think it needs a bit of rearranging and a few more photos, but it's almost there!

Holy Crap

It's been 10 days since my last post!

My entire life has been turned upside down with the new house and there's stuff EVERYWHERE. For serious. For the first three days that I had to get dressed for work at the new house I had to find my underwear in the formal living room, my pants in the bedroom, shirts in the dining room, shoes in the kitchen... it was rough.

Things are coming together and there will be pictures soon!

But right now I need some help. I found some FABULOUS fabric for office chairs and want to find a cheapo version of this...

image from Brocade Home via Design Sponge

But what would you call this style of chair? I'm searching Craigs List and Ebay and plan on hitting some estate sales. Any other thoughts on where to find it?

Decor: Chairs

I've got decor on the mind. I've got all these rooms to decorate as I see fit and I'm beyond excited! The house is quite, errr, eclectic. Like the previous owners watched too many design shows. Then they decorated each room in a totally different manner.

The front bedroom, formal living room and dining room are quite Spanish. Beautifully high rounded ceilings, thin plank light hardwood floors... all delicious! Then, there's the kitchen, which is a totally cluster and I wish we could rip out the day after closing. Seriously, they didn't clean in it at least 3 years. It's ickity ick ick. The living space is off of the kitchen. It has wide plank, knotty, light wood floors. With deep ridges. And a chair rail. And exposed beams that don't quite match up to each other. And it looks like they accidentally bought too many kitchen cabinets and so they placed a set in the living room. For real, it's weird as hell.

So, the decor. I'm starting with chairs. I've been wanting a high backed wing chair for as long as I can remember. But I didn't have the space. OHHHH but I wanted one so bad. I wanted a vintage one. An icky disgustingly upholstered one. One that I could make my very own. But it had to be the right shape. And it had to be solid.

And last weekend, I found it!
This is the Craig's List photo. I would have taken my own, but the chair has been chillin in the back of my car since Sunday. I have no where else to put it! And I'm too tired to go downstairs, pull it out, take a photo and then get stuck not being able to put it back into the car because it weighs a million pounds. So, I apologize for the crapiness of the Craig's List photo quality.

I love love love the rounded seat. The height of the back. The perfect little legs. Sigh... love her! I'm thinking something funky cool but classic for the fabric. A print. Blue, beige, perhaps some yellow. Joanns was sucky. But I've got swatches coming from Mood.

Next step... find an upholsterer. Recommendations!?