DIY Mum

Hahahaha I just made myself laugh so hard with the title of this post. I am essentially the antithesis of a DIY Mum, given I would at any given opportunity pay someone to do something for me rather than "Do It Myself". Other than your basic child rearing, of course.

However. Sometimes when you REALLY love that vintage look and you are REALLY fussy about what you like, there's no choice but to put on your Bunnings outfit (yes, much to my husband's amusement I have a "bunnings outfit" that I believe gives me an authentic DIY look) and get down to it.

Recently I bought an old Danish armchair, circa 1950. I've wanted one of these ever since I wanted to copy the awesome one my neighbour has. It fits in with our mid-century modern lounge room decor, and my idea was to give it a new upholstery with a prettier feel that's in keeping with my girly-vintage style. Here's the chair as I bought it:

Danish comfort

I've since contacted an upholsterer who will also take the chair apart and give it a bit of a re-furb, which I could have done myself but frankly, I'm pretty shit at DIY and I want this piece to last for a while. I'm yet to choose a fabric but my idea is that it will soon look more like this:

My Chair-spiration

Anyway, I decided I could probably fix up the aesthetics of the wood myself and spent a few hours on Sunday getting my polish on. We purchased some Gilly Stephenson's restoring poilish from, you guessed it, Bunnings, and it worked a treat.

Meanwhile, the other purpose of our Bunnings journey was our "balcony project". We have a fairly large balcony off our bedroom and since we moved in nine months ago it has been an arid, bare space that is never utilised. We hope to change that by transforming it into a tranquil sunbaking/play oasis that can be enjoyed this coming summer and for many summers to come.

Our idea (my idea which has now become "our" idea) is to lay AstroTurf on the balcony!! What a great idea, you say. TA, I know, it is an awesome idea. I'm hoping the AstroTurf combined with some cute gnome/toadstool accessories and some sleek white Adirondack chairs (purchased today, in fact) will give this space a fun 1960s feel that will influence our bedroom overhaul (yet to be begun as we keep changing our mind on decor). Anyway, I got my idea from a home improvement show but have since found some pretty rad pictures that have inspired me:

AstroTurf Atrium - 'nuff said!

I've always loved the feel of this rooftop bar on Swanston St

 

Making a small space a little greener...

 

 

Adirondack Chairs, in case you were wondering

Our project had to be postponed as there was a little too much umming and aahing over what grass to use and which chairs to buy* and we ran out of time over the weekend. BUT this weekend it will continue and hopefully we'll be getting glimpses of the finished product - so watch this space for photos and updates!

* Adirondack chairs range in price from $100 - $500 - many of the cheaper replicas are poor quality and, as these are for outdoor use, poor quality can mean no longevity. We ended up purchasing ours for $275 each from Prue Trollope in Balmain.

Z xx