I have had several discussions this week with fellow bloggers about DIY.
I wish I was more DIY, but I have come to accept that although Steve and I can come up with some great design ideas, our life is a bit too crazy (3 kids, 2 dogs, design clients, up-coming Bar Mitzvah, a bunch of gall stones..ok more information than you needed) to be DIY. That said, Steve and I are not the most "inside the box" design people, and are always trying out new finishes and solutions to design problems.
That leads me to this table and chairs that we found at a second hand furniture store near our office...
I loved the detailing but felt like the finish and the upholstery were dated and dowdy.
We had our refinisher give them a little Swedish love. We reupholstered the chairs in a cream Kravet linen.
Our refinisher did a fantastic job, and our upholsterer added a small flat welt detail that I love.
Yes, I didn't DIY, but I did DIWH (Do It With Help). We have discovered, that there are talented people out there that are more economical to hire rather than us spending our time trying to do something we know nothing about. Steve and I have realized that we are better off doing the designing and respecting the artisans/craftsmen we hire to do the rest. It's a wonderful collaborative process. I think it is great if you have the
time to figure out how to create an aged Swedish finish, but if you don't it's ok to hire a craftsman who does. You may be surprised at how little this may cost right now.
I'd love to hear what you have to say about DIY vs. DIWH. For those of you who subscribe to my blog please click here to get to this post and leave a comment.
xo
Brooke
