102 Playing Dress Up in the Dressing Room

Sometimes one thing leads to another, and sometimes we have happy accidents.  Today's post is a result of both!

Ever since we finished our dressing room over a year ago, I have been on the hunt for the oh so perfect rug.  Our lower level floors are a waterproof rubber laminate which we installed over the concrete, so it tends to get a little chilly.  When I get up in the morning, I head into the dressing room, and my feet say brrrrrr.....

I know, sad story right?  But I knew an area rug would solve the problem.  But the bigger problem is that area rugs can be expensive, especially for a thicker wool option, which is what I was after.  And, it is just the dressing room after-all.  It wasn't necessarily a room that I intended on splurging on a high end rug for.

But, after months and months of searching,  I was coming up empty handed.  The rug the crew from the Storage Magazine shoot brought in, was a creamy yellowy gold color and it was AH-Mazing.  However, it was over $900!  Ouch and boo.

When Jackie from Teal & Lime was visiting a few weeks ago, she was taking some photos of our home and I shared the rug dilemma with her... Lucky for me I did because last weekend I received a text message from the sweet gem of a gal that there was a greek key rug that she spotted at Lowes, that she thought might work for the dressing room.  And the best part, it was only $84!  {you can find it here}. 

On the website, it came in both a cream and a blue, and at $84, I wasn't going to miss out.  So, later that day I took the hike to our closest Lowes to see the rug in person.  I have to admit, I was feeling a bit skeptical, but it was truly fabulous.  It was a nice thick wool rug, the type you would typically find yourself spending at least a few hundred dollars on.  And the size was just right too.  The only catch was that I couldn't find the cream version, so the blue was just going to have to do.

The reason I wasn't jumping at the blue initially, as amazing as it is, is because we have blue walls and the blue stools.  Add in the blue rug and holy moly batman, that is A LOT of blue.  Me no likey.

So that is when the happy accident came in.  After picking up a floral scarf from Target earlier in the week, I tossed it onto one of the blue stools, and BAM!  Loooove happened.

I was just about to start spending hours upon hours scouring the web for fabric options to recover the stools, but in that moment I knew it wouldn't be necessary.

So, as a reminder, here is what I started with.

Now, a scarf is obviously not upholstery material, and in 98% of circumstances, I would completely advise against the following actions.... But these stools are not in a high traffic area of our home.  They are not climbed on by the kids or used as footstools daily while kicking up our feet.  They are primarily used when folding and hanging our clothes, and occasionally for sitting down to put on our socks. 

We started by taking the top off...

And we revealed the bottom, where the wood was pre-drilled for the tufting.

Which we carefully removed.

We gently stretched the scarf across the top of the stool {which still had the original blue fabric on it as well}, flipped it over and rolled the edges.  By rolling the edges, we were giving our staple gun something to really grip to.

Once the scarf was completely attached, we flipped the top back over and started the re-tufting process.

We had to find a way to get the strings back through the thick bench top.  No giant needle here at home, we were forced to get creative.  A tiny screwdriver paired with some tape did the trick.

We fed the string through the top with the screwdriver and then weaved the string through a series of staples on the underside to hold the tufting in place.

Boom!  Sooooo pretty!

Talk about happy chills!

The updated stools made such a difference in the space, just that tiny bit of pattern really popped against the oh so blue backdrop.

All the changaroos also inspired me to move the vanity table between the armoires.  Just wanted to try something new and fill the space a little better.  The dresser went where the vanity was. 

I really love all the softness the rug made in the room, and my feet appreciate it as well.  But what I love even more, is that the small and quick change to the stools completely changed the entire feeling of the room.

It is funny for me to think that if I never would have tossed the scarf down onto the stools, I may still be searching for the perfect fabric.  I am also grateful for good friends for sharing steels and deals with me!  It got me wondering, what has magically sparked inspiration for you in one of your spaces or projects?  Do you have any happy accident stories to share?