LITTLE BY LITTLE

allie • Jun 03, 2015

When we moved to this house, we brought all of our furniture with us.  Some of that furniture we got when we got married, some I had from college, a lot I had thrifted or DIY’d and a lot we had to “make do” until we could afford something else.  Well, when we bought the farmhouse, all of our budget went into gutting, renovating, and updating the actual structure, and nothing was left over for fun furniture buys:) So we brought our old stuff in and made do.  Little by little I have been able to sell the old at Whimsy (such a blessing) and purchase items that I had pictured in here from the beginning.

And you know what, I’ve actually enjoyed being able to switch things out gradually.  Not only because I appreciate the items more, but also because the longer I live here the more I have a feel for the space and what I want to create.  That’s not to say that I blow the budget on my new buys, because we still can’t afford to do that:)  And I still love to be able to DIY and create the look for a lot less if I can, like I did for my buffet…

But there have been some things I have been making do with for awhile, like my dining room chairs.  Ry likes to joke about how I”m on my third set, but all of them have been cheap auction chairs that I’ve revamped to make do until I could afford nicer ones:)

So I started with these…

I got the parsons chairs for $15/piece at an online auction, and all four farmhouse chairs for $20 on an auction.

My first splurge was to purchase these Ikea chairs for the heads of my table which allowed me to sell the farmhouse chairs and move the others around..

I moved the parsons to the side and pulled up the chairs from the buffet to use as dining chairs. Although I do like the look of mixed chairs, the farmhouse chairs were too tight for the space since they didn’t slide under the table, and it was a little too mix match for my liking.  So at the last Whimsy sale I sold the parsons chair with a table and chair set and was able to finally purchase my 4 matching chairs.

I feel so grown up.  I went for the Ikea Henriksdal chair with the long white slip cover.  With both pieces they came to $98 a chair.  What I love about these chairs is that they are big, much bigger than the other parsons chairs I had in here.  And they are comfy!  And for those of you who are already hyperventilating about the white, I love that I can take them off and bleach them, and if they ever get to the point of no return, I can just go and buy a whole new set of covers for $120 and have chairs that look like new again!

I like the fact that they make this area look more formal, which is what I was going for.  We usually eat at the eat in kitchen table, (although that will change soon when Beckett joins us frequently:) but for the most part this area is for company and big meals.

Here’s the only bugger though, it didn’t say anywhere on the description if these were hard wired or plug ins.  Since I could see the cord coming out of the bottom I assumed they plugged in.  Nope.  They don’t.  Stinkin China….luckily I have a sister in the lighting business that has ordered me cords that I can wire and plug in, I’m just waiting for them to come.  And they will be white as well, so they will blend in a lot better:)

I was originally looking for buffet lamps, but the price would have been way higher and then it takes up all the space on my buffet.  I think this will be a fun trade off and I’m excited to see how they light up at night once I can finally plug them in!

Little by little, one piece of furniture at a time, this little farmhouse is taking shape.

Source list:

Wicker Chairs:   Ikea

Slipcovered Chairs:  Ikea

Table :  Originally JCPenney, but since DIY’d

Rug:  Ikea

Buffet:   DIY

Mirrors:   Ballard Designs

Pendants: DIY

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