Once upon a time, after an auspicious run-in with a $20 drop leaf table, some rockin’ Paper Source paper and a good deal of Mod Podge, I had fantasies of making a living reinventing Craig’s List furniture into masterpieces. That was until it took me five days to scrape, sand and do a masterfully bad job of decoupaging my bargain. I was so tired after the experience that I still (almost a year later) haven’t found the where-with-all to refinish the table legs.
Turns out someone else had my great idea, but was far better equipped to deliver on it. While browsing the SoWa Market yesterday in Boston’s South End, my pal Greer and I had the good fortune of coming upon Jamaica Plain-based Chroma Lab. Owners Alicia Cornwell and Tony Bevilacqua transform vintage pieces in need of some love and attention (and maybe some nails and glue too) and turn them into things of beauty. I was drawn to Alicia and Tony’s tent because of this joyful Marimekko-covered chair, but once inside discovered even more swoon-worthy items including a pair of sinuous yellow lamps and the practical-joking Pretend Table, faux bois-finished with the wood grain likeness so real that it wasn’t until I got home and was checking out their site that I realized the piece was painted.
Best of all (I think) is that they do custom jobs — so if you have a piece-of-junk dresser that you are ready to trash, get in touch with them and be prepared to fall in love.
Image credit: Chroma Lab
Saturday afternoon, with a window of just 90 minutes, my aunts and I hightailed it on the A train down to Chelsea, and Les Toiles du Soleil did not disappoint. Combine the cheery surroundings with the equally cheery and hip store owner Sandrine, and I was instantly smitten. The store was a visual feast — bolts of fabric hanging on racks and piled up on top of each other, blackboards displaying prices, neat stacks of tables linens, cosmetic bags and fabric-covered notebooks, and galvanized tubs filled with pillows — I felt instantly transported to a little shop in France (not that I’ve ever been there, but I have a good imagination, and Sandrine’s charming accent helped). But what really struck me was how, well, affordable everything seemed. For $58, you can score a yard of the many classic 72″ striped canvas choices, and just $20 more buys you a yard of the water-resistant Sunbrella ones. They also have an in-store seamstress who can make nearly anything you imagine(curtains, table cloths, deck chairs, roller shades, totes, you name it). The thing I’ve been stuck on since I’ve left though is the shop’s incredible oilcloth (this is not your grandmother’s red and white check picnic table covering). For just under $100, I’m going to transform an old IKEA table into an easy-to-clean candy-striped art space. Yum.
The Mudroom 