June 2018 – MY CHICAGO HOUSE.

Decorating with Needlepoint Rugs

The inspiration bedroom for the guest is of course, Tory Burch’s Bird & Thistle bedroom in the Hamptons.

Architectural Digest, Tory Burch – Asmara Ferncroft rug

While the wallpaper was easy to identify (Bird and Thistle), the rug was not and I had to deep dive the internet to identify the rug as the Asmara Ferncroft. Tory has layered multiple rugs in this room as you can see from a photo taken at an alternate angle. It is unclear to me if this rug is also Asmara, but it does not appear to be.

Architectural Digest, Tory Burch – Unknown layered rug

Both rugs are beautiful, but at >$6,000 for the size we needed, they were out of budget, so I shifted the search to Ebay and found the perfect fit 6’x9′ for <$400. There are plenty of needlepoint rugs on Ebay to choose from. Most important for me was to find a larger floral pattern that would compliment the Bird & Thistle wallpaper well. Matching a rug to wallpaper is a bit like matching a tie to a shirt. You can mix and match patterns but the sizing should complement and the colors should coordinate, but don’t need to match perfectly. The rug that I purchased was $450 including shipping, a far cry from the thousands of dollars you could spend on a new rug, and this rug is new itself, but made in the 1990’s.

rug — Aubusson Needlepoint Rug, 1990s, from Ebay

You may remember the rug that is currently in the guest room from this post, but here is a refresh:

surya — Surya, Grace cotton rug with crochet edging, in off-white

The rug lays flat, is an off-white color, has crochet edges and is 8’x10′. I am currently selling this rug on Ebay. Here is a picture of this rug in our room, before we swapped it out.

The Surya cream rug works well, but is basic

The pattern works perfectly with the wallpaper

And, more pattern with the Liberty quilt, made by my mom

The new rug in position couldn’t be more perfect and I love the play of pattern across the rug, quilt and wallpaper.

Window Treatments

and custom drapes

We installed Blinds.com Malay Oak wooden romans in the guest room and will layer curtains on top. The blinds.com wooden romans are a great deal and this custom treatment cost only ~$290. The shades fit perfectly on the first try and the continuous loop cord is discreet and has a clean finish.

Double hung wooden blinds from Blinds.com, Malay Oak

We will add Bird & Thistle curtains that match our Brunshwig & Fils wallpaper.

Bird & Thistle Wallpaper, blinds.com window treatment, Ikea Gjora bed

Layered over the wooden roman will be Bird & Thistle drapes in a traditional French Pleat, also known as “pinch pleat”, style. I am having the curtains made locally, in Chicago.

Rods are typically installed 4″ above the window frame, but we will need to install closer to the ceiling to align best with the window casing. This window is 63″ wide and 73″ including the trim. The length is approximately 106″. For this window I was advised that I should leave ~10 inches on each side of the window to provide enough space, but I am leaving only 3″ in addition to the molding since the molding is so wide. This will provide for 8″ on each side beyond the window glass for the drapes to bunch.

The drapes will require 12 yards of fabric. I will hang the drapes on loops and mount the rod directly onto the wood frame (I don’t want to mount on the wallpaper). Hopefully we can leave a few inches of fabric behind the loop and have enough to pull across given this configuration.

A Chairish Makeover

Re-upholstering a Chairish find

I am a big fan of the Chairish app and the great deals that are available there. Chairish is like a garage sale without leaving your home. The shipping costs can be a bit tricky, but overall there are some incredible finds on this platform. I recently nabbed two chairs for $315 on Chairish, had them re-upholstered in Colefax and Fowler Bowood fabric, and they are now like new!

Cowtan & Tout, Colefax and Fowler Bowood Fabric

The most important part of getting a good total value here is to pay as little as possible upfront. This helps to accommodate the high price of fabric and labor. Otherwise, you may be better off buying a brand new chair and providing your fabric direct to the manufacturer to upholster. Before I begin searching, I get a rough idea of the dimensions that I need the chair to be, then I sort by these dimensions. I am typically flagging (“hearting”) every chair that has a good shape and size and am not discriminating based on price (I always negotiate). A particularly good tip is to find slightly dirty or oddly colored chairs that generally won’t sell well – and bargain down. My first offer is always the lowest price the slider will allow, and then I see what happens.

SRQ Vintage chairs, purchased from Chairish

In this case, I found a pair of great chairs from SRQ Vintage in Bradenton, Florida that were in perfect condition. They were listed for $595. I offered $315 and I got them. Off to a good start! Shipping was $369 which is really expensive, but I have since learned that if you speak to the seller you can get much less expensive shipping options.

On delivery day, the chairs are in great condition!

The chairs were white-glove delivered to our home and were the perfect size and fit. However, they were missing swivels so I had our upholsterer add a new base. Comfort Upholstery did an amazing job re-upholstering these chairs quickly (and well) and picked up and delivered when complete.

Upholstered Bowood chairs by Custom Upholstery, Chicago

From start to finish this project took 2 months total from the day I ordered (April 7) to the day the chairs were delivered from Chairish (May 9) to the day I sent to upholstery (May 18) to the day they returned (June 6) and I love them!

Bowood chairs happily re-covered and in place in the living room

The chairs required 16 yards of fabric, but there was a good amount left over that has been sent away to be made into throw pillows!