(#TBT) Power Tools are a Girl's Best Friend

Happy Throwback Thursday! Today, we're throwing it back to my first (and only, really) interior design project. This is the basement bathroom of my parent's home. 

The room was completely DIYed, but I never broke down the projects into their own posts.

I'll be re-visiting a project or two from the room over the next few months.

The vanity has quite a story of it's own. When I began designing the bathroom, I was set on using a dining room table as the vanity. I had even chopped the table in half, and cut the hole out for the sink.

As time went on, I fell out of love with the table. I didn't feel like it was the right height or style anymore. The idea of using a dresser was born. Let's just say it took a while. About a year, maybe? I'm kinda a procrastinator, and I wasn't going to settle for anything short of perfect. 

Eventually, my mom gave me an ultimatum. If you can't find a dresser in two weeks, you have to use the table. Well, day 14 came. I'd pretty much given up hope, but decided to stop by Goodwill one last time. And there it was. In all it's [perfect height, depth, and width] glory! The price tag? $25.

AHHH! I screamed! &*$@# FINALLY! Huzzah! Take that, mother. (JK, she's pretty awesome.)

Enter the power tools. Turning a dresser into a vanity isn't too complicated.
You can see a full tutorial over at DIY Network.

It mostly involves cutting out room for the sink and plumbing parts.
Sadly, this leaves most of the drawers pretty unusable.

A few coats of polyurethane later, and much assistance in the plumbing department, it was completely installed and operational!

Be sure to subscribe for a new #TBT next week! 

♥

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Anthropologie Leather Lasse Chair Knock-Off [DIY]

 Anthropologie is kinda the bomb. I have an unnatural obsession with browsing through their furniture. When I came across this particular chair, I fell in love! The green leather and the midcentury modern lines made my heart sing.

I stopped by my local Habitat for Humanity Restore to pick up a chair with similar lines to the original. See it tucked in at the beginning of the second row? Potential! Ugly beyond belief, but potential..

My store always has a large selection of chairs, and I picked this one up for just $2.

I took the chair from dumpster worthy, to living room ready with the help of a jigsaw, drill, and electric sander. First off, I had to change the shape of the frame. After removing both of the cushions, I tackled the legs.

First, I chopped off the part connecting the front and back legs that ran along the floor.

I also used a jigsaw to taper them.

After some quality time with my sander, the legs were completely transformed!

The back of the chair was rounded, and I needed it to be straight across. Once again to the jigsaw. The curve was cut off of the back and screwed into the front to square off that side as well. 

Last step: arms. Screw on a simple 1x4 and voila!

After that, it was ready to be upholstered. I stopped by my favorite fabric store to pick up materials. I actually did a post just on that store! Fabric for miles, people. Check it out. It's amazing.

I matched the green leather, and found black and white 

chevron fabric for the cushions.

So, once the frame was done, I covered it with batting and was ready to upholster.

Then the upholstering began. This being the second chair I've ever upholstered, I am not going to do a tutorial. I really had no clue what I was doing.

With the price of fabric and foam coming out to $82, the total was $98! That total includes $2 for the chair, $12 for upholstery tacks, and a $2 board that was used on the arms! A far cry from the original, which rings in at nearly $1,500!

♥

Hello!

My name is Katherine.

Welcome to Pretty Little Lady Design!

So you want to know about me, eh?!

Well, my name is Katherine (or Kae). I'm a college super-senior. I fritter away my time learning, singing, blog browsing, sleeping, canoeing, petting kitties, hugging trees, playing bananagrams, watching Gilmore Girls, and, of course, designing. My summers are spent up in Northern Minnesota and Canada with my fellow crazy nature hippies. Decorating has been a hobby of mine since a very young age. I remember spending over an hour in the paint section of Home Depot, when I was 8 years old, picking out colors for my bedroom. Indecision resulted in both blue and purple on opposing walls. I'm still very much that way. Anyone who knows me would never be surprised to find me rearranging furniture at 3 in the morning or on Pinterest instead of writing a paper. (Shhh.)

I love experimenting, building, crafting, and having tons of fun! 

Dart Balloon Art

DIY Panelling Wall

Vintage Eclectic Bathroom

Fabric Warehouse Review + Anthro-Inspired Chair

The current life goal is to become a Realtor, invest in real estate, restore historical buildings, and renovate run-down homes. But, hey! Who really knows where I'll end up?

This whole bloggy thing is just for fun, and to document my changes and progression as a designer. Questions? I'd be glad to answer them! Comment or shoot me an email at prettylittleladydesign@gmail.com
Enjoy! :) Visit my website, here, while you're at it!

♥

Featured on:

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See the articles here (The Blissful Bee), here (The Happy Housie),

and here (The Turquoise Home)! (whoa.)