Milo Baughman Lounge Chairs

I’ve been intending to write this post for a long time, but I’m only now getting around to it. Better late than never I guess. Since my first apartment in college, I’ve had possession of a pair of chrome and blue velvet chairs that once belonged to my grandmother. Somewhat hideous and in otherwise tattered condition, they are probably one of the most comfortable chairs you’ll ever plant your ass in. Despite their terrible appearance, I could never bring myself to get rid of them. I even attempted (in vain) to make slip covers to hide the stains and nasty blue upholstery. They’ve been sitting in the den since we moved in.

I’ve added other furnishings of a similar time period to the room: A hand-me-down couch and a teak coffee table from the in-laws, and a walnut side table I bought on Craigslist. Given my recent interest in mid-century modern furnishings, I decided to do a little research on the history of these chairs. To my great surprise, I found that they were designed by the famous american furniture designer, Milo Baughman. In addition, I found they’re worth quite a lot of money on high-end antique sites. However, my chairs needed work: A LOT of work.

With a little extra freelance money, I hired an upholsterer to re-do them. I made a tough decision to change the way they were upholstered because the semi-attached tufted cushions didn’t really hold up very well. And most of the buttons had torn away from the upholstery over the years. Yeah, I realize that they’re probably not worth as much, but that’s not what’s really important to me. So here are the all re-done! I think they’re fantastic. The pictures don’t really do them justice. My only problem is now I feel like I have to repaint the basement a more interesting color to make them stand out more. Quel dommage!

Tags: Decorating

Halloween 2008

Another Loftus Halloween shin-dig is over, and I think everyone (hosts included) had a great time! We may have over-estimated the amount of food needed, but it turned out well and certainly no one went hungry. The number of folks in costume has dwindled, but those who did dress up did an awesome job!

Here are some of the highlights. You can see the entire photo set here.

So now that the party is over, I’m left with one sour apple other than this morning’s hangover: My kitchen floor is now completely destroyed. :( It seems that someone had a rock in their shoe and left little 1/4″ dents all over the floors — hundreds of them. They’re in the dining room too, but not nearly as bad as the kitchen… I am not going to point fingers and blame anybody because I don’t know who it was (and I don’t really care) and I’m not that kind of person, but I’m so sick over the whole thing! I cried for an hour about it when I discovered it this morning. I’m going to file a claim with my homeowners insurance tomorrow and see if there’s anything we can do about it. We shall see… SIGH.

NEW HOUSE RULE!!! Absolutely No Shoes in the House!

Tags: Halloween, homeownership

Corset-less Cleopatra

So I think the whole idea of being an Elizabeth Taylor-style Cleopatra is out the window. I’m so bummed. Plus I bought a BEAUTIFUL corset from the Etsy shop: PSB Creations. Kristine did a fantastic job and I can’t say enough about how awesome it’s been working with her.

Given my amateur sewing abilities and the SHORT time remaining before the party, I just don’t think I’m going to have enough time to futz with it so that I can make it work. The original plan was to wear it under the garment and make it adjustable enough so that if I needed to take off the corset in the middle of the night, I could. While the corset is relatively comfortable, I honestly don’t foresee being able to wear the thing all night long. I suppose it’s not the end of the world, but I’ve been planning on doing this for a couple of months. EFF!!!

Tags: Halloween, sewing

Halloween at Work

I was thinking of taking a personal day Friday before my party, but I might HAVE to go in—if only for half a day! My department wants to dress up in themed costumes, and this is the winning idea! Ben decided to mock us up as Twisted Sister… I laughed my ass off for 10 minutes, and it STILL entertains. LOL.

Tags: Halloween

Props

I found one of my old dolls in my parents basement during one of mom’s cleaning rampages. I reached into the basket full of old toys and there she was: naked and face down at the bottom. To my horror and simultaneous delight, I discovered her eyes were mildewed over. What a terrible fate. Had she been one of my treasured dolls, I might have been upset, but I instantly realized I might actually have a use for her as a super-creepy Halloween prop.

Given her nakedness and the fact that I had drawn anatomically correct parts on her in pencil—nipples, bush and butt-crack—she was going to need a dress. I bought some neat velvet on clearance at JoAnne and this is what I came up with. What do you think??

Tags: decorations, Halloween