Cynthia Collins Pedregon

My beautiful, talented, and kind aunt passed away a few days ago. We are joyful in knowing that she is in heaven with her Savior, but we miss her so much. This video was posted on the Peach Tree's website. If you didn't have the wonderful opportunity to know her, this video is just a glimpse of how amazing she was. I'm so proud to call her family. She taught me so much about cooking and how to live beautifully. Tim and I have lots of cookbooks but her recipes are the ones I always turn      to. They are part of my heritage and I think of her everytime I prepare them.

a family of makers.

this framed horse relief was another of my favorite gifts this year. the horse was sculpted by my grandfather and my dad made the wooden frame for it this year. on the back it says "from mom, dad, and grandfather collins."
i designed this white oak corner table for my sectional. as you can see, i still have one piece at home and i'm anxiously waiting to pick up the other two sections from the upholsterer. still not sure what i'm going to do with this remaining piece fabric wise. i may end up just doing it all in the same grey tweed. by the way, this was made by tbobo. i just added it and another piece to his image gallery here. 

a christmas gift.

i love being surprised but i hate the wait. tim is surperb at keeping secrets though and throwing me off track since he knows my little mind is working hard to gather hints to what my gift is each year. this year's gift was the best to date. tim hand-made me a full length mirror! in the past i've had to go outside and catch my reflection in our front door. now i have a beautiful functional piece made by my favorite person in the world. now, if he would just hang it for me. ;)

t.bobo

tim just completed this very cool desk for my brother, christian, a graphic designer/photographer/web developer. christian came up with the design and tim built the desk out of chromed steel, plywood, and black laminate. i can't wait to see it settled into christian's office/studio. 

little printer.

Hello Little Printer, available 2012 from BERG on Vimeo.

i'm not 100% clear on what this little guy does but i am certain he is the cutest thing ever! watch and enjoy!

a christmas tune.

this year, i'm off to a lovely start with all my christmas celebrating. enjoy this beautiful melody. 

mid century legs.

tim just finished sanding and staining the sectional legs in a lovely mid century honey stain. i'm hoping to drop it off at the upholsterer on monday. :) even though the legs aren't super noticable, removing that ugly pale cream paint and letting the natural wood grain show through is such an improvement and a quick fix. 

kitsch.

o trade days! you always have something special waiting for me. when it comes to Christmas i love a little kitschy decor and this seafoam snow covered tree was exactly what i didn't know i needed to lend my home some Christmas spirit. but first things first...Happy Thanksgiving!!!

just listed...

tim accompanied me to an estate sale today where i discovered these fun new additions to young gun! how about that puffin print!?

re-upolstering fever.

i bought this tufted bench at trade days about 6 months or so ago. i was going to flip it but tim took a liking to it and that's all it took to convince me to keep it for the foot of our bed. the rose velvet upholstery was terribly dirty and the legs were an unattractively aged cream color. i waited a few months to spend the money on fabric but then i just couldn't stand it any longer. i purchase some $12 a yard lovely linen fabric from here. btw, i have a swatch card for their upholstery weight linen if any of you locals ever want to borrow it before you order. i sanded and stripped the legs leaving a little of the cream paint in the crevices and then oiled the bare wood with some linseed oil for a somewhat shabby chic look. i don't mind a little shabby chic here and there. i paid a very reasonable price for this tedious and expertly done tufting and reupholstering. i get such a thrill out of taking something old and dirty with wonderful bones and turning it into a clean, personalized, and quality piece of furniture ready to last another 50 years. 

that being said, I BOUGHT A VINTAGE SECTIONAL AT HOSPICE!!! i've been dreaming of a sectional for my big open living room but wasn't sure when we'd be able to splurg on the thousands of $$$ one would cost. on monday while running errands i figured i might as well stop by the thrift shop and there she was just waiting for me out on the front porch. the shape is perfect and at $85 the price was too. however, this itchy synthetic upholstery is inexcusable and whoever created such a disgusting textile should be ashamed! i'm quite excited about this project though!!! i'm going to replace the legs. i'm not crazy about the faux dirty brass rims around the mid century dowel legs. i'm dreaming up something fun to do with the upholstery too. i'm thinking of doing the two love seat sections in a solid textured grey or blue and the chair in a fun complementing print. red surprisingly had some affordable options i'm considering. also, dwell studio has some really nice solids at $15 a yard! i'll keep you posted as this project progresses!