Letting the Swatches Fall Where They May

Sometimes projects just don't fulfill our decor dreams. [pouty face]

Even though I managed to fit the 1960's console with the cool radio and record player into the living room (sort of - at least it's not sitting right inside the front door any more), it was sucking the life out of the space, a space I've been in the process of trying to lighten for the past year and a half.




Since my son begs that I not paint the console (and since, for now, I'm humoring him), I scoured Joann's for some fabric that would fit in color-wise with my greens, blues and aquas. Unfortunately I couldn't find the style, color and print of fabric that I was hoping for (I rarely can), so I just bought what they had that looked like it would at least sort of fit in.

Take a lesson from me and don't do this. Do not settle for something you know isn't what you want. It just doesn't suddenly become right because you want it to or because you want to be done with your project.

But then, you knew that, didn't you.

I knew the fabric I bought in a rush to be done was wrong and not what I wanted, but would I wait? No. It had to be done this instant.

The darkness of the scratchy brown fabric panels was overwhelming me. I shrugged my shoulders about my fabric options and forged ahead.

After a few ideas were nixed, I figured out a way to attach the fabric to the speaker panels so it can be removed at a later date. This was done because I'm not sure what will become of this piece and I knew I wasn't thrilled with the fabric. Double-sided tape was used to attach it. Yes, perhaps that was a bit of a rig (I'm the rig queen), but so far it's still holding on after a week - a muggy, rainy, warm week.

The result: It's definitely helped brighten the room, it's just that the print of the fabric is too small and busy, and, well, I just don't like it with the overall look of the space.


I'm happy for the pick-me-up the lighter color adds, though. I just wish I'd had the patience to find fabric online or to scour a few other shops off the beaten path. Luckily I got this on sale, so it didn't cost much. Nevertheless, no one wants to waste time and money. The thought of redoing this with another fabric later does not make for happy thoughts. But I won't think about that today.

Tomorrow is another day!

Once the fabric was attached, it became apparent that the unpainted wood box sitting on top of the console (wood-on-wood) didn't provide enough contrast. [yawn]



So I did a wash of white over the box. I made three of these boxes, so I didn't mind taking a chance on painting one of them.

That helped a bit, but alas, the fabric still just isn't cutting it.

In another place and time and for another project, I'm sure that fabric would be just fine, but not for this, not in the overall scheme of the room and not with my desire for a large print with some contrast. I just don't like this (especially so much of it), but since I took the time to do it, I figured I'd at least show you that such a thing can be done without permanently altering the piece. 

In the end, once I figured out how to undo the hardware and attach the fabric (the dreaded learning curve), it didn't take too terribly long either.

So there you have it. 

And there I have it, because you know it's staying for a while since I did the work and I'm not likely to find the perfect fabric to replace it with anytime soon. It's not awful, but it does bug me. At least it won't bother me as much as all that brown did. 

I'm trying to rationalize myself into a temporary acceptance of it.

And at least I'm happy enough with the box I painted that hold my painted bottles.

It wasn't a complete failure. That always helps.

So it goes. I hope you can learn from my mistakes, but if you're like me, you too may find yourself compelled to do what you feel you must just to get a project done. 

If so, the chips (or swatches) will have to fall where they may.

 Onward I go because a whole world of other "hurry up and get me done" projects await. We'll see if I can play those a bit smarter. 

What are the odds, do you suppose?

I'll be at these link parties this week: