Must...Choose...A...Dining...Chair

Earlier in the summer I was thrilled to find some fixer-upper Napoleon chairs and painted them in the grey color I've always wanted. Truth be told, the Napoleon chairs look awesome especially paired with Anne Quinn Furniture's San Montego round pedestal dining table featured below, but they are not at all comfortable. Lesson learnt is that always try to buy the dining set at the same time, or buy the table first and then chairs that fit the height and size of the major piece.

That said, I had to part with those Napoleon chairs and my hunt for new dining chairs continues.

It all started with this San Montego dining table that will go in our kitchen dining nook. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't trying to limit my choices by buying the table first, it is because I know I wouldn't be able to find another custom made solid mahogany dining table at the quality and price Anne Quinn Furniture offers. Therefore, at the end of the day it's still worth all the hassle and dazzle.

(Picture courtesy of Anne Quinn Furniture)

Choice #1: Anne Quinn Furniture's Martini Dining Chair
Lush, comfortable and stylish, this chair would be perfect for any dining table. The tufted button details, barrel back, aged bronze nail heads, and solid mahogany frame all add plus points to this well-made cozy chair. The only downside is that since every piece is custom made, I will need to wait until January 2011 to get them. I wish I didn't waste my time on those fixer-uppers and order from Anne Quinn a few months ago --- I would have been sipping my morning tea on it right now (sniff). I heard Anne Quinn has been stocking up some popular items going forward, so there is light at the end of the tunnel for those impatient shoppers like me that will be able to pick up their custom furniture whenever we want. (Picture courtesy of Anne Quinn Furniture)

Here's what the kitchen dining set would look like with Martini chairs.

(Source: Decorpad)

Choice #2: Sunpan's Hollywood Vintage Cream Leather Dining Chair
Comfortable, clean-lined with a dash of Hollywood shimmer, this chair fits my desire to introduce some modern and airy elements into the kitchen.
Here's a similar pairing of round table with modern dining chairs.

(Source: Decorpad)

Choice #3: Hollywood Regency Faux Bamboo Chippendale Chair
This chair belongs in my wildest dream: I would design my entire kitchen around it! But that boat has sailed after our recent kitchen makeover, so perhaps it's the best that it continues to live in my fantasy.

Love, love the painted chair and color punches!

(Source: Decorpad)

Choice #4: Flare Barrel Back Dining Chair

At the risk of repeating myself, this chair looks similar to Choice #1 except for the flare shoulder detail. The nice thing about this one is that it accentuates a round table by hugging the curves. And this is what the dining set would turn out with this chair.

(Source: Decorpad)

So, which one shall I choose? With overseas guests arriving this coming weekend, if you know how much of an organized freak I am, you would know I will be making a call soon. Stay tune for the reveal...

Pearls, Little Black Dress and Good Bites

Recent Europe travel advisory has scared us into making last minute vacation change from London to DC. Though I've been to DC many times prior for work, the unplanned leisure trip turned out to be fun and relaxing. That goes to prove to an organized freak like me that spontaneity can be a bliss.

DC is a no-brainer for museum and gallery goers, just remember to slip in some changes as donation on our way in or out as most admissions are free.

Strolling in downtown DC and observing street scenes was entertaining:

• People appear generally happier here than other metropolitans, unlike Hong Kong where smile has to be constantly reminded by street posters (yes, they actually have happy therapy signs everywhere).
• I doubt you are going to be able to find more women in little black dresses and pearls, and men in suits and ties anywhere else -- a.k.a. DC fashion style.

Restaurants with fancy food are much more available and affordable.

• Zola is conveniently located next to Spy Museum and I loved their "create-your-own salad".
• Blue Ridge Grill's (Leesburg VA) lumpy Maryland style crab cakes are to die for.
• Make sure you leave room for desserts at The Cheesecake Factory. Their vanilla bean cheesecake tastes like ice cream! I used to be a big fan of their Seafood Jambalaya Pasta but was disappointed this time as the flavour turned out quite flat.
• Ladies with sweet tooth do not want to pass Fro-Zen-Yo, a self-serve frozen yogurt joint with tens of funky flavours.

Powder Room Chandelier

After the powder room makeover, I have been searching for a small chandelier to lighten up this only windowless room in my house. I finally found this one-light crystal chandelier that fits the vision.

Here is what the chandelier looks like after the installation. Yes, again I was following the trend to add a chandelier to a bathroom; but No, I wasn't audacious enough to put up a faux-cloud pattern on the wall -- it's the crystal lighting effect you are seeing in the picture.

This is what the powder room looks like now all finished. The cloud pattern the crystals project on the wall is quite annoying. In reality the Light French Grey color looks nothing like it. I am going to have to work on my photo-taking skills.

The Pursuit of Happiness (in Bargain Hunting)

We have some overseas guests over to stay with us for a while, so I have been very busy getting our second guest bedroom ready. The room is now double-duty as Anthony's video game/media room. I need a multi-task desk that can be used as a writing desk, laptop table, and vanity/lady's desk, etc. The pursuit was challenging with my mind set on a certain style and size. After exhausting my search in major furniture stores, I have decided to give some local classified sites such as Kijiji and Craigslist a try again. I would have turned to one of my favourite custom furniture stores Anne-Quinn if I wasn't in a hurry to get it. So here is how my bargain hunting trip went:

Verdict: No Deal after L'absence de réponse

Listed on Kijiji, the dimension is perfect, style and function are in-line, and price is excellent at $300 for a piece supposedly antique maple. However, when a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. After many attempts to connect with the seller, I gave up when they went L'absence de réponse on me. Oh well, this is still a buyer's market and I had to move on.

Verdict: Faithful Louis XV but too Flamboyant
This is an antique reproduction, but both the price tag (upward of $3,000) and the ornate style scream too much for me.

Verdict: My Favourite, but wait, it's a Custom Piece!
Words can't describe how much I love these legs! The curves remind me of Christopher Guy's signature chris-x (pronounced kris-krôs) leg design. For those interested in buying this piece and have the patience to wait for it, you can go to InDeco Furniture to order it.

Verdict: Sold!
Also listed on Kijiji, this young antique piece is in mint condition, made of solid cherry and with a price tag that made my jaw drop! I was told I was the first one to call after the seller hit the "List the Item" button. After zooming through the traffic in Bathurst & St. Clair area, I scored this bargain at $200!!! I will probably have it spray-painted in the future. I can already see how fantastic this desk is going to turn out in antique white or grey color.

Ciao for now, until next time I have something exciting to post again.

My Kitchen Makeover

After another $6,500 bank poorer (or house richer), mixed with sweat and tears (okay okay I am a drama queen), we've finally wrapped up our kitchen renovation Phase II. The Phase I was through our builder which cost us an arm and a leg.

This picture pretty much sums up what we did this time. We've settled for a mainstream granite like Kashmir White as it lightens up our espresso maple cabinets. I am still adapting to the super deep sink...so spacious that Anthony joked we could bathe a baby (or two) in it!

And this is the part that I wish never to look back. Bianco carrara mini brick backplash looks fantastic, but the installation and clean-up process was extremely painful. The Keracolour Unsanded Grout dried before we had time to wipe the excessive off the stone. We tried Dupont Haze Grout Cleaner but it did very little to remove the dry residual. The rest became nightmare as we had to manually scrape it off from these mini tiles -- there must be thousands of them as our backplash occupies 40 square feet!

Anyhow, for those DIY warriors, here is a list of tools we used to put up our kitchen backsplash.

Here is the kitchen after being upgraded twice that I can finally enjoy. I would like to see this as an inspiration to improve my culinary skills -- oh, did I mention that I don't even cook that well or much? :-)

Bianco Carrara Mini Brick Subway Tile Close-up