Ottoman On a Dime
An estate sale bargain goes from blah to beautiful with just a little paint and fabric.
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| SHOWN HERE: The ottoman before, ABOVE: The ottoman after |
Local interior designer and bargain-hunter extraordinaire Noëlle Petty knows a good candidate for a redo when she sees it, so she snapped up a pair of Louis XV-style ottomans at a recent Help Me Ronda estate sale, despite their garish blue-velvet upholstery. Noëlle liked their generous scale and their bones, though the finish and fabric left her cold. But, as she puts it, A coat of paint can hide a multitude of sins”especially the run-of-the-mill wood in so many reproductions. She gave the legs and frame of the ottomans a light sanding, a coat of her favorite silvery-green paint (Behr Koala Bear 780D-4), and added depth and character by swiping on Ralph Lauren Tea Stain from Home Depot, adding gilt paint to raised areas, and then another light sanding to distress the finish. Instant antique.
Her upholsterer, Enrique Resemdec, took care of the rest. Noëlle gave him 6 yards of a striped Scalamandre cotton-linen fabric (you could save money by using less expensive fabric, but Noëlle is a proponent of putting your money into good fabrics and good craftsmen), and asked him to double up on the down in the seat, creating an incredibly
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comfy, 8-inch cushion. “The extra down also helped with the silhouette,” she says.
Rehabbing pieces a bit past their prime is a great way to work antiques or reproductions into your home on a budget, but there is one rule: “A piece doesn’t have to be in perfect condition,” Noëlle says, “but it must have sound construction. It’s not a bargain if you have to pay for major repairs before you make a cosmetic fix. “
NOËLLE’S BEST BETS
Destiny’s Antiques
11722 Marsh Ln., Ste. 353
214-358-6510
Help Me Ronda Estate Sales
4416 W. Lovers Ln., Ste. 34B
214-902-9993
Lots of Furniture Antique Mall
910 N. Industrial Blvd.
214-761-1575
Trinity District Antiques
171 Parkhouse St.
214-749-5745
Uncommon Market
2701 Fairmount St.
214-871-2775
Upholsterer
Enrique Resemdec
469-235-1906
