The iconic metal French cafe chair stirs up our imagination of a luxurious life of sipping espresso while discussing philosophy and admiring well dressed pedestrians cross our path. The chair responsible for such desires is the Tolix A chair, designed by Frenchman Xavier Pauchard in 1934. They became wildly popular for their design, use of galvanized metal, and versatility as an indoor/outdoor stackable chair.
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The design hasn’t changed much since the beginning – no need to improve on perfection, right? Today you may be able to find many sorts of the metal bistro chair, from vintage to newly manufactured. Many companies now offer a similar chair and they come in variety of a colors.
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For the DIY vintage homemaker, you can surf the web or your local antique store to find some with just the right amount of rust and character. For an ecclectic dining setting mix and match a several of the cafe chairs and juxtapose them with a rustic dining table set with vintage china table settings and perhaps candles or a crystal chandelier for lighting. Ooh la la!
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One of the things I love the most about creating a chic home is working with unconventional decorating materials. For instance, discarded wooden pallets that are unfinished and unappealing in their natural state can be transformed into fabulous functional furniture. Add some wheels and you’ve got portable furniture that makes a statement.
A couple of gorgeous examples of daybeds with wooden pallet frames. These supports are probably sturdy enough to hold anything you’ll put on them!
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The rustic, industial pallet below gets paired with smooth glass, making this coffee table versatile and elegant. The addition of wheels makes it easy to vacuum under.
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A little deconstruction goes a long way in this repurposed recycling bin. Clever and useful! Visit the Simple Home life link below the image to view the instructions and make your own.
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This double tiered pallet table has been stained and used in a cozy outdoor patio setting.
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Most of these projects are super simple to construct and inexpensive too. For a detailed deomonstration on contructing your own pallet table/ottoman watch the video below. Then if that gets you really excited, hop in your car and start searching for discarded pallets!
Vintage beauty and modern function definitely work well together in the form of the apothecary cabinet. These handy compartmentalized units offer a multitude of storage for small to mid-size objects that you want to keep out of sight. Originally designed for a retail environment, they can vary in size from tabletop to full wall installations.
The word apothecary is derived from apotheca, meaning a place storing wine, spices, and herbs. Early apothecary shops were a mixture of retail grocery stores offering medical advice and drugs. Apothecaries were the precursors to today’s pharmacist.
You can find both vintage apothecary cabinets and reproduction cabinets in wood or metal with anywhere from four to over one hundred drawers. Smaller drawers, as typically seen in the Chinese cabinets were made specifically for herbs. As seen below, these furniture pieces will function well in a wide variety of vintage decor styles and DIY Chic Homes.
Make your own apothecary cabinet
If you are handy with saws and hammers you could just make your own apothecary console, perfect for the modern flat screen t.v. and large enough to house your entire collection of dvds. The following image was made from patterns and directions at ana-white.com.
{ image sources: 1 Home Life, 2 Stabler Leadbeater, 3 Apartment Therapy, 4 Brabourne Farm 5 La Maison Boheme, 6 Hudson Goods, 7 House to Home, 8 Ana White }
Home interior trends for the vintage chic home are moving away from heavy antiques and are now embracing sleeker lines and modern functionality. The mood is lighter and brighter, less cluttered. As Molly J. Deas says in the article Spring home decorating: From discarded to divine:
“Some popular new trends in interiors comprise the use of intense pop colors, mixing colors from a similar palette, metallic accessories, and adding natural accents such as seasonal flowers and plants.”
