Chair Whimsy

Two thrifted chairs, two totally different personalities.

My daughter needed extra seating in her apartment, so I spent yesterday giving these two a glow-up before dropping them off.

Chair one: painted a pale pink, with a bold poppy floral back in red, coral, and blush, finished with a red striped welt and a citrus green velvet seat.

Chair two: a cream frame with a a different floral back, black-and-white striped welt for contrast, and a coral striped seat cushion that ties it all together.

Two very different moods — and that’s the fun of it.

Which one would you grab first, the pink poppy chair or the striped seat? Tell me in the comments, and tell me what your first apartment furniture looked like.
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Tickets are LIVE. 🎄

https://www.cottagesandbungalowsmag.com/event/a-very-whimsy-christmas/ #

Swipe through and tell me you don't want to be standing in my living room on Christmas morning.

On Saturday, November 14th, I'm opening my home in the Austin area for A Very Whimsy Christmas — as Cottages & Bungalows' 2026 Brand Ambassador. My downstairs and stairwell, decorated for the holidays, and you get to tour it in person.

You'll hear from Cottages & Bungalows editor-in-chief Kelly McMaster on her path to that role and how to actually get a home featured in the magazine. My dear friend Sara McDaniel of Simply Southern Cottage will be speaking too. And me — I'll be right there with you the whole day.

Then we head out back for a holiday market full of artisan vendors. Consider your gift list started. 🎁

Only 75 tickets. This is not the kind of event that lasts long.

We’ve packed up NY and are now heading home to Texas! It’s a 3 day journey…had the best summer ever. Wish us luck!

Let me know in the comments! Which chair are you? As weird as the sounds, I’ve always thought of chairs with personalities and I’ve given them names sometimes. But I also think that we can identify with a certain one, it might be about the style or the fabric. I would love to know what you think!

This pink French chair makeover proves you can absolutely mix a ditsy floral with a bold stripe and still land somewhere gorgeous. I know, I know — you’re used to seeing me go big and bold on top, but I wanted to flip the script on this pair. Tiny Liberty-style florals up top, punchy pink and white stripes on the seat, and a pale pink painted frame tying it all together (is there really such a thing as too much pink? I say no).

The trick is letting the scales fight a little. A small print and a big stripe don’t need to match — they just need to agree on a color story. That’s the whole secret to collected-not-matchy styling.

So tell me — are you a big bold print person, or does this ditsy floral moment have you rethinking things? I go back and forth every single week.

I used to hide how much I loved chairs.

This was before 2012, before I’d ever stripped a seat down to bare wood or learned what a good redo could do to a piece everyone else had given up on. Back then, loving chairs this much just felt… weird. I didn’t know anyone else who got genuinely excited over a good silhouette or a joint that was worth saving. (And I’m not even talking about fabrics yet!) So I kept it quiet.

Then I actually learned how to redo them, and everything changed. Not just the chairs — the way I saw them. Every piece has a story, and there’s nothing like taking something worn out and giving it a second one.

Turns out I wasn’t weird. I just hadn’t found my people yet.

You may already know I teach this in my online classes. I’m thinking about adding a live one too, and genuinely don’t know yet if there’s interest — so tell me, would you show up for that?

These are my chairs. 🪑

You’re going to be sitting in one of them this Christmas.

Because on Saturday, November 14th, I’m opening my home for a Christmas morning like nothing I’ve ever done before — as Cottages & Bungalows’ 2026 Brand Ambassador. 🎄

A full tour of my decorated downstairs and stairwell. Three speaker sessions with Sara McDaniel (her memoir is coming!), Kelly McMaster (editor in chief of C&B magazine), and me. Then a Christmas market in my backyard, packed with artisans and makers and pieces you won’t find anywhere else.

Tickets are limited — most of this happens inside my actual house, so I can only fit so many of you. 😅

They go live September 2. Save the date, grab your favorite people, and get ready.

More details (and probably more chair pics) coming next week. 👀 Are you coming?

📌 Save November 14th