Boring to... Better

My entry way looks better, but it did not realize the beautiful potential I think it may have in one DIY spurt this morning. The struggle for me is to make the vision I have a reality... my sewing skills have a lot of room for improvement, and my design skills are amateur at best. Still, I have a passion to make to cultivate my aesthetic. For years, I have conformed to what I thought was acceptable - traditional beige - and ended up with an uninspiring, personal-less space. My goal over the next few months is to make my home cozier - brown and beige be darned! I will use the colors I like, the decorations I love... follow my instincts rather than worrying about what someone might think. 

Anyway, this bench project today was a step toward that goal. Actually, it's not a bench but a hope chest my mother gave me when I graduated from college. I had covered a piece of plywood wrapped in batting with chocolate brown satin-ish fabric, and that's how it stayed for years. Bor-ing. Now, it's covered in Amy Butler fabric (bought at the Fabric Shack in Waynesville, OH) and adorned with a knitted patchwork pillow I've worked monogamously on for the last two weeks. I love how it turned out and can't wait to make more pillow covers! The pillow pattern, called Leaf Cushion, is from the Spring/Summer 2009 Debbie Bliss magazine - love her style. 

My poor dull hope chest still needs some more work. I'll see what other patterns I can try out - maybe some quilting is in order?!