Handy Girl Design

01/25/2025

01/03/2025

Another family heirloom w a fresh look! This chair seat is for a vintage corner chair. Grandma had recovered it once using duct tape which had lost its hold and came right off. I love the use of the duct tape; who needs a staple gun?

12/19/2024

Providing beauty and function for my customers makes me so happy! We have some fabulous fabric resources here in Chicago and I love shopping them for the perfect fabric!

12/13/2024

My client kept the chair at home while I worked on this so I don't have a picture with the new seat on the chair. It was an ornate vintage dining chair of her grandmother's. Grandma did a great job of changing the fabric, lots of staples to pull out at each layer! I absolutely love being a part of keeping a piece in the family and freshening it up with a fabric that works in its current space.
The 2nd layer is super cute and in great shape after a cycle in the washing machine. Stay tuned for a throw pillow utilizing this fabric in the near future!

11/21/2024

Link to class details & sign up!
https://evenmadetrade.com/

11/04/2024

Expecting guests for the holidays and would love to upgrade your dining chairs? Here's your opportunity to do it yourself!

10/21/2024

https://evenmadetrade.com/class/make-meet-at-the-workshop/

09/27/2024

Thankful to have been pulled in to assist in executing a super cool interior design at Epoch Salon in Kenilworth, IL! My friend and fellow gigster, Stephanie Smith, reached out for some added muscle to hang some heavy items! We of course hit some hurdles but persevered! When Beth, salon owner and creator of the design, saw her neon sign up and lit; her excited face made it all worth it!

I love how Stephanie's idea to spray paint the cord concealer black for the sign turned out!

The white cabinet was a nightmare to get up. I included the miniscule instructions so you can maybe see how 8 cleats had to be precisely installed. Four on the wall and four on the cabinet. Then holding a heavy cabinet in the air while getting all four to slide in without being able to see them was not fun.
Next time I would retrofit this cabinet with a better hanging system. Like that of the black color tube shelves; one long bar slid into one long cleat. Easy Peasy! Something to look at if you are buying a cabinet to hang, don't make it harder on yourself than it needs to be. Something I hadn't thought to look at but definitely will be moving forward!

Of course best of all was hanging out and working with my friend! We make a fabulous team!

09/23/2024

https://evenmadetrade.com/class/intro-to-interior-design-for-diyers/2024-10-12/

07/31/2024

Another furniture piece gets a 2nd life! Well loved, it needed a little face lift. Now it can shine again in my client's entryway. 🧡🧡🧡

Sanding the old finish off is only fun for maybe the first thirty minutes. But then when I put that first coat of stain on the bottom shelf piece and see the beauty of the wood, I feel that "ahhh" this is why I push through hours of sanding. 🧡🧡🧡

Sanding these slats was no joke. Justified a new tool purchase, yay! Hand held 1/2" wide belt sander. I 🧡 power tools.

07/02/2024

My largest frame yet with poured acrylic paint application! Once all the updates were done in this dining room, table & chairs refinished to walnut color, extra chairs painted a light gray and hutch to navy blue, this yellow gold antique mirror no longer fit in.
Combining all the updated colors in the marbled look made the mirror the statement piece once again. If you look at the room reflected in the mirror you can see all the colors I represented using this technique. Thrilled with how this turned out! And best of all my client loves it too!

06/07/2024

Hands on class working on your own chair! Would love to recover the seats on your dining chairs? Come learn how! We will teach you how on one chair of your own so you can go home and tackle the rest with confidence. You bring your chair and the fabric you want to use.

Need help choosing a fabric? Sign up for the class then reach out to through the Even Made email and we'll help you.

You can totally do this! And we'll have so much fun!