My “Breaking Bad” Drug Fueled Design Inspiration

by Katy on September 12, 2013 · 12 comments

There are a number of design blogs that comprise my go-to morning reading. Young House Love, Manhattan Nest and more and more these days, Little Green Notebook. I love the authors’ make do creativity, and I salivate over incorporating and tweaking their ingenious design solutions for my own use.

Of course, design inspiration (or anything inspiration) is everywhere.

So when I spied these supposed-to-be-ugly barstools on Breaking Bad, my mind started to whirl.

“Wow, those barstools look a lot like that makeover chair from Little Green Notebook’s Jenny Komenda. They are so ripe for a makeover! Plus, I bet they’re crazy comfortable. I should start keeping an eye out for something similar while out on my thrifting adventures!”

Yes, this is how my brain works.

I remember how Jenny’s before chair was so ugly I would have thrown it out of bed for eating crackers wouldn’t have given it a second glance:

Little Green Notebook - before

And the after chair was stop-you-in-your-tracks, kick-you-in-the-groin amazing! So bold, so graphic, let’s face it . . . drool worthy. Like it deserved its own fan club, or at least a Facebook page so I could “like” it. Good idea, Katy. Make a Facebook page for The Chair this afternoon.

Again, this is how my brain works.

What was I saying? Oh yes, that you don’t have to actually partake of Breaking Bad’s illicit substances to have a mind altering experience. You just have to keep an eye out for design inspiration.

It will blow your mind!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Twitter.
Click HERE to join The Non-Consumer Advocate Facebook group.
Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Pinterest.

{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }

Van September 12, 2013 at 9:31 am

I found brown chairs almost exactly like the green ones in breaking bad. LOVE THOSE, want some for my similar kitchen-bar-ledge thing. Everyone called my brown chairs uglier than sin, too 😀 They sold, though.

Reply

Katy September 12, 2013 at 9:48 am

I love me some resale!

Katy

Reply

Mr. Everyday Dollar September 12, 2013 at 12:01 pm

I owned a very similar pair of those Breaking Bad supposed-to-be-ugly barstools. They originally came from our neighbors basement bar; they gave them to me while they were in the process of downsizing from a house to a condo.

I took them to college with me and they spent a few years in my fraternity house (and let’s be glad those barstools can’t talk), before I sold them in a yard sale. But wow, if I had seen Jenny’s chair makeover I might have kept them!

Reply

AFS September 12, 2013 at 4:40 pm

I had a chair like those for years at mt kitchen bar. Mine was brown and very comfy. I finally replaced it because the footrest fell apart AGAIN after I had reattached it for the umteenth time.
So when you see one at GW check to make sure the ring/footrest is sturdy.

Reply

SarahN September 12, 2013 at 9:09 pm

How is it that some people have such a knack to turn daggy old stuff into AWESOME! Nice work on bringing this to my attention, now I want one!

Reply

Katy September 12, 2013 at 9:29 pm

I think we all want that chair. Maybe I should buy a dozen or so, and then have an ole fashioned paintin’ party.

Katy

Reply

JD September 13, 2013 at 5:11 am

I love this stuff, too. When my daughter went to college, sharing an apartment with two other girls, I wasn’t about to spend a fortune on furniture. We found in a consignment red-tag sale room a dresser, wood-framed mirror off another dresser and a dark wood cabinet thingy that would work for a nightstand. They were 1960 ugly — fake driftwood dresser, dark pine cabinet, blonde wood framed mirror, rusty handles, you name it. They were so ugly, my husband tried to convince our daughter not to take them home, when he went with her to pick them up. She and I sanded, painted, and changed out the handles (maybe $20.00 worth of supplies), painted an old bedframe we already had, and ta-da! Her roommates thought the furniture was so cute after we were done, and now, years later, they grace my granddaughter’s room! No one realizes just how awful they used to look . Except us, of course. How I wish I’d taken pictures.

Reply

Katy September 13, 2013 at 7:13 am

I love it!

Katy

Reply

Joanne Wright September 13, 2013 at 9:27 am

I love the way your mind works… it makes me laugh!
The chairs are amazing but what this post has made me consider is getting Netflix so we can watch breaking bad (we don’t have cable etc..). We’ve finished all the True Blood box sets we could get our hands on for our Saturday night in at Chez Wright (once kids are in bed – of course!). Breaking bad has been recommended. It’s that or Sons of Anarchy.

Reply

Bonnie September 13, 2013 at 10:13 am

I bought the exact same “breaking bad” stools at an auction a month ago. They are made by Costco. (not that big box store) and mine are white. I paid $15 for all three of them. I was to tickled I could hardly contain myself. I took some clorax spray bleach cleaner and they are like brand new. I figure for $5 a piece I will use them until they die. Although they are so sturdy I think they will last a long time.
Glad to know someone else thinks they’re cool.

Reply

Katy September 13, 2013 at 10:50 am

Very cool!

Katy

Reply

Katie September 13, 2013 at 5:20 pm

The chair’s all right, but I LOVE “kick-you-in-the-groin” as the next level up from “stop-you-in-your-tracks.” Awesome. 🙂

Reply

Leave a Comment

Previous post:

Next post: