Off with its head...or upholstery...either one!

I promised to tell you the story of this sad little chair.​

I bought it YEARS ago at an estate auction.  I paid to have it reupholstered...​lots if I remember correctly.  And 15-20 years ago, the green fabric and the style was to my liking. 

But over the last few years, I have matured a tad and my taste has become more refined.  Okay, so I changed my mind about what I like and don't like.  Regardless, I didn't like it any more and I didn't want it.​

So, on Craigslist it went.  But for some reason, this pathetic little chair didn't seem to appeal to anyone...not even a little nibble. So one day in one of my manic "I CAN'T TAKE THIS CRAP AROUND HERE ANY MORE" moods, I picked it up to haul it to the curb.  See, in my neighborhood, if you set something on the curb of ANY value, it will be gone within an hour...I have done that with cabinets, vanity tops, light fixtures, furniture.  Gone.  Awesome.  Until you realize you could have taken it to Goodwill and gotten a tax write-off...but whatever.​

But then I got to thinking...if I can sew on a button and make a decorative pillow, why can't I upholster a chair?​

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  Seriously, what sane person thinks like that.​

Obviously ME!  Because that is exactly what I did.  I stripped the little thing naked, taking hundreds of pictures along the way, bought the amount of upholstery the little chart told me to buy for this style chair, Googled "how to upholstery a chair", found a great tutorial...and settled in to complete a project I was certain would take me a day at the most.  Lets just say, it took me MORE than a day just to get all the stinking nails and staples out of the thing.  I can't even remember how long it actually took to finish the job entirely. (My youngest daughter agreed to help initially but quit when her hands began to bleed...not me, I'm a trooper!)

This is now my little reading corner in my office...okay, so its really the cats' chair, but it looks good.  And a few side notes on the other items...the table is one of my Lane Acclaim tables I truly LOVE and adore...and buy whenever I can find one affordable. Hard to see, but on the bottom shelf are old wooden tape measures and a wooden level that were my great grandfathers and an old hand tooled leather briefcase that was my grandfathers. The wall is adorned with "things I love" as well....two original works of art by very talented artists (okay, my kids, but they are beautiful), my college diploma (nice to know it has some use) a cross stitch picture I did for my dad 20 years ago for Father's Day, and a picture of my BFF (my better half, Brian) and me on one of our first ski trips together! Things I love!​ The neeto mirror was a clearance at Hobby Lobby and the sweet little crystal lamp is a TJMaxx find!  And the red lantern was $1 at the thrift store and is filled with sea shells I picked up in California! 

Oh, and the pillow?  It was a lady's houndstooth jacket I bought at the thrift store for $2 and cut up for a pillow....sweet!​

And now you know the story of the sad little green chair that was headed for the curb when a demented women thought she could actually turn it into something beautiful....see, this stuff isn't hard...it just takes a bit of imagination and a tad of insanity! ​

My home office....

I will try to post "before/after" projects as I muddle along and try to figure this all out.  I always have something new in the works, but a lot of the "old" projects are fun and interesting....and hopefully inspiring! 

Last year I decided I was fed up with my old office....big clunky desk, big clunky dresser, big clunky mess.  The problem is, when I first bought this house 13 years ago, my "style" was more traditional...now I am to the point where I want sleek and more "mid century."  Honestly, if the only cleaner I had in my house was windex, I would be happy....which might explain why I put glass tops on all my furniture! 

Anywho, I was digging my way through a little "junk" shop one day and stumbled upon a desk and a dresser with distinct "mid century" flare.  I couldn't get it in my truck fast enough!  This led to a complete transformation of my entire home office!!

Once I got the desk home and stripped down the nastiness from the top, I knew I couldn't paint it. Less one little cigarette burn (a reminder of WHY I shouldn't start smoking again) it was beautiful!  So I coated it with 4 applications of my favorite tung oil and kilzed and painted the bottom of it.  I had the "modern" hardware leftover from my masterbath remodel, so I slapped it on there to save my nails.  The desk chair has been in my attic for 13 years...and honestly, I have NO idea where it came from or how long I have had it.  But again, after stripping it down, there was no way I was painting it....solid mahogany under all the dirt and grime!  So it too got a few coats of tung oil and a new seat cover.   

One of the things you will see I do through out my house, is decorate with things I love.  The large diploma on the wall (to the left) is my great grandmothers University of Arkansas diploma from 1920.  The little bulldog statue on the desk (left corner) is one that sat on my great grandfather's desk umpteen years ago....both worthy of display! 

I will feature the dresser, refurbished paddle fan, and the sitting area (including the antique wingback chair I was literally carrying to the street when I decided to experiment on it)  in later posts....this room is loaded with "charm" and almost every piece has been refinished, reupholstered, repurposed or reinvented....stay tuned!!!

Dad's Walnut Chair....

Still trying to get my cyberlegs....so bare with me while I try to post one of my newest projects.  As I get use to this stuff, I will go back and post some older projects.  You will see I have a "thing" for chairs and tables...sad really, because I really have no place left to stick them in the house.  So many are shipped off to my children's homes where I know they will not be loved and adored like they are here...but whatever.​

My Mom told me that when I was a baby (MANY years ago...almost 50) she and Dad found this walnut chair in a field...the wood was bleached white but Dad knew it was walnut...his favorite (and now mine)!  So he took it home and refinished it.  And for almost 50 years it has been in our family.​

Recently I was able to acquire (sneak out in the dead of night) this beautiful chair.  It was somewhat nicked and bruised from years of use, and I am not sure what my father was thinking the last time he covered it in the ungodly upholstery and nail heads.  But I brought it home, stripped the upholstery and finish and lovingly nourished it with 4 coats of tung oil. ​

As you will learn if you continue to follow me, I have a "thing" for tung ​oil.  Being new to the "cyber world" I am not sure if I can tell you what BRAND I use, but suffice it to say it is with the stains and such in Lowes and it comes in a GREEN can.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this stuff.   Dang near impossible to mess up a refinishing job with it.  I usually put 3-4 coats, lightly sanding between coats with OOOO steel wool and tack cloth.  I have a SERIOUS addiction to Lane Acclain tables, and this is how I refinish them...and now I use it on all my wood furniture.

The reason I love this stuff....super easy to "touch up" scratches and wear.  It doesn't create the "plastic" finish of a poly, but it allows the grain of the wood to shine through and if you get a scratch or nick, you just buff it with steel wool and then recoat the affected area with the tung oil.  Seriously, LOVE this stuff.  And unlike poly, it is next to impossible to mess up the application....but more on that later.​

For now, the chair....I have finished refinishing the wood, but haven't been inspired on the upholstery just yet.  I am thinking something light...maybe a "white"...since the ONLY corner I have left in the house is in my bedroom...and it will not be subjected to food or grandkids...now the cats, that's another story for another time.  ​

Between the cats, chairs, and tables...oh my. ​

​Anywho....drum roll for my first picture post!!!!!   (drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr)​

​Okay, well that didn't go well....the "before" picture is AFTER the "after" pictures....whatever, you get the idea. (fixed it...don't ask me how!)

Now, I just have to find the PERFECT upholstery....and decide between piping or nails...hummmmmm....

And it begins...

So this is all new to me.  This "blog" thing....years ago, I built and managed a website for our high school football team.  But somehow it seemed simpler back then.  Now I am just dazed and confused.​

But I do know that much of the "pinterest" projects (are there some cool ones or what!) and home decor/improvement sites are nothing more than what I have been doing for YEARS.​  I just haven't been "blogging" and "sharing"....I just do!

Seriously, I think I cut my teeth on a chuck of walnut and learned to walk in a cabinet shop.  My father could "do it all" and while he was a horrible teacher (a lot like me) I learned a great deal just by watching and helping.  So as an adult, I learned that if I wanted something wonderful and beautiful in my home, I had to do it myself...yes, I was a DIYer before that was even a "thing." ​

I am the same with food, clothes, home decor, furniture....doesn't matter.  If it is wonderful and beautiful and I want it, I learn to "do it myself."    Why pay someone a ridiculous amount of money to tile your bathroom or design and sew a "little black dress" when you can do it yourself.  ​

So I do...with just about everything!  ​

So as I move forward in this newest endeavor, "the world of blog," I hope I can share with you a desire and passion for "doing it all."  Some things I share will be that which I have actually done....some, others have done.  Maybe I've tried it, maybe I haven't...