Reupholstering the new living room chair...

I have said it before and I'll say it again...if you ever complain about the cost of reupholstering a piece of furniture, give it a shot! 

Trust me, you will never complain again...and there is a good chance you will just buy new! 

I spent over $200 just for the fabric for this chair!

It's not really "my style" but I wanted to use it to replace the big hulking brown leather chair in the living room and this one was a "freebie"...for obvious reasons. It had to be big enough for Cleo because that is "her chair." 

Perfect fit.

And honestly, with a down cushion and deep seat, it is super comfy! Not that I would have sat in it before it was completely stripped and covered with new batting...but it LOOKED comfy!

There are THOUSANDS of tutorials on line for reupholstering just about any style of chair so I am not going to do a blow by blow tutorial on how I reupholstered this one. Your best bet is to find a tutorial for a chair similar to the one you are going to do. Besides, it took me a day to strip it and removed 2,453,692 staples, a day to sew the cushion cover and all the piping, and another day to upholster the main frame....my hands were in no shape to hold a camera!

My advice...buy a new chair! HOWEVER, if you insist on reupholstering a chair, find a good tutorial and settle in for some serious work!

I do love how this one turned out. I really want to infuse some "lighter-brighter" furniture so I went with the teal/cream print. I like the texture of the fabric and I think it will be very durable which is important since Cleo immediately reclaimed her spot! 

Naturally the new chair means I will have to buy a new rug, but since Katie wants to take the existing rug to her new condo this summer, I have a valid excuse to buy a new one! 

My next upholster project is this little MCM chair in my den....

Seriously, if I hadn't already purchased the fabric, I might have just said to heck with it and wait for the mauve and pale blue to come back in style. Or just buy a new one! But I adore this chair so when my hands regain their feeling, I'll move on to this project!

The weather has been pretty amazing so I have managed to finish up quite a few little projects, in spite of the fact I can barely grip a paintbrush, so I'll share a few in the coming weeks! 

A special birthday celebration!

If you follow me on Instagram, you know my dog has become my "fifth child." Yep...that is what happens when you become an "empty nester." You take and post waaaay too many pictures of your animals and, of course, you celebrate their birthdays!

Wednesday we celebrated Cleo's 2nd birthday! If you go by "dog years," I officially have another teenager!

Our grandpuppy, Zoey, came to celebrate with us!

They LOVED the pup treats...the hats, not so much! Zoey wouldn't even wear one for a picture....party pooper!

And of course I have a TON of projects in the pipeline....three chairs to reupholster, five little dressers to repair and rehab and who knows how many other little projects piled in the back of the garage!

I did get a few pieces finished and ready to take to 410 Vintage...this shelf/desk is only one of many...but as usual I either forget to take before OR after pictures...in this case, the before.

Imagine honey oak...eeeck! A little KSTP treatment, and again, another lifetime of awesomeness!

I know I harp on it, but it bears repeating. The ugliest piece of furniture can be dolled up with a little paint! 

I have four dressers lined up in the driveway ready to strip and paint IF the weather will cooperate. I think that is one of the biggest problems this time of the year. One day it is 70, the next we have a freeze warning. So I shuffle stuff around and work on what I can depending on the weather. Some days it is too cold or windy to paint, so I use those days to do repairs or work inside on upholstery projects. Then when it warms up a bit, I paint, but if it is too windy I can't spray paint. Curses!

Not going to complain because in few short months I will be gripping about the heat! And honestly, this is what I love about Arkansas...four seasons! I just wish it would make up it's mind from one day to the next!