Eastlake chair makeover!

Years ago, the "wood purist" in me would never have painted an antique anything!

But slowly I have evolved and my snobbishness has taken a back seat to reality...some "antique" pieces have little use in today's world of decor trends. The rich color and grain of walnut, the depth and beauty of rosewood, the vibrate color and delicate grain of mahogany...zip, zilch, nada.

The day will come when those who followed the decor trends of today will glare at their painted furniture and shiplap walls and growl...it happens. NOTHING is timeless. Honey oak cabinets were timeless...8x8 tile floors were timeless...white appliances were timeless.

The fact is decor trends come and go and we realize that which we thought was timeless, really isn't.

(There are still some who cherish antique pieces...and of course, as always, do a lot of research and make sure the piece you want to paint is not a valuable antique "as is!")

I have no doubt that this piece I slathered in chalk paint and covered in buffalo check fabric will catch the eye of someone looking for a great side chair...but it will someday be stripped down and refinished...exposing the amazing walnut grain and delicate incised carvings. Someday...but not today.

That was my original plan. Strip the old finish to expose the beautiful walnut grain and intricate carvings, reconstruct, seal with oil and reupholster in a fabric worthy of an antique walnut Eastlake piece.

Knowing all that hard work would garner little favor with my "target market," this chair sat in my garage for YEARS. Seriously, I'm not sure when I bought it but I can't remember a time when it wasn't lurking in the back of my garage.

(If you are a "purist" or antique lover, turn away NOW!)

Some would look at this and think EEEWWWWW!

Yes, it was pretty "eeewwwy." And yes, this is pretty much the shape it was in when I bought it. I think I remember removing the original rotted fabric and a few thousand upholstery nails and I did start stripping it using this process. But I eventually shoved it into a corner of the garage where it languished until I got over my snobbiness.

I constructed a new seat out of plywood...not even close to the original but then again furniture no longer sits in the parlor only to be used by tea sipping adults.

The richness and beauty of oiled walnut has fallen out of favor for the "farmhouse" chalk paint and distressed everything!

New foam padding and batting...the old horse hair of yesteryear just doesn't cut it these days. (Thank God...that stuff is nasty!)

The crushed velvet or needlepoint fabric that would have originally ordained this piece was a no-go. I went with the trendy buffalo check that I suspect will be as popular as chevron was a few short years ago!

A bazillion metal upholstery nails...no way Jose! Hot glued gimp is the way to go!

Don't get me wrong, I think it is as cute as a bug's ear! I have no doubt someone will LOVE it! It would be a precious side chair or even a dining chair paired with a farmhouse table that are all the rage!

And as always, it is Litty and Mr. Jinx approved....

As much as I would like to think of myself as a "purist" I can certainly appreciate the desire to fill our homes with pieces we love or suit our desire for "going with the flow" without breaking the bank!

C'est la vie.

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Settee makeover...

As you probably know by now, upholstery is one of my least favorite things to do. One, because it requires me to do my VERY least favorite thing...sew.

Second, it hurts. Seriously after a day of pulling old fabric, staples and nails, my hands are killing me. Which is why it usually takes me weeks to complete a project.

A few weeks ago I shared a club chair I reupholstered for my living room.

I hardly had time to recover from that before I started on this Eastlake chair, and then it was time to tackle this camelback settee!

This thing was seriously hideous. But it had really good "bones" and well, it was free!

This little piece is exactly why I have vowed (time and again) to NEVER take on upholstery projects...just too much work. But how could I pass up such a neat little piece. I'm sick I tell ya!

So I decided to pace myself and tackle a bit at a time.

First, a day of stripping stinky old fabric and a few billion staples and nails.

Then I made a few minor repairs. Then I chalk painted and distressed the little bit of wood that was showing. Then I covered the entire thing with fresh new padding and batting. Then I made the cushion covers. Then I spent 2-3 days recovering the frame. All in all, this "simple" little project took me a good week to finish.

AGAIN, I could give you a blow by blow tutorial on upholstery. But AGAIN, there are a billion really good tutorials online and your best bet is to find a piece similar to the one you want recovered.

Then be smart and take it to your local upholstery shop and don't complain about how much they charge you...trust me, it is worth every dime!!!

Course I say this EVERY time I reupholster a piece...and next thing you know I am hauling home another battered and abused couch or chair. This strange illness I have may explain why I keep hauling home abandoned cats...who knows.

I just know that occasionally I see a piece that is so different and my vision for what it COULD be is so clear, I can't help myself.

When it was all said and done, it really was a little gem....

I threw in a few pillows I made several years ago for my den.... it sold the day after I took it to 410 Vintage. The fact that someone will love it and use it makes all the aches and pains worth it!

Fortunately, as much as I love these pieces when they are done, I have a venue to sell them.

The cats...well, that's another story!

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Simple bench or stool makeovers...

At least once a month I run across pathetic little benches or stools at the auctions or in thrift stores. I have featured a few in the past....

...this cute little piano bench here....

A bench I made for my daughter out of an old coffee table here....

My dad's old tool bench....

I use it as a little side table next to the chair in the den! This is one of those things that serves a purpose and has tremendous "sentimental" value as well!

And at least a dozen or more I failed to take either before or after pictures of over the years! I'm a baaaad blogger!

Trust me....they are super simple to makeover with a little paint and fabric and always turn out precious!

Recently I did a little footstool and bench and actually remembered to take a before AND after picture!

This little foot stool was pretty pathetic in it's original state....

I stripped the fabric (and removed at least 2,483 staples), chalk painted the base, distressed a bit and sealed with poly (gives lighter paint an "aged" look), added a little bit of foam to "fluff" it, new fabric and new "gimp" trim.

Cute as a bugs ear!

I found this old icky coffee table at the apartments. Like the old coffee table I turned into a houndstooth bench for my daughter, it was pretty worthless for it's intended use...a coffee table.

I removed the top (super simple...a few screws), added foam padding and batting and covered it with fabric and gave the base a little KSTP treatment. Reattached the top to the base with screws. Super simple!

Both are now in my new flea market booth at 410 Vintage in Fayetteville! Awesome place so make sure to drop in sometime and check out all the AMAZING treasures!

Next time you see a ratty old foot stool or a dated old coffee table, see it for its potential! They are super simple to make-over and are perfect for additional seating or a place to throw your clothes at the end of the day...and of course, they are the perfect little touch to add character to your home!

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Little Ms. Tammy's tuffet....

My friend Tammy is always in awe of all my little projects. And I tell her the same thing I tell everyone. YOU CAN DO IT TOO!! But she always says she can't....

So I was a bit surprised when she sent me a text last night with a picture of an ottoman she paid $10 for and a note saying she was going to recover it. Honestly, I assumed she was fishing for help, so I was quick to reply that JR's funeral was last night....to which she replied "Who's jr?"

SERIOUSLY! I know she is not THAT much younger than me. We are both "girls of the 80s." Who's "jr"? What, were you raised in the rain forest girl?

Imagine my surprise when she sent me a picture of her completed project 3 hours later.

YOU GO GIRL!!! I am sooooo proud of her....she proved my point....YOU CAN DO IT!

Beautiful job Tammy!

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It's a Pooh Bear day....

When it is a warm, windy day it reminds me of the Winnie the Pooh movie...it's "blustery" out! It is also a reminder that spring IS right around the corner. And the storms blowing through tonight are definitely "spring showers."

Unfortunately some sick individual decided it was a good idea to move Day Light Savings up a few weeks. Wears me out...I am a "dusk to dawn" kinda person which means I think I ought to be out "working" as long as it is daylight out. Kind of liked shutting it down around 5. The next week of adjustment is going to be killer....

But today it was warm and I was able to start working on the nasty dresser and 3 legged table I brought home. I sold a DIY project that has been in my garage for months...untouched...a Zenith console stereo. I had big plans for it but I just have too much to do that NEEDS to be done. The dresser is going to someone who needs it...not sure what will become of the 3 legged table but it will speak to me eventually.

Funny thing...furniture speaks to me (so do my cats, but that's another story). When I first brought my desk home, I had no doubt I would be painting the entire thing white. But when I began to strip all the nastiness and abuse away, and discovered the beautiful mahogany lurking beneath, it was clear it did not want to be painted....same with the nasty little desk chair I pulled out of the attic. I had NO doubt I was going to sand and paint the entire thing...but when I stripped the nastiness away, again, it was clear it did NOT want to be painted.

So when I saw this little table at the thrift store, I knew it was a nice little table. Laminate top definitely could stand painting, but the legs and frames where beautiful and sturdy. Who doesn't need a nice little table!

But it spoke to me...."I want to be a beautiful bench now."

And that is exactly what it is....

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The Houndstooth chair

Sagging seat, flappy arms, wobbly legs...getting old sucks. This old girl had seen better days and took some serious gluing and clamping! But after this facelift, she was one hot piece!

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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!

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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....