This might be a record for how quickly I completed a project. Less than one month after sending Jake out to pick up a $20 recliner off of the swap site I am proud to say “it’s done”!
Here’s a look at how our room looked this morning (I didn’t even clean up for pictures or ask Noah to stand still):
Noah loves carrying around bags now like his mom.
This chair is another DIY project.
Noah was busy loading up his baby-purse with board game pieces… Jake finished getting ready and then the boys went grocery shopping so I could use the staple gun without worrying about a toddler running around me. The legs on this chair have to be reattached about halfway through stapling the sides back on (the screws that hold them in place are hidden inside the sides of the chair). I got to the point where I was ready to attach the legs and after several failed attempts realized that I needed Jake’s help.
Once the boys were home I set up Noah with Daniel Tiger (a friend recently recommended it to us) and we had 26 minutes of uninterrupted work time to get the legs reattached. I really am one of those parents who doesn’t let my kid watch TV – I’ve found it works for us because then in those few occasions each month that I need him to stay on the couch, the TV completely holds his attention. Once there’s another kid in the picture I am positive this rule will change but for right now the only regular TV Noah gets is Pandora. So back to the legs, they were much more difficult to put back on, even with two people. After several choice words and lots of pushing, pulling, banging, we got the legs to line up with the screw holes and I was able to complete the side stapling.
Jake reattached the back cushion for me and then we moved it into place. Initially we thought something was wrong because we couldn’t get it to fully close but I realized that you just have to close it from a seated position so that the front and back close at the same time. This is why some of the pictures show the bottom cushion poking out a bit.
And just to remind you of what we started with:
Total cost for this project:
- Original chair (off of the swap site): $20
- Fabric from Fabric Basement: $88
- Tack strip: $5
- Staple gun, already owned: $0
- Staples: $6
- Polyshades, Tudor Satin: $8
- Brushes: $1.50
- Upholstery thread: $4
- TOTAL COST: $132.50
While this chair wasn’t cheap, it was a lot less than the $1000 La-Z-Boy is asking for a new one! And I have lots of left over materials for future upholstery projects: I have 2 yards of material, enough tack strip & staples for my next 10 projects, and left over stain.
Already on the look-out for my next upholstery project….