Reupholster a Recliner: DONE!

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….

Bombay Mahogany

A few years ago Jake’s mom was visiting and spotted this chair on a trip to the Salvation Army. I think is was $10 but I honestly can’t remember. Almost 3 years later I FINALLY did something about it. Here’s the chair as it looked when we bought it. The cushion was gross and had inner springs. We immediately threw away the cushion/base. And then it sat in our basement…..

A couple weeks ago Jake took a couple measurements and cut a base for the chair. We picked up the thickest foam available at Joann’s and Jake used his band saw to cut the foam to size (it is much rougher and less neat if you use a knife). I added batting and fabric on top and used a staple gun to attach everything to the seat base. In order to avoid bulky fabric in the corners, I cut a square out of each corner and then sewed the seams together to make it a custom fit. Of course I did not get good pictures of the upholstering process because I was trying to finish it before Noah woke up from a nap. The new cushion looks great!! But the chair itself still needs some help.

I spent about 10-15 minutes sanding the frame so that I would have a nice work surface. Instead of using a stain and a poly, I used PolyShades in Bombay Mahogany. I was so excited to get started on the process that I forgot a complete “sanded” picture but here is one of the sanded chair and one arm has a single coat of PolyShades.

Here is the chair after the first coat — it took less than 30 minutes.

And after the second coat. I’m pleased with the color so I won’t be putting a third coat on the chair.

And after letting it sit overnight, I brought the chair into the house and tested it out with the cushion. Amazing!! A little stain, poly, and a new cushion! It still needs at least a week to cure before we can let Noah go crazy on it. I am so excited for my next Polyshades project!! Look out thrift stores!

Cozier Master Bedroom

When we lived in CT our master bedroom wasn’t very spacious. It was exactly enough room for a queen bed, dress, night stand, and a bench. Our walk-in closet was accessible from the hall (we think it was originally built at the nursery and the previous owners converted it to a giant closet). Here’s a picture from our home before we moved, and before I touched up all of the trim/baseboards with white, glossy paint.

Apparently I get more furniture-moving gene from my mom…I LOVE moving furniture around in a room. It makes the space feel fresh and new, provides a bit of a workout, and allows you to clean some spots you don’t normally have a chance to reach. Here’s a quick photo I took of our room before we moved it around (sorry for the bad quality, I should have double checked the picture before going crazy with moving furniture; I was just too excited to get started), ignore the mess…

And after…. I moved all of the smaller items and Jake helped me with the bed. It took us about 20 minutes. The chair in the corner needs a base and then I’m going to upholster the seat with 4″ foam, batting, and a fun geometric print. Now that there is a bunch of open space over the bench I’m also thinking another photo shelf would be good, or maybe a fabric book shelf (like this) to store a few books to read to Noah in our corner chair.

I think my favorite part is that since we have “lost” some square footage behind the bed, I’ve been able to capture that cozy feeling from CT. I love the pictures that are hanging over the bed — the bird painting on the right is one I did with my New Hampshire girls and my best friend while I was still pregnant with Noah (and Jake was deployed). Someday Jake will get around to making frames for all of my paintings.

Now the happy accident of losing that square footage is that it’s now an easily accessible storage space! I tossed our extra bedding and the supplies to cover the wooden chair behind the bed. It will be easy to grab when I need it but out of sight for right now.

I wonder what Noah is going to think about this new arrangement.

Noah’s Play Kitchen

Noah has shown great interest in playing with anything and everything in the kitchen. We have had to baby proof every cabinet/drawer within his reach but have left a couple open that contain his plates, bowls, and cups. Now that he is getting bigger, I wanted to invest in a play kitchen so that he can prepare meals alongside his mom! After looking at the plastic options online I was left a little underwhelmed by both the quality and the price. I wanted a gender neutral kitchen that was not plastic and not $400….

I knew that I wanted to DIY his play kitchen and had been looking for an old TV entertainment center to convert (like this). Today after church we stopped at a second hand store and noticed that the Pier 1 across the street was closing and EVERYTHING MUST GO signs on the windows…..an hour later our trunk was full of shelving units. Jake bought one for his workout clothing and I got two for Noah’s play kitchen. One is going to be a refrigerator and the other (when turned on its side) is going to be the sink/stovetop/over/dishwasher.

Set up the where they are going to stay but just using as storage for now.

I haven’t quite decided what appliances I want to give him so I created a Pinterest Board to help me organize and prioritize my ideas!

Jewelry Organizer

I’m pretty sure both of these projects have been sitting in pieces in our bedroom/garage for a few months. They were so close to being complete but I never got off my butt to ask Jake to add the finishing touches. I had an extra shelf from my bookcase project. I painted random stripes on it using some test paint we had in the garage and marked out places where I wanted to put white hooks.

Today Jake drilled all of the holes (and a few extra that I had marked and not actually wanted drilled….my bad) and added the hooks. I might go back and fill in the holes at some point but since I’ll be the only one looking at this on a daily basis, it really doesn’t bother me.

My other project was adding some metal grating to an old picture frame (really old, like falling apart old, but my earrings don’t care). I got the sheet on sale at Lowe’s for $5!

A few nails in the wall, 5 minutes of moving jewelry …. and done!!

Sorry about the terrible lighting in our closet.

And just for fun, here’s a picture of Noah wearing my balaclava after our morning jog together!

Noah’s First Year in Pictures

A couple of weeks ago Jake put the frame together for Noah’s photo project and attached/hung the finished result.

We love how it looks and it reminds us how much has happened in the past year.

I like that it helps break up the GIANT blank wall that takes up our living room. Once Jake finishes the second bookcase to flank the TV stand it will look even more balanced. And there’s my “new to me” computer from mom & dad (they bought a new one). Jake and I decided to install Ubuntu on it and now it’s my main computer.

 

We got just over an inch of snow today so Noah and I have remained in pajamas. He enjoys randomly cuddling with his bear 🙂

Noah’s First Year in Pictures

While wasting time on Pinterest I came across this image:

I really liked how this looked and now that we have all of these blank walls in base housing I have an excuse to do this project!

Now her tutorial is great for getting started but didn’t really have any additional information (like dimensions, spacing, how she accomplished the spacing).

Jake and I decided to leave an inch spacing all over and an additional half inch all the way around for the frame. He cut a piece of plywood to 47 x 23 inches.

I gave it a couple of coats of paint (the same “pink” paint that I used for the bookcase) and then yesterday afternoon I did my best to get the spacing right – I used multiple rulers and scotch tape to secure the pictures in place. Next I followed the tutorial’s instructions to go over everything with Mod Podge.

I don’t think I’ve ever used Mod Podge before–probably when I was a little kid? If you are experienced Mod Podger you could probably get this project to look amazing.

Here’s what it looked like after the first coat, I started at the bottom and worked my way up.

So it you look very closely and at the right angle, you can see the streaks from the Mod Podge. I used this method because it is cheap (found an acrylic sheet big enough for this project at Home Depot for $35 vs. $4 for Mod Podge)

By this morning the Mod Podge had completely cured and it looks like this:

I am planning on putting on a second (and final) coat of Mod Podge on tonight after Noah goes to bed. While this step in the project isn’t toxic, I’m more worried about him making a mess if I did it while he was awake.

Next step is frame building/staining by Jake!

I Need a Project: Day 4, 5, and 6

The last few nights I have a lot more time than usual in the entryway. Tonight I finished the 3rd and final coat on the bookcase and painted the pack piece of plywood.

At the end of painting my work area looked like this:

I am super impatient so I jumped out to the garage and asked Jake to start the air compressor so that I could “chuch chuch” (while making shooting motions with my hand). He helped me carry the pieces out to the garage and set me up with the initial nails so that I just had to go through and reinforce. While it took me a while to realize the air compressor was a good purchase, I am in love with our nail gun!

Then we brought it back inside and it has a new home 🙂

I want the paint to have another day to really cure before I start loading it up with books and toys so for right now it sits sad and empty.

I Need a Project: Day 2

The bookcase project is underway….

All of the clamping is done so the frame is nice and secure. The holes on the inside of the frame have been filled.

Here’s a nice shot of our garage; Jake and I love our projects!

Next step: Sanding the frame, followed by a second round of wood filler to make sure everything will be smooth, then a final sanding. Then PAINTING 🙂

I Need a Project: Day 1

Jake has recently taken on woodworking as a hobby but he can’t make furniture fast enough for me to paint … and I needed another project! So far he has built his desk and revamped our TV stand (I’m not allowed to post detailed pictures until he writes up a post to go with them).

Currently he’s working on matching bookcases to go on either side of our TV – they will be used for Noah’s toys and books that are slowing taking over our carpet.

I purchased a bookcase second hand and Jake is helping me learn how to clean it up so that I can get to the best part … PAINTING!

My first step is to make sure the frame is nice and sturdy, I used wood glue and clamps:

Here’s a close up of the clamps.

Jake is always going out and buying more clamps … and now I can kind of understand why. I’m pretty sure he aspires to a clamp wall similar to the Wood Whisperer (hehehehe, yes, I’m 12 years old and laugh at that name every time). Here is Jake’s dream clamp wall:

I have sanded the shelves (although only two will be returning to the bookcase) and the back is not attached (it is going to be painted separately).

And here is my plan. The entire bookcase is going to be a very very pale pink (almost white) with a darker back and polka dots. Think this picture below but lighter and more imperfect dots:

 

Tonight and I am working on patching in the all of the holes on the inside of the bookcase frame along with a little more gluing and clamping!