Recovering furniture is something that I love to do!
Yes....I probably could take things to a professional and have THEM take care of it for me!
But...that costs a lot of money...
and there is no FUN involved in that!
Through the years....I have redone lots and lots of furniture....in fact there are some pieces that have been recovered several times!
This post is NOT a tutorial....
there are tutorials for recovering furniture all over the internet!
If you want to learn the ins and outs of recovering furniture....other people can show you the right way to do it!
This post is about ATTITUDE!
This post is about having a CAN DO ATTITUDE!
This post is to inspire you to find your own can do attitude and just "Go For IT"!
This post is about getting in there and figuring out how to get something beautiful and inexpensive!
This wing backed chair sits in the bedroom and makes me smile whenever I look at it....
The chair is one we bought for cheap 25 years ago....
It was getting pretty worn out....and was certainly ugly!
I was ready to send it to Goodwill...until I found this great fabric!
I figured...what the heck....with a little time and effort...maybe I can salvage it....and the result is more than I hoped for.
Along the way....I learned a lot about how the original upholstery was done....I just got in there and figured out how to staple and tuck and sew....
I am not saying it was easy....but it is so rewarding to see the result!
My reputation....and the fact that I probably tell people toooo much about my projects....has resulted in requests from friends and family to help them with their projects!
The best part of these collaborations.....THE FUN we have!
Here are a couple of stories about those collaborations!
STORY ONE!
This couch is one that had been sitting in my friends basement for years.
Lovely isn't it?
But it has a history...it belonged to Kim's grandparents....
We decided that we could spend some quality time together and give this ugly duckling a new life!
The fabric is this great grey/taupe color with subtle darker gray dots.
The idea was to get a look similar to this!
I have to tell you that this project was pretty gutsy!
I have to tell you that taking the couch apart was dusty...dirty....hot and sweaty!
Yikes!
But there was a lot of laughter.....and a lot of problem solving that went on in the process!
An aside.....while we were working....Kim's 2 daughters were around watching.....
I think it was a wonderful thing for them to see two women getting the job done!
We worked through the process......
It was way more fun than just going to lunch or sitting around with a glass of wine...
(We saved those activities for when the job was finished!)
The result of our work!
It still needs a little tweaking.....but what a transformation!
STORY TWO
The Sweetwater Daughter scored a Pottery Barn upholstered rocking chair for the nursery on Craig's List for a real bargain.....but of course the low price meant it needed to be recovered!
We spent a couple of afternoons and evenings in some good mother/daughter bonding and got the job done!
Here is the chair waiting for the cushion....
Recovering the cushions is the LEAST favorite part of these jobs...a job I need to do all alone so that no one is around to hear my #$^$#^ words while I work!
The cushion turned out well....and only took about as long as redoing the whole chair.
The fun part of this project was the process....watching an "old grandma" and a pregnant lady crawling around on the floor....figuring out how to get all the pieces from the fabric we had.....fixing the staple gun when it broke....and finding the right screw driver for the screws to take the rockers off....
Now that would probably make for a pretty funny YouTube video....that YOU will NEVER see!
Now the rocker is just waiting for that baby to arrive!
STORY THREE
This love seat and chair are over 30 years old....they were in our living room before we had kids....then they went through several reincarnations through the years....
When the Sweetwater Daughter opened her law office....there was no extra money for furniture....
Time for more of that CAN DO ATTITUDE!
More mother/daughter bonding....and a happy result!
We also redid these Craig's List chairs in this snazzy fabric....
I love the fact that when I tell people where the law office is in Hopkins....people say....
"Oh...is that the place with the cool chairs you can see through the window?"
PRICELESS!
Enough stories for now....
I just wanted to share....
Maybe you will find yourself looking at furniture in your house....on Craig's List....at the thrift store....and figure out that with the right ATTITUDE....you can "Just Do It" too!
I would love to hear your stories....and of course...I will keep sharing mine!
Have A Wonderful Day!
