A tribute to a wonderful woman!

I was given these chairs to recover a while ago. They where from a friend's Grandmother who was downsizing. They were sentimental pieces, connected to her with memories from childhood. While still in mostly good shape, they were somewhat outdated.

I really looked forward to the challenge. Simple upholstery is right up my alley...but these were not just slap it on and staple it down. These had cushions! Dreaded cushions. :-) With corners to kill.

To bring it into a more modern era, she asked me to paint and cover with a graphic fabric. Ok, no problemo. I did have some trouble with the paint actually sticking. I skipped sanding...BAD IDEA! It created more work for me to keep the paint on.

However, I finally finished up the frame with paint and upholstery. Then came out my sewing machine. Well, actually it is my MILs mostly. We had to put the two of ours together to make one work. I keep meaning to give her part back...and then I get projects!

Overall, they turned out pretty well! I was asked to put white piping on as an accent, and it came out really well.

We had gotten 7 yards of material to do these chairs, and ended up with about a yard left over. I did have to cut a bit more thank I normally would, because of the pattern. I had to make sure the large foils and flowers were somewhat centered on cushions and such.

Turned out nice and sharp and well loved by my friend! It will be a lovely memory for her to remember her Grandmother by. Hope I did you proud.

Comments

Heidi said…

Love them! My dining room chairs (project) are this same style...straight back though.

March 26, 2012 at 5:38 AM

Labor of Love (Part 1 of 3)

I love lace. I love the delicacy with which it presents itself to the world. That being said, I dont really use it very much. I do have some family doilies, and my wedding dress has some lace, but I dont go too crazy. I like to be able to clean things, and not have dust mites clinging to every available piece of cloth (they cling to everything else anyway.) So, I decided to try a painting technique. Why not paint the lace on the object? Easy to clean, lovely design, what could be better? We got this child's vanity in an old attic pick. Yes, we went into someone's hot and muggy attic for several hours. Yes, they let us jsut dig through things (can you believe it?!?!) unsupervised. Yes, we had to take our own flashlights. And yes, there was mouse droppings and dead birds up there. It was gross, but worth it. My boy LOVED it! American Pickers is his favorite tv show. So this school bus yellow vanity sat there looking at us. Begging for new life! I knew if we left ...

What's Cookin Wednesday - Sweet Potato & pinto bean tacos

SWEET POTATO AND PINTO BEAN TACOS adapted from thugkitchen.com ....but there is offensive language on the site (and in the recipes) - so you've been warned! 3 cups of cooked pinto beans (about 2-15 ounce cans) 1 teaspoons of coconut or olive oil (Olive oil is what I had) ½ cup veggie broth or water (water....) 2 teaspoons smoked paprika or chili powder (I went chili powder) 2 teaspoons blackstrap molasses (I used what I had in the cabinet) 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (I have both of these at home usually, went with lemon juice this time around) 2-3 garlic cloves 1 pound of sweet potatoes (this should be about 2 cups when you chop it all up) ½ of a yellow onion 1 teaspoon coconut or olive oil salt to taste soft corn tortillas standard taco toppings that you like to add. Warm the first teaspoon of oil in a medium pot. Add the beans, water, chili powder, molasses, vinegar, and garlic. Get it to start bubbling slowly for about 5 m...

Red Door is a perfume...what is Blue Door?

My house is one of many on the block. Built in the 50s, its a cookie cutter, built for the new families that needed homes after the WWII. There is not much to make it stand out. Honestly, that is OK. I do not want it to stand out TOO much. But, a little zest is always good, right? I wanted to come home to something special. Something different from what everyone else is coming home to. So I opted to paint my door. The color was the difficulty. There are so many good ones! I went for blue. And no, its not just a college basketball statement. I love blue! And my husband happens to like it to. When you agree, you just have to go with it! We took the door down, washed it and let it dry. Make sure you pick a time when you are going to be home for a solid 6-8 hrs. :-) Then, I sanded it to get the rough spots out. After that came the painting. I tried it first with a brush. I knew it would take several coats if I went that route. So, I switched to a roller for the flat parts, brush for the gr...

Strikes my fancy

Search This Blog