The Front Hall Bench Is Finally Finished.... After The Second Re-Do

As soon as I finished recovering my bench with the first fabric I'd chosen, I realized with much distress, that I hated it. HATED. IT. Seriously. That has never happened before. Apparently, the aging brain likes to play tricks on us and they really aren't very funny. Furthermore, my aging brain (and eyes) didn't happen to notice that the first bunch of fabric I bought was for wallcoverings. No wonder it was impossible to work with.



So, I ventured back to Hancock Fabrics for the umpteenth time to look for suitable upholstery fabric, with no luck. Next, I drove across town to Hobby Lobby and BINGO! There it was. The. Fabric. It was the fabric I really wanted. No, it wasn't on sale like the first crop of fabric. This fabric was like $30.00 per yard. Yikes! The *go with* fabric was slightly lower but there was only 1-1/2 yards. I bought it anyway. I'll figure out a way to use it with this material for the window treatments in the kitchen. The first batch of material is up for grabs. If you want, you've got it. Just let me know. What a waste of time and money!



Anyhoo, after painfully removing all the staples from the first recover job, I started on my second recover job to the same bench. Will I ever learn? I'm not completely sure that I had a lesson to learn here other than *LOVE the fabric you go with*. If you're not that excited about the fabric then you're probably not going to be very thrilled about the final outcome. Seems simple enough, right? Apparently not.



At this point, my hands, arms, back, and elbows are in *deep ache mode* so I just downed a handful of Advil while saying a prayer and asking God to remove my pain. I'm not sure which one worked but I'm thankful anyway. However, I am absolutely thrilled with my bench now, in spite of said pain and whining. Even Mr. Snoots commented that it was far better than the try before. He actually told me to throw away the first bunch of fabric, which of course, I can't do.


 
Hubby offered to help but I'm all too familiar with his whole *it's just fine* method of imperfection. No thanks. I'm bad enough on my own. Really. And, since this Queen Anne bench is the first thing you see when walking through the front door, I needed it to be absolutely perfect... sans Snooty, of course (which means there are a few hidden minor imperfections I can live with).



Still, I'm just loving my bench now, as well as my *new* recovered computer chair. Trouble likes them as well, damn it! There is not a single piece of furniture in this house that doesn't have her signature all over them (as in massive amounts of cat hair, dander, and dirt).

I also plan to use the rest of the new fabric to recover the kitchen table chair seats along with window treatments for the windows and the door, for the first time in 15 years. I'd say this project is looooong past due, wouldn't you? Have you done any refurbishing lately?



I'd actually like to use this gold pillow rather than the red but black and white cat hair definitely trumps that decision. Think I'll go with the dark red pillow. It. Is. Spring.

My next project will be recovering the breakfast table chairs and the window treatments in the kitchen. I can hardly wait! 




This is how it looked when I started the recover job. Ugh for ugly.

My *New* Old Computer Chair.... So, What Do You Think?

Inanimate objects seem to fall apart quickly at our house and I'm not sure why. They just do. I can't always repair, recover or re-purpose everything, but occasionally I hit the jackpot. This weekend I got the big prize with this redo. 

The funny thing is that I was going by a tutorial I had seen on a decorating blog and apparently I don't pay very good attention, which turned out to be a good thing. In the middle of my redo project I became confused and went back to the computer to check the tutorial of which I speak. It was then that I discovered that I apparently misunderstood (or didn't thoroughly read) the tutorial. The blogger who shared her instructions actually only recovered the seat and made a slip cover for the top. Duh. Well, by golly, not me. I went for the full redo and I'm thrilled with the results.

Of course, I could have much more easily (and more cheaply) bought a new computer chair. However, it wouldn't be as heavily padded or look nearly as great as my chair looks now. Sure, my hands are aching from all the stapling with my staple gun, but hey - that would have just been too easy and Lord knows I avoid *easy* at all costs. 

After disassembling the entire chair (good thing I kept that wacky little tool for the weird *screws*), I began using a screwdriver to pop off the outer shell of the back of the chair. Let me tell you that this is not an easy feat. However, I persevered and got her done. Whew! I was totally exhausted when I got this far. It was not the time to be giving up though. I ran up to the fabric store (actually I drove my car) and bought a large, thin slab of foam and some more batting, to be used as extra padding. I also bought some new microfiber material to do the job (which I love because the cat can't shred it).

When I got home, I began feverishly stapling again. Unfortunately, that was the moment my staple gun decided to get a few independent staples permanently lodged in its cavity, so I was done for the night. Still, I got up this morning and went to the hardware store AGAIN, to buy a new staple gun. I got one of the new ones that also dispense tiny nails, which is really cool.


Luckily I was able to finish the entire chair today. So, tell me what you think!