Established in 2010

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Quite a Pair

This is a way past due post and a long one. So grab a Diet Coke or a cup of coffee and let me tell you a tale of a pair of chairs...

Back in the Spring, on one of my many Goodwill Hunting extravaganzas, I spotted a pair of chairs that spoke to me.  They looked like they should be in a lobby of a Super 8 Motel back in the 1980's but I could see they just needed some love.  I checked the price tag - 20 bucks each. Get real Goodwill. My favorite word these days is "pricey" and to me these chairs were pricey.

Here's a pic that I snapped on my crappy B-berry at the Goodwill

Well Lady Luck was on my side. While I was re-considering the $20 a piece investment, a voice came on the overhead speaker announcing that on Saturday everything in the store would be 50% off.  It was Thursday so I  decided that if it was meant to be I'd come back on Saturday morning and purchase them.

Fast forward to Saturday morning. Here's the scene - me standing in line along with a cast of characters at 7:45 a.m., waiting for the doors to open at 8:00 a.m.  I kept looking around and thinking to myself are these people after MY chairs. Should I run once the doors open? Dedication or just pure crazy.  You can decide.

Not exactly it but close enough.

Clearly we know what happens next - the chairs are mine and that's when the fun begins. I knew that I was going to paint the chairs white but wasn't sure about the fabric. After popping around to a few spots and sending some swatches to mi familia for advice I landed on this fabric.

From Kathy Ireland's Collection. Weird that she has a fabric line...

Once again luck was on my side because our local JoAnn Fabrics was clearing out all it's inventory to move into a new location so I got this fabric for 70% off.  Score!

For this project I was determined to do it all by myself - meaning no help from my very supportive and handy husband. To be sure that happened I decided to tackle this start to finish while Nick was in Florida for a work convention.

Time to roll up my sleeves!  

Step 1: Remove skanky cushions

Step 2: Sand, prime and paint

Steps 1 & 2 went very smoothly. The next steps took a lot more time since I have never reupholstering and there were 10 million dirty, disease infected staples to remove.

Step 3: Laugh at dog while I'm researching reupholstery 101

Step 4: Remove fabric with the help of pilers, scissors and utter determination

Step 5: Cut and use staple gun to attach fabric onto the cushion board.
*I took pics of this step but it was also in the midst of the move so I think my brain wasn't operating properly and I erased them. Rats!  I used this awesome site to help me.

Step 6: Reattach cushions to the chair frame.

Drumroll please...
To me, a perfect pair found a perfect spot.

Ok, I'm super proud so I'll share another one.


Here's a close up! 

Flying solo on this project was very gratifying and Nick gave me the ultimate compliment when he said, "When you came home with these I had zero hope that they could EVER look good and now they look like they came off a showroom floor."  Swoon. 

I promise to be a better blogger.  So keep stopping by. More projects to share and they hopefully won't be so long winded but it's me so they probably will be. :) 

Enjoy your weekend blogosphere! xo 

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