Franken-Chair Reupholstery Update

Reupholstery can be a very daunting project.  I was lucky enough last time around to be in a class where a professional helped to walk me through the steps with epic results, but making a go of it on my own had me hesitant and procrastinating a bit.  Since announcing my Franken-Chair plans to you almost 3 months ago, the disassembled pieces of my beloved chair have been floating around my house, hiding in corners and shoved in closets until I was ready to take on the reupholstery.

The key tip if you plan to tackle a reupholstery project?

• Take LOTS of pictures.  Especially before you disassemble and while you disassemble.  Especially WHILE you disassemble.  Every.  Little.  Step.  You'll need to remember exactly how the pieces went together/were stapled/etc so you can put the puzzle back together.  That's the best way to look at it- a puzzle.  The pieces need to fit back in a certain way and if you forget that you need to attach tab A before tab B, you'll find yourself undoing and redoing the task repeatedly or trying to rack your brain what piece what supposed to go where.  Unless you're a pro and you have it all filed away in your memory, your camera is your upholstery bff.

Since I intended on marrying the chair above with the antique base below, I did have to modify the bottom just a bit.

Some of the fiberglass on the bottom would need to be cut back to allow the base to sit flat on the chair.  Handy dad lent me a hand in making sure this plan was viable and that cutting back the fiberglass wouldn't compromise the structure in any way.  *NOTE* I made sure before modifying the chair that I wasn't working with a priceless antique.  Luckily, my chair is a very close replica of the expensive version, so my modifications aren't blasphemous.

This is a view from underneath the chair and you can see the pencil line where we were cutting the fiberglass.  If I ever want to reattach the old legs, I may need to replace the piece that we removed, so it's not finding it's way into the trash yet.

All it took was a hack saw and a bit of muscle to cut the fiberglass, although I would recommend this ALWAYS be done outside.

Once the structure was ready for it's pairing, I needed to get the upper portion ready.  This is where all the pictures come in.  I carefully unstapled all the upholstery from the frame and the main, visible upholstery came off in 2 parts, almost like a slipcover.

I very carefully ripped apart all the seams on the old upholstery so that I could use the pieces as a pattern for my new upholstery.  If you're working with a printed fabric like I am, you need to pay attention to how the pattern lines up with the print.

Then came the sewing.  Sewing piping out of the fabric, then using the 'pattern' to recreate the slipcover that I removed from the chair.  If you've sewn before and can follow a pattern, that's basically what this was.

Before I could replace my 'slipcover' I needed to address the seat cushion.  The back cushion was still in good shape, amazingly, but the seat foam not so much.  No one wants to be sitting on this.  It was like the Mohave desert.  The fluffy stuff around the edges is just cotton, not something growing, but getting this foam off the wood seat was not a clean, or pleasant process.

Luckily, once the desert was removed, cutting a new seat out of super high density foam was simple.  I used a dollar store bread knife and traced the seat.  I wasn't worried about perfection because I'll be wrapping the seat with extra cotton and batting to fill out the seat and give it a bit of extra cush.

So that's where the chair currently stands.  Upholstery is sewn, the seat foam has been replaced and the structure has been modified to allow for it's new base.  Before I can staple the 'slipcover' onto the chair and make it look finished instead of like a kid wearing his big brother's clothes, I'll be adding a a bit more cotton and batting to give this old chair a cushy, squishy, and polished new appearance.

I'm so eager to get this chair finished so I can use it in my office!  The dining chair that I've been working in for the past few months just isn't cutting it.

Do you have any daunting projects that you've been inching away at?  It's like eating an elephant...

Snow Day DIY Watercolor & Printable

This post is sponsored by Wayfair, but all content and opinions are solely my own.

Everyone is commenting about the mild winter we've been having here in Massachusetts this year, but I just keep remembering that we had a mild winter last year... until a year ago yesterday when the beginning of our 100+ inches started to fall.  The sheer amount of snow I had to shovel last year still gives me PTSD.  That being said, though, as a lifelong New Englander, I've developed a few habits that help to get me through the cold days and snow squall induced cabin fever.

Once that weather man starts talking about the possibility of getting snowed in, I generally will start thinking up a plan.  Option 1: hibernate on the couch with kitties and procedural detective dramas... OR, Option 2: make something.  I'd say I generally find a good balance of the 2, but there are few things that brighten up a snow day like sitting down to a project.

While this past weekend's storm was a bust for us here, I still prepared myself for a project.  My TV cabinet has been built, painted, and installed for weeks, but you have yet to see the finished product because the frames are still sporting the pictures that came in them and the side shelves are mid-styling.  Sick of staring at canned succulent pictures, I decided that until I bit the bullet and bought the etsy art that I really wanted for them, I would whip up a quick DIY to fill the frames.

Ever a hoarder of art supplies, I still had a stash of watercolors and paper from my college days.  While I can't remember the proper way to use them, I remembered enough to put together a pair of unique, quick, and free (if you have the supplies already like I did) art.

I use smaller brushes to help mix the colors, but an unconventional watercolor tool- the chip brush, to actually paint.  I hoped the jagged, unevenness of the brushes would help to add texture to the painting.

I taped the pages down to the floor so they wouldn't curl up with the water.

Then I got to painting.  My first start at a quirky modern watercolor looked like bad art out of the 90s, but just as I was about to get discouraged, I realized that my test sheet where I was trying out streaks of color and brush strokes had a better vibe.  New technique!  Instead of trying to make a pattern, I would simply let streaks of paint become the art.  So I started again.

Instantly I was liking this version.

After streaking on 3 colors, the art was looking nice, but a bit flat.  So out came my secret weapon.... GOLD.  I waited until the watercolor was totally dry, then taped off a stripe on each canvas.

I decided on one page I was going to use the back of the foam brush to add some dots... which turned into drips...which I decided to make look like they were supposed to be there.  On the other I use the foam brush with uneven pressure to add a tear drop shape in a few spots.

I think I'm just as amazed as you at how far the gold took the boring paintings to the next level.  They looked even better when I popped them into the frames.

While these aren't my ideal art for the space, I think I can live with these as place holders until I decide to spend $100 on the art that I really want.  Before I bite that bullet, though, I want to finish upholstering my chair and get that in the room to make sure I'm not trying to overload a small space with too many interesting things.  It's a delicate balance.

Now, when I'm at my desk working, this is a significantly more inspirational view than having the black box of a TV taunting me.  Full reveal of the TV cabinet coming next week!

As a bonus to you, I'm offering up my DIY watercolor art as a free printable.  Click on the images below or the links to bring you to the large, savable image.

DIY watercolor art piece 1

DIY watercolor art piece 2

Copper Accents

I may be slightly biased, considering that my design business is called Copper Dot Interiors, but copper accents are such a fun element to bring into your home!  It's like gold, but quirkier.  With so many stores jumping on the copper train, I love the options that are out there!!  Here are a few of my favorite copper accessories currently available:

1. Copper Woven Iron Orb Hanging Basket, World Market.  A creative way to clear up counter space by floating your standard fruit bowl

2. Copper Wall Clock, CB2.  So neutral yet so chic- who cares if it's a bit tough to actually tell the time

3. Threshold Whitewash Wooden Hexagon Mirror with Copper Metal Inset, Target.  This one's on my own shopping list- so modern but still classic.  Target's decor game has been on point lately

4. Skyer Gem Pendant, Lulu and Georgia.  I'd love to see these used in lieu of bedside lamps

5. 4 Square Carrara Marble Coasters- Copper Nest, Marble & Metal, Etsy.  Yes please.

6. Copper Flatware, West Elm.  I've seen copper flatware at a few places lately and they just make me want to host a dinner party

7. Threshold Copper Task Lamp with White Marble Base, Target.  Class up any desk area with this

8. Star Metallic Napkin with Copper Stars, Canvas Home.  Speaking of that dinner party....

9. Sayulita White Chair, CB2.  A bit less of a chameleon than the other pieces, this would need just the right space to call home.  But oh what a space that would be!