A seat at the table

These chairs were given all fresh foam, cotton, and upholstery just before the holiday. 

It will make sitting at the table for that great meal and long conversation

 much easier on the "buns".

Pun intended.

Benched

Kristen and Brittany

Dizygotic Twins, Fraternal Twins, or Non-Identical Twins...

Whatever you call them, these mid-century modern chairs came from the same "place" but are distinct in looks and personality.  They can't deny the close relationship, but they each have their own---fabulous--- style.

Twenty-seven years ago, my BFF and I had babies within a week of each other.
I was having my third child, and my friend was having her first...and second!

When the three of them were little, we got them together for a play date. 
One of the twins whispered to her mother, "Where's the other one?"

It's nice when things come in two's.

 Twins are a miracle, but I remember my Irish-Catholic mother's prayer:

 God, give me as many children as you want,

 but please give them to me just one at a time.

Here's to the mothers who can handle multiples...

Vi savne Dem, Princess Helen

No, I didn't start out typing on the wrong "home row".
It's Danish.  And it's my best shot at translating: We miss you, Princess Helen.
Enough said.

“Parents who are afraid to put their foot down usually have children who step on their toes." --Chinese Proverb

As long as you're not going to put your foot down, you may as well put it up on this vintage footstool that's covered in velvety faux fur and trimmed in a chenille print.

Speaking of feet, I'm convinced that the main purpose of having toes is so we can find furniture in the dark.

Can you ever go home again?

I went to my high school reunion over the weekend.

Yeah, I'm that brave.

Today I finished up a small project:  re-doing the cushions, pillows, and a footstool from my screen porch.  While attaching the stuffing to the footstool (which, btw, is really cute) I thought that what I do with upholstering vintage furniture is somewhat akin to the reunion I attended.

Yup, stuffing furniture is boring enough that it can lead to deep thought.

All of those present were older, many had held up to the test of time, and some had the creeks and scars that an old piece of furniture will show.  While still mostly upright, a few were in need of a bit of wax and polish.  Some came with a couple of loose screws as well as one or two whose springs had completely popped through the upholstery. 

 And then there's the padding---flattened in some areas, sagging in others---comfortable looking and cherished...

 or maybe just held in the attic for sentimental reasons.

And like a re-worked piece of furniture, when you step back and look at it all with a fresh eye, you can remember the small details that made you choose each other

--or not--

so you sigh and just

feel relieved that you managed to finish without stapling your hand to your head.

But always remember this:

"A good friend will bail you out of jail. 

A BEST friend will be in the cell next to you saying, 'Damn, that was fun!'"

My childhood home, which actually looks better than what I remember.

"Neutral"? NOT! Even black and brown aren't always neutral...

Hey, they said to choose something that goes with everything.

So what's the problem?

I've never been one for florals, but I couldn't pass up this fabric.

I picked these chairs up at Goodwill and the blue vinyl became short-lived once I got them home.. 

There was a day that Ethan Allen was my go-to place.

Raising 3 daughters is no cheap date.

Painted and re-worked, these were actually my first full-blown upholstery jobs.

I sold them in one day. 

This baby is all down-stuffed.  I was sneezing for hours.  There must be a better way of filling down cushions than taking fist-fulls and trying to get them into a bag.  My dog thought that she'd died and gone to heaven and that heaven was a goose pond.

ICONIC 1950s

No, not me.  I'm talking about this stool.  It's a Kroehler vanity stool, and the only thing it's missing is it's vanity.  (I'm lucky I manage to put on some lip gloss let alone sitting in front of a vanity giving my really, really, short hair 100 strokes each day.)

We're talking the Dick Van Dyke show and Rob and Laura Pettrie's Danish Modern decor.  Only now it's called mid-century modern, or MCM.

Kroehler is one of the big names from the 50s and I was really happy to find this little gem in such great shape.

IKEA hacker

Now that the girls are getting away from some of the college-type decorating and moving on to more sophisticated purchases, I'm left with (and getting back) a fair number of IKEA items.  So I grabbed an old chair--thrifted, not IKEA-- did the paint thing, and covered it with some fabric that I had in my collection.  Because of course you know, she who dies with the most fabric wins.  And I'm a real contender.

New padding, a fresh pillow, and this chair's future looks bright.

The go-to MCM chair

You see these iconic mid-century modern chairs fairly often and in varying states of disrepair.

What's great about them is that they're almost always repairable and lend themselves to re-upholstery very well.  This one did not look anything like this when I brought it home.

Husband:  Oh, man, are you kidding???

Me: Really, it's going to be great!

Husband:  How 'bout we just throw this one out?

Me: No, really, it's going to be great!

I love it when I'm right...

Comfy Chair Consignment Store

Occasionally, I get some re-do work from Rick at Comfy Chair Consignment on Odana Rd. in Madison.  He sometimes comes across something with good bones or interesting details, but that needs new upholstery.

In this case it was two Regency-styled chairs in need of some love.  The chairs are piped in the same fabric as the coordinating pillows, and make a great pair.

Old can be new again.  Or at least, way better.

Before Meets Fabulous

Before... I should have taken a pic of this craigslist find before I removed the worn, saggy, gold velvet seat. It looks way better in this photo, even all torn apart. 

 Fabulous...Here is the finished product.  I cleaned, sanded, and primed it before finishing with black semi-gloss enamel. The seat got a first class treatment of foam, cotton, and a great linen fabric.
But that's not all, as you'll see below.

I added piping in a rust/red giraffe print.  You can't really tell that it's a giraffe print, but I always like knowing that a fun detail is there, hidden in plain site.

The Girls of Summer

A couple of years ago, I found these heavy iron chairs at a barn sale.  For those of you who don't have barns in your area, it's like a garage, only bigger, dustier, more likely to make you sneeze if you have allergies,  and its day job is to house tractors and cows,

 not BMWs and golf clubs.

As a nod to their humble beginnings, I spray painted them with a color that is actually named

 "John Deere Green".

Then, after some creative engineering and woodworking from my hubby, I upholstered them in a fun, summery fabric. 

They'll be great on a covered patio or porch.

The future's so bright I gotta wear shades

Sophie is my constant companion.  Had I known she would become so attached to me, instead of naming her Sophie, I would have just called her what she is...Underfoot.  She's my shop dog and even the roar of air compressors, staple guns, and my occasional swearing doesn't faze her a bit.  She's cool with it.

I love the look of mattress ticking.  I "need" to do a chair like this.

Dangerous with a GPS

I recieved a Garmin GPS for Christmas (thanks, Mickey) and I'm at risk of having my husband hide it from me. 

I peruse craigslist every morning to see if there's a piece of furniture waiting for me to back into someone's driveway, load the shabby-and-not-at-all-chic chair into my vehicle, and give it a glamorous makeover.

Hence, the risk of Mike hiding the GPS.  It has made it so much easier to find my way to all those craigslist  sellers. Too easy, says he.

I scored a vintage Kroehler foot stool the other day and had trouble finding a place for it in my studio, which currently looks like a used furniture store. See below...

 The "Waiting"  Room.  As in "Waiting for some attention".

 Inspiration Station

This isn't the worst of it. I should be down there now, sanding something instead of writing this a 1:30 a.m.

Physician, heal thyself

It's true.

The carpenter's house has an unfinished deck.
The painter's house still has a 1980s color scheme.

And the upholsterer's furniture is stained and dated.

Well, this week I started on a campaign to update my own house.

Since down-sizing to a smaller home a few years ago, and choosing an open floorplan,
you can see everything we own as soon as you come through the (only recently painted) front door.

At least in the old house, you only saw tragedy one room at a time...

So here are my 30-year-old kitchen chairs, complete with butt-saving new foam.

work in progress

Ta-Da!

detail

Time for a Quickie?

Before I discard any scraps from a project, I try to look around for a way to use that last little bit of fabric. 
One reason I do what I do is that I just hate to waste a thing!
This small remnant updated an orphaned dining room chair very nicely.

Is this still The Dawning of the Age of Aquarius??

Sometimes, I like to work on a chair
 that gives me a little giggle.
 This is the one.
It's a little bit hippie, a little bit Peter Max-ish,
 and a whole lot of hot pink and purple!

I'm Back!

It's not that I don't care---it's just that I forget!

OK, so this chair was The Teardown From Hell. It took waaay more effort to take it apart than it did to put it back together. 

But the results were worth it, as you can see below.

APRIL FOOL! 

 This is what we woke to on April 1 this year.

  Just when you thought winter was gone...just when you thought you were out...

it drags you back in!

This is an old office chair I found and have been storing, waiting for inspiration.

  It actually wouldn't have bothered me too much but the vinyl was cracked and stained.

After some sanding and painting and removing a thousand staples

 and re-padding and covering and putting it back together better than it had been before, voila! 

 Nothin' but net!

Even when working on the simplest projects, it's good to have a recent tetnus shot...

Scored

I love doing the quick thrift store run on Wednesdays.  I can hit St. Vinnie, Savers, and Goodwill all within a couple of miles of home. This time I found the cutest sewing box for $4.00.
 (That's with my senior discount.  Age, not grade in school.)

Anyway, it has all kinds of little drawers and compartments, and when it's cleaned up it will be a convenient addition to my studio.

Quick Step

     I found this chair at Savers yesterday.  I shop there on Wednesdays because I can use my "Over 55" discount. 
          ---Yeah,that's age, not speed. 
     A while ago, I found acres of a great quality, black-and-tan upholstery fabric--discounted--that has text message abbreviations on it, and it's my go-to material when I find chairs that would look good in a home office, teen bedroom, or dorm room*.
 *I have plenty of experience with dorm rooms and college apartments since my daughters were in 18 different places by the time they were out of undergrad, one being a 10th floor dorm with an
out-of-order elevator on move-in day.
But that's another story...

     After pulling the seat off and giving the metal a good washing, I tore off the old vinyl and foam and proceeded to do my magic, which involves a really cool staple gun attached to a big ol' air compressor.  I always feel like Tim the Toolman Taylor when I fire up that baby.  Sweet.


    

My New Best Friends

I'm excited that Comfy Chair Consignment is having its Grand Opening this weekend.  Robin and Rick will raffle off this chair.  I hope that whoever ends up with it will be happy because zebra stripes, while I consider them rather tame, are not for everybody. 

My furniture comes with a little caveat:

 Life's Short. Show some nerve.

Rolling along

After a busy day of looking at model homes this weekend, I've seen enough places that are all staged and gorgeous that it got my upholstering mojo going.  So I grabbed a little vintage chair project that I'm doing for someone who bought one of my chairs earlier (I just love repeat customers!) and finished it up. 

This little chair is named Rita Rae Today.  It belonged to Grandma Rita.

I'm finding that I'm coming up with a nice stream of re-upholstering kitchen and dining room chairs, stools, etc. in between my own start-from-scratch creations.