Reupholstery 101 Near Completion

All of this time that I have appeared quiet and reclusive has all been because I have been busy with not only figuring out the finishing touches of my kitchen but also because I have been working on my first reupholstery project. Once my kitchen is done I plan to move on to my living room. I decided to get a jump start on it by planning a new chair for the space. I originally was going to reupholster the chair that is already in there but I felt too guilty seeing as how it is so new and was kinda pricey. Instead I turned to Craigslist and found myself quickly addicted to checking its pages every half hour.

However, before I had decided on a chair I already attended my first class. I drove 45 minutes to Waupaca only to discover that not only did I need tools but I also needed my project the first day and I most likely wouldn't finish during the first session so I should have signed up for the already filled proceeding session..."welcome to class". Needless to say I left by noon after obtaining the necessary tools list, which was supposed to have been mailed to me weeks before, feeling very frustrated.

My luck changed that weekend when a chair appeared on Craigslist for 10 dollars. I immediately fell in love with the chair's lines and form. It was beautiful...in the picture. In real life it smelled, had tacky fringe glued and tacked on the wood, and what appeared to be blue tie-dye velour on the outside with faded purple velvet on the inside. It was a hot mess, but it was perfect.

Before

Underneath (my teacher said she hadn't seen this used before...you can also see just a fraction of the holes left by staples)

Step 1: Strip it baby! 
This actually was the most difficult part of the process. Someone had used hundreds of upholstering tacks and staples so that once all were removed the wood frame looked like Swiss cheese. It was almost entirely covered by wood filler by the time I was done. In the picture to the left you can see it is striped down to the strange wiring. I did remove that as well.













Step 2: A little support please

 After filling in all of the holes left by the tacks and staples, the first official step of rebuilding the chair was giving it support. I used webbing, which is very common. Webbing is made out of jute and can come in a variety of qualities. Most of the stuff sold in craft stores is of lower quality and may not last more than 5 years. The webbing I was able to use is of the highest quality and should last up to 70 years. As you can see webbing is essentially strips of jute tacked in a basket weave style across the seat. In this stage tightness is important as well as making sure the tacks are also secured in a safe distance from the edge of the wood as well as away from joints.

 Step 3: Wrap it with burlap
A layer of burlap is tacked over the webbing for added support. Also, when reupholstering certain chairs a roller edge is nailed right along the edge of the front of the chair. This prevents increased wear on the fabric.

 Step 4: Put a little spring into it
Next comes something called a Marshall Unit. In the picture to the right and below you can see that it consists of individually wrapped springs. This way you can cut the unit to fit any shaped chair. To prevent the unit from slipping around, I also sewed the unit into place using a giant curved needle and button thread. No blood was drawn.

 Step 5: How to make it butt friendly
On top of the Marshall Unit goes the double layer of cotton. Did anyone else know that pure cotton takes a lot to actually burn? If your house burned down anything cotton would be probably the only thing left in fairly good condition in your house. It is also the reason why authorities suggest sleeping in pure cotton sheets and wearing pure cotton jammies. I wonder if it is possible to wrap my children in this cotton every night.

 Step 6: Oh sheet
To keep the cotton in place and to smooth everything down goes a white cotton sheet (this was a cut up bed sheet from Target). Make sure to start tacking from the middle in the front, then the middle in the back pulling as tightly as you can. The last parts to pull and tack should be the front corners. Everything needs to be as smooth as possible. In addition to smoothing everything into place, the sheet also provides a point where if I get tired of the fabric in the next 10 years I can take the layers off until the sheet and just replace the stuff on top of the sheet. All the layers underneath are good for many many years.  In this picture you can see that I also have the webbing done in the back. It took a little more time because I had a loose support in the back that needed securing with L brackets.

 Step 7 and 8:
These are the final steps of the seat. On top of the sheet goes a poly foam layer and then finally your fabric. The fabric needs to go on as tightly as the sheet if not tighter. You want your seat smooth. You also want your front corners pleated evenly and thoughtfully. Depending on the type of chair you might also need to do some creative clipping to get around supports or arms. For my chair I had to make a couple of triangular cuts in the back as well as around the arms.












Unfortunately in this lighting the fabric looks more royal blue than teal. I came across this fabric at a country store for $4 a yard. It was exactly what I had wanted but couldn't find in the fabric stores. I was going to settle for a more modern color scheme but I would have payed 4 times as much and it would have taken my living room in a completely different direction. I'm thrilled with the result so far.

*Something to note about fabric: always get upholstery fabric...it will be far more durable. Also, when you are purchasing make sure you check for flaws. If there are too many flaws do not get the fabric. And lastly, there are lots of guides out there that tell you how much fabric to get for different kinds of furniture. However, most of those guides will not tell you that if you buy a patterned fabric you will have to buy much more than they suggest so that you can align the pattern. (Small repetitive patterns do not apply...think bigger patterns)

 Well, I will return to my class next week to hopefully finish. I have the back to rib and tack then I will be learning about cording...I will post the results as soon as I'm able! 

Transitions

These past few weeks have been filled with transitions. I officially am a stay-at-home mom (I wasn't really counting the summer since I would have been off anyway). And my oldest son began school. One of these new changes would have been huge but together it seems like we are recovering from a tidal wave of changes.

I wish I could say everything went smoothly and I was like June Cleaver with my house beautifully taken care of, dinner cooking in the oven, me wearing a dress with not a hair out of place, and of course not speaking above a whisper. And I also wish I could say my oldest was like Timmy from Lassie respectful, helpful, and of course resourseful. But unfortunately it was more like I was Jekyll and Hyde (in sweatpants) and my son was Frankenstein (but shorter).

It began the day after Labor Day. My son had an orientation at school in the afternoon so that he could see his classroom and meet his teacher. I decided to make it a special date and take him to ice cream after. He was a trooper behaving like Timmy the whole afternoon, which was great considering it was the first time in about 4 years that he didn't take an afternoon nap (I have been really lucky with him still taking 3-4 hour naps up until this point). But then the darkness descended and the beast awoke or maybe beasts awoke. Needless to say by the time my husband returned from work I was having little slivers of doubt about staying home. Then when I thought it couldn't get worse, my son stubbed and scraped his toe. I believe the entire neighborhood heard what probably sounded like we were torturing someone for hours that night.

And then after a restless night it was the first day of school. By the time the bus came to pick my son up, I knew that if I cried it wasn't going to be of sadness but of joy and relief, which pretty much sums up the first week of school. Fortunately, the second week progressed a little easier...I learned that my son needs to lay down for a rest after school and I learned that as long as we could get out of the house for at least an hour or two each morning, my children remained human and so did I.

Now, beginning the third week I am starting to anticipate the fun side of staying home. Fall is my favorite season so I am planning on enlisting my kids in helping me decorate our house for the coming season and holidays. This morning we collected our first bag of acorns from a local park so that later this week we can make some acorn decorations.

In addition, I am finally completing some of the random painting around my kitchen and I will soon be ready for decorating. I still am not like June Cleaver...I wear sweatpants all day and my house is forever a mess and I don't always have dinner ready, but hey I figure I have plenty of time to clean and cook and I can always find dressy sweatpants if needed.

Confession

When you are dating the big question is always "So, when do you think you will be engaged?" Then after the engagement the question becomes "When will the wedding be?" Usually about a week after the wedding people start asking "Will you have a baby?" People are usually satisfied for about a year and then the inevitable "Will you have a second?" After the second it seems people don't even wait a month before they ask "Will you have any more?" Then, if you can't give a definitive answer the question is asked repeatedly sometimes once a week and sometimes twice a month.

I always knew I wanted children. I always vacillated between two and 4. During the holidays my sister and I would talk about how much fun it would be if we had a Cool Whip holiday. You know in those old Cool Whip commercials there was always a party with lots of people and kids of all ages running around. Growing up our Christmas and Thanksgiving generally consisted of our nuclear family (my parents, sister, and me) and also my great aunt and sometimes her boyfriend and sometimes my grandma.

As I grew older (high school and college) I leaned more towards 2 children because I began to understand that they are a lot of work and also expensive. I also became more conscious of the impact on the planet and began thinking I would love to adopt.

When I met my husband, we talked about what our expectations were in regards to what our family would look like. He comes from a family with four kids, all being very close. Family was and is very important to him. However, he really didn't know about children. Truth be told he was scared about the uncertainties children held...they are not easily controlled. But because we were dating he humored me and said he was interested in children and even agreed adoption was a socially responsible thing to do. (Those of you who know Mike can probably imagine these words coming out of his mouth.)

So fast forward, we got married and after some coaxing and reassuring became pregnant and had our first son. It was love at first sight for both of us and having a second child was a given. I had a relatively easy pregnancy (only 13 weeks of nausea and an easy labor). My first son was also an extremely easy baby. He slept through the night at 5 weeks. Since I loved being pregnant I put adoption to the side and two years later became pregnant with our second son. This pregnancy was not as easy as the first. There were several hospital visits with dehydration as well as other side effects women hate to talk about. I was also sick for a lot longer. I vowed during my pregnancy that this would absolutely be the last.

After another easy delivery, H also became a champion sleeper and an extremely easy, happy baby. After going back to work and crying at every single milestone, my husband and I decided two things: first there is no way I can continue to work (I began resenting my job, which because it was teaching was terrible for everyone) and we couldn't close the door on having a third child. Yet, if I didn't work, could we afford to have a third? So we decided to not make a decision.

Seventeen months later I have accumulated plastic bins full of clothes from newborn to 18 months. I hear the same question repeated and still do not have an answer. Will we or won't we?

Another question that has also emerged is again the question of adoption. We have not spoken openly about our discussions about adoption because honestly I don't want to hear people's opinions. Pretty much for the same reason we didn't tell anyone the names of our children before they were born. I didn't want to receive unwanted thoughts on the name or see someone's face screw up into a fake smile and say "That's a great name."  But this blog is about confessions and ultimately maybe to gain some clarity. So full-disclosure: we have actually been to an adoption councilor to talk about international adoption. After several months of looking at our finances and our priorities we have decided we cannot afford international and so we have now begun exploring domestic.

I think my husband would prefer, if we had a third, to have it biologically. He has concerns if we did adopt when the child became interested in discovering his or her biological parents how he would feel and what might happen. I understand this concern and think it is valid because it will most likely happen. Every teenager goes through a phase of trying to figure out who they are and if they are adopted learning about their biological history would factor in; however, I have other concerns about going through another pregnancy. I don't want to be sick for another 5 months and miss out on another 5 months of T's life and now H's life. I also don't know if I want to put my body through it again. So we are at a crossroads.

Do we adopt? Do we have another biologically? Or do we say our family is complete? I know we don't have to answer these questions today or tomorrow or even next week. But I would like to finally have an answer the next time someone asks me yet again: "Will you have any more?"

DIY: Table Turn-Over

When my brother and sister-in-law decided to buy a new dining table and chairs, they graciously gave us their old set to replace our really really old set. The table is a nice substantial table with graceful turned legs and built in leaf for extra space. It is also in relatively decent shape given it was in the home with three active little boys. However it still needs a little love.

I am not about to strip it down and give it a total stain job. I don't have that much patience or time. And, let's face it, I have two little boys of my own that will end up putting their own marks on the table. So I decided to paint it black.

My plan of action:
thoroughly clean it
use the gripper primer from the cabinets on the legs and base
paint the legs and base how ever many coats it needs (2-3)
sand the shallow scratches on the top and fill in the deeper scratches with wood filler
prime and paint the top
use polycrylic to seal and protect the top

Timeframe: 3 days without kids or 2 weeks with kids and if I am being really honest: 3 weeks because my sister-in-law introduced me to Gossip Girls (yes, I know, but I am not ashamed of a little guilty pleasure).

 I used the gripper primer from the cabinet redo, black high gloss paint,  and a polycrylic sealer for the table top.

Here are the legs primed.
















....sanding out some of the shallow scratches...

























...and a little wood filler for the deeper scratches...




















And the finished product:

Reupholstery 101!

If someone were to visit my childhood bedroom and slice a little piece of wall away, he/she would be able to see layers of paint that adorned my bedroom walls telling the story of my age or current obsession. I can't remember a time when I wasn't fascinated by decorating, design, or style.

Now, I am finally acting on that passion and have received a letter acknowledging my acceptance into my first interior design class: reupholstery. Since deciding to become a stay-at-home mom I knew I would need to begin planning for what I would do when I went back to work as well as what I would do to keep myself balanced and sane...enter the Fox Valley Tech program book of courses.

After talking with some girlfriends I came up with a plan. First, I would learn the art of reupholsterying. With determination and dedication I WILL perfect this skill and turn it into the start of my new business. The end goal will to become a home stylist or decorating consultant. I know I have a lot to learn and it will most likely take me many years to accomplish my goal, but I don't feel overwhelmed nor do I feel like I need to rush. I am as excited about the process of honing my skills and learning the craft as I am for the end destination. And really, who genuinely knows what one's true destination will end up being.

So, if anyone is brave enough to give me a try, I will be completing my class mid-October and would love the opportunity to practice my newly acquired skills!

Molding Mull-over Mostly Decided

Board and batten it is! My light fixture arrived but damaged, so they are sending a replacement. What better way to fill the time than add a little board and batten to solve a little of the molding crisis (or at least push it off a little for a little longer).

My inspiration:

Love of Family and Home Blog

My current situation:

My dining area in all its messy glory. (I didn't bother cleaning for the photo.)

My plan of attack:
I have seen board and batten that has more detailed molding and very simple molding. It seems the very square, simple molding lends an either mission or modern style (depending on the the wall color and rest of decor). The more detailed the molding the more formal and traditional it can sometimes feel. Although I find detailed white molding very beautiful and elegant, I don't think it would work for our current style. If I decide to go the route of replacing all the molding in the house I may look for a molding with a little detail, but it will be fairly minimal. However, for the board and batten I am going to stick to straight boards with no flourishes.

I plan to have the height at 60 inches, since my ceiling is pretty tall, anything less might look out of scale. Then the vertical pieces I will place roughly 16 inches apart. I might start by having pieces at either end of the wall and then finding the middle and working out from there. Hopefully, that will work around our outlets and vent.

Stay tuned...work will commence hopefully this weekend : )

UPDATE:
So, trying to get anything done that requires making some noise in the house is next to impossible when you have a child who still takes two naps a day. Therefore, the project is taking a little longer than I first anticipated. Throw in a girl's weekend, which I am about to embark upon, and a family trip to Chicago next week, and you get a three-week-long project (which probably could have been finished in a few days). Oh well. Good thing I am not on a particular timeline!

This is what I have done so far. I was originally going to use wood boards but it was near impossible to find non-warped boards. After doing more research online it seems that many do-it-your-selfers used MDF. After making several trips to both Lowes and Home Depot, I finally decided to purchase two sheets of MDF from Home Depot ($33 ea). I bought the 8 x 4x 3/4 sheets. Since we still don't have any power tools besides a drill I had the extremely patient and helpful worker cut my boards for our long wall (I stupidly didn't take measurements for the short wall).

I decided on 6 inch baseboards, 4 inch boards going across the top and 3 inch boards for the batten. I mentioned before that we have a tall ceiling so I wanted the wall treatment to be a little meatier.

Short boards

Long boards and extra pieces

Before installing, I sanded and primed the boards. I found it easier to roll them out when they were flat instead of on the wall. After priming, we were able to borrow a nail gun from a friend and with the help of my husband (and the kids at a sleepover) we nailed up all of the boards on the long wall. We started with the baseboard and then played with the measurements of the batten pieces so that we wouldn't have to make any special cuts around outlets. After the batten pieces, the last to go up was the top piece. 

 Oh, I almost forgot, before we nailed up the pieces I did prime the wall first. The treatment was going on a chocolate brown wall, so I thought it might be a little easier to paint if I primed everything first before it was up.

After the boards are installed, comes filling the nail holes and caulking between all the boards and the wall. Caulking allows for a cleaner finish, no gaps. For filling the nail holes I just used a wood filler and for the caulking I used a white paintable caulk. Remember to get PAINTABLE or the paint will bead and look awful.

Caulk usually needs about 40 minutes to cure and then you can paint. Here is the long wall with one coat of paint. We just added the picture shelf, which is a pine lattice board (about 2 inches wide). When I get back from my girl's weekend all that will be left is completing the short wall (which you can see a little bit in the picture above), adding the decorative molding under the shelf, and painting a second coat.


Come back to check out the finished product!

....And here it is!...I am trying to get better angles and lighting but I wanted to post some pics today. I will try taking some in the morning when there is better lighting. You can see in the first picture our new French doors and the much anticipated light fixture from Inmod. I absolutely love the result of the board and batten along the wall. It gives the dining area (which is attached to the kitchen) a separate more distinct feel. I have always wanted a separate more formal dining area and this was a cheap and relatively easy way to get that feel without having to buy a new house! 

Here is a closer look at the board and batten. You can see we added a picture ledge with a little extra detail molding underneath to give it a more polished look. I still have to add my other molding on the far wall and I have some touch up painting to do, but the bulk of the work is done!

Completed board and batten! 

About Me

After teaching high school for 8 years, I have decided to hang up my work clothes and trade them in for sweats. Whether I am covered in paint, flour, compost, or some mix of sticky residue, I feel more at home in my skin than I have for years. I don't really know what is in store for me as I embark on this new adventure of being a stay-at-home mom, but I do know that I am very excited about discovering the possibilities.

I am not a decorator, or stylist, or master gardener, or chef. I am a learner and an explorer and I hope to use this space to meander through my passions and reflect on where life will take me. I began this blog a few years ago, but now I feel like it is finally really just beginning.