Vintage Sewing Stool Reupholster

I have bad habit of getting a little distracted with my projects and starting too many at once resulting in a few of them getting pushed to the back burner. That was the case with this stool I was reupholstering for a friend of mine.

I bought this old stool forever ago from Goodeals. So long I don't even remember, but it was around late winter/early spring. I had no use for the stool in our house, but it had so much potential that I was dying to take it home and give it a little love. My coworker and good friend Amy had been in the process of updating and decorating her apartment that she moved into several months back. I saw this stool as the perfect housewarming gift. 

Here are a few shots of the stool how it looked when I purchased it and as I started to take it apart for a makeover.

The rusted, cracking gold at the bottom of the legs was screaming for a coverup. While I opted not to repaint the legs themselves, I couldn't leave these in their original condition.

I grabbed a can of gold spray paint that I already owned along with some painter's tape and got to work. They bottom of the legs looked so much better once they had a fresh coat of clean gold.

I decided to use this great retro floral fabric I scored from a vintage garage sale. They color combo of black, gray and white perfectly complimented the frame of the stool. I snapped a quick picture on my phone to send to Amy for her approval. She LOVED it.

Here is where the stool project took a mini vacation. I struggled a bit with the reupholster. I really wanted to reupholster the entire chair, including the bottom half, but since the current fabric was vinyl and my sewing skills are limited, I didn't want to get in over my head and not be able to finish. I also wanted the inside of the lid to have the same pocket it did originally, but I just couldn't get the fabric to lie flat enough that it wasn't too bulky under the sleeve. Plus the more I messed with it the more flimsy and tacky the sleeve started to look. I got a little frustrated and that's when I took a hiatus.

I started to feel like a bad friend giving Amy empty promises and I'm pretty sure she was starting to wonder if I was really going to finish her stool. Finally, I got my butt to work and decided to forget the pocket (she isn't going to use it as an actual sewing stool), and just focus.

Just the other day I finally had it complete!

A side by side comparison of the before and after stools.

There was a seam in the vinyl that was beginning to split lengthwise so I took some nail head tacks and hammered them in along the length of the split. It isn't perfect, but it was definitely a good quick fix. I've read on many blogs that the nail head trim is easier than doing individual nails and after doing this strip and seeing my crooked line, I wish I had opted for the trim.

Considering this is only my second reupholstering project I think I did a pretty decent job. I'm very critical of my work and have a laundry list of aspects of this stool that I wish I could have done better, but I know this will come in time with more projects. In the end, Amy loves it and that's all that matters. 

I'll share some pictures of the stool in her apartment once she sends some my way. 

Thrift Adventures

Lucy and I went out last weekend on a long overdue thrift trip. We hit up a few of our usual spots including Goodwill, Goodeals and Family Thrift. While we didn't find much at Family Thrift or Goodeals (I usually get either a jackpot or nothing at both of those places), we did see some items with great DIY potential at Goodwill. I'm a big fan of this particular Goodwill by our house. It was where I scored the vintage gold bar cart that resides in our dining room. 

This lamp was the first thing I saw when I entered the store. There was actually a set of two of them. I really love the retro look. A quick coat of some yellow spray paint on the shade and this would be a cool lamp to go above the kitchen table. If we had a kitchen table, that is...

I dream of having a house with a great entryway where I can put one of these great pieces of furniture. Our little hallway now has just enough room to fit a mirror on the wall. Also, this fun little yellow lamp just needs fresh shade and it's good as new. Notice the other lamp that matched the ones above? 

These end tables are gorgeous. I love the thick table top and little detail at the corner of the legs. I see end tables all the time with so much great potential to be repainted and repurposed. We just don't have the room for one more table or chair in our tiny living room unless we get rid of something.

The stools caught my eye as I've been seeing a few great ideas on Pinterest lately featuring repurposed stools likes these. (Check out this stool turned gift wrap organizer. What a great idea.)

This baker's rack just needs a little love (aka paint) and some new knobs and it would look awesome either in a kitchen or repurposed as a bar. ($45.00)

Not sure why, but I've wanted a room divider for a some time now, even though I have no real place to put one. I wasn't crazy about the fact that this one was solid wood, I prefer pretty scroll metal ones. It would take some fresh paint and careful detailed decorating (maybe fabric or something handpainted) to update this one while keeping it from just looking like a bunch of pieces of wood.  ($45.00)

I always scope out chairs in thrift stores. Most of the time when I find vintage ones like these I actually think the original fabric is great and would hate to cover it. Although both of these chairs have great shape and were in near perfect condition so they would be ideal finds for someone pretty experienced in reupholstering (aka not me. I've done the chair seats in my dining room and that's it!) $30.00 for the yellow and $25.00 for the green.

I'm not even sure what to say about these. They look like they came from that room in a rich person's house where no one is allowed to set foot inside.. The intricate woodwork and plush velvet just scream royalty. I wouldn't want them, but they look pretty interesting.

Ahhh. This dresser. I don't know why but I just can't seem to commit to a dresser for the dining room. I've been looking for one for some time now to make into a bar/wine storage. I liked how narrow this particular one is considering we are limited in space between the wall and dining room table. I have grand ideas for a dresser when I find one, but am hesitatant to purchase without Jordan's input. One of these days I really will find and buy one if I see a good one at the right price. 

These laundry racks caught my eye. For $2 each I bought both that Goodwill was selling. Even though we already have one of these in our laundry room I figured I'll find some cool way to use them. Maybe outside somehow to hang plants or grill supplies?

For just $1.00 each, a quick mod podge or coat of paint and any of these bowls would be a great 'catch-all' for a night stand or sofa table. I kind of have a little obsession with small bowls and places to put jewerly, change, etc. I tend to buy them for no reason and rearrange them around the house randomly.

This great little shelf was a cool find that I was tempted to get for only $5.00. Again, I have no place to put it and I'm trying to avoid impulse thrift buys. I have a junk room in the basement filled with things like this.

Pineapples always catch my eye as the symbol of hospitality (I majored in hospitality in college, which is the only reason I know this.) I contemplated the towel ring and soap dish for the guest bathroom, either keeping them gold or spray painting white, but they don't quite go with the theme I'm aiming for. 

I honestly don't even know exactly what these bows are for but I thought they were adorable! They were all in a plastic bag together with a sticker saying that it could not be opened and they could not be separated. Anyone know what they are?

Thrift stores are great places to find things in bulk that people bought and never used. These clear box frames were $1 a piece and would be a DIY/craft person's dream for some fun wall art. 8"x10", too! I was trying to find some cool project I could use these for.  Maybe a gallery wall of some sort, but I never bought them.

The wooden giraffe utensils were a favorite of Lucy's. They almost made it into our cart, but like I said I'm trying to be a little more practical in my thrift choices. 

Finally I came across these frames. Exactly what I came to the thrift store looking for: large, thin wood frames that I could take a little spray paint to and use them for some wall art in Lucy's room. I took them home and immediately got to work. All I need is to convince Jordan to hang them for me. Stay tuned to find out what I did with them. 

DIY Paint Chip Art

paint chip photo source

I've jumped on the paint chip art bandwagon. I loved doing this project. It was super easy and next to free to make. I say free because I already owned the frame, but technically it cost the price of the Ribba frame ($19.99). The paint chips really were free. (One of these days Home Depot and Lowes will catch onto this trend and start charging for paint chip samples.) I opted to go with shades of yellow to bring in the yellow from our master bathroom. To make this art I simply cut strips along the width of the paint chips and alternated the colors behind the frame. A little glue stick helped keep the pieces from moving around when I was putting them together.

I'm slowly but surely updating our master bedroom a little at a time. I recently added this mirror, which I love and built this Anthro inspired rack. I'm now on the hunt for the perfect rug to add a little more color to our grey and white master bedroom. Where are your favorite places to find a good rug?

Pint Sized Fall Fashion

The only way I can accept that fact that fall is creeping in is by doing some shopping! I recently did a little fall shopping, although it wasn't for myself. Lucy has been in need of some serious fall clothes since her current wardrobe consists of mainly rompers and sun dresses. Now that she's walking, I'm really excited to step up her wardrobe a bit. I'm over onesies and other 'baby' clothes and I'm ready to dress her in 'real' clothes. It helps that I'm fairly frugal and take advantage of sales, coupons and other discounts when I shop for her so I can dress her like me with out feeling like I'm paying an arm and a leg. I'm also trying to be smart about my choices and buy some staple pieces that can mix and match with each other. 

These are the great finds I picked up this past weekend.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14

Everything above can be found at either Gap or Old Navy. Great, right? (Note: I don't have a link for the brown cord shorts. I had to take a picture of the ones I bought because they aren't on the website.) I've always been a loyal Baby Gap shopper, but was pleasantly surprised when I received a mailer the other day with a coupon and picture of the below bird print dress. I decided I needed to buy it for Lucy and made a trip to Old Navy that afternoon. That quick trip turned into a bit of a shopping spree.

For fall I'm excited for stripes, layers and lots of denim. Dresses and tights, jackets, belts and boots. Seriously, this is the only way I can accept that summer is ending. Lucy's skinny little butt still doesn't fit in a number of her 12 month shorts so I will be bringing them over to the fall and pairing them with knit tights and moccasins or booties. 

Have you started prepping for fall, yet?

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

I'm pretty sure I've used that title for a post before, but oh well.

I'm a little obsessed with the new mirror I hung in our master bedroom. (And yes, I hung it myself! Which was quite an accomplishment considering how darn heavy the thing was.) There used to be a smaller, more awkwardly sized mirror on the wall before. This simple, frameless mirror makes the space so much more open and refreshing. It's hard to believe it took me this long to realize we needed a different mirror. I bought the mirror online from Lowes and picked it up 20 minutes later on my lunch break. Best part, this mirror only cost me $48.99 (which is funny, considering the website claims it goes for $69.98.

Here's a quick look at how that space used to look with the old mirror.

Seriously, why did I wait so long to switch up the mirror? Such an inexpensive swap, especially considering many other places have the same or similar mirror for over twice the price. There's this $218 version from Bed, Bath and Beyond. Pottery Barn has a floor version a little bigger tan mine for $349.00. I think it's safe to say I won when it comes to price!