Mission-Style Rocking Chairs

Due Date Countdown:  8 Days

Yes, I'm still pregnant :)

Baby seems perfectly content to keep hangin' around in my belly, so for now you get to wait in expectancy with me.  Except you can probably walk without waddling, so you can only kind of sympathize.

Quack.

But are you ready to see a couple of chairs get a makeover??  I bet you are.  I've been getting emails up the wazoo about people really wanting to see chair makeovers.
Okay, I just made that up.

But I have been getting a few people asking questions about projects via the new "contacts" tab, and I'm loving all your creativity and sweet compliments!  Also, the archive tabs above are all updated and ready for you, so if this baby comes before I can put up another post, you'll be set for a bit.
(Joe and I actually think that since we have family driving from 5 and 12 hours away, the baby is bound to come during a snow storm.  We keep checking the forecast to figure out when the little munchkin's going to arrive.  Nothing yet...)

Here we go.

Mission-Style Rocking Chairs

Ooh, pretty!  And how often have I seen these chairs and never thought to do anything with them?

This was a project I was hired to do for a wonderful couple at our church.  Let's call them the M&M's (because I'm apparently still not over that chocolate craze of a previous post).  The chairs came to them from Mr. M&M's mother, and Mrs. M&M just wanted to update the look.  They went back and forth about painting the oak frames--which is perfectly understandable--but decided that paint would really give her the finish she wanted (wood purists, are you fainting?).  In the end, I think the paint was a great choice.  Why have something if you don't really like it?  Plus they're practically oozing awesome now.

It seemed like a fairly manageable project from what I saw initially, and actually turned out to be a bit easier than even I anticipated.  So if you have a pair of Mission-Style rockers that you want to re-do, have no fear.  You don't even have to have a special staple gun for this one!  All you need is a sewing machine, something that throws staples, and some gumption.

I won't get into a lengthy explanation, but if you have questions please feel free to ask and I will gladly go into more detail for you.

My Super-Handy Hubby painted the frames for me.  Because he's such a good dad already :)  As you can tell by the t-shirt he's wearing and the snow-free driveway, this was a while ago.  

All slicked up in their new finish!  I then sanded the edges very lightly.  We wanted a tish of distressing for dimension, but nothing close to the "chippy" look.  Just a light touch did the trick.

The back cushion had only a little sewing in the top corners, so that was really simple.

The fabric was installed by fitting the corners properly at the top, and then wrapping the fabric around to the back side to staple.  This whole cushion was essentially an "insert" that screwed into the sides of the frame.  It was a pretty slick system to work with.

The bottom cushion was a little more sewing, but it only involved attaching two side panels to the seat.  Again, really simple.

Then once again, Joe to the rescue!  These frames were solid oak--even the inside framing that was for the upholstery.  Seriously, if I had tried to break these chairs I just would have ended up with bruises.  They were so tough.  Tough enough that I couldn't get these screws in or out by myself.  Thanks honey, you're the best.  And I apparently need to work out more.

Here's the finished product again.  I apologize for the not-awesome pictures.  I *may* have forgotten to take pictures until Joe was getting ready to load them into the truck for delivery, and it was dark out.  Oops.  But hey, at least we deliver!  We deliver for the small cost of cookies and ice cream.  Not really, but they did give us cookies and ice cream when we picked the chairs up...because they're super sweet people.

And in case you're wondering, Mrs. M&M picked the fabric out herself, and I really love it.  It's classy but not too formal at the same time.  She bought it at Joann Fabrics, in case you're now in dire need to buy some for yourself.

And now you can mentally sit in those chairs, rock back and forth and dream of how cute our baby is going to be!

In case you missed the Nursery Reveal! last week, you can check it out Here (or in the linked text before, but hey I like to be thorough).

And I did forget to post our Christmas picture this year, so I'll bid you adieu with that.

Photo Courtesy of Cheryl Lancaster

Have a great weekend, everyone!

~The Doodle Bug

I'm usually partyin' at these hangouts:

Friday Feature @ Redoux

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed

Show & Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home

Flaunt it Friday @ Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest

Simply Creations Link Party @ Simple Home. Life

It's a Hodgepodge Friday @ It's a Hodgepodge Life

Spotlight Saturday @ Classy Clutter

Trash 2 Treasure Tuesday @ Kammy's Korner

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm

Tuesday's Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Be Inspired @ Elizabeth & Co.

Make It Pretty Monday @ The Dedicated House

Nursery Reveal!

I know, you thought it would never come.
But it has!

I've been working on the nursery for...a long time now.  Putting it together bit-by-bit since August.

People have been asking Joe at work what the theme is for the nursery.
Theme?
Uhhhh...

There's no theme.
My goal was to make a gender-neutral nursery (we don't know what we're having), and since I didn't want to do yellow and green, I decided on a different route.  I decided to put feminine and masculine elements into the room and (hopefully) strike a balance between them.  You can judge for yourself how I did.  And if you don't like it, just lie and tell me you do, or I might break into a bout of hormonal crying :)

37 weeks this Sunday, by the way!

Here is how the room looked when we moved in.

Not bad...just boring, and like the rest of the house, "oaky" (check out the Kitchen & Dining Room Reveal if you want to see more).

I decided first that I would put a "lemongrass" color on the wall.  Awesome.
So I mixed up a sample, pretty excited to get started.
I tenderly painted the color on the wall, thinking fondly of our little munchkin-to-come.
...and then I just about bopped in my mouth.
I. Hated. It.
I'm going to be looking at enough baby poop in the coming months, I don't need the walls to be singing the same tune!
Okay, time to revamp.
So I headed to my computer to Pinterest (where else??) and my trusty Nursery board.  And I found a solution.
Phew!

I know, beige and white are a bit...boring?  But I like it.  Simple, and I could add whatever color I wanted in the rest of the room without worrying about clashing.

So that's the introduction, and here is the finished room!  I'll list out some items and details at the end.

SCREECH!!!

Hang on a second.  Where the heck did that INCREDIBLE blanket come from???

Oh, you know.  

My Mom made it.

SAY WHAT?  She Made it??  I knew she was knitting a blanket, and I picked out the colors, but I was pretty much envisioning a simple stripe or a basic chevron pattern.  Then at Christmas I open THIS.  I was completely blown away.  Thank you, Mom, for slaving away for six months +.  Baby is going to love it.

Yes, I am still in shock.

She made it.

So exciting!

Here are the dirty details:

Paint & Moldings:  We painted the walls, window and trim.  The trim around the top of the room is actually two different moldings, and we painted the wall between them white to give a bigger impact.  The top trim is a small crown, and the lower one is Picture Rail Molding.  I think we spent about $60 for both moldings.  We had to special order the Picture Rail, and I still need to order hooks to go on it.  It's a molding you can hang stuff from with special hangers they make (Google it, it's pretty snazzy).  And I think it makes the ceiling feel higher, which is nice.

Joe thinks it's funny that the only room in our house with crown molding is the Nursery.

Meh.

Okay, here's where I got a bunch of stuff.  I did a lot myself, many were gifts (recent and from the past) and some I bought from stores or other creative people.  

Crib:  A Beautiful and generous gift from my parents.  It's the DaVinci crib made by Kalani, in Espresso.

Mobile:  A gift from my Grandparents.

Embroidery Hoops with Fabric:  I bought the embroidery hoops at a thrift shop, painted them white, and put  in fabric that I had on hand.  $8.

Knitted Blanket:  A gorgeous gift from my awesome Mom.  Wow.

Crib Sheet:  Carter's Brown Plush (Velour) Easy-Fit Crib sheet.  Babies-R-Us.  $18.

Crib Skirt:  A gift from my Grandparents

Curtains:  I bought plain white grommeted panels at Target ($29.99) and bought a yard of the super cute Argyle fabric on Etsy ($9?).  I sewed a strip of the fabric onto the panels and voila!  Custom panels for under $40!

Metal Bucket O' Blankets:  I bought the bucket (with red handles! Eee!) at Now & Again.  ~$20?

Glider & Ottoman:  I bought it on Craigslist for $25, in desperate need of new foam and fabric (but the wood was already white.  Score).  I recovered it with fabric from Jo-Ann Fabrics and replaced almost all the foam.  Total came to about $60.

Red Changing Table:  I found this at one of the Occasional stores in town, This & That, for $50.  Already painted and everything!

Changing Pad Cover:  Mod Pod "Pop Monkey."  Babies-R-Us, $17.99

White Wall Shelves:  I bought these at Now & Again, and painted them white.  I used a little stamp for the green flourish and bought the hooks at Menards.  $19.

Rooster:  The rooster on the shelf was a gift from a dear friend.  

Large Wood Sign:  The piece of wood was a tabletop that I really loved...and couldn't let go of (look at the grain, I know you wouldn't let it go either).  So I found a new purpose for it!  We took it off the table frame (it was wobbly and couldn't be fixed), and I painted the Robert Frost quote on it using a large engineering print from Staples and transfer paper.  I used the same method that I did for the Mailbox Makeover and DIY Canvas Art.  Then I distressed the writing a bit with sandpaper and waxed the whole thing with a dark furniture wax.  I am super happy with it.  And in case you're worried about baby, we hung it on the wall with two hangers, each rated for 50 lbs.  Special order at the hardware store for this worried first-time Mom :) 

"Imagine" Sign:  This was a gift a few years back from another dear friend.  The company covers letters with recycled metal containers.  Crazy fun.  I don't know where my friend got it, sorry.

God Gave Us You Book:  A sweet little gift from my parents. 

The pictures I took myself and other little knick-knacks I had on hand from random places.  

If you have questions about anything else, just let me know.

So there you have it!  The Nursery is finished and just waiting for a perfect little bundle to arrive!

We're all packed (well, as packed as we can get at this point) for the hospital, and waiting impatiently for the time to come.  But the baby will come in God's time, we know.  

We're hoping & praying for you, Little One,  

and we can't wait to meet you!

~The Doodle Bug

I'm usually partyin' at these hangouts:

Friday Feature @ Redoux

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed

Show & Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home

Flaunt it Friday @ Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest

Simply Creations Link Party @ Simple Home. Life

It's a Hodgepodge Friday @ It's a Hodgepodge Life

Spotlight Saturday @ Classy Clutter

Trash 2 Treasure Tuesday @ Kammy's Korner

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm

Tuesday's Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Be Inspired @ Elizabeth & Co.

Make It Pretty Monday @ The Dedicated House

Salvaged Wall Hanger

I wasn't prepared.

So I'm warning you ahead of time, so you can be ready.

You'll be able to tell very soon that I didn't think this project would be all that interesting before I started.
You know that feeling?
And then how most of the time you're wrong and wish you had planned better?

Yeah, this is one of those.  Therefore I have no "before" picture.
Thanks in advance for your grace.

It all started with six chairs.  Here's two of them:

Before & Afters and Blow Money Magic

Do you ever have those days when you just want to see some quick results, and you don't care how you get them?  Today is one of those for me.  I was working downstairs in a tizzy not because I'm in a hurry, but because I just want to get something done!!  I finished for now downstairs, and because I can't seem to sit still, I got busy on a post--an "instant gratification" update post.  Meaning I'm going to show you a little bunch of things that won't require you--or me--to think!  Hooray!

Actually my brain is a little fried.  Last night we went over to "Family H's" (remember them?  They gave me the Striped Bench and Antique Wood Box, just because they're awesome.  And they think they're giving me junk! HA!), because they were burning a big pile of...big timbers...and we were up late making sure nothing else caught on fire.  Actually Joe & "A" were up late.  I went to bed, because I'm a diva.

Anyway, as promised, here are a few little stories and pictures to update you on my awesome recent projects and finds.

Up first, this little rocking horse that I bought for CHEEEP!

White & Grey Distressed Table & Chairs

Well, at long last here I am!
I was going to post this baby last night, but then I got all responsible and stuff and did all the dishes.  Normally I do them every day and it only takes about 15-20 minutes.  Well, I had procrastinated for a few days, and it took an Hour and 15 minutes.  Yikes.  But that's done now, and I get to do fun things like:
1. Hope that it rains today so my rhubarb & chives can grow.  UPDATE:  I JUST HEARD SOME SPRINKLES!!
2. Watch my tomato seedlings grow (they're almost all up!)
3. Work on an upholstered biscuit box--you'll see that another time
4. Show you a great table and chair set!!

That about sums it up.  And since I've done the first two a little today already, it looks like it's time to skip to #4!  I got this table and chair set off of Craigslist, and boy was I excited to get my paws on it.

An Upholstered Chair fit for a Princess

Well, Spring is definitely here, and isn't it crazy?? My friend, who is pretty much the star of this post, has crocuses blooming!  I have volunteer onions in my garden, the rhubarb is coming up, and I have volunteer sunflowers, too.  I think those poor little sunflowers are going to get a rude awakening when they get a hard frost, which is bound to happen sooner or later.  But I don't care, because it's late March and I have already spent a bunch of time outside--Woo Hoo!  The truck got a desperately-needed bath, the garden got some early weeding, and I tromped around in the woods yesterday to see if Morel mushrooms might be about to pop up.  I think it's still too early, but then again I don't know if there are morels in the woods by our house or not anyway.  It was still good to get out and breathe some fresh air again.

Driftwood-Look Table & Chairs

Well, today has been a good day.  I have pieced together & fixed, painted, and upholstered four dining chairs, and then made a cutie little hanger out of some of the scraps!  You'll get to see that soon, but for today I have a big project that took me a good week and a half to complete.  And it was worth every minute.

Here she is.  My first dining table project, with chairs to boot!

Reupholstered Dining Chairs + Cording

First things first, I want to say "Thank You" to Lindsay at Better After for featuring my Radio Chest Revamp last week.  Check it out here and see her other great "Before & After" features for some quick inspiration!

And now, prepare yourself for a saga dating back to my childhood, as illustrated by chairs.

Once Upon a Time...

I grew up with an oak kitchen table and a set of six maple chairs upholstered in a dark blue fabric.  I remember doing everything in those chairs.  My brother and I built forts with them, did our homework, ate breakfast, lunch and dinner, and of course, spilled our breakfast, lunch, and dinner on them.

Those were our kitchen chairs until I was about 12, when my parents switched them out for a new set.  The maple chairs went into storage until one of the kids needed them.  Well, I was the first to move out and thus the chairs came to me.  I was so thankful.  They are great, solid chairs that can go with pretty much any decor and apparently survive anything since they're still whole after all our shenanigans.

We pulled them out of storage about 2 1/2 years ago now, and remember all that breakfast, lunch, and dinner?  It was still on the upholstery.  At that point I didn't know how to upholster, so I just put new fabric over the old and called it good.

That is how, about 10 months ago, our chairs looked like this:

Not bad, eh?  Yes, I loved the fabric and it was a great improvement.  But then we moved, and I realized that everything in our dining area was whitish-beige.  Hmmm....and the fabric I had covered them with wasn't holding up very well (note to self:  home decor fabric does not necessarily mean it will hold up as upholstery fabric!).  So I decided to recover these babies, this time the right way!

So this is how to do a basic dining room chair reupholstery with cording.  You know, that piping that goes around the edge of the chair and makes it look oh-so-professional.

Joe helped me, and between the two of us, we got it done in one day--even with some stapler jamming and other roadblocks.

STEP 1:  Detach seat from chair frame.
  For most dining chairs, this means flipping the chair over and taking out the screws that hold the seat on (usually there is one in each corner, 4 total).

STEP 2:  Remove old fabric and staples.

  Make sure you have some elbow grease, needle-nosed pliers, and a flat head screwdriver.  This part is my least favorite, but it makes for a much better end product.

Go, Joe!

And here, my lovely readers, you see...My Childhood.  Along with every grimy handprint that went with it...

Next, we took off the blue fabric.  Goodbye. 

STEP 3:  Recover the seat with your new fabric and a staple gun.  

Center your fabric, pull tight and staple on each edge, making sure to pull evenly  to make it smooth.  This was before my fabulous pneumatic staple gun appeared in my life, so we used and hand stapler.  They work fine for this application--but I'm not trading :)

**For more details on how to upholster a smooth seat, check out this post.  This seat already had its foam and batting in place, but that will show you how to approach stapling the fabric).

  At this point, you could simply reattach your seat and be done.  If you want that little extra detail though, keep reading.

STEP 4:  Sew your cording.  (I won't lie to you--this is the hardest part for me).

For this, you'll need:

a)  1 1/2" wide strip of your fabric, long enough to wrap all the way around your seat.  If you don't have the length you need in one piece, simply sew strips together until it's long enough (Make sure to give yourself a little extra).  

b) Cotton cording, found at any sewing store (I've also found it at Wal-Mart).  If you can't find it, you can just use a thick nylon cording, as well.  I'm a fan of improvising.  The cording should be the same length as the fabric strip.

c) A sewing machine.

Basically all you're going to do is wrap the cording in the fabric and stitch it, so you get a piece of cording with a "tail."  

This is where having an upholstery sewing machine comes in handy.  They have special feet and mechanisms that keeps your stitching as close to the cording as possible.  Since I'm assuming you, like me, do not have an upholstery sewing machine sitting in your basement, just use a narrow foot and get the stitching as close to the cording (without actually sewing on top of the cording) as possible.

When you're done, you should have a long strip of cording ready to be attached.  This is very very simple.

STEP 5:  Attach your cording.

All you do is staple the "tail" onto the underside of the seat along the edge so that the cording sticks out.  Find an inconspicuous spot, on the back or side, to begin and end your cording.  The best place is usually where one side of the back of your chair meets the cushion--the support for the back will hide the "joint" where the cord begins and ends.

When you have stapled the cording all the way around the edge, just curl the end of the cording in toward the inside of the seat to keep the raw edge from being exposed and fraying. 

 DO NOT do what we apparently did on our chairs, shown in the picture below.  We began and ended our cording on what looks like a front corner of the cushion.  So everyone can see the joint where they come together.  I'll have to do some investigating and see if we really did that...

STEP 5:  Reattach your cushion and celebrate, because you just reupholstered a chair!

After 10 months, this is now what our chairs still look like.  They're holding up great, and I still love the fun fabric.

I love cording...when it's finished...

These chairs still have a lot of life in them, and with a little fabric we made them fit our style.  

STEP 6:  Make Dinner and eat it on your new chairs!

Hollywood Regency Chair: Reupholstered

Hello All.

It is the post we've all been waiting for, or perhaps only I have been waiting for it.  If you missed my first post, explaining this chairs' history, I blogged about it here.   Ladies and Gentlemen, without further ado, the chair.

          Before                                  After

And as you can see, Joe is very excited to have his favorite chair back after 6 long weeks without it.

 

At this point, I have to apologize.  During the class that I was taking, I got so excited about what I was doing that I did not stop and take pictures very often.  So because of that, the picture editorial I have is a little spotty with some big jumps.  I will try to explain the basics, but I'll try to keep it short.

         First off I ripped off the fabric, starting at the back, then removing the seat and tearing that down.  I basically ended up with this frame, plus a frame that fits into the seat and supports the cushion.  I then sanded down the frame with my Dad's orbital sander (Thanks, Dad!) and hand sanded any places that were not easy to get to with the orbital, (this is also my parent's garage, in case you were wondering.  Thanks, Mom & Dad).