The One That Got Away

I need to delete this picture. It makes me sad to look at it but I just couldn't bring myself to delete it forever so instead I'll blog it for memories.

I had a friend call me one day and say hey there's this couch I keep seeing on the side of the road for free, do you want it?

Boy did I ever! I went and got it immediately dreaming of how amazing it was going to be. It was in pretty rough shape and was going to take some work but I was okay with that. But it didn't take long for the smell to build in my garage... and that picture is a really good picture, it makes it look a lot nicer than it was (and that's saying something).

I started to remove the fabric to let it air out and get rid of the smell but I discovered that all of the foam was full of mold. It's such a waste that someone would just leave it outside to get ruined. I could have stripped it down and replaced all the foam but it's hard to re-cover my costs once I do that so I had to admit defeat and it got thrown away.

But I think of it often, and I'm sad it couldn't be saved.

Ugly Chair

This chair

It definitely earned the title Ugly Chair.See how it's a greenish colour? Don't be fooled, it's actually bright yellow, just look at the fabric that's hiding underneath.

This chair actually goes with the Quatrafoil Couch. I found that couch on Kijiji for free and when I contacted the seller they said they would put it outside in the alley for me to grab. What they really meant was it's been sitting in the alley for some time, it's pretty gross has snow on it but it's free, help yourself. Sitting beside it was the even grosser and unexpected matching chair that Brad so kindly agreed to help me take as well. I initially thought it would go as a set with the couch but in the end they went with my two Grey Wing Back chairs instead which was a better choice. That left this ugly ducking sitting in my garage since February. I thought I would have to trash it but I eventually found an owner who could look past it's current state.

Since it was in such rough shape it needed more tear down than usual, all the padding got trashed.

I added all new foam and batting. Looks a little better hey? Like you would actually sit on it now.

She chose some fantastic fabric that ending up being a nightmare to work with (due only to my own carelessness) and made me question my own intelligence. This chair should have been very quick and simple but I made foolish mistake after mistake. It finally came together though and looks so cute.

I also did something new with this piece. Underneath the cushion I added a little custom fabric.

That's my name, embroidered right on the bottom of the chair. It's kind of hoity toity but I love it anyway and will probably add it to my future jobs.

Tufted Vanity Bench

If you have a Crystal Tufted Headboard then you'd better have a Crystal Tufted Vanity Seat right?

This was another job for my Mom. She built herself a cute little table to put her makeup on (that's right, just built it, no big). She had a crummy bench that's been around for ages but she deserved better.

She found this piano bench for really cheap and we got to work.

We cut the legs off a little and then she painted it white while I upholstered the top.

Here are the two re-assembled. They're so cute

And her favourite part is that it opens up to store important things.

Crystal Tufted Headboard

I've told you all sorts of things about my Mom already but let me tell you some more. She really likes things to sparkle. There no such thing as understated. If she's going to wear earrings she's going to wear some that make a statement so her furniture is no different. She wanted a headboard and she wanted it to sparkle.

This was a new one for me, rather than work from something old we built it from scratch starting with some plywood that we cut to size.

Then drilled holes to be used later.

2 inch foam gets added

and then staples down.

Now we're ready for the fun part. Tufting, white faux leather and some sparkle.

The border is added next

And then lastly a little extra sparkle, because according to my Mother if you can add more then you should. And in this case she was definitely right.

It's perfect, exactly what she wanted.

A close up

And then once Mom took it home she put some legs on so it could be attached to a bedframe.

White Cube Ottomans

Two Tone Wingback Chairs, an Updated Grey Couch and the final piece in this living room set were these adorable ottomans.

They open up to give you a little bit of storage, they're simple and small and perfect.

Of course they're not all that cute here. The foam was very sad and they needed to fit in with the grey of the other pieces.

I found as I took one apart that it had a big old hole in the side that needed some fixing.

These got freshened up with some white faux leather and some new foam. I'm so in love with these that I just may make some for myself one day.

Let's remember the original...

and the new

Silver Dresser

Let's take a brief break from all this upholstery to show you a job I can take no credit for. My Mom is talented as we all know by now and sometimes her projects need to be showcased.

She found this old dresser that she liked the shape of and bought it. I don't have an actual before picture but it was similar to this one with the curvy bottom.

She didn't like the curve so she took it off and added some trim. I have this one lonely in progress shot.

Look at that paint job, she painted it silver and it looks incredible. She updated half of the handles for these adorable pumpkin glass knobs and spray painted some of the original handles.

Grey Couch

This couch was such a pleasure to work on. For one it didn't have any piping (which I loathe working with) but it also was the best quality couch I've worked on. It got a facelift to switch from brown to grey. This couch actually goes in the same room as the Two Tone Wingback Chairs, and it clearly doesn't fit in with them (yet).

I'm not a fan of microfiber furniture, I think it always looks dirty and it's distracting because you can't help but "draw" on it with your finger.

The legs were very blonde and needed an update to go with the rest of the couch.

Everything got stripped off

And then put back on.

The back pillows were looking a little sad and floppy so I beefed them up a little.

And here's the finished piece