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

 

Red Chairs

I'm so grateful for all the work that has come my way but especially pleased with all the fun fabric I've been able to use. I don't think I would enjoy all these jobs quite as much if they were all solid neutrals. I respect the chance people are taking on bold patterns and that applies to these chairs for sure. Brad has declared these his favourite job I've done yet.

The original chairs were in good shape but just not what the client wanted. Since they had been handed down to her she felt like she could splurge on something she really wanted.

I loved the surprisingly bold insides I found when I took things apart.

These chairs sit in a room that is right off the front door, it's one of the first things you see. There is an amazing grand piano and the room leads directly into the formal dining room. The red looks so classy and is a really fun pop in an otherwise conservative space.

Two Tone Wing Back Chairs

These chair were a test of patience for sure. These were for a friend of mine and they were actually the first job I lined up to a paying customer. Fabric selection was tricky though, she knew what she wanted and had a really hard time finding it. 8 months and what felt like a million samples later she had found the perfect combination.

They started out as this blue/green velvet

They were in really great shape except some wear on the legs, check out the difference a little gel stain makes.

I only had one glove and it was really old so it broke when I put it on, my thumb ended up as a stain covered casualty but it was better than nothing.

Here are the finished chairs. And they're really lovely right? Very classy and understated...

Until you flip them around. I love the surprise of the pattern around the back.

These chairs were such a hit I think I have some similar ones coming soon.

Reclining Wing Back Chairs

Boy did this summer ever get away from me. I've done a ton of upholstery and an equal amount of fun summer playing which means I've done zero blogging. So you can expect an abundance of posts in the next couple days.

 These chairs I finished an embarrassingly long time ago (I started this blog post in May) but since they were for me I forgot to take a picture of the finished result.

So I recovered this awesome couch and then they wanted some wing back chairs to go with it so I started scouring Kijiji and I found these two reclining wing back chairs. They were free because a cat had scratched up the upholstery (couldn't be more perfect hey?). So I showed them to the client?? (ha, that sounds ridiculous :) and they didn't love them. They wanted the wings to be a little more substantial but I  just couldn't pass up free chairs so I went and got them anyway (or rather I sent Brad to go get them). The more I saw them the more I loved them and wanted them so I proposed that they buy my already upholstered grey chairs (they were going with grey anyway and it looks amazing with their couch) and I would keep the new ones. The upholstery was fine but I was excited to choose something perfect for me.

Cat scratches pictured below. They were actually pretty serious in a couple places, going all the way down to bare wood.

At one point in their decision making they decided maybe they should at least sit on the cat scratched chairs to help them decide. But I was so in love with them by this point I wouldn't let them have them anymore :)

Theses chairs were amazing to work with. They're La-Z-Boy's and the back is removable.

As I was taking out staples I discovered that I would need to unscrew the bottom portion as well. I was initially nervous but in the end it made the whole process so easy. Every piece could be upholstered on top my kitchen table meaning I didn't have to awkwardly sit on the floor.

I did one at a time with some different projects in between so they sat like this for a while. It makes a handy before and after though.

Here it is reclined.

I did eventually get around to the second chair though and now I have this beautiful set that I'm loving.

Bean Bag Chairs

How cute are these bean bags? I love them! Too bad they're so sad and flat but I just love that they're square instead of a more traditional round.

A friend wanted me to take one of them and empty it into the others to fill them out a little but I couldn't bare to empty any of them, they're just too cute. Instead I did a quick search and found some bean bag filler for really cheap. So now instead of three half empty bean bags, or just two sort of full ones we get three adorable and fluffy, practically new bean bags for hardly any effort. 

I bought the filler online and I couldn't believe how big the box was and just how little it weighed. I took a picture with the girls so you could see how large it was. 

I was prepared for the filling to be a messy job but I saw this brilliant idea online, you take an empty paper towel roll (or on my case a hacked off fabric bolt roll) and you tape it to the bag like a nozel, here's a photo to help explain. 

Then you can pour from one bag to another. Even with this hack it still left a little to be vacuumed. 

It was well worth the effort though. 

Dining Room Chairs

It became clear to me recently that I'm developing a reputation for upholstery. A friend of a friend on Facebook asked who they would contact to have some dining room chairs upholstered and three different people tagged me. I was happy to respond. When I asked what sort of fabric they wanted they said they didn't really care as long as they were no longer fuzzy pink. I don't blame them. There were 6 total, 2 with arms and 4 without.

We went with a really dark black/brown, super soft and rich faux leather that was a lot nicer than I expected it to be. Here are the seats all stacked together, ready to be reassembled. 

And all 6 of them, lined up. 

I love the way they turned out, it really updated the whole look of the chairs. I always feel like a broken record because every time I finish a job I can't help but proclaim, "it looks brand new!"

And a couple before and after pictures, because everyone love a before and after.