Monthly Archives: July 2012

Project Notes: Reupholstering a Chair Cushion

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As we’ve been putting together Tessa’s room, it’s become clear that the fabric on her desk chair doesn’t work with the decor.  I really love it, but not for this space.

Tess picked out “Janette” from Ikea to reupholster the chair in.  It’s bold and graphic and brings in the gray that is already in her duvet.

Although it’s more than we’ll need, I bought a yard so that we could play with the pattern placement and get the exact look we wanted.

1. First, I unscrewed the seat from the base of the chair.

2.  Did I really need to use this many staples when I originally made the seat?!  Now I get to remove them all.

Several years ago, I picked up this tool that is perfect for removing staples.  It slides under the staple pretty easily, lifting it out.  (In a pinch you can use your husband’s flat head screwdriver, but you didn’t hear that from me.)

If needed, you can also tap the end of the tool with a hammer so that it wedges better under the staple.  When the staple is really stubborn, I will hammer it flush with the board and keep moving.

3.  Once you have everything removed, you are ready to add the new fabric.  I played around with placement of the pattern by loosely wrapping it around the stripped cushion.

In the end, I opted for the second design placement.  I like that it has more gray that offsets the white in the chair.

4. The old fabric can now be used as a template to work from.  I placed the old fabric over the area I wanted for my new seat and cut it out.

I gave myself a bit of extra fabric to work with that I can later trim off if needed.  There is nothing worse than finding yourself just a little short on a project.

Now it’s time to bring out the staple gun.  This always makes me feel like a rockstar which might explain why there were so many staples in the last seat.

5. I staple the center edges first.  Lay the seat square and staple one at North.  Then pulling the fabric tight, I staple one at South.  I then added a couple on the South end before going back up to finish the North end.

6. Once those sides are done, I repeat for the remaining two sides.

7. As for the corners, I staple almost all the way to the corner.

8. Then I fold in the fabric kinda like a present.  It’s not an exact science, I just work with the fabric until I get a corner that I’m happy with.

9. Trim off the excess fabric and the seat is covered.

At this point, you can wrap up the project by stapling on the duck cloth for a neat underside and then reattaching the seat.  However, I’m wanting to add welting to the edges of the seat cushion for an added detail.  You don’t have to have welting, but it’s super easy to do and I think it will bring a more finished look to this chair.  A quick how to on welting is on it’s way.

Now it’s your turn… Have you reupholstered a simple chair seat?  Do you have any tricks you like to use in the process? I would love to hear about your project and see how you roll with a staple gun.

Mirror Mirror

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Mirror, Mirror on the wall who knows the coolest bloggers of them all?  I do!

I wanted to say a huge thank you to those that left comments on my last post.  Everyone had interesting insights that I thoroughly appreciated and can completely relate to.

A few things I noticed:

  • None of these bloggers overly share with “real life” people about their blog.  It’s a creative outlet that they never want to make their family and friends feel obligated to read.  I totally agree!
  • You should check them out.  They all have genuine, funny and generous qualities that shine through in their blogs.  None of them come off like they are trying to be “experts” about anything or that they take any of this too seriously.  That’s why they are some of my favorites!
  • We all could be a little less shy.  All these gals are AMAZING!  Every time one of them would comment, I would think “Really? They are totally awesome and should be sharing their blogs with the people they know”.  And so maybe I shouldn’t sweat it as much either.  In the end, if it comes up naturally (which it just doesn’t very often), I’ll put it out there.  Otherwise… I’ll leave the sharing about this blog to Tyson.

Anyhoo… I originally titled this post “Mirror, Mirror” for another reason.  Last weekend, we installed a mirror in Tessa’s room that is fit for a queen!  The new piece helped take her desk from this…

… to this.

Peeking back at the “before” picture really captures how much we are transitioning from young girl to young adult?  *sigh*

Tess and I had the same vision in mind for a mirror to go above her desk.  We wanted an oval style with feminine details. I was able to find this one at Home Goods for $40.  Love!

As for the desk itself, we added some additional storage.

I purchased a small tray from Target’s dollar section for homework supplies.

I also picked up two boxes from their dollar section that holds jewelry and hair accessories.

It was Tessa’s idea to stagger them on the shelf and add her decorative flowers.  I think it’s well staged.

The second shelf will store her flute and music for the upcoming school year.  Nice and compact!

Lastly, I reused a box for her school papers and supplies.  I’m wanting the kids to clean out their backpacks every Friday and store their graded paperwork.  I can’t get over how heavy their backpacks are!  I’m hoping this will help.

Eventually, we will replace the lamp with something a little more modern.

And I picked up some new fabric to change out on the desk chair.  I found it this week along with window coverings that I can’t wait to share!

So there you have it… a place to do homework and to primp.  Hopefully more of the former will take place for awhile.

Again, thank you to everyone that left comments on how you share your blog with others. This most definitely isn’t a closed discussion, so if you have additional thoughts, I’d always love to hear them.

And don’t forget to check out the bloggers that commented.  I truly think you’ll enjoy them as much as I do.

What about you?  Do you have a favorite blog that I need to check out?  Is there someone that you look forward to reading because they are both creative and genuine?  Feel free to toot their horn here.

Following Your Heart

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Last night, Tyson and I had the opportunity to have dinner with a friend that I’ve known since high school.  Mario was in the area on business and we had a few hours to catch-up with him.

Note to self: Take photos BEFORE the lighting disappears.

A little background… my friends that I had in high school are incredibly special to me. There simply are no words to adequately express what they still mean to me.  Although I don’t get to see them often, (especially now that I live 1200 miles away from where I grew up) they are a part of my family and I feel incredibly blessed that I live in a world with Facebook that can keep us all a little more connected.

The reason I share all of this with you is that during dinner, our conversation turned to things that we are passionate about.  People, interests, the things that refresh our spirit and bring us joy… not just family, but creative pursuits and outlets.  And the deeper questions… how do we make time for those things and even share them with others in our lives?

And then Tyson said, “So… do you know that Danielle has a Blog?”

Yeah… I don’t know… I have a huge problem telling my friends “You should totally check out my blog.” It makes me feel all awkward.  It’s not that I worry what they all will think… it’s more that I feel like I’m saying “Hey, check ME out”.  And seriously, who wants to be THAT person?!

But blogging is something that I am finding that I love to do.  It’s tapping into a creative part of my brain that I don’t get to use as much as I did back in high school.  And I’m getting to meet a lot of really cool people that I am beginning to adore; readers and other bloggers that are incredibly funny and encouraging… new friends.

So to those of you that do check me out, because you stumbled across my blog and decided to stick around, I want to say a huge “Thank You”!  And for those of you who have shared my blog with others and even nominated me for awards… well, all I can say is I’m abundantly blown away!!

Thank you to:

  • Littleprince68 who nominated me for the One Lovely Blog Award and the Very Inspiring Blog Award.  Nova was my very first reader on my very first day!  She continues to be such an encouragement to me.
  • Alex at NorthofSeven for nominating also me for the One Lovely Blog Award.  She has an amazing list of nominations that I can’t wait to check out.
  • And Morgan who writes MissDIYMonster also nominated me for the One Lovely Blog and Very Inspiring Blog Awards.  And she seriously has the most fun blog name EVER!

So help a sister out… How do you tell the people in your life that you have a blog?  Do you shout it from the rooftops or post it on Facebook?  Am I over-thinking this? Is it no big deal or do you just not share at all?  I would really love to know how you do it.

And thank you to Mario for a very fun evening.  Brother, you are the best!

Lurking Under the Bed

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My last post was getting a little long so I thought I’d break it into a two parter.  This second half is just as organized, but not nearly as colorful.

Once the closet was complete, I turned my attention to the rest of the room.  Alex from North of Seven had suggested bringing in a trunk for storage. I like combining that idea with some sort of custom bench seating for under the window.  However, I wanted to see what kind of under the bed solutions I could find first.

When we moved Tessa’s bed to paint, there were several “lost” items under it.  I’m hoping to better utilize that space and in the process keep out anything that doesn’t belong.

The Container Store was a huge help.  We picked up two smaller boxes with compartments for little trinkets and mementos.

We also got a medium size box for craft supplies.  This summer, Tess has been learning to knit and she is always making friendship bracelets.

Lastly, we purchased a large container for her puppets.  Yes… puppets!

(Two points for anyone who recognizes where Tessa and her felt friend are standing.)

Both Tess and Evan were a part of our church puppet ministry for several years.  Their team of middle and high school students were an amazing group that performed in the community and at our church.  If she ever wants to revisit this talent, her gear will be available.

Everything fits neatly under the bed and she has room to add to each of the boxes.

A few tips I’ve discovered so far:

  • By re-evaluating what would stay in the room and why, we then purchased storage that would follow form and function.  Things Tess accesses all the time went in the closet; lesser used items went under the bed.
  • This is a great time of year to be looking for organization and storage solutions.  Many stores have wonderful promotions especially as students are gearing up to go to college.  We’ve been able to get some great deals on bedding too.  More on that to come.

We are in the home stretch of finishing the room and Tess and I are so excited!  We added some storage to her desk and we are in the process of adding a mirror to create a vanity look that I can’t wait to share.

So… as a person who never stores things under the bed, I’d love to hear what you think of this solution.  Am I crazy to think things will stay organized under there?  Will this just turn into a massive stash zone?  What has been you experience?  If nothing else, we don’t have to worry about bedtime monsters lurking under there anymore… I hope.