I've got the project itch

This next project of mine is no small undertaking. Chair re-upholstery. Yep, it's crazy. I might fail. I might not finish it. I might have to buy the really cute chairs I see at World Market or Pier 1. Ha ha, never mind, I will finish it because I don't want to spend $$$ on a new chair.

You might be wondering why I want to get a new chair in the first place. Our roommate Kaitlin will be moving out soon and we have been using her chair in our living room. I'm assuming she wants to take it with her, since it is a lovely chair, it's comfy, and well, hers.

So, I've been looking on craigslist for some cheap wing back chairs that I could re-upholster. Than I thought to myself, "hey that's a lot of chair and you've never done this before." Right! Then, I remembered that Erin brought a chair home a few months ago and stashed it in our basement. Where everything else gets stashed and doesn't come out. Like the couch that's also down there, and the extra fridge, and the extra stove, and the extra little cute vintage furnace, and the other extra stove, and the old cast iron bathtub, and the buried bodies. Whoa, just kidding. Anyways, it's slowly becoming a man cave/junk yard, which is fine for Erin's man cave since he is a big fan of junk yards. I'm not kidding.

Alas, I am going to re-upholster this little beauty.

I've already started ripping out hundreds of nails, getting a few new calluses and a sunburn on my feet. It's really fun! Actually, I'm not really kidding. It's hard work for sure, but I enjoy spending time working on it. I spent 2 hours on it and I only took apart the bottom cushion/seat. Yikes. This is no 1 day project. Especially since the fabric I picked out won't be in the store for at least 3 weeks. Boo.


You might be thinking, why does it need to be re-upholstered? You're right, it is a cute little chair. And it is totally my color, don't get me wrong. But, it's vinyl...

And it has a few little tears in it.

 And I really want to strip, sand and re-finish the wood, too!

Doesn't it sound fun!??!

I started off with my tools. 2 flat head screwdrivers, needle nose pliers, a bowl and a Starbucks coffee, most important tool of all. The bowl was also found in the basement, holla.

I ripped out so many nails. SO many. Then, at one point, I got down to this.
 

I realized the stripes fabric was the original fabric. Yay for surprises. And more fabric to have to rip off.

 Yes folks, this is straw/hay. This is the seat cushion. It is folded inside the batting. Straw/hay was used a long time ago. Pretty sure I need to buy a new foam cushion for it. And pretty sure this chair might be as old as our house, so cool!

See?? Hundreds of nails! Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating. But it's more like 73. I counted.


So far this project cost me $50. The fabric is SO expensive. And I had to pay $8 just in shipping. Boo. But, the chair was free. I'm planning on also having to buy new foam cushion, and new batting, and possibly some Dacron. So, it could easily be over $100. But, not nearly as expensive as paying a professional. We're talking well over $300. Stay tuned!

p.s. Here is the limencello I made! It tastes okay. Just okay. It's not as tart as I was hoping. It's pretty sweet. So, I'm planning on adding fresh lemon juice to it and making a cocktail with sparkling water, limencello, and fresh blueberries. MMM.