First re-upholstery project: There’s a first time for everything…

I’ve always wanted to learn how to re-upholster furniture.  It all started with a sofa that we had when I was a kid that was super(!) comfy, but so ugly you wouldn’t believe.  (As a side note, she tried reupholstering it years later and actually managed to make it even uglier.  It was later relegated to being the “dog sofa,” and just thinking about it makes me sad.)  Nevertheless, an obsession with upholstery was born!

Flash forward 25+ years, and you find the adult Leah learning how to do just that thanks to 3rd Ward in Williamsburg.  This is my first project:

I found this mid-century beauty on the street in Philadelphia about 5 years ago tossed out with someone’s garbage.  It was perfect except for a big rip in the seat, and so I towed it home with me.  I knew that one day I’d redo that vinyl upholstery with something better.  Like they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

So starting on Saturday, I began the process of deconstruction.  This is what it looked like after I got the back panel off.  The back was basically a piece of cardboard covered with vinyl tacked on with upholstery tacks.

Then I took off the bottom panel.  There were several layers of fabric to get through here funny enough, and one of the great things I found inside was a stamp dating the chair to Oct 1959.  (Pretty cool!)  The springs are serious heavy duty with metal attachments like the kind you have in a mattress…not the normal 8-way hand-tied springs in most upholstery.  (This chair is meant to last forever!)

So this is the chair fully deconstructed.  The legs & arms were attached via two bolts and six flat-head screws.  Less than what I would have thought, but very easy to disassemble once the fabric was off and the frame was exposed.  (The frame is oak I believe by the way which is also interesting…for those other furniture nerds out there.)  The seat springs were covered with a horsehair “cushion” for lack of a better word (which I plan to re-use since it’s perfectly fine…but I will be augmenting it with new foam and batting).  I did keep all the cotton batting too “just in case.”  Also, I plan on re-finishing the arms/legs since the old polyurethane is worn off and looking ratty.

Now the big question is what do I put on it?  I’m debating between several at the moment.  I love those thick wool fabrics in both solid colors and blanket squares too.  Then I’ve found a couple more that are interesting, but nothing concrete yet.  Any suggestions?  Someone suggested leather…but possibly too difficult for my first round of upholstery.  (?!?)

p.s. if you haven’t looked into 3rd ward, i highly suggest it.  They have awesome classes on almost everything.

Pics of the new apartment

At long last, I’ve quit being so lazy and taken some photos of our new apartment.  Well, actually…I’ve just been enjoying living here so much that it’s not quite laziness as it is absent-mindedness.  At any rate, here are some pics of the new digs here in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.

This is the reading nook in the dining room…looking into the “living room” and bedroom.  (I put “Living Room” in quotes b/c it’s super small and really more of a tv watching spot and nothing else.  Oh well, we don’t usually invite people over for tv anyways!

This is our “office” zone in the dining room.

This is our “music & books” zone in the dining room.  I thought I’d taken a photo of the kitchen too, but I suppose I forgot to upload it from the camera…and now I don’t have much time to fiddle with more.  We’re off to PA today to spend a little time with MOM!   Have fun everyone!  Hats off to SUMMER!!!

Brooklyn Apartment Tour

This is our friend Amy’s apartment.  It’s delightful, no?  She’s quite a talented prop stylist.  And Nick took these lovely photos of her place today.  I couldn’t help but share them with you.

Lovely.  Sigh.

Apartment Update

Things are finally coming together around here…

You can see (below) which bare-bulb light fixture that we ended up going with.  It’s the “Defiance” fixture from Schoolhouse Electric.  I can’t even tell you how much we love it too by the way.   It’s black enamel, and looks great with an oblong edison light bulb.

Here’s our dining space.  It’s part of the main living/dining combo.  I must say that I’m really starting to LOVE the apartment by the way.  We are now becoming converts to “living small.”  There was no reason for us to have a 4 bedroom house before.  It was absolutely crazy and way too much to clean and take care of.  But now, this is completely manageable.  Possibly our only complaint would have to be about the size of the kitchen.  (But that’s probably more Nick’s complaint than mine at this point since I don’t have time to cook very often.)

A sneak peak into our bedroom.

Apartment Kitchen Update

The difference between living in your own house and living in an apartment is pretty big.   For example, what I would choose to upgrade my kitchen with vs. what the landlord chooses to use is vastly different.  Neither of us are fans of granite countertops…however, never one to look a gift-horse in the mouth, we’re grateful for our new dishwasher, granite counter, and single-head sprayer faucet.  I feel as if “The Jefferson’s Theme Song” has been running through my head all day. We almost didn’t even get the sprayer faucet, but I mentioned that since the new sink is shallower than the old one due to the under-sink dishwasher, it would be next to impossible to fill our coffee pot if we kept the old faucet.  He agreed.  (Whew!)  One lesson learned today…it never hurts to ask!

Our next plan is to paint the cabinets black.  It’s going to make a huge improvement on the overall aesthetics of this little 5′ x 5′ space.  (Mainly because the fridge and stove are white….so it needs a single color scheme to keep it in check.)  Also, I’ll be getting rid of all the brass cabinet pulls.  Little details will make a big improvement.   (P.S. Our counterspace is hilariously small.   Can you tell from this photo?  Yes, that’s IT!  But we have a solution for that too thanks to Ikea.  More details to come soon.)

No. Sleep. Till Broooooklyn!!!

Well, we got approved for an apartment in Brooklyn today!  At least that is one less thing to worry about now.  I’m so excited about a new space to decorate that I can hardly stand it!!  Here are some sneak peaks of it!

That is a working fireplace, you guys!!  I’m fantasizing about sipping hot cocoa in front of that bad boy!

Here’s a “before” pic of the ridiculously small kitchen.  I can’t wait to get in there and start working some organizing magic.

This is what it might look like if I have too many glasses of red wine and tumble down the stairs in the apartment.  Treacherous! 

Alright guys…see you all again soon.  And remember if you know anyone that wants to buy a great house in NW Philly, then send them our way!  Here’s a link to our ad!