Cane Chair is Finished!

Well, not completely.  I just need to touch up the paint in a few places and she's done.  I think all in all the cane chair looks alright. I haven't played with styling it with a cute pillow or it's placement in the family room because I don't love this chair. I love the look I was going for but the mistakes I made drive me crazy (and I'm probably crazy because I don't think most people would notice them).

I really dragged my feet with getting this chair done.  I wanted it to be perfect and that mindset was totally unrealistic for my first real upholstery project.  The inevitable first timer errors derailed me but the last few weeks I've been working hard at purging things from the house and well, this is one of the items.  This chair isn't going to Goodwill but to a really good home, my sisters!  I'll share a picture of what it looks like in her space -- she's got more of modern vibe going on at her place.

Oh, I've got a few tips on upholstering furniture yourself to any newbies out there:

If it's a really good piece of furniture and you can afford it, get it PROFESSIONALLY upholstered.

I don't even want to figure out how much I spent on trying to upholster this myself. I had bought new foam (which can be really $$) that I cut incorrectly and so I ended up having to make do with the original foam.  It took me several attempts to cut the fabric the right size so I had to buy more fabric than intended.  The trim was really hard for me to make using the seat and back fabric -- it was too thick and my sewing machine needle kept getting stuck even though I adjusted the tension. I ended up having to buy thin cotton fabric to make the trim.  I got a quote from an upholsterer who would have charged me $100 for this chair. That's a steal based on my research and I probably spent that much trying to do this myself. The one thing that I'm really happy about is my paint job. Maybe I should stick to painting furniture.

Stick to upholstery projects that are easy -- no sewing involved and no having to staple in hard to reach places.

I apologize for not having pictures to illustrate what I'm referring to, but this chair has a grove that runs along the entire perimeter of the attached seat and back where the staples should be placed.  Without a professional upholstery gun, it's impossible to get the staples to go in there with a regular gun so my staples are all over the place. Sure my trim covers them up but I know the trim isn't completely level since I had to maneuver it around to hide the staples.

staples all over the place

Sewing the cushion was tough. I had to slip stich the front seam of the cushion and my sewing skills are less than stellar. The seam is crooked and I poked my fingers so many times that I bled on the fabric and had to wash it. Another quick tip: buy a THIMBLE.

If you're determined to tackle intricate upholstery projects, buy one of those fancy air guns.

Even though this chair was hard as heck to complete I find myself surfing CL now and then for potential projects. I've seen antique chairs with great lines that would be absolutely stunning reupholstered.  I haven't bought a pneumatic gun because I don't have the funds to spend on something I'm not going to use that often and I'm undecided on whether I'll try to save to have a pro do the job.

So, just a refresher of what the chair looked like before:

And after ALOT of TLC:

Saga of the Unfinished Cane Chair

Ooohhhh, why can't I finish this chair?!?!  I haven't made any progress on completing it and I really need to finish this thing so that my niece can take it home. Yep, that's right ... I'm giving it away after all the time and effort I've put into it. The chair does look pretty but it didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted and there are mistakes that I made. I don't think anyone would easily spot them but they irritate me ... and so, it has to go.

Another reason it has to get to steppin is that, um, there are two similar cane chairs sitting under my carport in need of major attention (plus having them sit in front of the house looks really ugly). I don't know what drove me to adding another 'project' to my to-do list, but now that I think about it I guess I'm looking for a second chance to own the cane chair that I envisioned -- rustic and refined.

I've already started on one of the cane chairs but haven't narrowed down the fabric yet. I've run into a little snafu that I'll write about later.

(Sorry for the poor writing. I'm tired and am having trouble thinking straight).

~ Sandra

Missed Craigslist Opportunity & Cane Chair Update

Gosh dang it. Over a week ago I saw a table that looked just like this bedside table on CL for $5. It was a little rough looking but just needed some TLC (and some black paint). I was so tempted to contact the seller but I had another purchase in the works that was going to need a lot of attention, so I passed it up. Dang it!

I would have liked to have finished the cane chair but it's been a little hard with my 10 month old -- she's got 4 teeth already in and she's walking!  I did work on the last piece of the trim but still need to do some touch ups to the paint before I attach it. Crossing my fingers and toes it'll be done by this weekend so that I can make some progress on the CL purchase mentioned above. 

Cane Chair Makeover: Update

I've been meaning to write an update on this chair for weeks but have just been too lazy ... I've also been lazy about finishing it up. I basically completed most of the makeover weeks ago and just needed to work on the trim, but then I lost my motivation. I guess all the little imperfections were discouraging me from finishing but that's not how I really roll -- I usually finish what I start. So, this is what the chair looks like right now. I finally made trim and attached it to the back of the chair and around some of the legs.

Trim ... I hate you but I love you. Where to to begin, I spent hours Sunday night trying to make trim out of my fabric but my stupid sewing machine was acting up. Never have I had so much trouble with my Brother ... felt like it was a test of wills and my machine won (note: I did make trim successfully several weeks ago). The darn fabric was too thick and stiff for my walking foot. I had to improvise.  A thought came to me, "Hey, why don't you just double up your single cords and sew a running stitch all the way down? Should be easy." Yeah right! Stupid thing took me like 3.5 hours and I didn't finish. I gave my blood, sweat and tears to this thing ... literally. I poked my finger with the needle a few times and little blood drops got on the fabric but they're on the wrong side, safely hidden.  

Doh! Dumb Idea.

So this morning I was nearly done hand-stitching this stupid thing and starting playing with positioning the trim on the chair ... just to see how it would look. To my big disappointment, the cording was too stiff. It wouldn't bend around corners. Shit. I was so upset. I felt like a fool for wasting precious sleepy time but I had to figure out a solution. I took some white fabric I had just bought for quilting and easily made some trim. The fabric was so thin that it puckered everywhere. It's not smooth like the cording above, but oh well.  For anyone who might be wondering why I didn't just pay someone to make the double welt cording for me? Well, I inquired at this upholstery shop near my house and they quoted me $30 for 2 yards! 

I'm committed to finishing up this chair this week. Besides completing the trim, I have to touch up the paint in some places and even add wood fill to some parts because my staple gun skills are really lacking in accuracy. I'll also be sharing my lessons learned.  

Cane Chair Makeover: Before

About a week ago I ventured out to run some errands with the baby and just so happened to be in close proximity to one of my favorite thrift stores, the Discovery Store. Okay, I parked right in front of the place but went to two other places before hitting up the shop.  This place is pretty small but nicely organized. It didn't take very long for me to spot a chair I've been coveting for months now -- a cane low-back barrel chair.

The price tag was $35, which was a little higher than I wanted to pay but still cheaper and much sturdier than a similar chair I had seen at Goodwill a week before.  It just so happened to be my lucky day.  After some friendly chatter with the lady volunteer at the register, she whispered, "Let me see if I can get a better price for you." I decided then the chair was meant to come home with me and was worth a little annoyance from my husband (I tend to bring home a lot of "projects").

Here's what I got for 20 bucks. The discount price may seem high to someone who hasn't thrifted in the Bay Area, but it's actually a pretty good price.  I've gone to a few Goodwills and am surprised by how high the furniture is marked. Anyway, the upholstery looks and smells gross.  I figure it's worth a shot upholstering it myself.  I'm going to be following the tutorial from the amazing Jenny @ Little Green Notebook.

I plan to remove the dark stain and upholster it using white canvas.  I'm in love with this chair and it would be really lovely if I can do something similar to mine.

pinterest

I also like the thought of mixing it up a bit. I have some blue ikat fabric that I bought about a year ago and think it might be fun to do just the seat cushion in a pattern.

Lime in the coconut

I hope this chair makeover is worth the time I putting into it.

~ Sandra

Why I'm House Blogging

They say the devil is in the details and nothing could be closer to the truth. Our house has gone through some significant cosmetic changes (retexturing of walls, new floors, paint, etc.) but there are a bunch of little things that are unfinished and I'm tired of it. I want reach a point where I can really enjoy my home and not be annoyed by the door trims needing to be painted or repaired.  Let me just say, that I am not a perfectionist but I've been living in my place for over 3 years and its about time we get all these details squared away.  I hope that by documenting all this stuff I'll stay motivated to keep gong and finally finish, sort of like a get fit journal for a person who is trying to achieve/maintain a healthy lifestyle. (I've also started a blog on that subject ... The Skinny On Me).

Also, I'm no longer digging the decor in my house and I blame all the blogs for exposing me to all the possibilities.  I wish I had known to check them out when we first got our house so I wouldn't have felt rushed to fill it with things that I don't really love, but lesson learned.  I'm trying to sell some furniture items and hopefully get a reasonable price for them since I really don't have the cash-flow to easily replace them. For the reason just mentioned, I should just probably keep everything as-is but I'm going to try to redecorate thoughtfully and on a TIGHT budget.

~ Sandra