Weekend Project: A Slip-Covered Recliner

This poor chair has been through it! It is a hand-me-down chair that Wes and I inherited when we moved into this house eight years ago!

Back in the fall, I reupholstered it for the THIRD TIME! I had no more finished the job when our sweet, sweet dog, Max, decided to "christen" it.

Also known as:

Drench it.

Soak it.

PEE ALL OVER IT.

Max: a common name for...Stupid. Dog.

For longer than I care to admit, this sad little chair has sat in the corner of our room with half the upholstery ripped off, and a nice green towel in the seat cushion.

I thought about retiring it to the great landfill in the sky...er...ground, but Wes and I use it everyday as a semi-comfy place to read or surf the net and such. Eventually I'll probably try to replace it, but for now, I needed to make it work.

So, last week, I FINALLY got around to making the chair some new clothes. This time, I just used a couple of paint drop cloths (because I already had them), and made a slip cover so I could keep the dog hair (among other dog things) washed off of it.

It's a good thing too because I finished the slip cover Sunday afternoon, and have already had to strip it off and wash it thanks to our furry little friends.

Chewy: another common name for Stupid. Dog.

So, here's the chair all slipped up:

It's actually three separate pieces that all velcro into place. Recliners are tricky...they move!

I like the relaxed look of a slip cover, and the washability. I also like that it took me about four or so hours to finish it as as opposed to an entire weekend!

I'm not in love with the way the back of the chair looks but it's a definite improvement from the towel laid over the seat look we were rockin' before!

Now, if we can just keep the stupid dogs out of our room.

Evolution of a Gallery Wall

Whenever I'm hanging a lot of photos (or anything for that matter), I always arrange them on the floor first to figure out the arrangement that looks best. Then, I snap a picture so mamaw can remember how I had them arranged when I finally decide on an arrangement! Here is how my gallery wall went from the floor to the wall!

1. The first attempt included a round mirror.
2. Then I tried without the mirror.
3. How about a square mirror?
4. Yes! Definitely the square mirror.
5. In order to fill up the space, I added a couple of frames, rearranged a few, and of course, no project is complete without some spray painting!

It was definitely a little bit of a process, but I am really happy with the results! Just don't ask me how many nail holes are in my wall!

A Very Long Story About an Entry Way and a Gallery Wall

This story begins in the spring of 2010 when I decided to re-paint the entry way. My house was full of warm reds and golds, but I wanted to cool it off a bit. I went with a blue-gray color that's technical name is "slate green," though I don't know that anyone would describe it as green in my entry! (The photo above is the way it looked when I stopped taping off the crown molding because I remembered I wanted a "before" picture...this is a "semi-before" picture!)

Because it was such a drastic change, it took me a few days to decide I loved it. But, love it I did! However, loving it demanded that the buffet get an overhaul as well, because let's face it, what's the point in getting Botox injections in your forehead if you're just going to leave your crows feet alone?

So I chipped off those intricate carvings on the buffet doors with a crow bar and hammer and used paintable wall paper to cover the ugly, chipped off wood.

Then, I painted it!

Yes, I PAINTED A SOLID WOOD PIECE OF FURNITURE! Wes might have even gasped a little when he drove up from work and it was on the front porch covered in primer! But in the end, even he conceded that it was an improvement!

However, there was one more thing I was itching to do!

And, finally...FINALLY...TEN MONTHS LATER FINALLY, I have FINALLY completed my entry way vision!!

I'll save you the scroll! Here's another look at the before:

Here is a closer look at the newly vamped buffet:

And, a full frontal of the gallery wall:There are a couple of frames that are waiting on their pictures and perhaps some hurricanes awaiting their candles, but this little overhaul turned out even better than I expected!

Every time I look at it, I just want to paint something else.

Oh. Wait. That's just my normal!

But, I'm thinking this room just might make it through 2011 without getting re-painted!

The end.

I'm linking to Jen's Style Evolution Party!

A Chairy Tale

Seeing SPOTS!

I couldn't just vamp up Abbee's side of the room now could I?

If anyone has suffered under the oppression of the gray room, it is my sweet Emma! She has silently suffered through the dullness with only the occasional complaint!

This punchy wall is just what the room doctor ordered! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the way it turned out!


A tomboy rooming with a princess is a delicate balance! We are inching closer to a room that satisfies the needs of both!

A Bad Case of Stripes!

This past winter, Abbee talked her roommate and I into giving her the room she has always dreamed of: an AGGIE room! Unfortunately, there aren't a whole lot of color options when one is limited to maroon and white.

I definitely didn't want maroon walls and white walls and Abbee? NO WAY! So we settled on gray walls. Gray is, after all, the new brown!

Reluctantly, I painted over the bright, chipper colors that were on the wall and the room was indeed transformed.

Unfortunately, the room was feeling a little too gray (read: boring), but I wasn't quite sure how to solve the problem. I felt like the room was lacking some much needed color, but the only color that fit our Aggie theme was maroon. For the record, not many cute girls' bedroom items come in maroon!

I finally figured out a solution that would at least make the room a bit more fun...STRIPES!


The stripes added some much needed visual interest, and both Abbee and I agree that they took the room up a notch!

(There are plans to add the "aTm" to the middle of the striped wall, but I am trying to figure out how to do that in a semi-permanent fashion. All ideas are certainly welcome!)

Weekend Project-Chair

If my memory serves me correctly, this is the third time I have re-covered this lovely hand-me-down recliner that was given to us when we moved in this house almost 7 years ago. Once every two years is NOT BAD!! Right?

Last time, I might have also sworn I'd never recover it again.

You shouldn't swear.

Also, never say never.

Here is the before/before/after:

If you look at the arm of the chair, you can see the original blue in the first picture! Then, I was feeling the red a couple of times. Now, I'm loving the white slip-covered look.

Yes, white is a STUPID choice in my house with the four kids and the black shedding dog.

Thanks for asking!

I figure when it's ruined, I'll try something different.

So, next month I'll possibly be at it again!

For now, I'm kind of diggin' it!

Ottoman Gone WILD!

When I went home at the beginning of the summer, I helped my mom clean out some stuff. Among that stuff was a small yellow vinyl ottoman that I remember always being in my Me-Me's house! As far back as I can remember, that little yellow ottoman sat in Me-Me's living room. It has had its share of wear for sure, being used by kids, grandkids, and even great grandkids!

I knew it had a little life left in it, so I asked my mom if I could take it. I had a little something wilder in mind for the beat up footstool, and I knew a teenager who would love to have it in her brightly decorated room!


SO...


I added a thick piece of foam to the top, then covered the whole thing with batting to make it "squishy-er" (as Abbee put it!)!
Once it was prepped, I just used the top of the ottoman to trace a circle on the backside of my fabric. I cut the circle about a 1/2" outside the line, then measured the circumference of the top (see, you DO use geometry in real life!) to figure out what length to cut the outside piece.

I sewed the circle piece to the side piece, then slipped over the top and stapled it to the bottom! Easy peasy!
I think Me-Me would be happy with the results! I love that this ottoman might be something that my kids will someday pass on to their kids (I mean with future re-coverings, of course!). I KNOW Me-Me would be happy about that!

Funky Desk Chair

I did a quick make-over on my less than pretty desk chair!
I was inspired by this super cute fabric!
This looks like it could exist in Wonderland, but it's actually a full size chair! I think it turned out super-cute and funky!

Weekend Project-Purses

Last weekend, Wes was working so I took the opportunity to work on a few projects I've been wanting to do! I saw a similar purse on a blog and thought I could figure out how to make it, so I took some scrap material that I already had and whipped up this bag:Okay, so when I say "whipped up," I mean that I got to a certain point and got completely bogged down! I put it aside for awhile because I was getting quite frustrated! Then Leigh stopped by and convinced me I had to finish it! So, I did!
Since it was wet and dreary on this past Saturday, I decided to make the same purse in a couple of other fabrics! I ended up going a little crazy and made SIX bags by the time it was all said and done! Not to worry, most were made with fabric I already had on hand! Here are a couple:


They are very simple bags with no pockets inside (because I don't like to get distracted by the details!!), but they are perfect for a wallet, a phone, and your favorite cosmetics! I LOVE the way they turned out! (And, I have three daughters who have already called dibs on most of them! Sarah, JP, and Emma...in case you thought Abbee had turned into a girl!!)

Pandora's Box

Sometime around Christmas, Wes found this chair (along with a matching ottoman) curbside and brought it home to me. Initially, I wanted to purchase a new chair and ottoman for the living room, but when I realized that one of my children would have to forego college in order for that to happen, I began searching Craig's List for a chair and ottoman set that I could recover. Being indecisive and noncommittal, I gave Wes plenty of time to find one that bore his favorite price tag: FREE! Don't think he wasn't SO VERY PROUD of himself! (He even tried to convince me that the navy/cream/floral combo went perfectly with our existing decor!!)

Thankfully, it was a decent chair with no foul odor, and was in great shape structurally. As an added bonus, Wes bought me a pneumatic stapler so that I could tackle the job like a pro! So the hunt for the perfect fabric was on.

What Wes didn't realize was he had just lifted the lid of Pandora's box!!

The fabric selection for the chair make-over led to a series of selections that would find my entry and living room completely overhauled by the end of Spring Break! (Complete with pictorial proof of all of my hard work!)

Here is my chair completely naked:

And the after:

Please stay tuned as I will reveal how an ottoman slip cover led to a curtain overhaul which insisted on a throw pillow update!

Treasuring my Trash

My father in law often brings me treasure that others have considered trash! Sometimes, I have to agree with the others. But, every now and then, he brings me something I LOVE.

Several months ago, he brought me a HUGE mirror with a butt ugly frame. I loved the size of the mirror and the chunkiness of the frame; and, I knew with a little spray paint, it would make a fine addition to my dining area.

I painted it right away. Then I waited on the husband to hang it. It weighs about 5 tons. I waited awhile.

Finally, it was on the wall and to my horror, it was terribly SCRATCHED...deep, ugly scratches that could not be hidden. Or could they?I just used an overhead projector to enlarge a "P" that I liked. Then I traced it onto poster board, cut it out, stuck it to the mirror, and used frosted glass spray paint!

It has a couple of spots that need to be retouched, but I really, really love the way it turned out.

**Updated to add: if you like DIY projects as much as I, and you want to get inspired to do things you never knew you wanted to do, gohere to check out Kimba's DIY party!!**