Vintage Trash to Vintage Awesome...

For those of you not familiar with the North Coast let me tell you one thing that will set it straight for you. We do not have a Target. Therefore I am left to browse a very select few stores. One being a giant Goodwill. I love treasure hunting and who knows what you might find. Well the other day I found a comfy, ugly, fringed ottoman for $7.99. I knew I loved it right away and took it home to where I could love it more.

 Hurley was being a bit of a camera whore that morning.

 See I wasn't lying... $7.99!!!

 Check out those legs. I love the nobby little brown curvy stubs! Cole helped me by removing them and the staples that held the fabric securly in place.

Then we tore off the old fabric and laid out the new. God I love Ikea... I got this awesome upholstry fabric for $7.99 a yard. I love the bold classic lines.

 I cut the fabric sparingly but gave myself several inches to play with for staples.

 Then I started at one side, pulling the fabric tight and began to staple away like a mad-woman with my beloved staple gun.

 Stripes really can blow when recovering a piece. I am not anal but just lazy and really into instant gratification so I did not take the time like most would to really line it up to make it stunning.

 Final product! Well I guess it did turn out stunning after all. Lucy loves it. I think she figured I made it just for her..... and Lola?

 Here it is all nestled in and ready to be loved. Since these photos have been taken the ottoman has taken up permanent residency in out breakfast nook where Lucy loves to dine on it. As a new mom I forgot to take into account white strpies. I have gotten a lot better at stain removal lately.... Thanks to Baking Soda! Go to Goodwill and find a treasure!

 P.S. I made the burlap pillow above for Cole several months ago. I have never been good at song lyrics as you can tell... oops... Love it even more now.

Tooting My Own Horn....

It's not perfection but it's pretty close if you ask me... What am I talking about you ask? Well ladies and gentleman I reupholstered my first piece of furniture tonight.... Over a year ago I swiped this really cool chair from under Cole's office

 My baby.... Checking out the project of the day. (She is turning one tomorrow.... Oh my god a year ago tonight I was in the hospital taking my first Ambien waiting for Lucy. Who knew what a fast, wonderful ride I was in for... Who knew my heart would forever be stolen by such a little person. Crazy Love....)

 Cole works downtown Astoria. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Astoria it is the oldest settlement west of the Mississippi. This place has a lot of history. The history of Astoria was not on my mind when I claimed this chair from the depths of the town. Tonight though as I started to redo this chair I couldn't help but wonder what its history was. This was because as I went in to tear off the fabric I realized it was stuffed with straw. Now I have been doing my research and none of the blogs I've been studying have talked about coming across furniture stuffed with straw. How old is this chair and did I just destroy some antique that could be worth millions (OK thousands?).... Check out these tiny little nails. They are located under the green trim you see below. I was careful not to pull these out or let them drop on the floor.  They were rusty! So I tore off the green trim but when I ran into the straw I stopped and realized I was going to have to recover the chair with the existing fabric underneath. This decision however took me like four hours to make. I think the straw intimidated me so I had to give myself some pep talks. I needed a mental kick in the A. Then I attacked it and boy am I glad I did...

 Yeah folks get a load of that .... what is that pictured below and how do you cover it? Makes me wonder if there is treasure or money stuffed in the cushions of this baby....

Tearing off the trim.... It was just glued on. Please keep in mind that I do not have trim so the chair is not finished yet but I am too excited not to share this!

 I found this butter yellow fabric above on clearance at Mill End Fabric Store in Beaverton. I got it for $5.00 a yard. Not too bad... So I set out with my new staple gun and I just went to town. I was careful with my selection of every staple and before I knew it I was redoing a chair.

I couldn't help but notice some of the details in the wood on this chair. It by no means feels like a frail antique it actually is extremely sturdy and very heavy. (Who knew a chair could get me so excited, I guess its the little things these days. I like the little things.) I guess what I am really trying to say is that if this chair had a story to tell I would want to hear it.

 Here is my finished chair all prim and proper. Pretty cool huh? I am so excited that I did it. I can't wait for Lucy to wake up tomorrow... I know she will love the new chair all soft and velvety.

 Lets do a quick little before and after, shall we?
Before.............

After..............

 This picture shows some of my flaw spots. You can also see the exposed staples. I will put trim on it soon to cover the staples but until then... Who cares... I LOVE IT!