Vanity on Stilts

About five years ago I bought a solid-looking nightstand from the local Goodwill for--and my memory is rusty--something in the neighborhood of $5.  I needed something to put my TV on in the apartment I was moving to, and space was at a premium. The drawers were deep enough for all myVHS tapes of recorded shows (no DVR for the graduate student, nosiree), and the TV was an exact fit. Sound odd? Somewhere I have pictures of it in its former function (will add if I can find them.)

When the Mr. and I set up house, it returned to life as a bedside table. Eventually, when we decided it was time to actually get a bedroom set (post forthcoming), it found itself without purpose. Alone in the world, long separated from its twin and (I presume) matching headboard. Probably a dresser or two, too.

With all the shuffling around we were doing in the bedroom, I lost the place where I used to keep all my primping paraphernalia.  Makeup, headbands, hair dryer, jewelry, etc., etc. Aha!, I thought.

Turns out the legs were held on with screws, which left some nice squared moulding around the bottom edge.

We found some legs at Home Depot, for $6 each, and the corner plates ($2) to attach them.

It was a pretty easy project; four legs, some glossy white paint, and "stainless steel" spray paint on the hardware:

It's now tall enough that I can do my makeup with a mirror sitting on top, and the space underneath fits a laundry basket.  It's happily sitting in what used to be dead space between our bedroom and our bathroom.

Before-n-after: Winged Rocker

Here are some shots of the new rocker (see LRoomarama Part II), before, during, and after the reupholsteration. Before (with a potential new-upholstery swatch stuck to the back cushion): Next we have the (nasty) pieces taken off and laid out on the new fabric as patterns. When I took them off I realized that the bottom used to be pink, and that the top was newer. I think somebody tried to reupholster the top to match the (already faded and yellow-looking) bottom. It was also clear that it had been reupholstered many, many times--judging from the number of nail/tack holes. After I got all the upholstery off (the cushion on the bottom was wrapped in muslin, and I didn't want to touch it. See below.) I cleaned the heck out of it. In the picture below, the left arm has been cleaned, the right not--all together now: "Ewww." So. Um, the cushion. I don't know how old this thing is, but it's definitely part.. hair. I only guessed at the seat cushion, but then when I had to take the back off because both sides where upholstered... The picture doesn't do it justice. We have batting. We have straw. And the brown stuff.. is hair. Disturbingly non-horsey-looking hair. I, um.. tried not to touch it. If you don't want to know whether I put it back, then don't ask. And... done! Fabric closeup. It's cream-y crosshatch-patterned nubbly stuff with sort of a mustard-yellow background. It looks much lighter in the pictures than it is in "real life." Sorry for the blurriness. It's late and I can't hold my camera still enough to take a picture when it's dark outside. It went well, all in all! I burned myself with hot glue (could have predicted that), and I'm going to put more tacks in the trim when my back recovers (there were some weird angles to get into, there). There were also some dicey moments with the back cushion (the one that may or may not still contain unidentifiable hair). I'm really happy with how it turned out--provided my stapling job holds up. There are a lot of half-bent staples stuck in that frame. Next up's the sofa... after a nice, long break.

Living Roomarama: Part the Second

We said goodbye to the old furniture last weekend. It did us well. It's on its way to my sister-in-law's new house. At the same time, we also welcomed a new sofa and rocker into the mix. Surprise! Surprised? We were. Here's the digest:

• We were on the way to order a new sofa from Rooms to Go. They have a nice slipcovered line right now. It was comfy, not too expensive, and I love the tailored-yet-aesthetically-rumply-slipcover look. (Thanks, mom!)
• On the way, we decided to stop at an antiques/consignment shop we'd heard good things about, but is never open when we can go.
• Three pieces of furniture later, the living room has gone in an entirely different direction and I'm planning a wee upholstery project for the coming weekend.

Here are the spoils (keep an open mind). One strange, spring-loaded rocker that my mother-in-law spied in a window display (it might throw you over backwards, but as long as it's not, it's REALLY COMFORTABLE, y'all): (It has wiiiiiings!) One behooked wall-mirror that we think used to live on a dresser (but will now live over a fireplace): And finally, the pièce de resistance and thwarter of new-sofa-buying: I love this. It too is surprisingly comfortable (according to the Mr., very, very nappable). It makes me feel like I'm in the lobby of the Grove Park Inn or something. Somebody get me a cigar. I am starting to think we're some sort of safe house for weird sofas. (Need I remind you of the fauxfa?) Come one, come all. You will be appreciated and lovingly reupholstered. Obviously, "threadbare yellow/pink velvet" and "royal blue sateen" are not exactly the looks we're going for with these. I'm going to attempt the recovering myself (with the prospect of professional help if necessary.) Look for updates on that. And, in case anybody's interested, you can get upholstery tacks and those hobnail-like things at your neighborhood Lowe's...

Living Roomarama: Part the First

Well, hello, after quite the hiatus. So we haven't blogged in a while, but we haven't done anything to the house in a while either. Months, actually. I think we burned ourselves out a little what with all the activity back in the Spring. So anyway, here we are; the garden has given us pounds of okra (and died), the ladder golf has been played, many a beer has been drunk--you get the picture. I think we're finally ready for another go, and the living room is first on the list. We kind of left it to languish after the move. We filled it with boxes of books, slapped ourselves on the back and told it we'd see it when it got cold. Occasionally we sweep up dog fur drifts or turn on a light to make sure the power still works. Well... now it's cold, my sister-in-law is claiming the furniture we put in here because it wouldn't fit anywhere else, and we're thinking it's time to give it some attention. The furniture is going to be the big part. We're excited to free up the space in here, but whatever we get to replace what's here will be the first living room furniture we've ever bought ourselves. It's odd what you notice when it's yours to buy, not just to get along with. Apparently we have all sorts of opinions about sofas we never knew we had. So the furniture thing is pending. In the meantime, we found a rug we liked, so... we have our "inspiration piece" or whatever HGTV calls it these days. It's very large, and woolly, and is making the living room smell like sheep. Behold, the unfurling: The Cap'n sniffed it, lay down on it, and looked bothered (as you see). The picture is dim, but it's sort of weathered shades of red, light blue, teal, eggplant, mustard... lots of possibilities. It's from Pottery Barn, and as of the moment, can still be seen here. It was on super-duper sale and I think they're out now. Here's their picture of it; I think ours would look like this under florescent light, or something: So.. here we are. We have a rug. I'm thinking of painting the walls a cinnamon-y/burnt-orangey taupeish color (if that doesn't make sense, I liked the way the dog looked lying on it. Didn't Lowe's tell me they could match "anything?" A gallon of "grumpy golden retriever mix," please.) I'm finally going to replace the curtains that were here when we moved in, I just don't know with what. More to come!

Well, it hasn't fallen down, yet.

So we have a tiny (as in 7' x 8') "office." I'm convinced it used to be a pantry, or something, but the agent listed it as an office, so we went with it. When it comes down to it, it's plenty of room for a desk, a chair, and a bookcase. We also have two filing cabinets that are a little worse for the wear (one was originally my sister's, and is in good shape but for having been moved four or five times; the other came from beside a dumpster at my old apartment complex and claims to contain "Rob's Professional Files." Sometimes I wonder who Rob was, and whether he had another filing cabinet for his unprofessional files.) Right. Anyway, the point is, they're different sizes, so stacking things on top of them looks kind of weird. Eh, here's a picture. It illustrates the "problem" better than anything:

Yeah, that's ugly. Needless to say, none of our furniture quite offered a solution ("yea tall, deep enough for two filing cabinets, wide enough for two printers on top and a trash can underneath"), so we tried our hand at furniture-making. Anybody who actually builds furniture might suffer some sort of trauma seeing the following ("you used L-brackets where!?"), so.. warning. Construction pictures:

Top board, left, and legs. The top board was precut 2' x 4' 1/2" plywood (about $6, I think), and the legs were actually deck rail supports. They were way cheaper than the actual "table legs" we found at Home Depot ($3 apiece), and longer, which turned out to be a good thing. The top, put together:

It sat like that for a week or two. Then we got around to putting the legs on it:

Okay, so it's not going to win any awards. That back brace looks kind of stupid, we realize. But you won't really be able to see it, and if it keeps our printers from falling on the floor, bring on the stupid. I used some of the leftover quarter round from trimming the baseboards around the top edge, and painted the whole thing white to match the trim in the office:

I find I'm often painting things at, like, dusk. So if you come visit, don't stare at anything too hard. It's surprisingly stable. We got it in, festooned it with printers, and I made it a tiny curtain to match the valances I'd made for the windows in there. Here's the "after" shot:

With the paint and lots of L-brackets, it came to something between $20-$25, which is about as good as we could have hoped for. We'll just hope it keeps standing...

Less than $10: An Ode to Craigslist

Speaking of "less than $10," my sister-in-law informs me that somebody on HGTV recently spray-painted a chandelier like we did. Maybe we should demand royalties. But back to Craigslist: for eight bucks apiece, we picked up these two chairs from (as it turned out) someone who lives about three miles down the road from us. They're a neat shape, and the finish looks great with our dining table. They needed some cleaning up, and besides a minor flaw that we discovered when we got them home (their arms are about a quarter of an inch too high to fit under the table), I think they're going to work. I took off the cushions (one was red, one was green. I didn't ask.):

...and recovered them with upholstery fabric.

I may recover them again at some point. This fabric, despite how the picture looks, is not at all pink, but different shades of gold; some blocks are warmer, and some have a greenish tint I thought would blend nicely with the green chairs and the gold-ish walls. Ultimately, the checkerboard bit is a lot less subtle in our house than it was in the store and I still may keep my eye out for other options. At any rate, the Christmas cushions and stains and such are gone and I'm happy with that for now. We still have to figure out how best to fix the arm-height problem. So far our plan is to saw a half-inch off the bottom of all the legs. Either that or screw something into the feet of the table that raises it up enough. Suggestions?

Flatpackin'

I've already mentioned our trip to our local IKEA (sidebar, those of you out there who actually do live in one of the, what, six? major US cities to have its own big blue store of Swedish modern wonder: to us, "local" means "closer than the others," and a trip to one still means hours--yes, hours--on the highway listening to our own tailpipe rattling, because no matter who you are those boxes don't fit in the back of a Jeep and aren't we lucky that IKEA knows that about us and provides nylon cord for us tie down our hatches if we're unprepared to do so? For some of us, IKEA shopping takes determination and a certain amount of faith in complimentary insurance mechanisms), and there's not much to say, other than we bought a couple of very large pieces of furniture. It's always easier to put them together than I expect it to be. Our MARKOR still flat-packed:

It might sound stupid, but I find the whole thing less intimidating if I separate all the bits-and-pieces first (it's faster, later on, but also make us familiar with the parts so we're less likely to use the wrong thing at the wrong time). A gajillion pegs, bolts, etc., during the sorting process:

45 minutes (or so?) later:

"Bam." Okay, I stink at photojournalism. I was too involved to take pictures. It's now filled with books--really sturdy. We actually got this because what we were there to get turned out to be, like, two inches too big for the wall it had to go on. This particular one wasn't something either of us had picked out online; for some reason it looked a lot better in the store, and we're really happy with how it went up. The other giant thing we got was a wardrobe--the LEKSVIK 3-door, to be exact. We already had a dresser with the same finish. It's ginormous, but it does what we needed it to--we basically needed a second closet in our bedroom, where there wasn't one. I'll try to remember to take a picture of it.

The Miracle Gallon, part.. what, eight?

Yeah, this won't need much explanation. I've already waxed romantic over the Miracle Gallon. Here is yet another of its converts (hitherto known as "the dumpster table," "three-legs," "when are we going to get rid of that"). We saved it from the dump--holy cow, like, nearly two years ago--with plans to do something to it, and didn't, until now. (Read: definitely a case for the MG.) The Mr. lovingly reattached its broken leg and removed the duct tape that had previously been holding it there. (Yes, folks, we're moving up in the world.) It used to have a very dinged-up reddish (I'll call it "corporate office cherry") finish. I forgot to take a before picture, but I think most of you will probably remember it from the corner of our old living room. I got fancy with it, this time, and used some other leftover paint for an inset on the top. In process:

And, the finished product:

It's currently enjoying a second life as a side table for the aforementioned fauxfa. Two-inch painters' tape made that inset really easy.

Paint Paint Paint! Paint. Paint Paint. Paint?

Wow, words look really funny when you repeat them a lot. Anyway, I've gone slightly paint crazy. It's a new dawn, really, from all the anxiety over picking the right blues (I was really trying to avoid an "I've got the blues" pun, there--I hope you appreciate that.) So what started it all? Imagine with me, if you will: the perfectly ambiguous shade. It feels cottage-y and informal, yet mature and elegant. Reads as a neutral when you want it to, and a color when you don't. Now, for the cherry on top: imagine you were able to find an entire GALLON of this color-of-all-colors, mixed with the most expensive semigloss base sold at Lowe's.... for FIVE DOLLARS. Yes, because someone else shunned it, I have a whole gallon of Valspar "Signature Colors" Semigloss in "Cliveden Gray," which is, I think, the perfect color. (Or maybe--just maybe--it's not 'Cliveden Gray,' which is, in reality, far from the perfect color; instead of following its orders the paint mixing machine WENT ROGUE, and in a fit of creativity never to be understood or fully appreciated by those around it created a masterpiece...) Okay, whatever. I really like it. I'm going to have to rein myself in a little bit, though, because in the last 48 hours I've painted an armoire and a coffee table and I already have plans for a nightstand and a side table. And I haven't even used half the can. Turns out semigloss is a nice finish for furniture, and I wasn't kidding--this is the most chameleonlike color I've ever seen. In a good way. Pictures aren't going to do it justice, but here are the first two victims of my glee:

*Some of you might recognize this as the former bearer of art supplies and serving dishes. He has found new purpose as a DVD-and-board-game peddler in the family room. And yes, I just personified an armoire.

This was a thrift store find--a $15 coffee table that had a yellowy "oak" finish on it. The sides were veneered but the top was solid, so the Mr. sanded it down (getting some mileage out of that rotary sander) and stained it with the stain he's using on the countertops (spoiler!). Then the rest got the miracle-gallon treatment. This picture stinks, but without the flash it was too blurry. So, come see them. You'll swear it's cream, then you'll look at it again, and you'll be darned if it isn't sage green. Really.

Update-o-rama: Fauxfa Edition

Hooray! I have new pictures! Last week the "new" fauxfa arrived from the upholsterer. I mean, not as though it's a surprise, really, that the thing looks COMPLETELY different--it was basically taken down to its innards, refluffed, and recovered. It no longer has a skirt, or the weird brass tacks the old version had (only on the back?). Its broken leg has been fixed, and yes, folks--it is now plaid. For a refresher on how it used to look, as well as an explanation of the term "fauxfa" for those of you who may have missed it, see the "before" post--because this is the "after:"

...and some context:

Sorry the pictures are a little dark/blurry. For those of you still skeptical about the giant orange plaid, I invite you to see it in person. I realize there may be something wrong with the part of my brain that finds plaids loud/overwhelming/busy/kitsch-y, etc., etc. but I'm really happy with it; it's so much brighter/warmer/happier than it used to be.

Four Green Chairs, ISO Large, Fun-loving Table.

"Hi."

As we have never before had a dining room to call our own, it might come as no surprise that we had no dining furniture. Call me naive, but I didn't realize that SIDE CHAIRS could cost $200 (or more!) APIECE. Thus, our outlets for finding dining furniture have looked more like thrift stores and consignment shops. Which, actually, has been really fun. I'm kind of picky about this, and won't order anything online without seeing it first--this is our first house and the first time we've actually been responsible for finding our own furniture to serve a specific purpose. Thus! We were really happy to find this set of 4 (green!) side chairs for a steal at a local shop. They'll be the first of a set of chairs that we'll be able to use not only as dining chairs but extra seating throughout the house. The wall color in the dining room (hard to tell from this photo) is a kind of mustard-yellow, so they complement it really well. When we bought the fabric for the upholsterer, I also found some more that blends this emerald green with mustard yellow AND a soft cadet blue--something that will coordinate our dishes (and the new kitchen wall color--but more on that later) with all the green and yellow. What'll we use the fabric for? Seat cushions (or covers, if we find chairs we like that have upholstered seats), a piano bench seat, or a curtain panel--BWA, HAHAHAHA. The chairs are table-less right now, but they shouldn't be after this weekend. Pier 1 has an amazing table (big, slab-top, distressed--everything we were looking for) that we'll pick up as soon as we have the vehicle to do so. We weren't looking for too formal a table; this is going to have to serve every purpose we could throw at it--breakfast, dinner, crafts, games, easter-egg dying--so we wanted something we wouldn't always be worried we'd ruin. This is a horrible picture, but should give you an idea (fyi, it's Pier 1's "Torrance" table, and it's big--84" by 42"):

I think that's it re: Table and Chairs. Will post pictures once table has arrived and is constructed...

The Fauxfa, Redux

Alright, so I know I'm in arrears with my promised posts. Consider this a bonus. We are now the proud owners of a multi-generational piece of furniture, lovingly referred to as the "fauxfa." Not quite traditional sofa, not quite futon... in a class of its own, really. Seriously; by "class" I kind of mean "weight class," because BOY, they don't make sofas like this anymore. I think it's mostly steel. Anyhow, so the thing folds out into a sleeper kind of like a futon, but is completely upholstered, and the seat and back are more like a mattress (it does have springs) than a cushion. Those of you who know it are like, "ah, yes," and those who don't are really confused. We're gaining two rooms in the place of one with this house; we have a living room, and a 'family' room. The family room is smaller than the living room, but in the back of the house where the doors to the screen porch and patio are, as well as the kitchen. We figure we'll be back there more than we're in the living room at the front of the house, but our large couch and loveseat won't fit in the family room. SO. Enter the fauxfa. The fauxfa was the only couch in my old apartment (before I met the Mr.!) but since then languished in our office for close to two years--bedecked in a dingy, fraying, once-very-expensive striped upholstery fabric. Besides playing host to the occasional third houseguest and holding the Mr.'s feet when he does his situps, it's been a place to throw bags, coats, magazines, our beloved cornhole boards... you get the picture. Well, no more! We considered buying new furniture for the family room, but if we did that, we'd have to get rid of the fauxfa--something that made us kind of sad. It has such a history. (Mom can remember at least two prior upholsterings.) It's actually kind of comfortable as a bed, and, well, as I said before, they don't make 'em like they used to. I called and got a quote for having it reupholstered. ("Halt," you say--"aren't you making slipcovers or something?" Yes, and that's fodder for another post. However, the way this thing unfolds... my brain explodes trying to think of how I'd make a slipcover for it and keep it functional.) The upholstery folks were great, but understandably confused by my description (it was also difficult to refrain from calling it the 'fauxfa.') I ended up having to fax them pictures of it in various stages of movement:

Great, huh? So. Upholstery is, yes, expensive. It's not quite as expensive as buying a new couch, though (especially a sleeper). We decided it was a good compromise. We're now really excited about having it in what will probably be our most-used room. We got to choose the upholstery fabric, which was difficult; it's really hard to try to anticipate whether a giant piece of furniture covered in fabric A or fabric B (or C or D or.. you get my point) will look good, or stupid, or whether we'll hate looking at it in a matter of days. The expense means there's a lot riding on the decision. What we picked might come as a surprise. It's plaid, which for those of you who know me will make all the sense in the world. It's not a crazy plaid, but pretty large-scale... and (I'm realizing that I'm painting a very odd picture with this) mostly orange. Yep. Giant orange plaid. I promise, though, I really think it'll look good. I hope. We're having the buttons on the back (the back is tufted in four places) replaced with slightly larger ones, and we're doing away with the skirt. It will look like a completely different piece of furniture when it's done, that's for sure. The upholsterers picked it up yesterday (three cheers for free pickup and delivery!) and we'll get to see it in a couple of weeks. Cross your fingers, and look for an "After" post!