Reupholster a Chair ||Wrapping Up the 2016 Flip List||

Happy New Year StyleMutts!  Well, this may be a day (or two) late and an item short, but I'm wrapping up my 2016 Furniture Flip Bucket List!  Huzzah!  I don't know about you, but that's still a win in my book ;)

You may recall that I've been tackling these 7 items in no particular order:

Well my friends, I still have No.1 and No.2 to go and may-or-may-not-have completed one and a half of them.  Much like in 2015, the Baker's Rack has proved... problematic...  But fear not!  I still have some proof that I at least attempted it this year (that counts right?!?).  You'll have to decided whether or not a good ole' college try is admissible in New Year Resolutions court, but in the mean time there's still a fresh-faced new chair on the docket!

I have ALWAYS been interested in upholstery.  Primarily because I can't tell you how many times I see pieces with "good bones" but terrifying tapestry.  It seems so simple "just switch out the fabric and viola!" but there's nothing simple about reupholstery let me tell you.  To get it done right, you either need to pay an arm and a leg plus a foot and a toe or have a fairy fabric-mother.  And seeing as I have neither, I decided to challenge myself to try something a little more complicated than my Serape accent chair.  And it's no surprise that a project as intimidating as this one has been marinating on my Flip List for 12 months. 

I was very selective when choosing my test subject.  I wasn't ready for a "whale" of a project like a sofa or a chaise and a wingback armchair with it's flourishing angles would surely be a hot mess with my sewing skills.  So I cherry-picked a forgotten chair with clean lines (that's Cate for relatively fool proof) complete with frumpy maroon fabric straight out a dorm room.

Ok so this reveal is gonna go down a little like Project Runway: the opening silhouette may be simple but it's a classic color pallet. 

Now strike a pose...

And then turn on the runway so we can see the back...

Boom.  There it is!

The leather strap was actually was a Target belt in a former life.  For such a simple chair, I wanted it to have a little somethin' somethin'.

The chair disassembled into easy-to-recover panels.  I even left the two side pieces off so the chair could "breathe" (and also, let's be real, not trap as many crumbs). 

The fabric I chose was a heavy textured linen.  Also it's from a painter's dropcloth.

I simply wrapped each panel like a Christmas present complete with snuggly tucked in corners.

Now that I have a more complex reupholstery under my belt (pun so intended), maybe I'll have the courage to try (dare I say it)... piping.

Linen & Leather Chair
Now Available for Sale
Price $95

If you are interested in this piece, or a custom refinish like it, please email mcate@stylemutthome.com

Now, I know what you're thinking: Wait Cate!  What about the last item on your 2016 list?

Ahh yes, the very same delinquent baker's rack from 2015 that rolled over to 2016 with the caveat that I would attempted to build it out of reclaimed wood.  Well... let's just say I saved the best for last...

Or should I say the operative word was attempted...

Ha!  Ok so what I may have in amateur upholstery skills I certainly LACK in carpentry skills.  (Insert shameful grin emoji here) But at least this way we can go out with a bang (up job) and a laugh ;)

Here's to a complete(ish) 2016 and to posting a new 2017 Flip List in the coming weeks.  Stay classy friends.

---

Let's Recap The Year:

My 2016 Flippin' Bucket List

Well 2015 has come and gone and I was one shy of a completed Furniture Flip Bucket List.  When I laid out my aspiring projects this time last year, I vowed to do my best but also give myself grace if I couldn't finish all the items on my list so...

Grace.

 Yeah I only got through 6 of the 7.  And that's ok.  Here's a look back on what I set out to do last year [with links to the ones I did actually complete]:

No.1: Build my own baker's rack
No.2: Wood shim surface treatment
No.3: Rivet something
No.4: Navy and gold dresser
No.5: Best vintage pull-down chart hack
No.6: White chippy dresser
No.7: Turn a swivel chair into an accent chair

Now even though I didn't get to finish every item on my list, I did decide I to lay out my intentions for another year of new challenges for myself.  First up, surprise surprise, I'm rolling over the DIY baker's rack from last year - but with a new stipulation.

Source: Timberwolf Bay

I think what kept me from starting this project last year was the cost.  Wood is straight up expensive yo when you're building from scratch.  Plus the best part of a vintage baker's rack is just that: it's VINTAGE.  So my spin for this flip list item for 2016 is to try to DIY a baker's rack with salvaged wood.  It might take me a while to collect all the wood I need so here's hopin' I can tackle it by the end of the year.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens

I have ALWAYS wanted to have the guts to reupholster a chair.  Yes I've done benches like this one, this one, and more recently this one.  But a whole chair is a whole nother animal.  I think what intimidates me most is the piping.  And the cushions.  And sewing in general.  So I'm finally pushing myself to give it a stab this year and document my successes or failures right here for your entertainment.

Source: Lambert & Fils

Now this one I'm rather excited about.  I've seen a couple folks build their own hanging light fixtures on pinterest lately and I want in.  I have an idea for how to do it but I have no idea if it will actually work.  So hopefully that will entice you to stay tuned ;)

Source: Ellen Dodd

Now my original artwork isn't going anywhere but lately I've been thinking that there's something... juvenile about it.  Maybe it's the scale or the placement, but this year I'm going to find out.  

Yes I know I've done teal & navy dressers before but I am ITCHING to do another one.  I just LOVE me some jewel tones.  And I may be turning into a bit of a jewel-tone-obsessed addict bent on feeding her habit one dresser at a time.

Source: West Elm

I've done a whole lot of wooden tapered legs but not metal legs.  So I'm hoping that this year, I'll find the right project to try this style out on.

Source: Knock Off Decor

And finally, the last item on this year's list is to experiment with some unconventional hardware.  And by unconventional I mean anything but your standard knobs and pulls.  I'm not sure if I'll try rope pulls like this one of Chelsea's or if I'll do something with agate slices but I just want to think outside the box.

Thanks friends for dropping by and I hope you check below on how these projects are coming along.

A Picture's Worth a Thousand... Bucks? ||Part 2||

Welcome back!  I am so happy that you returned to hear how my staging adventure turned out from yesterday's post...  Bet you couldn't sleep last night because you were wondering how my design conundrum was going to turn out.  But really, I hope you actually slept like a log.  Ok so quick recap.  

 Fell in love with this bench:

Source: Zen Home

Cried a little when I saw the price... decided to make one of my own:

Got excited to sell it at Sweet Clover Barn [You're Invited!]

Tried staging outside:

Photos or editing weren't selling the bench... gave up on photoshoot al fresco.

Ok you caught up?  So in all that hullabaloo I'll admit I threw myself a pity party.  I was so frustrated that I didn't have any of my things to create a vignette for the mid-century/modern/rustic/eclectic customer!  But after reading all the great advice on Instagram and Facebook, I was resolved to creatively use some of my surrounding traditional décor to make a modern bench shine.  I did some digging around in the basement that Caleb and I are squatting in and found a quirky lamp table that could pass as mid-century.  It was like a light bulb went off [pun absolutely intended].  I grabbed some hardcover books, some shoes, and a hat, slapped some paint on one of my blank canvases, and got this:

BOOM!  This is exactly what I was going for!  That lamp table and easy DIY art piece completed the vignette I just couldn't get outside.

Even though the lighting in the basement isn't all that great and made the pictures a little grainy, the walls came off as more cream than butter yellow [how does paint do that?!?] which I count as a win!

The modern chrome makes for a beautiful contrast against the rustic Guernsey print don't you think?  [Guernsey meaning a brown-and-white-spotted cow.]  And the quirky lamp table and art help sell the eclectic story of a fun entryway bench or upholstered table.

Thank you so much for all your support and encouragement while I tried to work through this one.   This was an incredible lesson in stretching my style mutt muscles and working with limiting factors.  If any of you are also living outside of your usual decor element or trying to take photos to help sell your pieces, I hope my struggle encourages you to not feel trapped by your circumstances.  Keep pushing until you are happy with what you see.  

This bench will be for sale at Sweet Clover Barn in Frederick, MD this weekend Aug 21-23 10am to 5pm!  If you are a savvy local mid-century/modern/rustic/eclectic shopper in the market for a bench that looks $1,000 bucks but won't cost you that much... then I hope to see you there!