Getting On Top of Things

Fall is quickly approaching, and before I know it, this sunshine that we have been enjoying out here will disappear and giveaway to the grey rainy days of fall and winter. With that in mind, I've started to think about how we can make our home feel more cozy. A haven, and nest that we can enjoy when the cools days return. One thing in particular I would like to do is make it more comfortable, and more full without feeling cluttered. So, the first thing I wanted to do, was to tackle a project that has been sitting neglected for far too long.

Over two years ago now, I picked up this chair at a garage sale for only $22. I pretty much had to bargain with B to let me buy it, and now I understand his hesitation. It's just taken up space in our garage, and now our sunroom, waiting for me to do something with it for the last 2.5 years...

Well, inspiration finally struck and I have been working away on my transformation on this lovely piece. Just after B's parents returned home from their visit, I popped into IKEA to pick up a few things we needed. While I was there, I stopped into the fabric section to see what they had kicking around. When I saw the BERTA RUTE big check in beige, I knew it was perfect. 

It has pattern, but is still neutral enough to work with anything else I'd like to add to the space. Plus, it will make finding a complimentary fabric for our sofa that much easier. So, I brought home 4 metres for around $40, and was instantly motivated to get moving on the chair, which was looking like this...

Last Sunday, while B and my brother were making dinner, I popped into the sunroom and started the process of removing the upholstery tacks from the chair. I had to be careful to not rip the fabric (too much), since the pieces I removed will be used as a template for my new fabric. I started with a knife, but many of the tacks were rusted, so I moved onto pliers, but they couldn't get under the tack heads. Eventually, I ended up using one of B's chisels, and it worked wonders. (I may owe him a new chisel though).

Removing the red fabric revealed another equally as dirty fabric underneath, with a layer of batting placed over top. By that point, my hands were sore from removing tacks and I decided to stop there - after all, I had the templates I needed, so it was time to get down to business.

Seeing the chair like this had me feeling excited and anxious all at the same time. I was excited to see it looking bare and ready for a new look, but felt a little anxious when it came down to what I was going to do to that wood. I spent quite a bit of time bouncing back and forth between staining and painting it. In the end, my laziness won out, and I decided to paint it. I had already spent a great deal of time trying to sand out the stain in those carvings and it wasn't getting me anywhere fast. On top of that, I already had white paint left over from when I painted our headboard, which meant not having to put out anymore money for this project.

So, I'm now in the midst of getting the final coats of paint onto the wood, and then I'll be able to start the actual upholstering project. Hopefully, I can share it with you next week and have our new chair sitting in our living room (for the time being). 

I'm still keeping my eyes out for other pieces we can use around here to help furnish and organize our place, and essentially just get our home feeling more cozy for the cold months ahead. 

What have you been doing to prepare for the fall? Any big projects on the go?