house

DIY: IKEA Chair Makeover, Part 2

Posted by Nat on Jan 10, 2012 | 9 comments

I am so excited!  The chairs are done!  Read here if you missed Part 1.  If you are considering doing this yourself, be sure to read to the bottom- I link up to a few posts that really helped me out.  And if you like what you see, feel free to leave me some comment love!

Here they are- check them out:

And here’s a “before and after” comparison- doesn’t it look sooo much better?

Side note:  the light in the “before” picture is 3:30 p.m.-ish.  The light in the “after” picture is 9:30 a.m.-ish.  Interesting, eh?

I’ve decided that I am a color person.  I like rooms, especially rooms with light, to have color.  It helps my eyes dance around and it makes my heart happy.

So a few things about my process/what I did:

• I bought my fabric at a local upholstery fabric store.  The guy I spoke with at the store thought I was crazy for my fabric choice.  It’s cotton, and he seemed a bit car salesman-ish to me.  It was the only thing I liked in the store, so I bought it anyway.   I Scotchguarded the crap out of it- I think there are 4 coats on it.  We’ll see how they hold up.  The nice thing is that even if the fabric doesn’t hold up, I love the color, so I can just find new fabric and redo the seats if needed- that won’t take much time at all.
• I used Rustoleum primer and paint.  I believe the green color is called “Eden.”  I did two coats of primer, two coats of green.  I think I probably should have done 3 coats of green for good luck, but I didn’t.  Oh well.  I used every drop of every can I bought, which was 3 cans of primer and 3 cans of paint.
• I sanded the chairs lightly and wiped them down before priming.  I’m not sure it was necessary, but I did it just in case.
• I’ve never been entirely sure how long I had to wait between coats, but I had one morning to bust this out while Anna & Jack were in preschool from 8-12.  So after reading the directions on the can, I came up with a plan.  It took me about 20-25 minutes to do one coat on all 4 chairs, which is about how long the can said to wait.  So I just worked my way around the chairs, checked my watch when one “round” was complete, and then moved on.  I started at 9:30 and finished at 11:45.  I will say this:  it was VERY hot the day I did this and the sun was VERY bright.  This actually made it harder to see any missed spots when I went from white primer to green.

After letting the chairs dry for 24 hours, I coated them with one coat of Polycrylic (I used Minwax).  I HATE that stuff.  It was not fun to use at.  All.  I’m hoping it really does help because I was cussing inwardly a lot.  It did give the green a nice sheen, as the finish of the paint was “Satin” and it wasn’t quite as glossy as I wanted.  But you can see below that the chairs have bubbles in a few places.  Oh well.  I still love them.

I did ponder sanding the bubbles down, but it seemed like I would go through the paint and have to repaint again.  Not gonna go there- I am DONE painting furniture for a while. So, we’ll live with the bubbles and it will be fine.  They are just in a few spots, anyway.

The seat cushions were easy.  I did two coats of Scotchguard to the fabric before cutting and stapling it to the seat pads (I did it several days before actually doing the pads).  As you can see below, I stapled all four sides down in the center, pulling tight, then I worked on each side, and then folded in the corners.  It doesn’t look as neat and tidy as the original Ikea fabric, but I bet that was done by a machine or a person who does a bazillion a day, and no one is going to look underneath my chairs, so… I don’t care. 🙂  Once the fabric was attached, I Scotchguarded it two more times with very light coats.  I’ll keep you posted with how the fabric holds up- I’m curious to see how it does.

One final view.  I just love them.  They’re so bright and cheery.  The first time we used them we talked about sitting on rainbows.  Ha!

The following links proved very helpful to me in this process:

All Things Thrifty posted here about her spraypaint knowledge- uber helpful.

She also posted here with a Spray Painting 101, which includes a video of someone spray painting the correct way.

Lovely Nest’s post here about her dining chair makeover helped in terms of learning about Polycrylic.

DIY: IKEA Chair Makeover, Part I

Posted by Nat on Jan 6, 2012 | Comments Off on DIY: IKEA Chair Makeover, Part I

Warning:  I am going to embarrass myself in a bit with photos of our actual kitchen chairs.  My hope is to help all people everywhere feel better about how gross their kitchen chairs are.  We are not alone.  

Have you ever had a project that all of a sudden you just HAD to finish?  A switch goes off, and WHAM-O- you simply must. Do. It. NOW.  That’s where I am with this one.

I’ve been hunting for months on Pinterest and the WWW for fabric to use to redo our kitchen chairs.  I hemmed and hawed and then realized that the problem is not that I can’t find fabric I like, it’s that I don’t want to buy fabric online.  It weirds me out.  I’m sure someday I’ll do it and it will be great, but I’m a very tactile person- I don’t want to buy something sight unseen that my rear end is going to sit on for who-knows-how-long.

I digress.  Here are the chairs in their current state.  I hate them.  (I also can’t believe I’m showing you how bad they are, but hey- it’s cleansing in a way…)

(upper left:  for some dumb-a** reason I thought it would be okay to put the vacuum on the chair while vacuuming bugs out of the ceiling-fan light.  Duh.) 

It’s not just the seats, though. The frames have had their fair share of…  well, here- have a look:

Dirt, milk, juice, food, nicks, fading- the works.

I should say that while I do hate how dirty they are, I also think they have held up surprisingly well for IKEA chairs.  They’ve been with us through two moves, for five years, we have never had to tighten them, and they are never uneven on the floor or anything.  They deserve a little pick-me-up, eh?

Here they are in my kitchen.

They totally don’t match.  We used to have a dark table that they matched, but that table is long gone.  Now we have a huge birch table (love it) and the dark chairs just do. Not. Match.

So, this weekend I will be finishing them up.  If you’ve been to my Facebook Page you may have noticed I posted about the fabric I chose.  You’ll have to wait and see what color I chose for paint when I post the final product next week- can’t wait!

Do you have anything in your house that needs a pick-me-up?

A Design Dilemma: Post Flat-Screen Mantel

Posted by Nat on Jan 5, 2012 | 9 comments

Hi friends,

I need your help.  Our lives have changed drastically in the last month.  Why?  We got a flat screen.  Holla!

Surprisingly, I wasn’t thinking it would be *that* amazing to have a large, wall-mounted TV.  I was actually most excited by the fact that my kids would no longer be able to stand millimeters away from the screen, and I wouldn’t have to clean fingerprints off of it anymore.  But let me tell you something….

It’s amazing.

The color.  The picture.  The clarity…  We’re holding off on speakers until we figure out a few other things, but eventually the sound will be great, too.  For now we’re doing fine with the TV speakers (gasp).

Here’s where I need your help.  Where I once had oodles of decorating space, I now have… very little.

(Pardon the cords and such- they will disappear…eventually.)

Vertically I can’t fit much because the TV is in the way.   But it looks so… bleh.  My poor little clock is so lonely.

Pre-flat screen, I had some photos, a really cool trio of vases, and a round mirror up there.  Now it all seems too much.  I’ve pondered making a new mantel cover, as the “real” mantel is super tired and depressing.  This cover is a sort of chocolate espresso brown. Can’t do much about the fireplace as of yet, either.  I just don’t know what to put on the mantel itself.

I would love your help.  Please leave me a comment if you have any suggestions- I’m at a total loss!

Operation Organization: Front Hall Closet, part 1

Posted by Nat on Nov 17, 2011 | 1 comment

*Note:  I’ve decided to make this a series since I have lots of organizing to do.  I’m a bit type A in this area, so I will hopefully have some good stuff to share with you as I strive towards knowing where all of my crap is .

A long time ago I posted about our hallway closet.  I love that closet.  The rest of our closets, however, have been on the back burner.  Back at the beginning of this year my husband and I bought Elfa shelving from The Container Store during their huge Elfa sale.  If you live near a Container Store you should check out that sale- it’s rad.  The shelving we bought, however, has been sitting, waiting to be installed.  Now that things have calmed down on the baby front we are ready to dive back into some house projects, and this is one of them.  We also did not paint this closet upon move-in at this house, mainly because we had nearly 2,000 square feet of house to paint, and this closet was low on the totem pole of paint.

It’s in a tricky spot, right by our front door, and it doesn’t have a light inside it, so these shots will not be the best photos.

I emptied it out, and here’s what it looks like empty.

I can’t believe I’m showing you this, but here’s a corner up close, so you can see all the cobwebs, dust and faded paint.

When I demoed (sp?) the existing shelving it was really more difficult than I thought it would be.  I had to pry the shelf supports off and they had the longest nails I’ve ever seen.  And the dividing board that separated the hanging garments from the rest- it was like moving a mountain.  Okay, not a mountain.  But it was hard. What I was left with was lots of holes in the drywall.  Lots.  That top “oops” and left-pointing arrow are pointing to a hole I didn’t get on my camera, but my husband had to patch it by sawing out some of the existing dry wall and replacing it with new stuff.  Neat.  Oops.

And here’s where we are today:  ready for installation.  I’m waiting for Emily to go to sleep so I can put in the shelving.

The only challenge we have once finished is what to do with this crack in the flooring and baseboard where the previous closet set up was.  I’m thinking a rug?  Not sure…  This flooring will get replaced eventually, so we’re not patching it up.

Inspired by Erma

Posted by Nat on Oct 27, 2011 | Comments Off on Inspired by Erma

Did you grow up reading Erma Bombeck?  I did.  I kind of miss her.  There’s no one like her, really.

When I was old enough to read, and wanted to impress my parents and grandparents, I knew I couldn’t *just* read the comics anymore.  I think I was probably 12 or so.  And conveniently, in our newspaper, Erma’s column was near the comics, so it was an easy migration.  I started with that, and then I think my mom may have read some of her books, so I read them, too.  I love her sense of humor, and her healthy grip on the reality of motherhood and all that it entails.

Pretty soon I’m going to whip my laundry room into shape.  It’s getting there, and I’ve already done a few things, but have so much more to do.  In the meantime, you’ll have to settle for this sneak peek.  There was a little spot over our washer that I stare at a lot.  I decided that it would be nice to have something to look at instead of a blank wall, and I’ve always liked this quote from Erma.  So I fiddled around in Photoshop and here’s what I came up with:

I’ve had this panoramic, 12×4 photo frame for years.  Nearly a century, I think.  So I spray-painted it a creamy white, added some twine, and voila- this is much nicer to stare at!  And this was all free- my husband likes free.  So do I.

I also figured that you might not want one in 12×4, just in case you aren’t a frame-hoarder like myself.  So I also made it in 8×10 format.  Hope you enjoy! You should be able to right-click on either to download to your own computer, but let me know if that doesn’t work.

I can’t wait to show you more of our laundry room, but I have a pretty big project for it before I can show it to you.  🙂

Best. Swagbox. Ever.

Posted by Nat on Sep 15, 2011 | 1 comment

Are you a brand person?  I’m a brand person.  My husband is not a brand person- he’s a “generic stuff is just fine” kind of guy.  The last time he bought me oatmeal at the grocery store he got the store brand instead of Quaker.  I sucked it up and tried it, but it wasn’t as good.  I’m very attached to a brand once I like it, and will buy it whether or not I have a coupon.  I think that makes me a typical female consumer- but I’m okay with that.  I stick with what works.

At BlogHer this summer one of the biggest pieces of real estate on the expo floor was Proctor & Gamble’s “booth.”  You can’t really say it was a booth- it was essentially a house that you could take a tour of.  Throughout the house you could see different products that were in the P&G family.  They also gave you a little questionnaire to fill out, and at the end you gave it to a guy with a bunch of raffle tickets.  I think the raffle was for a new washer & dryer- I didn’t win that.  However, turning in that questionnaire also allowed me to give them my address, and they promised to mail me a “swag box” that I wouldn’t have to lug around the conference- rad!  The guy I spoke with said, “Believe me- it’s a great box.”  He wasn’t lying.  It showed up on our porch a day or two ago and as soon as the kids were in bed, Michael and I opened it up.  It was sort of like “home product Christmas.”

I am amazed at how many of these products I will actually, honestly try and/or use.  Many of them I already use- score!  I also liked that they included a challenge to all of the BlogHer participants to save energy.  Thanks P&G!!!

Here’s a few photos of what was inside:

…and here’s a list of what was in my P&G Swag Box.  I’ve broken it into 2 lists, Health & Beauty, and Home.

Health & Beauty:

1 Box of Tampax Pearl tampons

1 Box of Always Infinity Maxi Pads

1 Jar of Vicks Vapo Rub

1 Bottle of Vicks Nature Fusion Cough Syrup, Honey flavored

1 Box of Vicks Nature Fusion Cold & Flu Relief

1 Bottle of Ivory Simple Clean Body Wash

1 Gillette Venus ProSkin Razor

2 Cover Girl NatureLuxe mascaras, 1 in black and 1 in very black (I’ve been wanting to try this- woo hoo!)

1 Box of Pantene Damage Repair for Curly Hair

2 Boxes of Pantene Damage Repair for Medium-Thick Hair

1 Box/2 Bars of Oil of Olay Body Bar

1 Box of Oil-of-Olay 2-in-1 Daily Facial Cloths

1 Bottle of Olay Regenerist Wrinkle Revolution Complex

Home:

1 roll of Bounty Paper Towels

1 bottle of Febreze Air Effects Air Refresher

1 Bottle of Febreze Fabric Refresher

1 Bottle of Downy In-Wash Scent Booster

1 Swiffer 360 Duster Kit

1 Sample of Tide Washing  Machine Cleaner

2 Samples of Cascade Complete Action Pacs

1 Thumb Drive, 1 GB; this also has some tools for conserving water & energy on it

I think this is an incredibly nice gift- can’t wait to try them all out- thanks again, P&G!