Bright and Fun Upholstery

Sometimes you get to do something that is completely out of your own personal style and you end up LOVING it!!! These chairs are a perfect example of that. They were in fantastic condition so it made the upholstery job much easier...not that it is ever actually easy.

This was during the time period that I lost everything on my phone. Four months worth of pictures, client names and numbers, project texts, and other extremely important things.  Lost the names and numbers of 26 clients...it was devastating and yes, I cried buckets!!! 

So the only before picture I have is this one. This is not the worst fabric ever, but definitely dated and no where near what the client had in mind!

(yes, my formerly compulsively clean spaces are complete chaos constantly now. I'm learning to adjust. I can now sleep when there is still mess. We all have to make compromises)

Now on to the super fun part. My client wanted something fun, fresh, and bright. Taking these tradition style wingback chairs and putting this pop of colors fabric on it was perfection!

My client was kind enough to send me a picture of the chairs and matching pillows. Here they are in all their bright glory!!!

This was such a fun project to do and I'm so glad I get to experiment with with colors like these.

Monica's Kitchen

Sometimes when things get too busy you find yourself making mistakes or oversights. This was a HUGE oversight!!! I did a makeover on my friend Monica's kitchen. I didn't take good before pictures and I only took instagram snaps of the progress. When it was complete...there were dishwasher flooding issues, flooring being replaced, touch ups on cabinetry paint, and we were all so busy that we simply forgot to take any pictures! Then Monica's family moved. It happened so quickly and we were all excited and had a million other things on our minds. We were not exactly thinking of taking pictures of the kitchen so I would have a great blog. So, jump ahead to when I'm trying to put together a post about said kitchen and I have had to research to find pictures. I looked everywhere. Monica didn't have any, plus with her being a photographer I can't imagine what it is like to search for pictures on her computer...seriously, that is like trying to do calculus for me. I get a headache just thinking about it!

I feel like Sookie when it comes to math:

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On a side note, how many of you are so excited about the new Gilmore Girls coming to Netflix in November? I cannot wait!!!

Back to the kitchen...Monica and our friend Molly finally found the real estate pictures of the finished kitchen (it takes a village). I have no clue who took the pictures, but I stole them so I could show off my work!

Before (pictures from old real estate ad):

 The peninsula in the old layout severely limited the amount of dining space in this kitchen. Monica's husband and father-in-law removed this pretty early on after they were in the house. When you have a large family, the dining space just needs to work better for you!

In Progress (pictures by me):

 They had the countertops refinished

 New flooring installed:

 While the counter top people and flooring people were busy,  I had all of the doors and drawers back at my place and was busy painting away!

 Drawers and drawers everywhere! My garage, my hallway, and even my living room. Hey, at least they matched my living room ;)

 Now it was time for me to start on the backsplash:

Finally we had a finished product!

(pictures from most recent real estate ad):

This kitchen turned out so cute! That backsplash people!!! It is still one of my favorite things I've ever done! So lovely!!!

French Linen, Pure White, and Leather

This is, quite possibly, one of my favorite dining sets of all time. 

It was chipped up and in need of a little love. In the picture below you can see that it had been "repaired" by someone just putting screws into the legs. I repaired this first and made sure that it was sound and secure.

So many little details on this table.

You can see a bit of yellow paint peaking through the black in this picture.

Originally I wanted to do my signature stained top and painted out base and chairs, but after hours and hours of stripping off many layers of paint, I found out the table was not wood. It was MDF and not stainable. I informed sweet Brooke and together we came up with the option of a two-tone paint look. Y'all!!! It turned out so pretty!!!!

Next came the chairs with paint, distressing, and new upholstery. The style of these chairs is just so pretty to begin with, but OH MY STARS, the leather! I finished the first seat and sat there stroking it. My son said, "Mom, what are you doing?" So naturally I busted out my inner nerd and best Gollum voice and said, "So pretty, my precious" while still stroking the leather. My son laughed so hard he fell off the sofa, "Mom!!! You are so weird! So stinking funny!!!"

All joking aside, you guys should know that it is highly stressful to cut into the expensive leather. Monica was at my house and can explain to you that I measured about three times before the first cut and after I began cutting, I was sweating like I had been in HIIT for 30 minutes. This is serious business!!! Mistakes cannot be made or it comes out of my paycheck.

Look at this chair...

I cannot explain how much I love this.

This space was still being renovated when I dropped off the table. Since this time, a beautiful buffet cabinet has been added and there are new gorgeous drapes on that big window.

 Recently I had to go and refinish the top of this table due to an adorable little girl and fingernail polish remover. It is still stunning in my opinion. I just smile every time I see it.

Beauty and Function

When you work from home in any business, things can get messy! When your business is furniture makeovers and upholstery...it can take over your entire life! The first year I had my business up and running full time, I either had my sewing machine on my breakfast nook table or on a card table in my living room. You don't know the term "frustrated" until you have tried to hem 9 foot blackout lined drapes on an old sewing machine sitting on a card table...there were tears cried, pin cushions thrown, and many many trips to my closet to scream into my pillow!!! But, you deal with what you have and handle it frustrations and all. 

Then I lucked out. A client was wanting to have a fun little chair upholstered and she had this old piece and was wondering if I might want to trade: my upholstery work for me getting this awesome old piece. I said yes, and she dropped off this old beautiful armoire. It was in really bad shape. The bottom and back had water damage and some bugs had had their way with quite a bit of one side. The veneer was loose and it just needed a ton of work. From the front it looked gorgeous!!!

So I had an idea and went to look for inspiration.  Found several pictures to help me along, but this one below was my favorite. I found it on pinterest.

 (source)

So naturally I got out my sketch book and went to work with my own thoughts and specifications.

I knew, because of the amount of damage and things that needed to be replaced, that this piece would need to be painted. It also needed to be taller for the drop down table to work and still have any good storage left. I wanted to add a storage drawer at the bottom to make that happen and add additional storage.

The entire back needed to be replaced

Then the bottom of each side had to be re-enforced

My father did the work on the piece for me so that I could try and keep up with all of my client work. The details of it were so perfect that it needed to be replicated perfectly, Dad is great at that! This is the new drawer unit with the original base below.

Once all of the pieces were made, it was time for stain and assembly. That's where I came back into the picture. I wanted the whole piece to be consistent and all look as old as the original cabinet.

I painted and distressed the main piece

 Then I waxed it, added some new pulls (obviously still needed to paint the drawer)

 These details y'all!!! It makes me happy!!!

Next came the inside. shelves were installed where there used to be a hanger rod. The hinged table was installed. It is just perfect!!!

 I can now tidy up my living room in 5 minutes and all signs of work can be hidden away inside this cabinet. 

I'll be honest, most days it stays open because I typically work around the clock. But, being able to stow everything away in minutes when people are coming by makes me really happy!

My daughter's cat loves it too!