I love the look of an upholstered French headboard.  You’ll find a few of them throughout this tumblr and my Pinterest pages.

(Cream French Upholstered Bed from Sweetpea & Willow)

And I’d love to have something like this in Little L’s room.  So pretty and feminine.  And can you picture it with her headboard fabric?

I did a search a while ago for Louis style beds.  I came up with some lovely options - but none within Canada, and none in my (very cheap) price range.

But last week I stumbled upon this vintage French-style bedroom suite for sale online.  It came with two twin curvy headboards.  Now, as much as I want to scoop up both headboards (SPOILER ALERT), this next baby is not a girl.  And while I could try to play the odds that we MIGHT have another baby one day and that baby MIGHT be a girl, I do my very best not to be a gambler.  Or hoarder.  So I just want one headboard.

I wrote the seller asking if she’d be willing to split one headboard from the set.  She had just posted the ad, so she wanted to wait it out and see if anyone was interested in buying the whole lot first (I’d do that too).  But she said she’d keep my address, and if in a little while no one buys, she’ll get back to me.  We agreed upon a fair price, and I crossed my fingers that I could snag one of them.

But wait.  They’re not upholstered.

Karen, a lovely blog reader also loves the look of a Louis bed, and found this beautiful option at PBTeen:

(Lilac Bed from PBTeen)

But she had the same dilemma: it was the right style and shape, but no upholstery.  She wrote me to ask how I might go about upholstering a bed like this.  If I do end up getting that vintage headboard I’ll be sure to share a post on what I do with it this summer.  For now, though, I have two theories (but no experience), and here’s what I’m thinking…

I could upholster the headboard in a similar fashion to my Louis chair.  (Or a more detailed post about my round chairs may be more helpful.)  Here’s what I would do:

• Cut a thin piece of foam to fit just inside of the frame of the headboard (and footboard if you have one).  Use spray adhesive to attach it to the headboard.
• Cut the fabric to fit just over top of the foam inside of the frame of the headboard.  Attach it to the headboard with a neat row of staples just inside the frame.
• Glue welting cord on top of the staples to cover them up. (Good welting cord tutorials are here and here.)

You can see this bed from Laura Ashley has welting cord butted up against the frame:

(Photographer Rachel Whiting)

The second method is a little more hypothetical:

• Find a sturdy but thin material (maybe like the cardboard cereal boxes are made of?  But maybe stronger?  But you’d want to be able to cut it yourself.  Hmm… now I want to go to Lowes and see what I could find.
• Cut your thin but sturdy material to the exact shape and size of the inset of your headboard.
• Cut your foam to the same shape and size of the cut-out.  Use spray adhesive to attach the foam to the cut-out.
• Cut your fabric to be a couple inches bigger than your foam.  Wrap it around the foam and attach it to the back of the cut-out.  If your cut-out material was cardboard, staples may not work.  So maybe glue the fabric to it?
• Using another glue (?) attach your upholstered cut-out to the inset of the headboard.

Now obviously this is just a theory, and would take some knowledge of the right materials.  BUT it also means you could skip the welting cord, if you wanted to.

I’ll probably work with the first method.

And if you want to tuft the headboard, like Jenny’s sweet girl’s bed you could check out what she did:

(Design and upholstery by Jenny Komenda of Little Green Notebook)

In fact this tutorial, minus the tufting, is pretty similar to my first suggested method, so it’s definitely worth a look.  You can check out some of her other helpful posts here and here.

I shouldn’t have done it.  But I went looking for chairs in the online used ads last night, and there was a veritable treasure trove!  It had me pining for some great chairs.  Most would need to be taken to a real-deal upholsterer though.  And, oh yeah, I have no need (and no space!) for new chairs.  But let’s dream together, shall we?

First, there were a whole bunch of Louis-style chairs for about $75 each.  It’s more than I paid for my other two, but it’s not bad.  Only these two are left unsold, and they’re asking $100 per chair. Meh.

 But for a while there last night (when there were 3 other similar chairs for sale) I was imagining having a full set and using them as dining chairs…

(From An Angel at my Table)

(Design by Samantha Pynn, Photography by Virginia MacDonald, via Decorpad)

I’m a sucker for this style of feminine wing chair.  This one is $50.

I’d have a tough time deciding what to do with a chair like this… Probably lose the tufting and use some pretty patterned fabric like this floral one here:

(Design by Amanda Brooks, via Garance Dore)

…Or go with something classic and simple like a pale grey or cream linen:

(Photography by Stacey Brandford, Design by Sarah Richardson Design, via House & Home)

…Or a cool graphic tartan that juxtaposes the curvy feminine lines:

(Design by Summer Thornton, via Chicago Home & Garden)

And how about this super cool boxy chair?  Not exactly my style, but a good chair nonetheless.  And only $20!!!

It feels really modern to me, but similar chairs look lovely in this traditional home:

(Photography by Phil Crozier, Design by McIntyre Bills, via House and Home)

How cool would it be in a masculine grey tweedy/herringbone fabric?  

(Design by Sarah Richardson, Photography by Stacey Brandford, via Globe and Mail)

…Though this navy velvet is tempting too:

(Mercer tufted club chair from Canvas Home)

And these chairs are not for everyone… (They look like something Emily Henderson might pick out.)  But I love their unique shape. $60 for the pair, but since they’re probably an acquired taste, I’m sure I could get them cheaper.

They seem like they’d be so cozy to curl up in.

(Design by Ashley Whittaker, featured in House Beautiful)

I’d maybe lose the tufting on the back (or maybe not?), and probably the skirt, and go with a navy or charcoal velvet. to simplify them a bit.  

(Design by Emily Henderson)

Or since I’m totally dreaming, some worn butterscotch leather.  Yes.

And the backs could look really cool with some nailhead detail. Yes. Yes.

(Design by Eric Magnussen, photography by Raúl Candales, via Elle Decor Espana) - This is obviously a totally different piece of furniture… but you get the vibe.

And while we’re in that funky/trendy mode, How about this hanging wicker chair?  So retro.  But so fun.  

Such a cool beachy vibe, too:

(Design by Emily Henderson)

(Home of Ione Skye featured in Domino Magazine, via Flickr)

But $300?  Not.  Ever.  Happening.

And that’s it for my imaginary online shopping spree.  Well, for chairs, anyways.

A while ago I posted about my fabric considerations for a sweet vintage (antique?) curvy settee I scored online.  I explained what I wanted:

• Bold and playful
• Wide range of colours
• Not geometric/symmetrical (i.e. hard to line up on the curves)
• Not old-fashioned
• Feminine

Now, insert loud game-show buzzer sound here.  I ordered my fabric and it goes against every one of the above requirements.  Ya see, I ordered all of the fabric samples - some I loved just weren’t sturdy enough for my liking.  Others had colours that weren’t quite right.  And some got weirded-out stares from my husband.  But I had ordered another swatch for a completely different project - a black on ivory ticking stripe:

It was exactly opposite of my requirements, but I was finding myself drawn to it, and here’s why:

While the other fabrics were beautiful and fun, I was concerned that in time I’d grow tired of them.  And after further inspection of my settee I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a doozy to reupholster - and I don’t want to redo it in only a few years.  

Also, over the last year or so I’ve been seriously assessing my personal style.  On this blog I curate a collection of images of what I consider great design - and there’s a pretty wide range there.  I’m smitten with organic minimalism.  I have a growing affinity for midcentury-modern.  I appreciate over-the-top eclecticism.  I enjoy sparkly glam.  I adore rustic industrialism.  But as we move towards building our house I find myself needing to reign myself in from all of that inspiration and seriously narrow down the style I really love and want to present in my home.  And part of that is using some restraint in some of my choices.  The rooms I like best save their colour and pattern for thoughtfully considered pieces.  For this settee I want it to be a more flexible, classic piece.  Nothing’s as flexible as neutral black and cream.  And a ticking stripe is totally classic.  It speaks to the humble country vibe I want, but is still elegant and restrained.  AND I can dress it up with a vibrant throw or wildly patterned throw pillows that suit my evolving tastes.

Nowadays design styles are not so formally categorized as they once were - traditional, modern, country… Most design melds a few different styles in an eclectic (but not chaotic) mix.  So I don’t have to fit into one category.  Tonight I did the quiz in the August issue of House & Home, and I think it nailed it:

I’m “Refined Country” with a dose of “Playful Traditional” in the mix.

Country but sophisticated.  Rustic, but clean.  Traditional but whimsical.  Preppy but relaxed.  Coastal on the prairies.  Detailed but simple.

How about you?  In a world (and internet) with an overwhelming variety of inspiration, have you figured out your personal design style?

When I first completed reupholstering the chairs in our living room My husband sat in them and deemed them comfortable, but felt like they needed something to put your feet up on.  I immediately began scouring UsedRegina and Kijiji for coffee tables to create a tufted ottoman like this project.  However, months went by and nothing fit all three criteria: correct size, reasonable price, AND good-looking. *sigh*

But one day I came across this storage ottoman on UsedRegina.  And it was only $20!  Why?  Because it was U-G-L-Y.  Their two-year-old had apparently destroyed the thing.  And it was covered in a cheapy microsuede fabric that did not hold up (covered in tears and stains).  But the rest of it was in decent shape.  I decided I would reupholster it.

I began by taking off the old fabric, trying to keep it intact, so I could use it as a template. My new fabric was a sturdy solid navy blue from Tonic Living.

I decided, though, that to recover it I would need to take it apart a bit - and since it’s basically a box, I could handle that.

I removed the lid -  more on that in a moment - and took the bottom off of the box.

I upholstered the bottom, wrapping the fabric around it and securing it with a few staples.  I didn’t go crazy with staples, because there would be more later when I put the ottoman back together.

(That black piece on top in the picture is the meshy fabric that covered the bottom before.  I kept it and used it to cover the bottom when I was all done.)

For the sides I measured each panel and cut fabric (with a bit of a seam allowance) for each side.  I sewed the fabric panels together on each corner and fitted it over the box and foam snugly.

Then, when it came to the top, I ended up doing a bit more work.  Though in good shape, the top only had webbing in a frame to hold the seat up.  This created a slight, but uncomfortable sag if you sat on top of the ottoman.  (And I knew ours would be sat on.  And climbed on.)  Also, I really wanted a tufted top, and securing the buttons into webbing just wasn’t going to cut it.  So, with some help from my dad, we added a board into the seat.  He cut the board to size at the hardware store.

Then we used small strips of wood to screw into the sides of the top to keep the board in.

The small wood strips created a ledge, keeping the board in place in the lid.

Once it was all in place I measured and drew out the spots where I would want buttons on the top and drilled holes in the board for them.  (I made the holes too small the first time, so I ended up making them bigger later.  You need a decent sized hole otherwise it’s hard to thread the upholstery needle back through when attaching the buttons.)

I use these little button kits from the fabric store.  They’re cheap and easy to use.  My fabric was a bit thick for the size of buttons I used, however, so I ended up securing a few with some hot glue.

For tufting, lay out your fabric over the area you’ll be working on (and you may need to pin it in place), but don’t staple it to your piece yet.  Wait until after your buttons are all secured so that you can get a nice deep tuft.

I start from the centre and work my way out.  On the back of the board the strings are knotted, then pulled to the side, and stapled a billion times.  Or you can thread the strings through a button and knot them (then staple them a million times, if you like).  I forgot to take a picture of this for the ottoman, but you can see it here on the back of my headboard. (Sorry for the terrible picture, there isn’t a whole lotta’ light behind my bed.  But you should get the idea.)

After all of the buttons were in, I stapled the fabric to the bottom of the lid.  For the corners I pleated them and pulled tightly - kind of like what you’d see on the arms of a William Birch sofa. 

After this, I reattached the bottom to the box using an air compressor and long staples.

When doing this I attached the bottom’s fabric, the box sides’ fabric, and the bottom covering fabric as well.  I then reattached the lid with the hinges (I screwed them in by hand into the existing holes.  I didn’t use an electric drill because I didn’t want to snag and pull the fabric.)

And voila!  

 There are still a couple of things I still want to do to this thing - I want to find some hydraulic hinges for the sides so that the lid lowers slowly (or even locks open, if needed), and I have plans to add a kick pleat skirt (You can see the fabric panels pinned in place in the picture below… whaddya’ think?)

But even without the skirt it’s a HUGE transformation - it looks higher end, and it’s far more durable.  (Only trouble is that the tufts are great Cheerio collectors…)  Now, when you sit in the chairs, it’s lovely to put your feet up!

Well, only a week after professing my love for love seats I found one to call my own.  Say hello to my little friend:

She’s a beaut, eh?  Curvy, petite, with a deep comfy seat, and in impeccable condition. We also have no room for her, nor do we need her, and I fell in love with the idea of putting this settee in Baby L’s room when she’s bigger.  In a hypothetical home that we do not have.  Hm… Not exactly fitting logical, practical criteria for buying new furniture.  But it’s Mother’s Day, so I got the go-ahead.  Ha ha!  Timing is everything, right?

I have a feeling she’ll be a long-term project (like the wingback) to be worked on at “upholstery club” (My friend Lindsey and I and occasional friends who join us in her basement).  I’m currently finishing the matching partner for my Louis chair I showed you, but I’ll be done that soon and be ready for something new.  

So now begins the mission to find the perfect fabric for this lovely love seat.

Here are my criteria:

• I love that this settee has no tufting, because I want to go bold and fun and whimsical with the fabric.  Something large scale, colourful, and bold.  Especially since it will likely end up in a child’s room.
• While I’m leaning towards a floral or paisley, I don’t want the fabric to look too old fashioned - like the fabric grandma would have upholstered in originally; something a bit more contemporary to juxtapose with its antique shape. 
• I think I want the pattern to be somewhat feminine and curvy - after all. this is a curvy little piece of furniture.
• I do not want anything symmetrical/geometric etc. that will need to be exactly straight or centred.  I’m terrible at making things straight, and my upholstery skills are just not there yet.
• I want the fabric to have a range of colours.  That way I can pick from a variety of colours in the fabric to create a scheme around in the future.  (Alternatively I could do a neutral fabric… but only if that neutral is still fun and pretty!)
• And I want the fabric design to have staying power.  No trendy patterns.  No juvenile themes.  I want to like it in 5 years, and for my daughter to be able to grow up with it.

So.  Tall order.  Here are a few of the fabrics I have my eye on:

This fabric is one I’ve loved for a long time and thought I might use on a headboard a couple years from now for Baby L, if the fabric is still around.  But it fits the criteria for my settee - curvy, whimsical (I love the crazy birds), varied colour palette, and not too baby-girl.  Plus I love the name. ;)

Lucy Eden by Richloom, from Fabric.com

The next two are also high contenders because I love the colour palettes - so many gorgeous colours to work with.  But they could read a bit too granny if the scale of the print is too small.  I’ll have to see a swatch.

Darjeeling Bachette through Designer Fabrics Online

This next one is a great contemporary floral - but the grey and yellow scheme might be too limiting…

Dahlia Dove by Thomas Paul for Duralee through Fabric.com

I adore this next one, and it comes in double width, and it’s quite reasonably priced.  But it’s a limited colour scheme.  And what do you think, is ikat “trendy”?  Will it look totally dated in a few years?  I’m just not sure I can commit.  But boy, is it lovely.

Bari 22-A through Designer Fabrics Online

Also breaking some rules (it’s a stripe which needs to be lined up perfectly) is this fun colourful fabric.  Wouldn’t it look cool on an upholstered piece?  But perhaps the colour scheme is a touch juvenile.

Freedom through Designer Fabrics Online

This one’s not a floral, and it’s not colourful, but it’s still fun!  I appreciate that it’s reminiscent of the legendary Les Touches fabric from Brunschwig and Fils.  And Baby L is in love with puppies right now, so I’m sure she would appreciate its dalmation-like style! 

Togo in White/Black by Premier Prints from Tonic Living

And I’ve loved this branchy fabric from Dwell for a long time.  In fact I have it on the bench cushion in my entry (in the grey colourway).  Totally whimsical.  Colour scheme is limited, but I think I could add accent colours in pretty easily with pillows… the blue’s almost a neutral (or I could use the grey…)

Vintage Blossom in Jade by Dwell Studio through Tonic Living

And how awesome is this next fabric?!  I’m a huge fan.  I’m just not sure this is the project for it.  (Maybe a headboard in a boys’ room, or an ottoman in a play room…)  But it’s tempting.

World through Designer Fabrics Online

If this one were cheaper I’d be seriously tempted to use it.  It’s the epitome of whimsical.  It’s like Narnia on fabric.  Perfect for a story time settee.  *sigh*

Forest in Red Pepper by Thomas Paul for Duralee through Fabric.com

These are a few more considerations: this one, this one, and this one.  I’ll have to order some swatches! What do you think?  What would you pick?

Last fall I wrote about my steal of a sofa I scored on UsedRegina.  It was vintage, electric blue velvet with an orangey wood frame. 

Seller’s photo on UsedRegina

But I envisioned it with a creamy white frame, a linen-y fabric, and modernized with one long seat cushion and no tufting.

I ended up working on it in my parent’s basement during the fall (space + free babysitting!)  It was a doozy.  It took time, sweat, and frustration.  And it’s done(ish).

I could try to give you the tutorial run-down and how-to… but honestly I was a little in over my head, so I forgot to take a lot of pictures of the process.  And how many of you are actually crazy enough to DIY a sofa?  (But in case you are, hopefully you can learn a bit from this post.)  Instead, I’m going to offer you a somewhat random assortment of reflections and tips from the process, and show you plenty of pretty pictures of the finished piece, OK? :)

So, in no particular order, here’s what I did/learned with some pictures interspersed:

DIY REUPHOLSTERY:

• Basically with every upholstery project I’ve learned: you take it apart and pay close attention to how they put it together.  Then you try to put it together in the same way.  And when you can’t, you improvise, experiment, google tutorials online etc. and take a break when you’re ready to toss the whole thing in a dumpster.
• One of the reasons I felt I could try and upholster this piece was because I understood how to do it - with the exposed frame I could staple the fabric to the frame then sew double welt cord to glue over it.  It’s a method I’m comfortable with (similar to my Louis chair and my barrel-back chairs).

CUSHIONS AND FOAM

• I originally planned on buying a new cushion for the seat (since I wanted one long cushion instead of three separate ones), however when I went to the only store (that I know of) in the city that sells upholstery foam they informed me that they didn’t have foam long enough (I needed 7 feet, they had 6), so they’d have to glue together two pieces.  Hm.  For that much money I’ll glue my own cushions together, thanks.  I briefly considered having two cushions (which is also a really popular look right now) but that crack in the middle just creates awkward seating situations, and I figured this would just end up being one huge love seat that only seats two people.  So I used the existing cushions and glued them together with spray adhesive myself.  Then I found a small (and cheap) duvet on clearance at Walmart and wrapped it around the cushions before upholstering them into the seat.  The result?  I have mixed feelings.  It works.  But you can still see the indents between cushions a bit.  However, the original foam is also super amazing and nice to lay on.  And this was way cheaper.  So… take that for what it’s worth.
• I actually originally tried to sew a cushion cover for all three cushions wrapped in the duvet.  It was… bad.  It was all saggy and wrinkly and looked like a futon from some guy’s college apartment.  So I ended up scrapping that and upholstering the seat into the couch (secured with staples).  It means now I can’t take it off an wash it.  (However, though I could throw the old one in the wash, it’s indoor-outdoor fabric that’s not meant to be thrown in the washing machine anyways, so it didn’t hold up well.)  So no more jam fingers near this couch.  I just have to stay on top of spot cleaning a bit more.  And most days I throw a quilt over the seat while the kids and I are playing in the living room which catches the mess, can be thrown in the wash, and makes for easy snuggling or tent-building. :)  One piece of advice I’ve heard is to upholster the piece yourself, but take the seat cushion(s) to a professional.  That’s something I’m definitely going to consider (and save my pennies for) on future projects.

Trying to decide on my next upholstery project (possibly for L’s future room)… Settee ($80 - would use a fun patterned fabric) or tufted chair ($40 - would use a saturated solid colour.) Thoughts?!?

Design by Michael Leva, photograph by Pieter Estersohn for Elle Decor

I have a thing for settees.  They’re sweet and usually pretty stylish.  They have some of the same design possibilities and character of a chair (opportunity for colour or bold pattern), but the functionality of a bench.  They can fit into all kinds of unique spots around your home.  I love how the Gustavian settee in the picture above can be layered in front of the bookshelves because of it’s diminutive size and elegant artful lines.  

And I love the look of the settee in the entryway here:

Designer Amy Morris, photograph by Erica George Dines for Atlanta Homes Magazine

This is a pretty large entryway, but settees could fit into all sorts of nooks and crannies in lieu of built-in benches.

I’ve begun to see settees used at dining tables more and more.  I love the look - but in my opinion I’d want one with very low or no arms at all to make it easy to sit down at the table.

Design by Erin McLaughlin, Photograph by Virginia MacDonald for Style at Home

One way I love a settee is at the foot of the bed, like this chartreuse one in Sarah Richardson’s farmhouse:

Design by Sarah Richardson, photograph by Stacey Brandford, HGTV.ca

So it’s one of those things I keep an eye out for when searching UsedRegina.  And last night I ran into a few lovely love seats.

Imagine this one in a deep teal or navy velvet and keeping the tufting and the dark wood:

And it’s $75 for a set with a matching sofa and chair!  It’s killing me!  I want this settee so badly.

This next one feels a little “gramma’s basement”, but I’d do a smooth back and seat (no tufting), remove the skirt, and use a great grey or ivory linen:

$40 for this sweet little seat.

The next one’s maybe a little deco for my personal style, but it’s a great piece nonetheless:

You’d probably have to keep the channel back, but I’d be tempted to find a cool graphic print that could work with it.  This one they say “make me an offer”.  How much would you bid?

Now.  Back to finding a place to hoard all of the furniture I fall in love with…

Before Christmas I was really craving another colour in our living room area.  Our walls are painted Woodlawn Blue by Benjamin Moore - and I really like it for a wall colour.  It’s very warm and dynamic - changing its look throughout the day.

Beyond that everything was pretty much blue or cream/beige/ivory.  I considered adding apple green (I have accents in my adjacent kitchen) but wanted something decidedly warm.  I love the blue/orange complementary scheme, so I decided to play with it a bit by adding hits of orange:

The easiest way to do that is obviously with throw pillows, so I found some great ikat and Greek key fabrics in a dark orange.

And some art prints with orange, too:

My Cheapy McCheaperson tip of the day: these are cut out of an old day planner I had with Group of Seven artwork in it (I love me some Group of Seven.  I’d seriously like the real paintings… if I had zillions of dollars).

And this isn’t orange, but it’s warm: I’m loving the hit of brass on my $15 marble-topped UsedRegina finds:

I was a teensy bit worried these side tables would be too “Granny”, but I love them.  And they work perfectly (because of their diminutive size) with our vintage sofa which is both extremely long and low.

By the way, that vintage sofa is the hold-up on my showing you the entire living room.  We’ve been sitting on it for a few months now (Sean is stoked, because it’s a great napping couch - the seat cushion is 7 feet long!)  But I’ve decided to change course with a couple of things.  I want to upholster the seat into the couch (instead of removable cushions/seat cover) because it’s looking too saggy and wrinkly for my liking.  Like a bad college apartment futon.  Then I will Scotchguard the snot out of it.  Then I can finish the piping cord.  THEN I’ll show you my living room.  (And remember this will be done on Baby L’s schedule, not my own, so it won’t happen all that soon.)

Also warming up around here?  The weather!!  We built this guy a week ago:

(Don’t you love his “crazy hair”?  Little M was pretty excited about it.)

And now this little snowman, and all his snow particle friends, are merely a distant memory.  I’m so thankful for an early spring!  (Not that we won’t get more snow.  But c’mon, in Saskatchewan an April blizzard is pretty much part of spring anyways.)

I’ll resume with the rest of my “House Rules” next week (you can check out all of my inspiration photos here.)  It was interesting, though, watching how the pictures I posted for this reblogged on Tumblr.  Though there are a lot of factors to whether a picture I blog gets lots of traffic (if a blogger with many followers reblogs a picture, or if I also pin a picture to Pinterest, etc.), I do notice a pattern.  Certain pictures emotionally connect with people - window seats, welcoming chairs in the corner, or walls of windows flooding a room with warm sunlight.  It’s something that is about more than design, it’s about feeling safe, and comfortable, and cozy.

That being said, I have a spot like that now. (Hooray!!)

Though this chair was (and maybe still is?) intended for our master bedroom I have a few things I want to touch up, so it’s been sitting in our main living area, set back from the living room area beside the balcony doors.  And it’s made itself comfortable.

And so have I.  It’s turned out to be such a nice cozy spot to settle into.  And can I get a “holla” for wingback chairs?  (Or not.  A polite golf clap will suffice.)  I know, I know… if you’ve followed me for a while you may know that I’ve sworn off ever reupholstering a wingback chair again.  But it’s deep comfortable seat and hug-like embrace are swaying my judgement.  I love it.

I’d love to give you the step-by-step tutorial run down.  But I can’t.  I was too busy sobbing into a pile of foam, fabric and staples to take any pictures.  I’d previously nicknamed this chair “The Beast”, because reupholstering it was so terrible.  It was large, and difficult, and quite a puzzle to put back together.  The thing was clearly not made by human hands.  Rather, it was fashioned by evil alien robots.

I did follow, as best as possible, a couple of quite good blog tutorials for wingback chairs but they have both since disappeared from the world wide inter webs. (weeeeeird.  Aliens, again, perhaps?)  But you may find this one (that I found AFTER I was done my chair.  Gee, thanks a lot.  But gawrsh that chair’s pretty.  I love me some Dwell fabric.) and this more general one very helpful if you’re looking for a tutorial.

But 98.7% of you just want the “after” picture, anyways, am I right?  So here you go:

And this Beast, much like another familiar tale of a Beast, has won me over.  It was once a terrible tyrant, but now… now you might say:

There’s something sweet
And almost kind
But he was mean and he was coarse and unrefined
But now he’s dear, and so unsure
I wonder why I didn’t see it there before

That’s right.  I just quoted that.  Don’t hate.  (And now I’m totally singing it in my head, aren’t you?)

It’s become such a lovely little spot to curl up and read a book.  Especially with two sweet kiddos sharing its seat.

P.S. You can read more about my adventures in DIY upholstery here, here, and here.

Love fabric?  Check out my UsedEverywhere post this week…

(Fabrics above available from Fabric.com)

Check out my post on my love for “Granny Sofas” over on the UsedEverywhere blog today…

(Photo by Monic Richard for Style at Home)

Could we have a moment of silence?  Our couch is in its final days.  Which makes me remember its early days: a pair of newlyweds, walking the aisles of a furniture store and picking out the overstuffed black leather set, so proud to be buying our very own new furniture!  And a few days later moving the ginormous couch down a tiny stairwell into their first basement suite, on a sweltering hot day when they were running late for their baseball game.  (Let’s just say we weren’t exactly lovey-dovey that day.  We laugh about it now.)  The set’s served us well.  Though I admit I’m a bit choked that the couch is bowing out when it is - I thought it would make it to our basement one day.  You know, one day when we have a basement.  Ah well.  The “leather” is all cracked and peeling off of the seat.  And the process is being hastened by a curious two-year-old who can’t resist picking it off, despite his mother’s scolding.  So what now?  We don’t want to buy new furniture to fit in the condo because we hope we’re moving to the farm within the next two years, and would rather buy furniture to fit into that house. 

Good thing I have another couch.

(Picture from UsedRegina listing)

This blue beauty was a proud purchase of mine through UsedRegina several months ago.  It’s sturdy, impeccably cared for, and I love the shape.  Sean, however, hates it.  I don’t blame him - I know the way his brain works (most of the time), and he’s blinded by it’s orangey wood finish, electric blue velvet, and overall too-vintage vibe.  So it’s been stored out on the farm.  I have a vision, though (you can see my Pinterest board for more of that).  I want to neutralize the colour, paint the wood, and make the whole thing a bit more streamlined and modern.  Some sort of hybrid of these sofas:

The Gustav Sofa from Global Home

The Dorothea Sofa from Sarah Richardson

But you can’t exactly pair that with the black leather overstuffed loveseat.

So it’s a good thing I bought some chairs last week. (Coincidentally from the neighbours of the guy who sold us the couch!)

(Picture from UsedRegina listing)

I’ve been looking for a pair of round chairs for a while now (remember the ones that got away?)  And the wooden frame and legs on these ones jive nicely with the sofa I purchased.  So, Sean’s decided to put his trust in me (eep!) and let me try and reupholster this huge sofa and two chairs for our living room.

I’m a bit freaked out.  That’s a lot of work.  And I hope I can make it look as good as it does in my imagination.  But I’m also super excited - because this will totally transform the look of our living room.

So I bought the fabric today (eep #2!).  For the chairs I wanted something graphic, modern, and in a neutral colour.  When I was reading my Style at Home magazine the other day Sean mentioned that he liked the chairs in this picture

Image from Style at Home Magazine

So, being the fabric nerd that I am, I knew this was the Bella Porte fabric from Dwell Studio’s Robert Allen line.  And I knew where to buy it for a discount… plus 15% off!

So that’s the plan for the chairs (as well as painting the wood out in a creamy white).

For the sofa I wanted to use an indoor/outdoor fabric because of its stain repelling ability.  I also wanted something really neutral, so I’ve got some Richloom Solarium Linen on the way

So.  wish me luck.  Here’s hoping I’m showing you our spiffy new living room furniture sometime before my kids graduate from high school…