Home Improvements

Last week we were reintroduced to the joys of laundry (although I didn't actually do any until today). It's something you take for granted when you have the ability to do it, but you quickly learn to appreciate it when your floor drain is plugged and you can't provide clean clothes for your family. How quickly can five people fill their laundry bins? We now know that it takes less than one week. I am so thankful that jackhammering up the basement floor was not necessary...yet. We do still need to do it, but the urgency is no longer there.

The other improvement is the first of two chairs.

Lovely, isn't it? This one was purchased for $10, and even while hideous, it is a well-made chair and suits our home. The other chair has equally gross old fabric covering it and was given to us by a friend.

So, last week I removed literally hundreds of staples and recovered it. Here's the finished product.

Last week a friend was over and saw the chair half done (the back was the new fabric, and the plaid was still on the seat) and she wasn't sure which fabric was the new one. I was a bit thrown by that, but I'm trying not to take it personally.

So, don't all rush to say "Ooo, I love it!" because I know my tastes are not universal. I could have gone to the Brick for something more neutral, but that's not my style. And really, what could I find in the Brick for $30? I'd be willing to guess that there would be no hard wood involved.

To me this is an improvement, and in the end, it's my living room that the chair will live in.

This is the first time I've ever made bias tape and covered piping. It turned out really well. I used this tutorial to create the bias tape and it was as easy as it looked.

It doesn't actually look so patterned. That's the glare of the flash making the contrast in the velvet shine. It's not a perfect job, but I'm not perfect and I've got another chair to practice on. I'm looking forward to having two pieces of matching furniture, and maybe some couch cushions to pull it all together. One step at a time.