Parsons Chair Re-Upholstery

I have always wanted to learn how to re-upholster furniture.  Just think of the possibilities!! Every once in a while, I consider signing up for an upholstery class at the community college in town, but I have never actually gone through with it.

Recently, I was working on the revamp of my home "studio/office" (reveal coming soon) and this old, ratty chair was begging me for some lovin'.  My original plan was to buy a ready made slip cover to hide the cat scratches. 

I don't know how to explain it, but something just made me stop what I was doing and investigate how this thing was put together.  I started tugging at the backing and pulling off piece after piece!  I kept thinking to myself, "oh crap, what have I done?"!  The next thing I knew, the chair was bare.  The good news was that I now had an idea of how it was constructed and I was confident that I could breathe new life into it in no time.      

I went to work cutting and pinning fabric.  I whipped out my sewing machine to sew what I needed to.  I am not much of a seamstress, but I can manage a few straight seams here and there. 

I am pleased as punch (yeah, I said "pleased as punch", what???) with the outcome!

I did have to improvise by adding the blue banding and nail head trim to cover where the skirt attaches, but that's okay!  I actually like how the blue ties into the rest of the room and it gives it a modern twist.   

It's safe to say that there will be more re-upholstery attempts in my future! You never know what you can do until you try:)

A Creative Space for a Budding Artist

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love re-sale shops, consignment stores, and of course, the Grandaddy of them all.....Goodwill! Thank goodness being "green" is so in these days. It's much cooler to buy second hand because you care about the environment and not just because you are cheap. I have become quite the "environmentalist".

It seems that I am always on a mission for something. This time, I was on a mission to find items for a kids craft area in my newly revamped home "studio" (reveal coming soon).



One quick trip to Goodwill and mission accomplished!! Chair, tray and buckets for around eleven bucks! The little cutie on the right was a bargain too!

Some primer and a couple cans of spray paint later and Big Sister has the perfect place to create masterpiece after masterpiece without being disturbed by Baby Brother.


The table top is a piece of Silestone from an old kitchen island. It has been leaning up against a wall in our garage for about 4 years. I am so glad to find a good use for it. I found the sturdy base (previously a hideous end table) at, you guessed it.......Goodwill for $10.99!

I have been trying for months to come up with a way to showcase my daughter's artwork. She is quite the "arteest". She creates what seems like thousands of precious works of art a day! Finding display space has become a challenge to say the least. There is only so much room on the refrigerator door.


One day at Home Depot I came across these inexpensive pre-cut boards (only $1.45 each). Add close-pins, paint, embellish and voila!


The perfect showcase for her latest creations! Big Sister LOVES her new "studio". Unfortunately for her, Baby Brother does too. He sneaks in every chance he gets. At 14 months, he is not into creating as much as destructing!
The whole project only cost about $35 dollars including paint (and look at all the trees I saved:).