How did I do it? {Altering a chair frame!}

Two days ago, I revealed my Anthropologie-Inspired Chair overhaul! 

{You can see the post here}

 From This:                                 To this:

So, how did I do it?

Honestly? I have no clue.

That being said, this is definitely not a tutorial. 

The first thing I attempted to do was change the arms. 

Looking at my inspiration (The Anthropologie Astrid Chair), it is obvious that the arms do not slope upwards, as the original chair's arms did.

 So, I simply cut them off! 

Next, I cut off the back of the frame, and added tubes on the arms to make them round.

The arms are actually made from mailing tubes.
I didn't take a picture in between these two, but under the tubes, I put in the original arms for more strength.

I wanted the front legs to look more like those of the Astrid Collection.

Searching through my garage, I found the perfect solution: The legs of an old table. 

I then cut out the center section and added some old little wheels that I found in my garage!

Problem solved!

Next up was the back of the seat.

This was relatively simple. I cut a thick piece of plastic in the shape of the chair back. 

This was stapled to the top of the original chair back, and some 2x2s. 

Next I took some thin boards and covered the sides and back.

(And broke out the duck tape...)

Voila! New frame nearly complete!

After adding foam to the back, I simply covered the entire chair with two layers of quilt batting.

The chair was completed by painting the legs with a coat of gold paint, and finishing off the upholstery. 

 Tada!

 Chair reveal found here!

Thanks for reading! All comments are loved and appreciated! 

Anthropologie Astrid Chair inspired makeover!

[Update: How did I do it? See the process of altering a chair frame here!]

In my previous post, I mentioned how you can find a typical cane chair in nearly every thrift store and DIY blogger's home.

Source: The Robin's Nest

That being said, I wanted to make my own cane chair very unique.
I also wanted to show more possibilities with a very common item. 

It all started with this picture that I came across while browsing Anthropologie.com 

It's so cute!! 

Source: Anthropologie 

Upon further searching, I found out that Anthropologie sells a matching chair!

It. was. perfect.

Funky, whimsical, crazy, adorable.

That is when the light-bulb lit up. 

The idea was brought to the next level after I stumbled upon the perfect fabric at my local thrift store.
It is the exact color of the Astrid settee that originally stole my heart (cheesy, I know...).

At the low price of $3, I couldn't pass the fabric up. 

I then took inspiration from the Astrid collection, and created my own masterpiece.

*******************************************

Before.

After.

My Favorite part:

The tufting 

(My cat approved... and felt like posing for a picture)

Individual Costs:
$3-Fabric
$10-Batting
$8-Original Chair
$0-Everything else!
Total Cost:

$- 21

Compared to:
$-1,598.00
on Anthropologie.com

:)

"The frame of your chair should never limit your creativity"
(Sorry for all the cheese)

Please hop on over to East Coast Creative and click on my project in the linksy!

How did I do it? [See the process of altering a chair frame here!]

Thanks for viewing! Comments are always appreciated! 

First Ever Upholstery Project!

Everywhere. 

That is where you can find the infamous 1980's cane chair.

That includes both thrift stores AND blogs!

Source: TheReadingGirl

The following was the exact chair that inspired me to take on my first upholstery project, back in August of 2011. 

Source: Vintage Revivals

That's where the story of my chair began!

This is how it came to me:

(Sadly, I can't find any better pictures... sorry!)

Original button, showing ugly green color:

You never know what you will find in something from a thrift store... 

Yup, all this was stuffed in the nooks and crannies of the tiny chair!

The fun process! (in my living room, no less):

Makeover #1:

After a few coats of watermelon paint and new fabric, it was perfect for my room!

I loved it at the time, but my style has changed since then. 

New makeover coming (hopefully) tomorrow!

(This includes my entry to Creating with the Stars)

Thanks for reading! 

What's up next?

My bedroom!

 Even though I will be living in my house for just approximately 6 or 7 more months, I still want to do another project. It is... um... experience! Building my "design portfolio".

And just plain fun.

I have been hard at work on the room, and have installed a new floor and painted the deep purple walls to "Hushed White" (Behr). 

That's about it.

Here are the "before" pictures. Before any decorating at least. 

I know that they are not very good, but nobody reads this blog to complain anyways. 

Just don't expect any "after" pictures for 2 months or so.

Going through my door:

Door area:

Window Wall:

Wall next to window wall (door is on this wall): 

Closet and other part of far wall:

(lord only knows why the closet looks so gross)

The tapestry is the Moonbeam Tapestry from Urban Outfitters:

And the most updated picture of anything I have done...

(almost) all of my shoes fit into my closet!

Excuse the crappy quality of a phone camera.

Thanks For reading! All comments are appreciated!

DIY Whitewash Horizontal panelling!

I have long been in love with the look of horizontal panelling,

especially when painted white.

Source: www.houzz.com

I wanted to add more texture and visual interest to a very boring wall in my bathroom. 

It acts as a focal wall in the small room, without adding darker colors or separating the space with color!

I started by comparing cheap and thin wood, with emphasis on the cheap part.

The wood I settled on was $7.00 per 8x4 sheet, so the price was right!!

The store I bought the wood at is very flexible about their cutting policy and I had them rip all 3 of my sheets into 4ft by 6inch boards.

Next I primed the back of all of the boards with Kilz primer, which resists mildew and seals out more moisture than normal primer.

After this, I did two coats of the paint (same color as my walls), but instead of painting it on, I rubbed it into the wood. I wanted to preserve the wood grain look. 

Then, I nailed every piece onto the wall by the corners 

and on the studs that each board crossed. 

I used popsicle sticks for spacers. I got that idea from a 

tutorial, though I'm non sure which one. 

Woohoo ugly bathroom progress!

$21.00~Wood

$7.00~Nails

$0.00~paint (Already had!)

$0.00~Kilz (Already had!)

--------

Grand total: $28!!!

Now that's what I call a bargain! 

I am in love with the difference it makes in the room!

Before:

After:

You can see the completed bathroom here

I love comments!! Thanks for reading!! 

My Bathroom Reveal!

Welcome to my basement bathroom! For a majority of my life, this room was referred to as the fish bathroom by those in my house. The walls were covered with fish wallpaper on top, a fish border in the middle, and dark blue painted waves on the bottom. Fish soap dish, fish shower curtain, fish artwork. You get the picture. Oh, and the fish lived there.
At around age 13, I took over my older sister's downstairs bedroom. Along with that move came a bathroom move! However, fish weren't my style. 4 years later, I finished off the project!
I started the process when I was 16, and finished when I was 17. (Let's just say it took a little while)
Pictures now!

Before.

[after removal of wallpaper, mirror and light fixture]

 After.

Not bad for my first interior design project?

This teeny room is choked full of DIY projects.

The "book" shelves, the vanity, the towel 

ladder, the earring holder, the floor, the panelling.

Found this in the basement of the camp I worked at last summer. 

Stealing? Psssh. No. Just long-term borrowing. 

Should have bought more of these chindi rugs when I could have. 

Snagged that one for only $3.50!

You can check out my DIY white washed paneling here

Dollar store baskets and thrifted mason jars. 

Custom built-in shelves! What a pain in the arse. But totally worth it. 

 My Lovely Favorite DIY:

The entire bathroom is basically a DIY, and on the cheap...

Pricing is as follows:

Floor: $3.00 per sq/ft (around $200)

Dresser: $25

Sink: $19

Faucet: $45

Ladder Supplies: $16

Paint: $45ish?

Panneled wall project: $35ish

Trim: $25ish

Light Fixture: $5.00

Mirror: $15.00

Mason Jars: Free+Free+$4.00

"Wildflowers": Free

Butterfly art: $4.00 +$5.00 (frame)

Toilet paper Holder: $1.00

Towel Holder: $1.00

Towel Bar (not shown): $3.00

Baskets: $3.00 (dollar store)

Built in shelves supplies: $10.00ish

Soap Dispenser: $1.00

"Book" Shelves: $10.00ish

Multi-color rug: $3.50

Everything else: Free!

Total: $477ish, including a new floor!

Sorry the pictures aren't the best! Thanks for reading!!

Comments are always appreciated!

Any tips for improved awesome-ness?

♥