Outdoor Time

Last fall, we sold our trusty old patio set.  It had served us very well over the last 6 years.  It took several new coats of Rustoleum paint, but it was just old and tired.  So, since last fall, I have been contemplating what to do about outdoor furniture.

Our requirements were basically:

1.  Eight chairs would be ideal.  Stackable would be even better.
2.  Want table that can seat eight; however, this would take up most of our current patio space, and we don't know what type of yards we will have with our future moves, so a huge table could be problematic.  Ideally, we wanted a table with leaves or one that had the capability to expand.
3.  A non-matching table/chairs.

So, after much debating, we settled on some stackable chairs from Lowe's.  We got 8, and I couldn't be more happy that we did.  We have already had several occassions to use all 8 of them, and I love that we can store two of them down by our basement door.  Stackable seemed key for all the moving we will be doing!


The price has dropped a lot...these are the Garden Treasures - Key Largo Stationary Patio Chair
The table was a bit trickier.  I found a couple of guys on craigslist who make picnic tables with pedestal legs which I really liked...after having one guy up the price quote by $100, I decided against that option as I was hoping to find something at a better price.

Sean and I started thinking about making our own table.  We knew we wanted metal legs...but that was all we knew.  Then, I got this crazy idea that we should make our own table out of pallets.   On a whim, we went and picked up 5 free pallets.

I liked these types of designs...but then we would have had to fill in all the openings on the tops of the pallets, we would have had to basically make two tables in order to be big enough, and the pipes to make the legs are pretty expensive.  This was starting to feel like a lot more work than I was ready to put forth.

Then, finally - we lucked out.  We found the perfect table to meet our requirements and budget!  The IKEA Applaro drop leaf table...costing only $129!  It has two drop leaves on the sides.  Sarah was a good sport about joining me for the Ikea trip to pick one up while she was here.  Then, I learned that she loves to assemble things - NICE!  So, thanks to a long Paddy nap, she got it assembled, and we got it outside!  YEAH!
I had thought that the chairs fit under the table, but they don't - the table is about an inch too short.  So, my dad is going to be helping us with that.

We get full sun in our backyard, and I love being outside with Paddy during the summer; however, the sun gets pretty intense.  So, I ordered this umbrella from Overstock.  It looks like it should arrive tomorrow. 

We need to stain the table, probably soon.  I am contemplating trying some sort of gray, washed out look.  We will see!  For the meantime, I am just adoring the new table.

Chair Update - Caned Chair

So, I guess I can sort of cross another chair off the list.  I decided that I would do the caned chair on my own to hopefully be a low cost project.  Maybe one day I will have it reupholstered, but the yellow will do for now....

Here is what I did to it...

1.  Took the seat off the chair which was much more difficult than expected...thanks to Krissy, Jean and Sean, it finally came off.
2.  Green Machined all the upholstery on the chair (should have done this AFTER the sanding, as I will now need to do it again!)
3.  Sanded all the wood
4.  Wiped the chair down
5.  Covered the upholstery on the back of the chair that I couldn't pop off using plastic, paper and masking tape
6.  Spray painted the chair glossy white (three coats)
7.  Reinforced the bottom of the chair with zip ties (those things fix EVERYTHING).

Here is the before of the $10 find:

Before:

After:



I still have yet to have Sean screw the seat back on as I feel like a few spots need some more paint.  I absolutely loved how the chair looked when I was spraying it outside, and now that I have it put back together, I am not quite as sold.

But, for the cost of a couple cans of spray paint and a few hours of work, I think it was worth it!  A less than $20 investment...

Transformation of a craigslist find...

Sommer was kind enough to share her amazing chair transformation with me.  She got these chairs for $12.50 each!  What a deal!!  She then sanded and painted them, and started to reupholster them herself, then decided to hire some of that work out (I would have too!).  The results are stunning!  She helped breathe so much fresh life into these chairs.  They have an upcoming move to sunny FL, and this fun geometric print will be perfect.  Thanks so much for sharing this inspiration, Sommer!

Before:

After:

Chair Challenge - Update

So, I finally finished one part of the chair challenge!  Krissy was a huge help.  We have been trying to have 'project night' to work on some/many of our random projects.  I had hoped to finish the bamboo chairs before the Plebe Parent weekend open house, so Krissy helped me staple/pull/staple/fold corners/and staple some more.  Sean helped me screw the seats back on the morning of the party...and they were done!

Before:


After:

Perfect husband quote after these were done...."What did you change again?  Don't these look the same as they used to?"  No, no and no.  There is no longer sticky vinyl on them, and they have been glued/repaired/sanded/primed/painted/clear coated...NO.  They don't look the same :)

I finished all of the following tasks...

a.  Determine which chairs need something on them fixed (some of the backs are loose, some of the seat braces are coming unglued, etc.)
     b.  Determine if I can fix, or if I need someone to help me.  Likely will need help. (UPDATE:  I was able to find this very honest and helpful handyman on CL, and he fixed all six chairs for me - he checked every joint/loose spot, fixed them all, sanded, primed, painted, and put two clear coats on them!)

     c.  Learn more about reupholstering chairs.
          i.  Price/buy new foam for seats (UPDATE: Still undecided on this...my foam is 1 inch thick, and I would upgrade to 1.5 inch foam - not sure that the 1/2 inch is really worth the cost and effort)
          ii.  Research/decide on stain protection, if any. (Thankfully, I already have the fabric)
     d.  Wash/iron fabric
     e.  Stain protect fabric
     d.  Recover seats

Now onto the next chairs....

Chair Challenge

So, there are lots of projects I would like to undertake around the house...but isn't that how it always is?

I talked to Sean about prioritizing projects (this was back in November - yikes.) and he was very quick to say that CHAIRS needed to be number one on our list.  In fact, he gave me an ultimatum of February 1st (yes, 2011) to have them all done by - I knew that wasn't feasible...so I said March 1st.  HA. 

Sadly, I still haven't made much progress.  Only the Bamboo Chairs have seen a little action.  I really do want to start checking some projects off the list, and all the chairs below should be at the top.  Now...if I can just focus and stop thinking about the new desk and free buffet! 

Here is what I need to do:

1.  Bamboo Chairs (6)
     a.  Determine which chairs need something on them fixed (some of the backs are loose, some of the seat braces are coming unglued, etc.)
     b.  Determine if I can fix, or if I need someone to help me.  Likely will need help. (UPDATE:  I was able to find this very honest and helpful handyman on CL, and he fixed all six chairs for me - he checked every joint/loose spot, fixed them all, sanded, primed, painted, and put two clear coats on them!)

     c.  Learn more about reupholstering chairs.
          i.  Price/buy new foam for seats (UPDATE: Still undecided on this...my foam is 1 inch thick, and I would upgrade to 1.5 inch foam - not sure that the 1/2 inch is really worth the cost and effort)
          ii.  Research/decide on stain protection, if any. (Thankfully, I already have the fabric)
     d.  Wash/iron fabric
     e.  Stain protect fabric
     d.  Recover seats

2.  Black and White Salvation Army Chairs (2)
I have had these since fall of 2008, and I still haven't changed them.  And, a leg broke off of one of them while in Boston...that isn't even fixed yet!  Yikes.
     a.  Call more furniture repair/upholstery places and decide where I will take the chair....or if it is worth fixing it.
     b.  Decide if I will paint chairs (would prefer this to save money), or if I will have them painted so that all the work can be done seamlessly at once.
     c.  Decide if I want to replace the foam in the cushions and have a better back pillow made that will mirror the shape of the chair better.
     d.  Pick fabric.
     e.  Execute!


3.  French Chairs from Scott's (2)
I re-did these chairs while in Georgia, but one of the pair was broken during this move.  In order to fix the chair properly, the chair needs to be taken apart before putting back together so that the joint can be cleaned/re-set.  Unfortunately, or fortunately, that means that the chairs will need to be re-upholstered.
     a.  Call more furniture repair/upholstery places and decide where I will take the chairs.
     b.  Decide how I want the wood painted (probably glossy white...but I seem to want ALL the chairs to be this way...I need to diversify)
     c.  Select a fabric.
     d.  Execute!

4.  Caned & tufted barrel chair (1)
     a.  Decide if I want to leave the current stain or paint.
     b.  Decide if I want to have reupholstered or leave alone for a while.
     c.  Have the chair evaluated as I think it might need a little gluing at some of the joints and a tightening of the seat.  Then have work done!
     d.  Pick a fabric
     e.  Execute!

Tufting Lovers Anonymous

I seriously seem to have an issue with the following:
1.  Buying chairs that need lots of TLC (this is as nicely as I can say it)
2.  Buying tufted chairs/couches

I found this chair last weekend in Cold Spring at Pop's Barn (where I got my citrine colored lamps earlier this year for $5 each!).

I couldn't stop thinking about the chair as we perused the other antique shops on Main Street.  Everything else that I saw just couldn't erase this chair from my mind.  Sean is such a champ to put up with me.  :)  We sat down at dinner, and I decided to quickly duck out to see if I could make it back to Pop's to get the chair.  I was so thankful it was still there!  Why do I love this chair, my husband may ask...why, because:

1.  It's only $10!
2.  It's tufted!
3.  It has caning and I have been wanting a chair with caning!
4.  It is a barrel chair, and I am a fan.
5.  It is actually sturdy.

Now...what to do with it?


Kiddo Chairs

When I went to order these chairs for Paddy's birthday about eight weeks ago, my worst nightmare came true.  I have had these chairs on the brain since I saw them on say YES to hoboken and Oh Happy Day.  And, granted, I love getting six chairs for $20, but since that isn't always feasible, I figured that these would be a splurge, but I was willing to do it.  I finally caved and decided I need to get on to ordering these so that they would arrive in time for the big day.  I looked at the website and it is said the dreaded words, Sorry Temporarily Out of Stock.  I searched and searched, and all the others that I found were at LEAST double the price of these.  BOO.  I emailed Room Service to see if this really meant that they were 'temporarily out of stock' or if they were 'forever' out of stock so that I knew if I needed to give up my dreams.  When I didn't hear back via email, I decided to go old school and pick up the phone and call.

Dreams can come true, ladies and gentleman.  They just got a bunch of chairs in stock!!  Hooray.  They arrived a few days before his birthday, we had an assembly party before the Toby Keith concert, and now Paddy thinks they are his new walkers that he can push all over or his new climbing toy.  NOTE - these are not very heavy chairs...especially not to hold a very tall, climbing one year old.  The cuteness makes up for the light frame, in my opinion.  Up next...hopefully a table to go along with them...my poor dad :)

 
Lesson - don't be afraid to pick up the phone and call!!  The Room Service website is STILL showing they are out of stock :)

To fix or not to fix...

So, my dear friend Rhonda called me one day during work saying that she was at Salvation Army and there were some chairs that she thought I would want.  I raced over and immediately agreed.  The chairs were very clean and had what appeared to be relatively new fabric on them.  I was going to paint them glossy white and have them reupholstered in a fun fabric.  I didn't have time to get this project done before we left GA, which I am now kicking myself for.  The cost up here in Boston is going to be a lot more than it would have been down there! 

Recently, one of the legs broke off one of the chairs...and, it was clear that this had been broken before as there were stray screws/glue marks from a shoddy fix.  ARGH.  Oh well, what did I expect? 
I sent a question into Apartment Therapy Boston to see if anyone could basically recommend the 'perfect' resources - a quality and inexpensive upholsterer and woodworker.

So, they question now is...to fix or not to fix?    I think the chairs could be nice if I fixed them up; however, I have to make a commitment to fabric in order to do that, and I always seem to get cold feet!  I really want a fun, modern looking geometric print.  I would love to do a bold color (I still lust after the kelly green Imperial Trellis fabric), but I have started chickening out on that and thinking I should get a more neutral color so that it can go along with more rooms...especially since we have a lot of moves coming up.

I have recently found someone on craigslist who can fix the chair leg for a reasonable price, and now I still need to decide on a fabric, paint the chairs, and find an upholsterer.  Lots to do.


I think I would really like to stick with a geometric pattern, and it would be great if I could Scotchguard the material and be able to wash the covers for the cushions.

I have been keeping an eye out for fabrics that I like, but I haven't seemed to find the perfect fabric at the perfect price yet :)

Here are some fabrics that I like...you can click on the pics to link to the sites where I found them.













 

  

  

 

Canopy Chair spotting!!

I talked to Brenda today, and she spotted a Canopy Chair in Fort Worth, TX.  I don't even know if Canopy Chair is really the correct name, but I will roll with that until I learn otherwise!

I checked out the link for the restaurant that she saw the chair in, and I absolutely LOVE the decor.  When I think about how I would describe my style, I always struggle.  I feel like it is a strange mix, and it is also a mix of some things that I love but maybe don't actually have in my own home yet...can anyone relate?   The pictures from Tillman's Roadhouse really captured all my favorites...rustic, natural elements, modern victorian (can that be a category?) and mid century modern...ahhh, gorgeous!

Super cool, Brenda.  Thanks for snapping this pic, and if anyone is interested in seeing the decor in Tillman's Roadhouse, check it out here.