How 'bout some toile, y'all? Chair redo parade part 1, first go at slipcovering

I told you guys last week that I had several projects to share. I haven’t blogged them, but I have COMPLETED projects in this house! LOL. I’ve been working on my living room for the last few weeks. I had several chairs and tables that needed to be redone. I’m ALMOST there…. I only have a few accessories and pillows to change up, and I’ll be done. I’m loving the new feeling…. I was looking around the living room last night, and every single piece (except for my splurge sofa and antique library table) is something I’ve redone in some way. It makes me feel so proud to look around my home and see ME…. Not some magazine or catalog. Not someone else’s blog or ideas… I SEE ME.

Do you remember this picture:

Since I took this I’ve recovered one of these ugly brown chairs, slipcovered an old club, and reupholstered a Goodwill find. I’ve also changed up the table and lamp placement by the sofa, but all that’s coming later.

When I was reworking this space I remembered an old club chair I had in storage. It was a good piece of furniture 11 years ago when I bought it. It had good bones. :) The upholstery had seen better days though. It was a dirty ripped plaid. Nice. I don’t have a total before shot. I’ve just been doing projects as I feel like it and haven’t been taking tons of pics. Anyway. It was ugly. I decided to slipcover it. I told myself that if I could sew everything my girls wear I could surely sew a slipcover. Makes sense huh? Yeah. Easier said than done. I have a way of making brain surgery out of removing a splinter. In other words, I make things WAY harder than they have to be, so I knew that I would find SOME way to make it even more difficult than it is. Once I made up my mind I started looking for help. I’ve read my pal Kelly’s blog forever. She started me off here with this tutorial. Kelly has told me FOREVER that I could do it… That I should just take the slipcovering plunge… I finally decided it was time! I have Pink and Polka Dot’s ebook. I read it 200 times and also camped out over on Design Intervention. She has SO many great projects including this one. I searched all over and found pieces I liked. I ended up taking a bit from several places and making it my own way. It really wasn’t THAT bad after I got the hang of it…. It just took a lot more time than I thought, and it also produced quite a few cuss words. :) In the end I had a piece that I was thrilled with. It was exactly what I had envisioned and is SO ME.

Here she is. Isn’t she a doll?!?! I used drop cloths (what else?) for the body and added the red toile ruffle and piping.

The back cushion was originally attached to the back of the chair. I cut it apart and like it so much better this way.

The ruffly toile skirt is my absolute favorite part of this chair.

I love the slouchy comfy fit. Andrew said it looks like such a comfy place to sit, and it is. We all fight over it. :) I had this Pottery Barn vintage floral pillow, and they work great together.

This chair is perfect for this room. I love the way it goes with all my other pieces. Do you see that table sitting beside it in this picture? If you look at the room’s before shot you will be able to see that it’s had a makeover too. That’s coming later on.

I learned a lot from this chair, and I know my next piece won’t be nearly as hard or time consuming. It really wasn’t a bad process at all. It just took time and patience. I am the queenofwantingitdonerightthissecondjusthowiwantitdone, and it taught me that sometimes patience is a GOOOOD thing. This is something I KNEW I could do, but it intimidated me for a LONG time. I wish I would’ve listened to Kelly and just done it! It’s opened up so many doors…. Now every piece of furniture in my home can look the way I want it to. That’s an amazing feeling. :)

Over the next week or so I will be sharing several other projects. I’ve had a great time redoing my living room, and I can’t wait to share it with YOU.

Thanks for stopping by my little cottage. Love and hugs,

Linking to:

Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday

Restore Interiors Restore It Wednesday Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday

My repurposed Life's Catch as Catch Can

Hooking Up with House of Hepworths

Blue Cricket Design's Show & Tell Wednesday

Domestically Speaking's Power of Paint Party

Primitive & Proper's Piece of Work Wednesday

Sassy Sites Trash to Treasure Tuesday

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Stories of a House Project Diaries

The Shabby Chic Cottage's Transformation Thursday