Old Grandma Footrest - Rehabilitated!

What? Two rehabilitated projects in one week?! aaaand I actually have one more project that I'm planning on finishing in the next few days too. Yup. I was busy this weekend.

A friend of mine had this footstool, let's call her Grandma Footrest, she is depressed and in need of some attention. It looks like she might have been attacked by a pit bull at some point, plus her outfit is sooo not fabulous, I decided to help her out.

Grandma is going to mostly be used by a three year old named Christian so he can reach the bathroom sink to brush his teeth. It will be kept in the master bedroom (of a bachelor pad). I covered the stripped-down footrest with new cushion, chose a masculine pattern for the bachelors and a fabric that will hold up to a rompin' 3-year-old for years.

I painted the legs a glossy black to match the rest of the furniture in the bedroom...and because I've been dying to paint something glossy black, don't ask me why. I also found this gorgeous, sturdy upholstery grade fabric, perfect! Now that's gonna make for a nice bachelor pad accessory, wouldn't you say? Classy.

Oh and see that set of shiny, square pillows on the chair? They are going to be given away in a few weeks, I'll post details soon. Keep your eyes peeled!

Five Tier Shelves

This fun shelf has been neglected and stuck in a dark closet for years. We have been working on her self esteem and believe she is ready to come out of the darkness and shine. Can't you picture this cute little shelf in the window of a boutique downtown?

Check out on Etsy.

Andy's "Friend" - Rehabilitated

Can you believe he went from this sad, rundown, pea-soup-lookin' old man...to this new and improved awesome guy (plus entourage)? It's like he saw the God of Style and couldn't help but be reformed.

What a turnaround, and I couldn't have done it without help from Sally "The Slayer Seamstress " Hauser. I first started by stripping the green layer, and found that, woohoo, there was another layer beneath it! I thought about leaving it, for padding, and I tried shampooing it, but seriously, it was dirty. So, I stripped the orange layer as well. This guy has had a colorful past.

Okay, so next step, pull out nails (pulling out twenty of these 5-inch, thirty-year-old nails reminds me that I should probably get a tetanus shot soon). I am now left with a box, some springs, wooden feet, metal plates and buttons that will need to be recovered.

After staining the wooden feet a dark, chocolaty brown and painting the brass to silver, I drag all the remaining parts over to "The Seamstress Slayer's" house. She is a vetted reupholsterer and I'm hoping she can help me out with the piping around the top ledge. Of course she does, plus much more. But I have to beware because she is the dangerous type and does "accidentally" shoot me with the staple gun, though I should be lucky that it's not a rattlesnake this time.

After my near-death experience, we covered the wooden box and springs with new batting and muslin so it's nice and clean. Sally suspects that, because of the style of the orange fabric, that this ottoman may have originated in the 1930's or 40's. So it is probably a good thing that I decided to replace it rather than cleaning this 80-year-old (wow) fabric.

I am pretty happy with how he turned out. Clean and off the red chicken. 

I had some leftover pieces and I'm not about to throw away this awesome fabric. So pillows to go on the couch where the ottoman will be is just what needs to be done to pull everything together.

Little details, it's what I'm all about. This is the custom tag that I tacked to the bottom. 

Number One - Rehabilitated

So this is actually the first chair (hence the name) that I rehabilitated. But I wasn't crazy about the fabric I chose the first time. I AM really happy with the ebony stain and stainless steel plates around the bottom of the legs, and after searching I finally found this fun, bright pattern that lights up a room.

Etsy Site Is Up

Etsy Buy Handmade rehabilitated

Check it out! I have some rehabilitated furniture and some original large format museum mounted prints available.

The Revere

Look at this piece of history. My mom dropped the "Revere" off yesterday. She got it as a gift from my grandmother when she was 13, so this machine has been around since the 60's, it's heavy and used, but definitely loved. I think I'll start by making some pillows with leftover fabric from one of the restored pieces of furniture I've done lately. Maybe I'll run a promo, buy a chair and receive a matching pillow!

Meet The Twins - Rehabilitated

Look at these two, just gorgeous.
Sadly, they were not always this way.

When they were accepted into our rehab program, they were beat up, cigarette burns and wine stains on their seats, a broken back, a little wobbly (most likely from alcohol abuse) and it looks like one of them was involved in some sort of criminal activity.



Luckily we saw hope...

After some time in our facility, the twins turned themselves around. We worked on their exterior and stripped them down to the basics. Then we got them some new kicks, new threads and accessories. They decided on a lovely all-over mahogany color with red highlights.

We are very proud of these two, they are now stable, healthy and beautiful.

Detail of the radiant fabric used to cover the newly re-cushioned seats.

Detail of the of the matching red highlights that accent the backrests.

Here is our newest patient, updates will be coming shortly.



For more information, dimensions, color samples or how to get your hands on one of these pieces, email me at catchatori [at] gmail dot com.

Vintage Octochair - Rehabilitated

I found this chair at an antique store in CenPho. As you can see it had a pretty hideous covering on it when I got it, but I loved the lines and the octagonal shape. After some serious sanding, a couple coats of stain, and then searching high and low for the perfect fabric, I ended up with a beautiful little accent chair. 

My Pattern Obsession

Since I've started my new hobby, refurbishing furniture, I've become even more obsessed with patterns, I love patterns. I went on a pattern hunt the other day, literally, went to 3 different stores to find the right one. It is a little overwhelming, I think Joann Fabric has about 100 thousand sample fabrics to choose from, but, I've managed to narrowed it down to three. The new chair I'm working on is a retro 60's octagonal-shaped chair, so I think it's important to have a retro geometric pattern to keep the feel, but not too overwhelming. I'll post it up when it's finished, but until then, here are some fun swatches to check out...