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. 

Magazine Table - Rehabilitated

Maybe you remember from a few posts ago that we recently acquired this guy into our rehab program. He used to have a good job as a top magazine holder, but then the internet came along and his job was outsourced to a computer. After a few years out of work, he ended up living in some guys garage, but we believe that there is still some work out there for a magazine holder/table, and have high hopes for him.



After a good scrub down with the electric sander, fixing up a few little bruises and a fresh coat of paint, we are going to send him out into the real world again.

Thanks to ReadyMade Magazine for posting this project on their blog.

Catch me also on Twitter @rehabilitated
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.

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.

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...

1954 Vintage Chair - Rehabilitated

I like to take old ordinary things and give them new life.

I found this old chair at an antique shop in downtown Phoenix, originally built in 1954, it's obviously been very used. It took quite a few hours to complete this guy, mostly sanding all the previous paint and crud off. I stained it with an ebony stain, replaced the cushion fabric and spray painted the metal plates on the feet, that were gold, silver.

I reupholstered a chair like ten years ago, all I had then was a staple gun, I have since acquired a few more tools and skillz. Here are some of the tools I had for this project...