The longest re-do in the history of the universe

A thousand years ago, I went on a thrift store outing with Kristina and Erin and Shanen and got a couple of things. I really should go back and re-read my posts - I mean, the whole point of this blog was to put stuff down for posterity and to remind myself of things so I don't make the same mistake twice. Case in point: try not to do projects when you're pissed; you'll mess something up and make yourself even more pissed. Oh well, perhaps you'll read and learn from me - I don't seem to learn from myself.

The chair that I bought all those months ago has been sitting in the garage, just waiting for me to come re-do it. I hadn't taken the time because there always seemed to be something else that was more important. Mind you, nothing else was more important to me - it was usually something Drew wanted me to do and rather than listen to him whine I would do that instead of doing my chair. Then I'd get resentful and snippy and it usually led to a snide comment or two, prompting Drew to ask, 'what is with you?' To which I'd reply, 'NOTHING. Let's just finish this.' Whatever it was. Totally my deal and we're in counseling - seriously.

What can I say though - I have a hard head. Rather than just going out to the garage and finishing my chair and not caring whether or not Drew pitches a fit, I just didn't do it. Well, finally this past Sunday I was like, I don't care if the f*cking WORLD ends tomorrow, I'm doing my f*cking chair!!! Yeah, not the best circumstances under which to do a project. Because you'll mess something up. Oh well.

So, for reference, here are some pictures. This is the chair before, in all it's $5 glory. The blue seat cover was not cute at all and that was the first thing to go. There were also some grooves at the chair backs. I filled those in with wood filler, leading to my first mistake: When using wood filler, make sure to use enough to actually fill the grooves. If you can still see the grooves, paint will only highlight them.

I went to town sanding the chair soon after I bought it, and it sat there, sanded for almost a month.

I primed and painted one coat another day a couple of weeks later. THEN, Sunday night I was able to paint the second coat and put the sealer on it. This led to my next mistake: When painting something three dimensional, make sure that the paint on the other side doesn't dry before you can go around to the back of it (like a chair, for example) and fix any drips. Additionally, that spindle thingy on the back of the chair? It is a B*TCH to paint with a brush. This is a case where spray paint probably would have been a better choice.

But I was bound and determined to finish this damn chair if it was the last thing I ever did which led to some hastiness on my part. Next mistake: Let your last coat of paint THOROUGHLY dry (preferably overnight) before putting on the poly. I don't think I did and it was streaking and looking all crazy. I thought it was the temperature outside so I brought it in the house but that didn't make a difference. I probably should have let the paint dry longer.

Then I tackled the seat. The first picture is the blue cloth that was on the seat cover. The next one is the cloth that was underneath the blue. The one beneath that is the bare seat, which was just some padding over some plywood (I think). After I took out the eleventy billion staples (picture below), I was ready to go.

When we were at the thrift store, I picked up a package of batting to add some more padding to my seat cushion. It was only a couple of bucks and it was right there. I know they recommend foam for seat cushions but I figured it would save me a trip. Next mistake: Use foam for seat cushions; batting is a pain in the ass to keep even. Observe.

Batting is a fancy word for stuffing - meaning, it's great if you have something to stuff. Something like a pillow or a teddy bear, basically something that's closed on some end. Batting is not so great for chair cushions because flipping it over on the fabric of choice and then trying to pull said fabric over said stuffing will surely result in much, MUCH cursing. I'd pull the fabric over one side and all the stuffing would just ooze out the opposite side, causing me to stop and curse before shoving the stuffing back underneath so I could staple the fabric to the plywood, bringing me to my next mistake: Don't disregard the old fabric, thinking you can just eyeball the seat and cut some semblance of a shape. Use the old fabric as a template and cut accordingly. Especially if it's patterned fabric. Especially if it's patterned fabric.

I succeeded in stapling the fabric to the seat while keeping the stuffing localized as best as I could, only to find that when I flipped the seat over, the pattern of my fabric was fifty kinds of crooked! Between not using a template and haphazardly pulling the fabric and stapling, the pattern was very obviously not straight. But since Drew had interrupted me about twelve times during this whole process when I thought I made it pretty clear that I didn't want to stop until it was done, I'd be damned if I started all over again. So I left it and screwed the seat in with the fabric as is. Oh, and I forgot another mistake: When sanding something (like a chair) on a drop cloth make sure you shake out the dust really well, otherwise the wind will blow the little particles onto your chair and make it pebbly. Better yet, use different drop cloths for sanding and painting because if you don't, you'll have to sand away the gritty parts on the legs of the chair.

Now, I could have re-sanded and re-painted and re-covered the chair but I was so over it by the time I was actually able to finish the chair that I'm leaving it as a cautionary tale to myself when I undertake my next project. What, you didn't think I'd give up did you? I'm waaay too hard-headed for that! I want to get another chair and do it right this time! At the most, I may re-paint the legs where the gritty bits are but other than that, it's staying just as it is. So here's my chair in all it's imperfect glory. Don't look too closely.

We moved the loveseat away from the desk because Maya would jump on it and snatch papers off the desk. So now it's over by the windows and the desk is safely out of reach. It makes the sitting room look bigger and now all we need are some rugs. And curtains. And more stuff on the walls. And another chair for the sitting room. And I'd really like to organize the linen closet. And don't even get me started on the baby's room!

See, I have lots more opportunities to mess up - I'm excited.