8.19.2010

2 weeks off, too many projects

So I'm currently between film gigs, which means 2 whole weeks to do whatever I please.  I decided this time I would NOT waste my hiatus watching Law & Order re-runs.  So I made a very ambitious list of projects around the house that I had been "meaning to get around to".  First on the list, buying a gosh darn dresser for my bedroom!
So that's done.  Picked up this Danish mod beaut at the Long Beach flea on sunday.  I knew no matter what I ultimately do with the decor in my bedroom, this is a classic and I'll always like it.

Next up was recovering the ottoman in the living room.  It's a funky turquoise vinyl that I've always planned on recovering but never found the right fabric.  I finally just bought something, knowing I can always do it over if I find something better!  Here were the steps:

 remove the legs, by prying loose the super rusty 50 yr old screws
 pry up the funky "woodgrain" cardboard
 cut the piping off with a matte knife.  not doing this would have meant a funky top edge once it was recovered, and I wasn't about to remove the nasty old vinyl, uncovering god knows what...
make piping.  I have mentioned before how much I dislike making piping.  At least this time there wasn't much to make.
 sew the top, piping and sides together.  this was easy for me, as I have upholstered many many cushions.  so I'm not going to explain the process, unless you really want to know in which case just ask.
 I had some cotton quilt batting lying around, so I stapled a layer of that over the cushion, thinking it would be nicer if the fabric wasn't sliding around on top of the vinyl underneath.
 stapled the cover in place, making sure to get a nice evenly tight fit.
 reattached the legs and woodgrain stuff and placed in the living room.  waited for the inevitable moment when a cat would decide that this was now a fine place to spend the afternoon.
I'm quite happy with it!  I even think the new nubby olive tweed looks more authentic than the actually authentic vinyl.  Total cost:  $12 for the ottoman (flea mkt) and $25 for fabric.  Total time:  about 3 hours.

Tomorrow, I'll post the new kitchen curtains I whipped up this morning.  I'm really on a roll!

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