DIY Decor & Crafts

Natural Linen and Special Walnut

Published on April 29, 2014April 29, 2014 by Our Humble Abode32 Comments

That ugly, dirty, orange thrifted sofa isn’t so ugly anymore. Over the past week, I’ve given it a makeover and new life.

I started by removing the cushioned section from the wooden frame. The back middle leg was loose, so I glued the plugs and clamped it overnight. Then I started pulling away the dated fabric.

When tackling an upholstery project, I like to take pictures of pieces as I go. If I get stuck or can’t remember how things went together, I have pictures to go by.

Back sections always go on last, so it’s the first to come off.

Followed up with the arms.

See all that nasty stuff that was stuck in the crack? Eeew. I also found old gum on the under side of the frame.

When I pulled the fabric off, I saw the arms were barely padded. Underneath matching solid oak arms. I opted to leave the arms open because I liked the look better. A few screws, accessible from the underside hold the arms to the main frame. I’ll skip the refinishing steps, because I didn’t really follow the rules. Also, my hands were busy, so I couldn’t take photos. Basically I sanded the entire frame with 220 grit paper until I was down to bare wood. To give a rich finish, I applied one coat of Minwax Special Walnut stain, followed up with two layers of Teak Oil.

As for fabric, I fell for a natural linen. I’ve never had linen upholstery, so I’m hoping this hold up. If it doesn’t, I’m only out the cost of fabric and my time. Because my fabric has a little more stretch than thicker upholstery fabrics, I decided not to sew box cushions for the back and seat. This way, if the fabric stretches or looks saggy, I can give it a stretch without it looking strange.

I also replaced the old worn out seat foam with a 3 inch high density foam for extra padding.

Leaving the arms open is my favorite change. With little padding, the arms weren’t soft and comfortable, so this is just a better looking version. That’s one of the super Western and manly leather pillows Ben made, too.

Simple lines on the back are my second favorite thing about this sofa.

To keep it simple, I stapled a strip along the top for the fabric to fold over.

On the sides, I had to improvise. I couldn’t find a tack strip to stuff the fabric into. And nail heads looked too cluttered. Instead I stapled along the top of the fabric, then made strips to hide the staples.

Sleek and simple with a slightly rustic look. The crazy oak grain is fun and the linen compliments it without drawing attention.

Also, I’m not sure what main couch will stay in this room so I want a go with anything neutral. Ben wants leather and I most like the look of the camel toned Foxtrot from Flexsteel.

Wouldn’t the camel and linen look great together? Problem is, local stores don’t have this in stock. We don’t know if it’s comfortable, if we like the look in person, or a price. Clearly we still have some research to do before we can make a solid decision.

Orange You Glad

Published on April 23, 2014April 23, 2014 by Our Humble Abode11 Comments

I bought an orange sofa? Seventies sofa, welcome to my 70’s home.

When paired with exposed studs and insulation, it makes for a really beautiful, somewhat industrial look. Ha, couldn’t keep a straight face for that ridiculous claim. However, the sofa does have good bone structure. That’s where the good qualities end. Also similar to our house when we bought it.

Both back legs have huge scuffs and scratches.

While ugly, the orange upholstery is seriously dirty – beyond a deep cleaning.

I’m not exactly sure what fabric and color I want. Just have to see what the fabric gods send me. I do know I’ll sand the frame to make repairs (tighten up the joints) and stain the wood.

Oh that open back. Hopefully it doesn’t turn into a giant headache to recover. For only $20, I couldn’t leave without this piece.

In other sofa news, the mid-century bench is living in our bedroom. In other, other sofa news, we returned the Rachael. Despite her good looks, she wasn’t comfortable, especially for six-foot tall Ben. Turns out what’s comfortable for a few minutes at the store isn’t the same as a few hours at home.

What good is an uncomfortable couch? We moved the Dana in and so far, she’s better. Perhaps a new leather sofa is in the cards.

Keeping It Simple

Published on April 10, 2014April 10, 2014 by Our Humble Abode8 Comments

I have a tendency to over complicate my life and the things in it. I’m slightly OCD and a perfectionist by nature, so laundry must be folded just so. The dishwasher loaded the correct way. And I don’t do well with messes. Of course none of these things really matter, I understand that. Trying to get the crazy side of me to recognize it however, is a different story. Another area I’m trying to simplify is my decor. Too often, I feel the more, the better. Look at the old entry for instance:

Statement-type mirror, frames, necessities (the light, key tray and bench), and knickknacks. Wiping the slate clean after the tongue and groove wall really made me realize how nice the simplicity is. I propped a black mirror up, but didn’t like the added visual weight. And the reflection looked cluttered.

Instead, I replaced it with a white frame, large white mat, and a sweet little painting from Painting Well.

Balanced by the large expanse of white, the small rectangle of cheery colors don’t over power the space.

Nor does it compete with the horns.

Keeping the art lower to the console means the art ‘interacts’ more with that scene than the higher horns.

As for the console decor, we’ve got the basics. The small bench for putting on or taking off shoes. A lamp to leave on at night, the mitten/hat drying rack, a key tray, and small bowl of stamps. More than enough room to set things like mail or sunglasses, but they’re not permanent.

The Fix Up

Published on March 27, 2014May 15, 2014 by Our Humble Abode12 Comments

Finding a diamond in the rough at a thrift shop or second-hand store is a thrill. Rescuing something that others consider trash is kind of fun. Taking something from ugly to beautiful while giving it a new life is an economical way to add to your house. By fixing up an old piece, you’re saving it from the landfill.

Which is Crucial Vacuum‘s goal. Crucial Vacuum supplies replacement parts for vacuüm cleaners and other small appliances. Too often, a vacuüm cleaner that just needs a little TLC gets thrown away. Crucial Vacuum wants to see how you are re-using, recycling, and repairing wherever possible. We’ve joined forces to host a fun little competition. Show us something you’ve fixed up/reused/recycled/upcycled and in one week Jess at Crucial Vacuum and I will choose one winner. That lucky winner wins a $100 Amazon Gift Card, courtesy of Crucial Vacuum.

We’re certainly no strangers to rescuing items from shops, Craigslist, or even the trash. Several years ago, I refinished a beat up bookshelf that originally belonged to my great grandparents. It happily lives in the boys’ room:

More recently, we pulled small marble remnants from a junk pile to top old end tables.

A thrifted dresser got a new lease on life after stripping down old layers to reveal a beautiful cherry wood Drexel dresser.

These five dollar chairs I scored didn’t look so hot before refinishing and upholstering.

To keep our couch usable, Ben fixed our broken couch support.

But the biggest saved from the trash project we’ve tackled is our reclaimed wood beam unique deck.

From that alone, we saved thousands of pounds of wood from the landfill. Even better, we have a sturdy, schmancy new deck. Now it’s your turn! Show us any projects you’ve tackled that have saved something from becoming trash. Anything goes. You can share a link in the comments section here OR post a photo on our Facebook page OR use the tag #OHAFixMeUp to share on Instagram.

This is not a sponsored post; we were not paid or compensated to share. Just love a fun, friendly competition with a $100 Amazon Gift Card winner prize provided by Crucial Vacuum.

Feeling Groovy

Published on March 19, 2014March 18, 2014 by Our Humble Abode3 Comments

Adding the West Elm Mobile Chandelier and vintage Longhorns added some interest to our blank entry. But it was (and still is, really) a far cry from what I’d consider finished. I mean, half torn off, waiting to be replaced crown doesn’t scream finished. In fact, it looks awful.

As do the peach, heavily textured knock down walls throughout the entry, living, and dining rooms. It looks the worst on the large 12 foot expanse. But, we did take a big step in the finished direction this weekend. Luckily, Ben and I are both fans of painted tongue and groove strips; a great cover up option for ugly walls. We’ve got a blank slate accent wall.

I’ve never had an accent wall. We started with tongue and groove planks, starting level with the entry floor, then down and up from there. Nailing into studs to secure the boards in place.

Going down was easy, just a few angled cuts along the stairs. But going up wasn’t so smooth. Being 12 feet off the floor on the right side, and 16 off the left made it tricky to get everything to the top. Fortunately Ben knows his way around a wobbly ladder. Me? Not so much.

I tried priming the wall, starting at the top, but my short T Rex-ish arms couldn’t reach. Though he thought it hilarious, he instead took over the priming and painting.

This pine has heavy grain and knots, so it has plenty of character and texture. Even when painted. But still looks neutral to allow the light and horns to be the real focal points.

Though this railing isn’t my favorite, it looks significantly better against crisp white.

We still have some trim pieces to add before putting the final coat of paint on. The angled trim pieces along the stairs are only 1/2 inch thick, so I’d like to add a cap to thicken it up.

We did this on the planked side, and it adds just enough thickness for the boards to sit against.

Crown can go up around the entry, living, and most of the dining next. Again, the lone piece isn’t the look we’re going for.

Except the back dining wall, where the 8 foot door goes to the ceiling. We’ll have to add crown there after we’ve replaced the door with a window and a normal sized header.

But, I’m willing to paint the room, even if the windows and trim will change soon. Those peach walls have been here too long. I’ll paint the dark garage door and new railing white for a seamless look.