Today I meant to write about the nursery dresser restoration, but I’m very close to completing it and should wait until I have final photos. The most important task of the day is to clear coat it, but I can never be sure when I’ll get to write the post. So, I’m here this morning with my next-ish project for a Before…
For a few months I’ve thought about getting a new (but fairly ugly and stupidly expensive) glider, reupholstering a small recliner (that I have waiting in a state of sad neglect,) or nabbing a (cheap, used) rocking chair. I hated the idea of purchasing a new glider since they aren’t very attractive, cost a lot, and don’t meet my usual quality criteria. A couple display models have been persuadingly comfortable though, and we began to seriously consider going for one. Another annoyance with those is that it seems you must order in advance, and the few I’d liked (in the sitting test) were not available without a trip to inconveniently located stores. Given my hesitancy I don’t know how likely it is that we’d deal with that in time? Meanwhile I saw a very nice old rocking chair at a local sale. The wooden frame was gorgeous and very compact, it was cheap at $15, and I was able to convince L that reupholstering would make a world of difference (and was simple thanks to the design)… then it turned out to have already been sold. I would have snapped a photo but didn’t. :Sigh: Besides this I do have a comfortable and small recliner from a thrift store years ago. I even reupholstered it once. It could work out pretty nicely with better fabric, but I’d need to buy some for it and deal with the complicated shapes and sewing involved. Most recently I was leaning toward doing this although L was suggesting a glider. I still browsed CL, thrift stores, and ReStore but never felt like actually purchasing any of the many rocking chairs I found.
Then I was chatting with a friend about organising, and it came up that she had a “really cool rocking chair” from when her son was a baby, and she lit up with the idea that I might want it although it needed $1k of reupholstering. Not a problem, I can tackle that myself! A couple of days later she sent me a few photos, and yes! I did want it. She’d tried describing it, and I had imagined and Googled, but I’d never come up with the actual design or anything close:
I’m not sure what to call the style at all. ??? I think it is pretty darned neat though, and I love having a nice backstory, so I’m excited to get it. Hopefully that will be soon although I’m trying to be patient considering that I have painting and things that ought to be done first anyway.
The excitement of a new project has all of the fabric and refinishing options constantly on my mind regardless. She said her cat had peed on it, but I wondered for a moment if I could save the leather (assuming it isn’t vinyl) or somehow manage to re-do it with a gorgeous new hide. (Yeah, not likely given how much is needed and the unknowns of working with thick leather for the first time.) Then I pondered upholstery fabrics and prices until I remembered that I have some on hand that may work too. The most economical new fabric would be “Warsaw” linen from Grayline, which is what I used for our sofa (in wheat, I believe.) It would look good, I think, but if I’m realistic then something a little heavier and more forgiving would be more ideal to work with and better for longevity. Next up would be something from eBay… maybe even leather? Maybe? The most likely candidate is some beautiful linen velvet that I won on eBay at least seven years ago without having a plan for it. It is fabulous steel/pearly/dark grey that I couldn’t love more. I’m sure it would look awesome, and my biggest concern is just that I’ll have a hard time actually using the fabric for fear of messing up or wishing I had it for something else, haha. When I looked in the closet to take a photo of the grey velvet I saw a forgotten remnant of light sand coloured velvet too. It has some synthetic content and there might not be enough of it, but it is a perfectly decent option otherwise. Next to the sandy taupe is a roll of sage green linen velvet, but that is slated for a sweet little round and tufted chair that I’ll hopefully get to some year. Besides, I’d better stick to a more neutral colour.
The colours may not have come out so well in the photos, but there you go: steel grey, sage, sand, and wheat.
I highly doubt I’ll buy anything new, but I did think of using something fun like these when considering options for the recliner or this rocker:
Anyway, I need to get to work now. I was delayed by writing this and phone calls, and it is getting rather late! Just let me add a photo of a marble end table that I scored this week at one of my favourite thrift stores. (I miss the thrifting on Long Island so much! Furniture is hard to come by and pricey where I live now, but on LI I always found cool items, and it was often really cheap too!) I ended up saving 50% off of it too, so I’m pretty thrilled. I just have to make some repairs and then do some painting or a whitewash. That same day I visited the Restoration Hardware outlet and scored a dresser topper (to make a diapering area) for only 20$ too! I’m saving the photo for the dresser post though.
Both the base and marble can perfectly match the coffee table in our media room, but I might use it as a night table in the nursery? (The coffee table is supposed to be replaced some day after all, but it has hung around for five years and a move despite the broken marble top, so… I’ll see.)
domesticmonkey 