Thursday, March 22, 2012

Desk Chair Makeover and the Beginnings of My New Creative Space

I fell in love with this chair last winter at a small antique show up in Sandpoint, ID and had to bring it home with me after feeling how heavy, sturdy, and comfortable it was.  I'd been on the lookout for just the right chair to go with my new half-round desk and this fit the bill....



Although I'm glad I did end up buying it now, I certainly was wishing I would have known that I'd be moving it 3,000 miles in a matter of months after purchasing...I have a lot of furniture like that... I had always intended on re-finishing it to go with more of my look and I finally got around to it!  This is what it looked like before...
It's a bit hard to tell in this picture (that I quickly snapped after I started pulling out the nailheads), but the wood finish was badly scratched and very tired-looking.  The fabric on the chair was a actually a really nice dark green mohair, but it got damaged a bit while in storage this last summer and didn't go with what I was envisioning for my new craft space. 
After painstakingly pulling out all the nailheads, furniture tacks and deconstructing the chair, I painted the frame black...
I recovered it in an off-white canvas and added a "K" monogram for a little personalization and then I was on to the hard part....nailheads!
To be honest, this was my first time applying nailheads to a piece of furniture and besides the boatloads of dining chairs that I've recovered, I'm fairly new to re-upholstering, so I'm learning as I go.  What I learned here...
1) Do not attempt reuse the nailheads that were originally pulled off the chair in a very haphazard way!  When originially yanking them off the chair, I thought I'd be purchasing some new ones...until I priced out how many packages I needed and my whole chair budget went out the window.  I'm trying to get ready for the big Luckett's Antique Show in May, so I'm saving pennies to buy furniture for the show...not redo my house furniture with.  Anyhoo, trying to pound in nailheads that are bent in every direction is not easy!
2) Don't use a big ol' hammer for the job.  I'm quickly finding that if I'm going to reupholster furniture, I'm going to have to break down and buy the right tools, like that expensive little tack hammer I saw.
3) Don't have your two-year old climbing on you as you are desperately trying to get those little nailheads straight! 
Isn't this bay window screaming for some curtain panels like this...
via
This is the very beginning stages of my new creative space!  After five years of crafting, painting, jewelry-making on the dining room table, my nightstand, the floor next to my bed, a nook in the kitchen, or any other random space I could claim in our old house, I finally, finally have a room to call my own! 
This was going to be an office for my husband to use if he ever worked from home, but since that doesn't happen more than once a month, I'm takin' over!  I've been slowly moving my craft supplies from an upstairs closet and organizing...
And after living in our new house for six months, I think my clock collection finally has a new home...


I'll be working on this room over the next few months and I'll be sure to keep you updated.  As much as I want to work on it to get it all completed, I've got to get busy getting projects done for Luckett's!  Now...just one more thing...what to call this room?  Office, Studio, Craft Room?  What do you call your creative space?

Kristen


Linking up to:


38 comments:

Elna said...

Beautiful chair in black and white. I like all your clock's to. Call it my space *smile*.

Hugs
Elna

Cassie Bustamante said...

it looks beautiful! and those curtains would be perfect!

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

I call my mess of a little room my craft/sewing room mainly because that's what I do in there, Kristen. It was intended to be a storage room, but I took it over before we even moved in! We have a separate home office that my hubby uses all the time and I just keep a few things in there {bill paying, my laptop and my books}. All your things are coming together nicely. That chair looks fantastic! Can't wait to see it as you move along.

Pitter and Glink said...

I love the chair. I love your clock collection. And I can't wait to see the finished room! :)

Debra from Bungalow said...

You call your gorgeous new room, "a room of my own."


Great stuff going on over here...new chair and a gorgeous table...love that thing and you did a great job refinishing it!

Highpoint Circle said...

What a beautiful desk and chair. I am looking for a smallish, but not too small desk myself. Your's would look lovely in my space! Great job.

Sonny G said...

wow - you did a great job on that chair. I love it and the monogram makes it all the more special~!
*************
soon as the my bed gets here I'll let ya know about the quality and if it was worth the price and how the customer service goes..

*******
would you consider doing a tutorial on how you did your monogram.? pretty please- when ya have time.
***********
good luck with your sales at Lucketts.

Janette - The2Seasons said...

One word - WOW!!!! I love that chair.

Tammy said...

Beautiful as always Kristen. I love the windows and all that light. That will inspire you daily. I used to call my space a craft room but since have changed last year to studio. I work there so it sounds more appropriate :)

tammy

Andrea said...

the chair is perfect! I also love your desk. I have a big ole ugly office chair in my craft room, but will definately be on the hunt to change that after seeing yours!

Weathered Treasure said...

Wow Kristen, the chair looks great! And can I just say I am totally jealous of your dest. It is so amazing!

Nothing But Blue Skies... said...

Beautiful job on the chair! I love those curtains, and your clock collection stirs up major envy in me!
Can't wait to see how your she-cave comes together! ;)
xo-Lisa

Jennifer said...

I love your chair but really, I love your whole style! That desk is amazing too! Would you link up to my Friday party?

http://daysofchalkandchocolate.blogspot.com/2012/03/features-and-latest-and-greatest-24.html

Maureen said...

I love the chair and the desk is awesome too!

Stacey said...

Beautiful! LOVE IT ALL!
Please come by and link it up to my party - I would love to have you there!
Stacey of Embracing Change
http://staceyembracingchange.blogspot.com

Courtney ~ French Country Cottage said...

Super charming chair- great find! Thanks so much for sharing at Feathered Nest Friday! :)

Chelsea said...

Hmmm, I think mine is called the, "You can't get mad at this mess, cause it's my space." Oh and your clock collection is awesome! Mine has been slowly growing lately, I just cannot pass them up!

Marianne said...

Found this via the Shabby Nest. How fun that we both linked up a black and tan chair that is intended for our office/craft room.
Similar yet so different.
And I feel your pain about removing the nails. My hands have barely healed.

Abbie said...

Okay, so your chair--especially that monogram--is just fantastic!

And those clocks?

LOVE it!

And I would LOVE it if you'd stop over and share this at Feature Friday
FREE-FOR-ALL, which just went live!

Can't wait to see you there!

http://www.fivedaysfiveways.com/2012/03/feature-friday-free-for-all-12.html

P.S. New follower! Great blog! : )

~Abbie

Tina said...

The chair is beautiful. I love your collections of clocks, too.

Have a wonderful weekend.

dee dee said...

You rock! Love your new chair and all the details you've added in your new room! Great job!
dee dee

Anonymous said...

Your chair is Beautiful! and your craftroom looks great, I love all your clocks. I'm now a follower!

Kathryn J Cain said...

Wow,I tripped across your Blog,all I can say as I am Inspired. Love. I am new new in doing a blog,baby steps. But I find inspiration all the time. I will say Miss Mustard Seed is the queen as we all follow her. So tell me how far from central Texas. We are hosting Marta and Friends and Saturday is a last day.You would love some of what you see.Marta's computer access,internet died and she has not been able to post. But look at crafty marta for the love of junk. Now me,new But I call it kats kalamities. Again love your stuff and the property so pretty

Anonymous said...

I know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting my own blog and was wondering what all is needed to get setup? I’m assuming having a blog like yours would cost a pretty penny? I’m not very internet smart so I’m not 100% sure. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.
My blog is about [url=http://www.neckbackpainrelief.org/]Back Pain Relief[/url].

Debra@CommonGround said...

This is wonderful Kristen, the chair is gorgeous, great job, the half round desk is just amazing, I can just see those curtains! loving all of it!

Our Pinteresting Family said...

WOW! There isn't one thing that I'm not drooling over in this room. That chair is absolutely incredible!! Megan

At The Picket Fence said...

Oh my goodness! Just gorgeous. I love all of the details you have shared. That chair is just so lovely. Thank you for sharing with us at Inspiration Friday!

Heather

Rosemary@villabarnes said...

Love the graphic on the chair. Very nice makeover.

Unknown said...

Such a wonderful chair makeover! I adore the K, was it a transfer? Just splendid!

thistlewoodfarm said...

Fabulous! Okay....I have to know:

(1) Where did you get the graphic?

(2) How did you transfer it?

Thanks for the inspiration and I would love if you linked it up to the "It's a Cinch" party!

blessings,
karianne

driftwoodesign said...

Of course you would need to find the perfect chair for that wonderful desk. Adore every aspect of the redo, you did a great job.
Kristy @ 4 the love of WOOD

The Charm of Home said...

That is going to be awesome! Thank you for joining me at Home Sweet Home!
Sherry

DIYbyDesign said...

Your chair is just beautiful. I love the monogram especially. I saw you featured over at At The Picket Fence and just had to stop by and tell you how much I love your chair. Great job.

DIYbyDesign said...

Your chair is just beautiful. I love the monogram especially. I saw you featured over at At The Picket Fence and just had to stop by and tell you how much I love your chair. Great job.

My Dream Canvas said...

Your chair is beautiful. I am looking forward to seeing you at My Dream Canvas. Visiting you from Wow Us Wednesday

STARDUST said...

Well the chair turned out great! Love the new look! I'm in the process of reupholstering an arm chair these days (shhhhh, nobody else knows that yet), and I'm gonna post about it soon! I also love the clocks collection!

Anonymous said...

I love that chair. Usually, when I see all the beautiful antiques that bloggers find, I think, "Well, they obviously have better or more antiques in their area, so I almost fell off MY chair when I read that you bought it in Sandpoint! I live in Hayden =) As others have commented, I would love it if you did a tutorial on that monogram.

Unknown said...

Love Love. I found an old decoupage book from the 70's with these letters and more graphics,I don't know how to get them transferred onto fabric yet, I know you use the printer,I will need to figure that one out. Thanks! I see you don't answer questions on your comments):

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