Reupholstering For Chickens

It's actually not nearly as daunting as you'd think, reupholstering an old bentwood rocker.

I found a rocker on my local Facebook Marketplace for 40.00. These things are HOT right now, and I wanted to have one for myself to use in our guest bedroom. So, why not?

Initially I had four fabric choices laid out for this chair - one of which was a vintage Witney four point blanket that I had previously used to upholster another chair.

I am completely hooked on HBC point blankets as I own one for my bed, and a vintage one I found while out thrifting. My mother in law had a Witney point blanket that she donated to my old upholstery project (see below).

It was actually Chris, my fiancee, that helped me choose the fabric to use for this bentwood rocker. He liked the retro feel of the peacock feather print, so that's what I chose! Of course, I thrifted it and it was $4.99, so I was even more thrilled with that!

To get down to business, you have to do some ugly stuff. That means taking the panels off of the seat and back of the chair (on these types of chairs, they're only held in with tiny finishing nails, so just pop them out!) I didn't want to simply cover over the existing fabric as it would create a mess of layers of grossness and staples on top of staples. So, I removed the original fabric with a strange little tool that Chris found in his stash for me.

Once I had all of the staples removed, I took the fabric and laid it flat in order to use it as a template to cut my new pieces from. This actually worked quite well, and I was careful to ensure my pattern was symmetrical prior to beginning my cuts.

The foam under the old fabric was still in good shape, so I was able to reuse it without much of a hassle. The real MVP in this whole scenario? Spray adhesive.

I sprayed the foam cushion with this Krylon Easy-Tack and began to gently lay my fabric against the foam. The spray adhesive is awesome, because it helps you smooth your fabric to a nice tight fit that ensures no gaps or puckers will happen when you begin to staple your fabric to the back of the wood. If you need to reposition it, you simply slowly peel it back and reapply! Look how nice the fit is and how well it lets the fabric grip the foam.

Once the fabric is nice and smooth and laid perfectly, flip your project over and staple the edges of the fabric to the wood base! Easy peasy!

The tricky part about doing the back of the seat, is that you need to roll your seams over in order to cover the staples. I actually used hot glue this time instead of sewing the back on as I've done in the past. I did this, because the back of the cushion tucks neatly into a frame in the back of the chair, and the seam doesn't actually even show - super handy! (There is a small fabric pucker in the following picture, but this was prior to finishing gluing, and before I permanently installed the back cushion.)

Get your finishing nails out, and tack your cushions back into the chair the same way they were when you started, and voila! SUPER KILLER VINTAGE BENTWOOD ROCKER WITH NEW LIFE

Mixing Metals - IT IS NOT AGAINST THE LAW

Honestly. Your mom told you it was taboo. Fashion designers told you that it should not be done.

Wrong.

Look, you can absolutely mix metals within your decor. Here are a few helpful tips to keep in mind!

• Mix your metals outside of their own colour group. What do I mean? Don't mix chrome with brushed nickel as it will just look like you've made an oversight as the tones of the metals are the same, but the finishes are definitely different. Mixing brushed nickel with brass and a dash of rose gold? Yes please.

• Pick one metal and finish as your main focus. Let that be your overall theme for your metals, but accent with small dashes of complementary colours.

• Mix your metals with what you're doing decor-wise. Do you have a beautiful antique oak sideboard that has a honey tone? Use pops of antiqued brass and gold in the room, and throw in some beautiful large statement candlesticks that are made of polished silver. The tones will accentuate each other and really help make everything pop.

• Obviously you know what you like, and what works best in your space. I'm just here to encourage you to try new things. Mixing metals isn't something that will get you thrown into design prison. It's a great way to show off your vintage and curated goodies together.

Spring Cleaning -

The clocks went ahead this weekend! We all lost an hour of sleep! (Just kidding, we just lounged in bed because it was a Sunday morning.)

Spring ahead means Spring Cleaning! Spring Cleaning is a great practice for a few reasons. I personally love the feel of "lightening the load" of things that we have around the home.

1.) First and foremost, grab yourself a caddy to carry all of your cleaning supplies in. That way, you're not running around looking for the right tools for the job as you move from room to room. Bring one thing with you that has everything you need right inside of it. Then, when you're finished your deep clean, put the caddy away. Everything goes away in one place. Neat and tidy!

My favorite thing to do while cleaning? Open a window or two. If it's cold out (I'm looking at us, Canada) then just crack a couple and get a nice cross breeze going. You'll love how fresh the house is when you finish.

2.) Take this opportunity to use organizational tools that you may not have used before. Lazy Susan inside of your fridge? YES. You can rotate your condiments and see them all, instead of forgetting that you have that amazing gourmet Dijon with horseradish. Throw a Lazy Susan in your spice cabinet, too. You won't believe how handy these things are! Once you put these things in place, you'll continue to use them for organization and you'll be so glad you took the time to make them part of your storage.

3.) DE STASH! Get rid of anything that you haven't used or worn in the past year. This is your annual clearout and this is your chance to make big heaping piles of donate-able items to bring to your favorite local charities or thrift shops. I personally love donating to Value Village, because I take my 20% off coupon that they give you, and I march right into the store and buy a bunch more staging items, unique vintage decor, and yes... more clothes. Don't come for me, I enjoy Value Village and they employ a lot of people. Donate to whomever YOU like, and get rid of your stuff!

4.) Do you have a ton of socks that no longer have a match? One got a hole and one didn't? USE these guys. Keep a small bag or basket of your stray socks in your laundry room, and reuse them as dusting mitts. Another good use? Have you ever tried to paint spindles or intricate decor pieces? Throw on a rubber glove, slip your hand inside of your stray sock, and dip your palm into your paint tray, and wrap your painted hand around the spindle you're trying to paint. You're welcome.

5.) Trade out your pet beds and blankets. Once a year, it's fun to give your pets their own refresh. You can change them to your new decor style, or just simply grab some new ones. Yeah, you can wash some of the covers, but dog/cat farts get trapped inside of the foam/inserts and well, why not de-stink your pet's bed for them?