Retro Amazingness

I just finished up a pair of some pretty cool retro chairs. I Love this style of chairs! They have great lines that complement so many different types of fabric, color and prints. You really can't go wrong, well unless you slipcover them in the exact same fabric that was originally put on them... Anyways. Here is a picture of the chair before:

Pretty cool, right? Well my client did not want any kind of skirt. Period! So I ripped that sucker of to find that is had some pretty great legs under there...I also popped off all the buttons along the back and arms. (geez..if you did not know any better you'd think I was undressing a woman...quite aggressively, actually. lol!) The tufting was not very deep and they would just be an annoyance. So they had to go! I loved the fabric my client had chosen. So fun, yet it seemed to keep with the "vintage" idea of the chairs. Here is what they look like now!

I really like how they turned out! Such a difference. I always am on the look out for chairs like this. I have a pair of swivel rockers that are BOMB! Maybe I am "old school", its cool, thats how i roll. But your really cant beat how sweet they look and how comfy they are!

I also wanted to share some finds that I got and had re-painted. Cause I aint about to do that one myself! I found a cool 7" dresser on craigs list for my son's new room (I am pretty sure this dresser was once in a room with my client's "retro" chairs) and a fun french dresser on ksl for my daughter's room. I also scored big on a cool chair and table combo a month ago (still figuring out what to do with the chair which I am most positive was in the room with my client's chairs!). The long dresser and table were a dark finish that was great, but boring and the french dresser had a worn buttery yellow finish to it. I had to change them up!! I did the dressers in white because it goes with everything and its easier to change out fabric than repainting when i get board of a color scheme.. and the table i did in a sage-ish green. Why not?? I forgot to snag before pics, so use your imagination.

They turned out better than I could have ever imagined!! Oak's dresser made it to her room and the table found a temporary home, but Laker's dresser is in the garage until I can bribe my brother or one of my husbands friends to help carry the beast down stairs...anyone???

Next up I am working on a fun little settee. Stay tuned! I still have some room in my schedule for February. So.. come on. Get going peeps!

Oh, one last note... UC Liquidators have about 12 of these babies!

The are super comfy and cheap and... you wont need a ton of fabric. So you can choose to save a buck or splurge on fabric. Your choice... Right now they are 2 for $35 but if you tell John I sent you, you may get an even better deal! Your Welcome.

Bright idea!

So I am back in full swing and it feels great! Our basement is about 97% finished. Basically the only thing left to do is to finish tiling the 2 bathrooms, one tub surround and one shower and then have the toilets and fixture put in. So by the end of the month we shall be golden! My sweat shop can maybe now be called studio.. i'll let you know how that turns out. I had had our contractor build me the most perfect cutting table too. Id like to introduce you to "Bertha"! I drew her up on a pice of paper and boom! She came to life.

she is everything a gal could dream of! Excuse the rest of the space, I am still trying to put it all together in my mind. But while we were finishing the basement I decided to keep the floors cement. And paint them... I LOVE IT!!! I did white and light tanish gray stripes and then sealed it to give it a wet look. Here is a pic while in the process..

It turned out better than I could have ever expected! I kept the room a bright white for snapping pictures and to make it seem bigger. Sure I will layer color in but for now its a dream.

I just finished a chaise lounge and a round 96" pleated tablecloth for one of my designer clients. Remember this post? Well I just happen to love my client's client! I hope I can be like her when I get older. Well, she and her husband decided to head for the sun. They sold thier awesome house that was so greatly put together by Brian Clark, who is one of my favorite people ever..and move to sunny Florida to enjoy retirement in the sun. Boo! Anyways he had me make this tablecloth seen here in Ballard Designs

but with no fringe and in this fabric

He also had me make a slipcover for this chaise lounge she had

the fabric choice is awesome! I do love the boldness of this print!

It should feel right at home in Florida! I did not have the piece to fit, just the old slipcover. She had already sent the chaise off to its new home before the fabric arrived so I had to make the slipcover based on the old one. I cant wait to see it on the chaise! So you'll have to take my word for it when I say it gonna be awesome!! I'll post pics once she gets them..

I am working on a pair of chairs this week and they are gonna look great once they are done. I am telling you , fabric choice makes ALL the difference! I am super excited for this new year and what its going to bring. So tune in and see whats to come. I have 1 or 2 spots open in February so contact me if yo are ready to go.

I am BACK!

Well, its time to dust off the old blog...while i have enjoyed the last 6 weeks off playing with my kids and working on the basement I am happy to get back into my routine! The basement is almost done!! we just need to tile and carpet and finish some touch ups... I painted the cement floor in my sewing room and cant wait to show you the finished product! I just have to put the sealer down, have my cutting table made and boom! I'll feel normal again!
But just cause I had some time "off" does not mean I could not stay away from working. a little... I helped my sister-in-law with a pretty awesome couch she scored for $100!! She got a fun black and white print fabric for the re-do. the couch is a 3 piece sectional that curves. The 2 ends are the same and then the middle is curved and tufted. Take a look... I just have to put the backs on. I gave her homework..(my machines are under plastic and dust...) she is working on the cushions. I wish i had a before pic, but use your imagination. It was brown wood with gold velvet fabric.... so these pics are just a teaser...

there are 2 of these that mirror each other

this is the middle that has a curve and has black button tufting.
I cant wait to get it finished!!

I also redid a few chairs for christmas gifts this year. One for my grandma and one for my mom. Remember these bad boys?

I was originally going to keep them for myself... which I kind of wish that i did because they are all gone now. Boo!! but look how great they turned out. this blue floral one is for my grandma. My mom picked out the fabric and we left the wood alone.

she just loved it! and for my mom.. I painted the chair black and went with a cream geometric fabric.

Its amazing what paint and awesome fabric can do!!! Well, all my projects over the break were upholstery ones because my sewing machines were under plastic and dust..otherwise they would have gotten some slipcovered goodies instead.
Anyways, I hope that my 2 reader's Christmas was fantastic, I know we had a great one and check back next week, cause Ill be back in business!! Have a great New Year!

oh.. and for those of you I had to bump over my "break" Ill be contacting you next week to get you on the schedule. Thanks for being soo awesome!!!

What happens in Vegas may end up in your living room...

I apologize to my 3 readers for the lack of posts. We are in the middle of finishing our basement and I have no "sweat shop" to work in at the moment. Its killing me!! Luckily I have the coolest clients ever who understand. Thank you!!! But i am super excited about getting a new work space once this is all finished.

I am happy to report that all my Christmas decor is up and i am now prepping for my son's 6th birthday on saturday. He is soo excited!

I do have some order of business to discuss...I randomly met this guy who owns UC Liquidators in Orem who wanted to enlist my slipcover skills to redo furniture that comes thru his store! He makes deals with Vegas hotels to get their furniture when they re-do their rooms. Now when i say hotels, i am not talking about the sketchy motel 8 off the strip... i am talking about the Venetian, The Wynn and other big named hotels! And when I say, they swap out furniture, its not one or 2 chairs, its EVERY SINGLE ROOM in the hotel with EVERY piece of furniture in the room!!! In the next while he'll be getting in a ton of great furniture. Here is just a little snippet of what he had when i stopped in. Here is one of the chairs and foot stools that came out of one of the hotels:

You can pick up these babies at $30 a pop!! These chairs would look so great in a new fresh and modern looking slipcover. He also had these cool foot stools:

Pretty cool huh. I think he said these were like $8 or $10! Its all gaudy fabrics that could use an attitude adjustment. But what I am most excited about are these bad boys I snagged for $10!!

I cant wait to rip these apart and make them fabulous!! They came out of an auction house and he's got about 10 more... I am super excited about it because its another source to find furniture to slipcover or redo for cheap!!

Also, my January is just about booked, so let me know if you are wanting to get on my list for February! I am itching to get stitching again!!!

Aloha!

So i am dusting off the blog...I think I have finally recovered from our trip to Hawaii. We had such a great time! We did absolutely nothing and it was marvelous! We basically rotated from beach to pool all week long. We stopped at Akaka Falls and roamed around Hilo for the day to get out of the sun. It was soo much fun and the kids had a blast!! Get ready for a picture overload....

and our reaction to being home...

BOO!!! But thanks to mom and dad for an awesome Christmas Gift! We had a blast!!! Now on to business...

An old friend form high school contacted me a while back and had a couch that needed some help and of course I was game to help! They had this couch that was made for slipcovers, but was "naked" for lack of a better word.. They wanted it to look upholstered, they were not big fans of slipcovers, hence the reason for the "naked" couch, but i knew I could change their minds! I actually had the slipcover finished before we left on our trip but scheduling conflicts made it hard to deliver. But alas, the couch became clothed today and it looks fabulous!!!
Here is the before...

Just a sad mess! They picked a great white upholstery fabric that had great texture> They are gonna love me when something spills on that couch because now they can just remove the slip and have it dry cleaned! We stuck to the clean lines of the couch and omitted the skirt. I love it when a client is happy with the result, even if it was not what they were expecting!! I just love the practicality of a slipcover!!

The fabric was beautiful and super great to work with. I love how it turned out! i have a few more projects left to tackle before my holiday break! In the mean time we are knee deep in finishing the basement! We are mudding, taping, texturing this week and hopefully painting this weekend. And when I say "we", I mean the contractor of course! LOL! we are soo excited! Hopefully i'll have a new and CLEAN studio before Christmas...
Also, I have a few spots open in January so let me know if you want on my list!! And yes, I am aware that I used an excessive amount of exclamation points in this post. I am just happy to be back to the norm, plus we watched Seinfeld last night...