Bristol Lounge Chairs & Love Seat

I've been off learning a new hobby! I'm happy to finally share the results here. Introducing my new porch furniture (and porch, which is 75% complete) ...

Yep! I taught myself how to build furniture. It's a hobby that's been on my wishlist for a little over a year and I think it was these very chairs that made me want to start. I found a really cool website called www.ana-white.com and I immediately started dreaming of what I could do. She makes it look easy and doable. I caught her bug, bought a few tools and now I have furniture for my porch! Yippee!

I had to resize the original plans because they were written to fit cushions from Restoration Hardware. Lord knows I don't have the cash for that, so I resized the chairs to fit cushions purchased from Walmart. (See dimensions and cut lists at the bottom of the post)

I resized the loveseat and used Walmart cushions for the seat backs and a crib mattress for the seat.

I picked up fabric from JoAnn's (50% off end-of-season outdoor fabric. Wee!) and recovered the cushions so that it would all match nicely. Mom and Dad came into town last week (so fun!). Mom recovered the cushions for the loveseat. She did a perfect job, as always. I always realize I still have a lot to learn when I watch her sew.

My Dad is a fabulous woodworker. He gave me so many great tips about using my table saw and how to prevent splitting the wood. Loved spending time with him.

The chair design does not yield particularly sturdy chairs. Others had worried about it in the comments of the plans. And I experienced the cause for concern - after a couple of uses I had both a chair arm and a loveseat arm pop off the front. That's not good. Mom and Dad brainstormed with me and suggested some metal brackets to help hold things into place. We added "L" brackets to all of the arms.

We also added "mending braces" to the backs of all the back/seat joints. It seems to add a sufficient level of sturdiness.

I also added three more cleats to the seat of the love seat. It originally called for a cleat on both ends, but the boards really bowed in the middle. I added three 2x4s throughout to provide a total of five cleats for the seat.

I'm a bit wary still about the sturdiness of the chairs (as any chair builder is, I'm sure), but they look and feel great. Here's to hoping all of the concern is just in my head.

The old porch was such an eyesore! I hated it! While the parents were in town we tore down the screen and old railings. We still need to add the top of the railings and add some paint.

Nevertheless, I'm ecstatic about this new space. It's perfect for quiet mornings, evenings and dinnertime entertaining. It just might be my new favorite part of the house.

So, for those who may care, here are my revised cut lists:

Bristol Lounge Chair using Walmart Cushions

Seat Cushion - 24" x 24" x 5.5"
Back Cushion - 21" x 21"x 4.5"

Two 1x8 @ 21" (front and back of seat)
Two 1x4 @ 9.25" (back legs)
Two 1x4 @ 21" (front legs)
Two 1x8 @ 24" (sides of seat)
Four 1x3 @ 2" (leg attachments)
Two 1x4 @ 26.5" (sides of back)
Six 1x4 @ 21" (back slats) - .75" between slats
Two 1x4 @ 28 1/8" (arms)
Two 2x2 @ approx 24" (cleats)
Six 1x4 @ 26.5" (seat slats) - .6" between slats

Bristol Loveseat using Walmart Cushions and Crib Mattress

Seat Cushion - 27" x 52" x 5.5"
Back Cushion - 21" x 21" x 4.5"

Two 1x8 @ 45" (front and back of seat)
Two 1x4 @ 9.25" (back legs)
Two 1x4 @ 21" (front legs)
Two 1x8 @ 26.75" (sides of seat)
Four 1x3 @ 2" (leg attachments)
Two 1x4 @ 26.25" (sides of back)
Six 1x4 @ 20.75" (back slats) - .5" between slats
Two 1x4 @ 30 1/8" (arms)
Two 2x2 @ approx 26.75" (side cleats)
Three 2x4 @ approx 26.75" (middle cleats)
Seven 1x4 @ approx 50.5" (seat slats) - .5" between slats

Clothespins and Twine

While feeding Ellie sometime last week I came up with an easy idea for adding one more element to her room.

I had originally planned to hang the poppies here, but decided against it at the last minute because I didn't want to hang something so heavy above the changing table - made me a little nervous. So, this wall was left empty and it felt that way. 

I already had the twine and clothespins on hand, so this project came together quickly and free! I printed out the letters of her name on half sheets of paper. Then put some nails in the wall (measured and leveled, of course), tied the string and added the clothespins. Easy peasy.

I like it!

Room is Ready

Today I finally feel ready to show off little girl's room. There are probably little details here and there that I'll be adding, but it's as ready as it will ever be to hold and comfort a new little life.

This is the view from the door. The color scheme is coral, orange and yellow and the main fabric in the room is a dark coral linen. I'm kind of obsessed with this fabric. If I wasn't using yards of it for the crib skirt, glider and changing pad I would be draping myself with it and wearing it everyday. The depth of the color is fabulous. And, of course, you can't go wrong with linen.

The crib is a recent craigslist purchase - I really love the style.

We're borrowing the glider from our fabulous neighbors. I just need to recover those cushions. (Good thing Mom comes into town tomorrow!)

I made the crib skirt using this tutorial. The crib bumper is the same one I made for Jude (so classic - I knew I would love it just as much the second time around). The knitted blanket was a lucky garage sale find - it's so cozy and cute.

This is the view our little one will wake up to every morning. I think I should hang them over my own bed. They're so cheerful and happy. I purchased the Martha Stewart coral pom poms on sale at Hancock. Then, I made the yellow and orange in the same dimensions to match.

This is just a funny idea I had in my head around the same time I was spending time in my garage painting poppies. Essentially it's a combination of a 1x6, 5 beer bottles and some coffee filter flowers. I like what it adds to the room - makes me smile.

We got lucky and got this lovely dresser on craigslist.  It even came with a mirror that we'll be using to replace the one in the bathroom. Two birds with one stone - love that! I painted the dresser yellow and added the new hardware.

This is the same mobile I hung in Jude's room. I found some paint chips in my color scheme and changed the mobile to match the room. After I completed it I wasn't so sure about it - the ombre effect I was going for didn't turn out like the vision I had in my head.  When Mom was in town, though, she convinced me to hang it, and she was totally right. Plus, the changing table is the perfect place for it.

The other side of the room houses a whole bunch of books and my favorite piece - the poppies painting. The painting is rather heavy so it makes the most sense to hang it over the bookshelf (rather than the crib or changing table).

On the bookshelf is a series of Childcraft books given to us by Jesse's Grandma. They are fabulous! Not only are they beautiful they also have vintage-y cool stuff inside.  They're kind of like encyclopedias for kids. I really love flipping through them. I hope little girl will find them fun to read someday too.

And the rest is just a hodge podge of pregnancy/parenting books, children's books and a tiny little "love" print I made last week.

We're so excited to welcome our new little girl. I can't wait to snuggle her, kiss her and tell her how beautiful she is. Only 3 more sleeps!

John Deere Room Tour

After many months I finally have a toddler room to show off! Sometime last year Jesse mentioned he would like to do a John Deere inspired bedroom for Jude. That's what I get for marrying a corn-fed Iowa boy whose family has a long history working for John Deere. It's a good thing he's cute.

The John Deere theme scared me because all I could imagine were images like this and this. Bless those people and their John Deere love. I just don't get it. So, I tried my best to stay true to the theme, but dial it down a bit.

I started by painting the room in gray stripes. Yes, they are the same gray stripes you're seeing everywhere these days. I like them. They're allowing me to have a kid-friendly look on the walls without overwhelming the room in yellow or green.

Adding the crates was fun. I think they add a nice rustic farm look while still being functional.

The lamp is from his nursery - I just painted it yellow. The globe was a $3 find at a garage sale this summer. I spray painted it's stand in oil-rubbed bronze.

The chalkboard is my favorite garage sale find ever. This baby was only $9 and I bought it about two blocks from my house. I made my sister-in-law carry it home with me. Poor thing. There's nothing like walking through your neighborhood trying to act normal while carrying a HUGE chalkboard. It was totally worth it. Someday I might sand and stain the stand.

Yes, we did get the green and yellow into the room, don't worry. I painted the letters on the wall. The light fixture was already conveniently in place, which made it a fabulous place to hi-light the logo on the wall. Jesse wanted to use the 1950s logo. So, I made up a process of printing out each letter, tracing them onto the wall and taping around them in order to get them on the wall. It was fairly time consuming, but worth it in the end.

I need to add some more Iowa or John Deere knick knacks to the second shelf and we'll likely switch out the dresser at some point. Slowly but surely.

We got his twin bed from Jesse's brother and his wife. They're donating it to us for the time being. It's a perfect toddler bed because it is so close to the ground.

I put together the bed skirt using the crib skirt pattern from Amy Butler's Little Stitches. It's just plain kelly green. Then, I used a sheet set to put together the comforter and sewed in a piece of the same kelly green that I used for the bed skirt. It's not quite done. I need to quilt it and bind it, but I hate that part so I might wait for Mom to come into town to motivate me to finish it.

I'll also add a pillow to the bed that has the John Deere logo on it. That will help bring the theme to this side of the room.

Oh, and lastly, here's the laundry hamper I picked up at TJ Maxx. I love it. Emily bought the same one for Bennett's room and after I saw hers I just knew that it would be perfect for Jude's room. Isn't it cute?

You know you're 30 when you get excited about the style of a laundry hamper.

Crates for Toys

I've been putting together Jude's toddler room and baby girl's room simultaneously. Jude's room was my last room (minus the basement) to decorate in the house. It has been in a very sad and plain state for the last year.  Awhile ago Jesse told me he wanted to decorate it with a John Deere theme, which put the project on hold because it took me a long time to wrap my brain around that.  Not being an Iowa native it's not quite as natural for me to put kelly green and bright yellow in the same room - in fact the idea made me twitch.  However, after lots of chatting, compromising and painting it's finally finished (with only a couple of small details yet to be accomplished), so I'll show it off tomorrow.

In the meantime, I have to brag about my first legitimate woodworking project.  Dad, this one's for you - you'll have to tell me what you think. I built four crates for his room - three to hold his toys and one for his books.

These three line the edge of his bed.

This one holds his books and acts as his nightstand.

Through the Shanty 2 Chic website I found another one called Ana White. She has a million free project plans - plus she does a great job of telling beginners how to get started. After looking through her site I just couldn't help myself but get to the store, buy a few essential tools and start building.

I worked on the crates off and on over the last couple of weeks. I probably spent 12 hours total on them. They're not perfect. I certainly split the wood here and there and my handles look a little shabby, but I got better with each one I put together.

All in all I'm pleased with the result and even more pleased to have tried something new!

Nesting

I'm definitely nesting these days.  It's so cliche, but it's funny how a pregnant woman just can't help herself at this stage. I took the picture above at 30 weeks. The little girl is moving around a lot, making my lower back sore by the end of the day and giving me insomnia between 4-6 am.  All in all it's going well. Well, besides the fact that my hair looks like a mane. My word, I think my hair is using this picture to beg me for a haircut. It's working.

Anyway, I've been working on the kids' rooms during the last couple of weekends. For the nursery I feel inspired by poppies and the color combination coral, orange and yellow. I'm excited.

A couple of weeks ago I made this painting for her room.

I was inspired by a blog I found recently called Shanty 2 Chic. These ladies use power tools like no one's business and build everything under the sun - at least it seems like it. I'm totally inspired and I couldn't help picking up the circular saw, hammer and electric sander to put this together.

Jesse was amused to find his 7 month pregnant wife in the garage with the circular saw. I was thoroughly enjoying myself. Don't worry . . . I watched a couple of you tube videos about how to use it and I read the manual from front to back before I picked it up. That's enough preparation to prevent me from cutting off any extremities, right?

Anyway, I found this picture in a google images search and thought it would be fun to recreate it. (I can't seem to find it again to link to the source.) 

Then, I found this wall hanging and decided I would build one similar to act as my canvas. So, I bought my supplies, cut the wood, pieced them together, painted them and then I was ready to draw and paint.

I used the "grid" technique that we learned in jr. high to draw the image large enough for my canvas. I had to add a couple more flowers to change it from a portrait to a landscape image.  Once I was finished I taped it to the wood and traced over it.

The tracings made indentations in the wood so I could see where to apply my paint. I just used some cheap acrylics I had on hand to fill it in. I forgot how fun it was to paint. It's been so long since I've pulled out the paintbrushes to do anything beyond freezer paper painting.

Lastly, I sanded it down to distress the finish of the paint just a little.  Then, I topped it off with a clear coat of varnish.

We'll hang it on the wall soon. I can't wait to see it all come together.

My Very Own Sewing Space

It's true! For the very first time I have a place to sew. A place where I can leave my sewing machine out and unfinished projects lying around to my heart's content. I'm so happy! Here's a little tour of the room.

The desk above was a free piece from my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. It was in the basement of the house they recently bought. I gave it a distressed paint job and added hardware. I wish I had a before picture to show you. She went from less than desirable to being a real keeper.

My sister Emily gave me these canisters as a wedding present. I quickly realized they were too small to hold four, suger, etc. well, so now they have new life holding stray ribbons, zippers, velcro and extra thread.

My Mom has had one of these for as long as I remember. I feel like I've made it in life now that I have a place to put one. All that thread so neatly organized makes my heart happy.

I resurrected this shelf from our basement. It was a dingy old thing that came with the house. You can see a "before" picture below. I gave it the same distressed paint job that I did on the desk. Now, it holds my stacks of fabric, some art supplies and a few sewing books.

It was so inspiring to pull out this fabric from my bins. There are so many projects just ready to be made!

I finally get to display my sewing books too. I'm especially proud of the "Better Homes and Gardens" book copyright 1970. My sister, Marie, sent it to me a long time ago. Its pictures and content are so vintage-y cool. I'm glad it's out of a bin and finally sitting proudly on a shelf.

Don't mind the mess of cords. I'm still working to tame them. These are the benefits of living in an old house where outlets are few and far between. I'll do my best to not start a fire.

In the other corner is the office space. I replaced the hardware with the same that I put on the sewing desk. I think it gives the desks a cohesive feel even though they don't match.

My friend Sara did the artwork. I love it. We used it to decide the color scheme for the room. Doesn't it look fabulous?

These are Jude's books, which I was too lazy to pull out of the room before taking pictures. They're in here because we're currently redoing his room and don't have a spot in there for them yet.

My grandpa made a table and chairs set for us when we were little and I'm lucky enough to inherit it! I can't wait to pick them up. They will go right here under the window and provide a perfect place for Jude and I to work in the same room together.

This is a picture of the room from the doorway. The bookshelf is to the left. My sewing table in the far corner and the office desk just to the right.

So, here's the lovely BEFORE pictures of the room. I should have taken a picture of my stuff in this space previously too. It looked like a scene from the show Hoarders. Something about bins of fabric and art supplies piled high in a dingy and dark paneled room screamed hoarder. We kept the door shut as often as possible.

One Saturday in April Jesse took down all the paneling and took it to the dump. Underneath it was glue and old paint. I spent a few weeks with a scraper in hand just scraping away. Of course, I could only do it for 60 minutes or so at a time before I was worn out and had to nap. Ah pregnancy. Everything takes twice as long as it should. Eventually, I sanded, we primed and then painted. The whole process took about a month.

And, lastly, a "before" picture of the shelves. Too bad you can't see the dirt and cobwebs. It was not a pretty thing. Surprisingly a scrub brush and a paint job makes it look rather functional. Three cheers for free furniture! (Jesse wasn't so happy about lugging it from the basement to the third floor though.) God bless that man.

Oh, and yes, that is our basement. It still looks like that. We'll get to that project eventually. I'm going to work on having a baby first though.