The Bargain Life

My favorite place to get home decor fabrics is Ikea not just because it $6-$8 a yard instead of $20-$30, but they have really awesome bold prints.  They just added 2 new fabric collections which are a bit disappointing.

Kallt Fabric
Overall this line is too country for my taste, but the second one down looks cool. It’s a possibility for my sofa that i want to reupholster, but i think i’d rather do something black and white and more outlandish.

Gunilla
ugh. On their own the top 3 aren’t that bad, but together it’s like cutesy vomit.

My favorite collection is still the Inger fabrics, of which i already have 2 in my home.

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I have way too many projects going on now, but now I at least have all the supplies, so there’s nothing holding me back from finishing them except that there are 5. here’s where I’m at:

1. Ikea Tullsta Chair
this is my roommate’s chair that she’s had since freshman year. it’s legs and the main part of the slipcover are MIA since the most recent time it was moved. instead of buying a new cover from Ikea, I decided to sew one. as it turns out, the white cover is only $30, so it’s not any cheaper to make one, but it will look much cooler. i’m still not sure what we’re going to do about the legs.

done:

• purchased 4 yards of Inger fabric (the one with the blue and black leaves) for $24
• purchased 2 zippers for $4 – one for seat cushion and one for back pillow

in progress:

• pin fabric inside out on chair
• make cover for seat cushion – front is sewn, but zipper still needs to be sewn into the back

to do:

• make cover for back pillow
• purchase and attach new legs (probably one of the many choices from Ikea

2. metal framed chair from thrift store
I bought this chair for $2.50 at a thrift store because I loved its continuous metal frame. suspended between the frame are a backrest and seat that had a black wooden frame with natural-colored wooden caning. it was so cheap mainly because the caning on the seat was torn, but I planned to rip it out anyways. I left the caning on the back and painted it the same color as the wood frames.

done:

• unscrewed backrest and seat
• removed old caning from seat
• sawed the seat frame into 2 pieces along the groove from the caning
• spray painted seat and backrest bright red ( one $3 can)
• wove fabric scraps to create a new base for the upholstery
• bought new fabric for the seat (the bold floral one) for $6, with lots left over
• bought foam for the seat for $5
• stapled fabric and foam on the seat

to do:

• screw the 2 pieces of the seat back together
• clean/polish metal frame
• screw seat and backrest back onto frame

3. old dining chair
this is the chair that I got for free at a yard sale while I was home in New Hampshire. it would have been done by now, but I left the fabric that I bought for it at home. I’m not sure if my parents will mail it or if i’ll just use something else.

done:

• removed old upholstery from the seat
• scraped and sanded away the old finish
• bought a gallon of “oops”/mis-tint light blue paint for $5
• applied 3 coats of paint
• bought a sheet of plywood for $4 use as the base for the new upholstery
• bought a piece of 2″ thick foam for the cushion for $5
• traced the shape of the seat onto a paper bag
• cut and sanded the plywood seat
• drilled pilot holes through the chair frame into the plywood
• bought half a yard of a black and white print satin for $4.50 and then proceed to leave it at home :(
• bought a pint of clear lacquer finish for $10 – I plan to use this on many projects
• applied 3 coats of lacquer

to do:

• staple fabric to the seat
• screw the seat onto the chair

4. window bench
a while back we found some old cabinets in the crawl space in our basement – 2 tall narrow ones and 2 short ones. I decided to turn the 2 short ones into a bench to sit below the window in our dining room along one side of the table. I didn’t discover until I’d already started working on one of the cabinets that they are different sizes, one is 36″ wide and the other is 30″. there is also about a 1/2″ difference in height which i may decide to correct with a plywood board.

done:

• remove old hardware and detach doors
• sand down old paint and try to sand down uneven surfaces
• paint with teal paint left over from painting the master bedroom (which was done by the previous renters)
• reattach hardware
• buy 2 yards of Inger fabric for the cushions (the grey one with white spots) for $12
• buy a 2″x22″x36″ piece of foam for $21 (why is foam so expensive?)
• cut the foam into 2 pieces, one 11″x36″ and one 11″x30″

in progress:

• sew the fabric for the foam cushions

to do:

• possibly sew a bolster pillow to sit along the back

5. quarter-circle sofa
weaving scrap fabric as a base for upholstery on the metal chair project worked so well that I was inspired to use this method on something bigger. using fabric to hold weight eliminates one of the problems i’ve had trying to turn my visions into reality – I don’t know how to bend plywood. this sofa is going to be a quarter of a cylinder with a 2-foot radius. I’m sure this will require some creative problem solving further down the line, but right now I’m just barely getting started.

done:

• purchased wood for frame: a 2′x4′ sheet of 3/4″ plywood for the arcs and 3 2″x3″ boards to span the length
• purchased 2 1/4″ thick 2′x2′ boards of birch plywood to use on the exterior of the sides

to do:

• cut and sand the quarter circles out of the plywood
• screw wooden frame together
• weave fabric over the frame
• buy a large sheet of thick foam plus small pieces for the sides
• buy fabric
• sew a tube of fabric to slide over the frame and foam
• staple fabric to sides of frame
• cut nice plywood for armrest/sides
• cut scrap plywood to upholster interior of the sides
• upholster sides
• attach upholstered portion to side panels
• stain side panels
• attach side panels to main sofa frame
• buy or make and attach legs to the sofa frame

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Recently I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about design projects, but not much actual crafting. partly that’s because all my works in progress are at my house in Atlanta. the first of these works in progress is a pair of chairs that I got when my boyfriend moved out of his house. the pant is chipping and the fabric sucks, but they have the potential to be cool with some spraypaint and reupholstery.

I’ve been working on scraping and sanding off the old paint. I went out on a limb and bought a can of bright red rustoleum spray paint, but I couldn’t find a fabric that looked good with it and I realized that it doesn’t match my decor at all. so i’ve nixed that idea and I’m back at start design-wise.

I think I’m going to go with “Harbor Blue” paint:

unfortunately most fabric stores don’t sell big bold prints. most of the fabrics are for quilting or clothing, and the upholstery fabrics are all boring florals or stripes. so that leaves me with Ikea and the internet.

here are my favorite fabrics from Ikea, all at $6-8 a yard:

as far as the rest of the internet, that’s a huge world of choices. I like the idea of making them match the sideboard/tv stand I made (pics here). this fabric is dead on:

there are a few other fabrics with the blue/brown color scheme that I also like:

(ok, so that last one’s not brown)

I’m quite overwhelmed by all of the fabulous choices.

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