questioning one's sanity

After a few days of some serious avoidance, I felt like I was ready to get a start on gutting my new sofa.

I came armed with a notepad, camera, and a mental resolve to face something I knew would be pretty gross.

I was not disappointed.

With the shop fan on full blast, trying to decide which was more disgusting--breathing through my mouth or my nose-- I started to examine the couch. I learned from doing the wingback chair that you have to be systematic--taking things apart in the reverse order of how they were put on, making note of the order for when it comes time to put the fabric back on. It also helps to take pictures of tricky bits that  are easy to forget. Thus prepared, I started peeling off crusty yellowed gimp cord, only to reveal hundreds and hundreds of tiny nails.

NAILS. Not staples, which come off fairly easily, but flat-headed, flush-with-the-wood nails. Ugh. 

As if digging a bazillion nails out of old, smelly wood wasn't bad enough, I discovered that the couch was stuffed old-school style with some kind of weird fiber over the cotton batting that, when tugged upon, exploded into a mist of ancient pee-soaked dust to be immediately absorbed by my nose.

Halfway through!

It took me a good three hours of nail pulling, ripping, yelling, gagging, and holding stiffened yellow brocade as far away from my body as possible to get it (mostly) gutted. I left the bottom layer of webbing with the springs attached for two reasons: I wanted to keep the springs together until I'm ready to re-tie them, and I was just tired.

I bagged up all the junk, vacuumed up all the nails (expect the baker's dozen I had stuck in my flip-flops jamming into my feet), and called it a day.

Next step: refinishing the wood, and replacing one crossbeam that is likely ruined by the pee.

At many points during the gutting process did I begin to question the mental soundness of taking on this project. All I can say is, it better turn out good.

urine luck, part deux

I just got the couch of my dreams last night. Here it is:

Hahaha oh...*wipes away a tear* IF ONLY.

Anyone remember last year, when I posted this, about using my iron to sear some hot cat pee into old satin?

Well it looks like I've inherited another project of the cat pee variety, and I'm super duper excited about it. Okay not the cat pee part, but the project. Meet my new baby.



Tada! Oh boy. I found this on Craigslist, and was instantly in love. And like the true waste-not dumpster diver that I can sometimes be, I said, "Cat pee? Pshaw. I've dealt with that before. Total reupholstering? Easy! I've already reupholstered a wingback chair (that I found next to a dumpster)! How hard could this be?"

Um.

It was free? That's all I can say in my defense. And she's got good bones, really solid, nice wood, and I love her profile. And this time around I kind of know what I'm doing. For example, I know that I need to get fabric I'm sure I'll still love in 5 years, aka the gray velvet I've been longing for these past four years. I need to get a staple gun for the air compressor because last time around I got carpal tunnel from using a squeeze staple gun 40,000 times in two days. And I need to refinish the dumb wood BEFORE I reupholster. Ha.

Really though, as much as I don't look forward to tearing out antique fabric covered in at least a gallon of feline whizz, I really enjoy making or re-doing furniture. I mean, I made this bed for my youngest:



I built this bench to go with my table.

Years ago, my sister-in-law scored a really messed up orange table that was a prop at Urban Outfitters. The table top was crap, but I loved the legs. After a few years of sitting in my husbands shop, I recently  took them down, painted them, used a wire brush on the painted-over brass toe caps, and attached them to a small pine table top. 

Oh and see that chair there? It was six bucks at the scariest ghetto thrift shop ever. Here it is before:

 I tore off the seat cushion, stripped the wood, sanded the heck out of it, and used some leftover leather I had to re-cover it. I gotta admit, I was pretty proud. Even my perfectionist husband was impressed with that outcome.

I've really made or fixed quite a few things, so I'm hopeful about this new project. Now I have a question for you all: does anyone have any experience with button tufting? Because I'm seriously thinking about changing that smooth back to a tufted one. Thoughts? Opinions? I'm just curious.