DIY Sunday: Office Chair Cover

Hello!

It's one of those crazy hot days here in the midwest. We have piles of landscape rock sitting out, waiting to be raked. However, we have spent the day inside napping and watching Netflix. Sometimes it's nice to have those days even if you're son insists on watching Spiderman cartoons on a loop.

I had a few hours free an evening this week, and I tackled a project I had planned for a couple of months now. When I started working from home, I bought the most comfortable office chair I could find in town. However, those office chairs aren't exactly the most stylish. Not to mention in the summer it was sticky and in the winter it was cold.

I picked up new fabric on sale from Joann's during my office remodel (Click here for the remodel post). I honestly didn't start the project because I thought it was going to be difficult. I couldn't have been more wrong. The entire project just took a couple of distraction filled hours.

DIY Office Chair Cover

Supplies

Fabric (My fabric was the extra wide upholstery fabric. I took the rest of the bolt which was around 3 yards. I used a coupon and got the fabric for relatively cheap)
Sewing Machine & Thread
Needle
Staple Gun
Allen Wrench (or another appropriate tool to take apart your chair)

Total Cost: Approximately $25.00

Directions

1. Take Chair Apart

This is easy if you just bought the chair since it's probably already mostly taken apart. I have been using my chair for a year now, so I had to try to remember where all the screws were hidden, but eventually I got everything apart.

Since the seat is going to be stapled on the bottom side, there's no need to remove the wheel base. When I took everything apart, I had these pieces: 1 back, 2 arm rests, 2 arm rest padding (the fabric part) and the base. I took note on where all the screws came from as I took the chair apart.

2. Sew a Cover for the Back

The only piece that needs to be sewn is the pouch for the back piece. It's a relatively easy sewing job. You're simply going to measure the front, back and edge. You will leave the bottom part of the "pouch" open. Once you have the pouch done, you will need to mark where to make holes for the screws. I decided to reinforce the holes to make sure there wasn't extra wear through the fabric. Once you're done with that, hand sew the bottom shut.

The testing the size of the pouch to make sure it fits okay before taking everything apart. 

Marking holes for the screws, and cutting holes for each.

3. Wrap the Fabric around the Seat and Armrests

You will wrap the fabric around the seat and using a staple gun, attach the fabric to the bottom of the seat. Pay special attention to the corners. You will repeat the process with the fabric on each arm rests. You will want to take a sharp set of scissors and cut holes where ever screws need to go into the fabric.

4. Put Everything Back Together

Put everything back together. You may need to use extra force since the fabric might interfere with the screw hole. However, you should still be able to get everything back together the same way. Then enjoy your new custom chair!

Bathroom Paint: The Sequel

Happy Thursday!

I have been painting like crazy over the past week. I painted the upstairs bathroom yellow over the holiday weekend. This week the downstairs bathroom got some much needed love.

I haven't done a thing with this bathroom since we moved in. We don't use it except to brush the kids teeth, and I hate the dark dungeon shower. Eventually we want to pull the wall out and put a glass shower in, plus add in some much needed lighting. However, right now, we're just doing a bit of a face lift.

So, when you have a dark dungeon bathroom, you paint it dark blue, right? Okay. Maybe it doesn't make all that much sense. However, the downstairs is the "man" territory, so I wanted it to be a masculine color. This color is called "Bungalow Blue" and is by Sherwin Williams.  I wanted to do stripes somewhere in the house, and I decided that the wall I want to remove was the perfect place to use them. Hint: When doing stripes on the wall, use a laser level. Also, always do a first coat of the underneath color (white in my case) over the tape edge and let it dry. That will keep the color from bleeding. 

I'm really happy with the results. I also found an old mirror at a garage sale for $5.00, and it works great with the masculine theme and is way more fun than the builders grade mirror that used to be there. I want to replace all the flooring downstairs with that tile that looks like wood (with a heated floors underneath), but I see that getting done around the time my daughter graduates from high school.

Finally, I want to replace the vanity sooner rather than later. (It's a cheap plastic one) Check out the two options I looked at. Which one do you like?

The "Traditional" Option

The "Modern" Option

 (p.s. this one is my favorite)

Show & Tell: Bathroom Paint Job

Hello!

I decided that Fourth of July weekend is not only known for fireworks and celebrating our wonderful country, but also for painting. My Facebook feed was full of people that all had the same idea...we have a couple of days off so let's get something done.

I decided that I needed a change of pace from working outside on our yard. We are {finally} getting landscape rock delivered tomorrow, so I took a brief break to do some painting. I decided the bathroom was a good size project for the already busy weekend.

I have many big plans for the bathroom, but budget wise, you can't beat the power of paint. For $30.00, I took the bathroom up a notch with some bright yellow paint. I also found an antique mirror at a local shop for $15.00 and decided to use the opportunity to remove the big builder's grade mirror. I was extremely lucky that they didn't glue the mirror down to the wall and it only took me 5 minutes to remove. I put the mirror for free online and had someone picking it up within the hour. (I love that I didn't have to put it in a dumpster!) Next up for the low cost update is going to be some new light fixtures and artwork. Eventually I'll attempt to replace the vanity (although with that strange wall, it might be difficult), replace the flooring and do something about those popcorn ceilings. For now though, my bathroom is wonderful bright start to each day.

Picking a good yellow. Yes, husband. There is actually a difference between these colors.  (We may have had a couple of discussions about this...)

 Paint done but I need to get everything back into place.

 New mirror hung. (Although this picture is kinda dark and doesn't show off the color extremely well) I think it will look more in proportion as I lower and replace the very tall lights.

The new bright color has really made my hardware pop.