diy oversized chair

Aunt Dottie enjoyed remaking furniture by reupholstering. I think given the chance, she would have been making her own too. Girls just didn't do that sort of thing in her day.

As I finished the basement, my thoughts turned to the upstairs furniture. We bought a sectional when we moved into our house 2 years ago from Art Van. We paid $2000 for it and it lasted about 3 years. We finally got rid of it after 5 years, but the frame was broke and the cushions were terrible!!

I looked around and couldn't find anything I thought was superior quality that didn't cost an arm and a leg. Quite frankly, this is expensive even to make but I'm up for the challenge.  

Soooo ..... it began.

The diy oversized chair.

I spent some time looking for plans online and I'm now convinced it's a well kept secret. No plans. I found some pictures of chair frames, and that was helpful. But .... I think my previous reupholstery attempts served me the best.

So here's the goal ... to reverse engineer this beautiful oversized chair I found online. The ad boasts kiln dried wood, reinforced corners and solid hardwood construction. The cost .... $1300. My mission is to reproduce this with the finest materials.

I spent some time looking for a way to generate my plans and finally discovered Sketchup by Google. Thank you Google!! Getting acquainted with Sketchup was a bit of a challenge but I finally managed to produce something worthy.

Burke and I sat out for our local big box store since our local lumber yard is now closed on Sundays. We debated between oak and poplar and finally went with poplar. 

Here's our shopping list: 

2pc - 1x6x8 Poplar

4pc - 1x4x8 Poplar

4pc - 1x3x6 Pine

2pc - 1x2x6 Pine

4 feet and plates for the legs.

We started cutting the 1x4's for the outer leg areas. We cut 4 at 36 inches and 4 at 24 inches. 

We added pocket hole screws on both sides of the 24 inch cuts.

Then we glued and screwed them together.

I used the 1x3 pieces of pine to reinforce the mid section and also provide support for upholstery. Then we used left over poplar and reinforced the corners for the inside areas of the chair. We used glue and 1 1/2 brad nails.

Next up was cutting the 1x6's. These were used for the kick boards and back support. 

These were cut at 44 inches. I put pocket holes on the end and then we joined them together with pocket holes. Use lots of glue.

We finally killed off our glue bottle after 3 wood projects. Felt so accomplished, we used every last drop. Gonna miss that bottle, good thing I've got a new one waiting in the wings.

I reinforced the outer corners with the pine 1x2's for reupholstery efforts. The wood was joined with glue and 1 1/2 brad nails. Then again in the center to tie it together, about an inch from the ends to get fabric and foam tucked away inside.

We added the legs.

The finished product. It took us just a couple of hours to build since the plan was completed. Super solid. There's no way this thing will break anytime soon. 

So next I'll buy the springs, foam, and fabric. All of which has been ordered. Keep in mind throughout the project that my mission includes using the finest materials. I want this to last a lifetime ... or two. Anything you buy these days, will last maybe 3-5 years if your lucky.

We'll go through each area as the project progresses - but I can tell you the most expensive part of this project will be the cushions. Stuff has been ordered ... impatiently awaiting.

Total cost so far .... $120.00

Sewing Desks

On the basement project list is to make a U shape craft desk. Last weekend, Burke and I got 2/3 of the project completed and I love it! I found the plans from Ana White's website. In this particular project, she teamed up with Jillian from I am a homemaker.com. I really benefited from Jillian's great description of her build for the cabinets. I modified the plans a bit. :)

In total, I have 5 machines and I wanted a work bench big enough for all 5. Can you believe it? Who has 5 machines? This gal! AND ... they are ALL Brother machines, except for the cute little 1972 Kenmore (green one) I found for $20 at Salvation Army.

I really liked this desk design, but if I had to do it over again - I would design it with corner cabinets and not in rectangle modules. I am a beginner at this though so live and learn.

Burke and I started our journey with a trip to Fingerle Lumber in Ann Arbor.

Then we cut all the lumber according to the cut list.

I wanted 2 cabinets, one for each desk.

First mistake, when the guy says, "Is it okay that it's not exactly a 2 x 2? Say no. You can see the top trim piece - you can see how it's wider than the legs.

I bought spindle legs at Lowes for the opposite end of the desk for about $15/each.

Mistake number 2. Never use caulk to seal wood products, especially when you bought some lovely birch. *Sigh*

Check and double check squareness. These were my very first drawers and I had a heck of time - but they turned out pretty dang square.

Mistake #3 ...wait, no - related still to mistake #1. Because of the shorter 2 x 2, I had to double up the back otherwise my drawers came out past the back.

And so, I painted. It took me a whole weekend to get the painting done. I put several coats of paint on everything.

Burke and I used 1x4's to join it all together using my fabulous pocket jig. I didn't take a picture of it, but we reinforced the corners with cross pieces.

Now, for the countertop. Burke's sister Aileen gave us 4 boxes of cedar when we first moved into our house. I finally got to use them!

We took three 1x8's and joined them together by pocket screws and glue. The we took the thin layers of cedar and nailed them on top.

Using left over fake 2x2's, I reinforced the counter and will use them to join them to the outer edge of the desk. We cut those 2x2's to fit exactly inside the desk and they fit like a glove.

It was super solid. Burke sat on it and it didn't budge. Plus, we can disassemble it easily and move it if we had to.

And viola!

My basement smells amazing because of the wonderful cedar. I sanded them lightly and the top is super smooth.

The corner is reinforced for my monster embroidery machine.

I really love the nice wide area to move my chair between machines and the space for all 5 machines.

Not gonna lie ..... the drawers were a bear. Putting the slides in took nearly a weekend on their own. Lots of adjustments and sanding down to make them fit. The top ones work great - the bottom ones are stiff.  They work - but it takes effort.

The whole project took 3 weekends total and the cost was around $250.  I love that all my machines have their place and can be used quite easily. Mistakes were made, but they are my mistakes and were made with love. I really couldn't be happier.

Now on to the cutting table!

wood signs

I've been really into signs lately. After the last couple of basement finishing projects, I've got spare wood laying around, so wood signs for EVERYONE!

A couple of mis-cuts on some nice birch wood turns into this sign for my beautiful fireplace mantel.

I used some left over paint from the basement color pallet for the base coats and dug into my acrylic paint for the letters.

Pulled out my trusty Brother Scan N Cut and some vinyl. Using transfer paper, I transferred the vinyl on the wood.

I found some hearts online using the Scan N Cut Canvas.

Then I painted the sign with the alternate basement color. I love this color - it's called Stone.

Then I pulled off the vinyl and sanded it to give it a more distressed look.

Love, Love, Love!!!

Next was a present for my niece's wedding shower. This was left over cedar from a garden project. This was the first one I tried my hand at. I first printed out my design on paper to get a visual.

I tried the freezer transfer method, but it didn't work. It wouldn't have been that I used a laser printer instead of an ink jet, would it? Epic failure!

I cut out a stencil using my Brother Scan N Cut, and it worked ok - but vinyl works way better.

I went over some areas with my permanent marker and then I put Modge Podge over it to seal it.

I then added a handle. Turned out pretty cute.

Next up was a wedding present for Burke's sister. I had another piece of birch that I painted a base coat on. Using my Brother Scan N Cut, I cut my vinyl templates and used transfer paper to move it to the wood. After filling them in with acrylic paint, I pulled them off. This allows you to do multiple colors.

Turned out pretty cute.

Right?

And lastly (for this blog), a guy at work just had a baby, so I found this owl plaque and painted it.

This one was the hardest because of how small the letters were. I tried 3 different times to get it right. Once, I screwed it up - I sanded it down and tried again. This was the final time.

I got a few more in me before Christmas (evil laugh).