Upholstering an unupholstered chair and a rodent question

How's that for a title? First, the blasted vermin that is about to put me over the edge...

Gorg, huh? My azaleas are my pride and joy! Luuuurve them:
But. Last year, some blasted, nasty, hateful vermin dug into the ground and ate the root of my middle azalea. CRY! I don't think I'll ever find the exact bush I have, let alone one this big. These have been growing for five years now.

Here's a picture of the hole -- the rascal is back:

Looks like a snake hole huh? Here's another:
PLEASE help! Anyone have any idea what this is? We thought maybe a chipmunk? A vole? Help!

OK, onto the chairs! I've reupholstered many a chair in my day --in a matter of minutes, and with very little fabric, you can transform the look of a room by recovering your chairs. I did our SIX dining room chairs with less than two yards (and the seats are big!).

I wanted to do the same with our kitchen island chairs, but kept hesitating because they weren't upholstered to begin with. I don't know why I was worried -- I've covered headboards the same way, and toy boxes. Then I saw Kate did it too, and I was sold.

You'll need foam, batting, a staple gun, screwdriver and fabric. First, turn over the chair and you'll see at least four screws under the seat -- take those out to get it off of your chair. Trace around the seat on the foam:

This was thin foam, so I just used scissors to cut it out. I like to use spray adhesive on my foam and the surface, just cause HGTV says so:

Use your staple gun to cover the foam and chair with batting. This part does not need to be perfect:

Then cover everything with your fabric. If you are using a print or solid, this will be easy. If it's a stripe, like mine, it will take a little more care, to make sure the stripes stay straight:

See that price tag? Garden Ridge baby! (Buy one get one half off -- total of $120 for two counter height chairs.) Reattach to the seat and you are DONE folks!
Two tips to keep in mind -- pay attention to the screw holes when you cover the seat. Cut the fabric around them so you can easily get the seat back on the chair. Also, make sure you have enough to cover it so that when you put the seat back on, there's no fabric hanging out. You don't want this:

You do want this:
ARGH! I hate when I forget my own advice!! I'll be touching that up with hot glue. Dang.

And again, because I know you just haven't seen enough of my island just yet...the before:

The after:

The chairs were always too tall for the island, so I cut down each leg two inches with my Lovah Miter Saw. Awwww yeah...

Stay tuned -- next week is the one year anniversary for my blog! I have a fabulous (I think anyway!) giveaway planned!

A beadboard kitchen island.

Well, I hope this lives up to the drama I've created around this thing. I do adore how it turned out, and I hope you do too.

Oh my goodness, I luuuurve it.

I added corbels to under the counters and love how it turned out. I bought scrolly fancy ones a while back just for this project, but they were too much. I love these simple corbels, they look like they are meant to be there:

I used casing (made to trim out windows) around the bottom instead of baseboard or quarter round. I loved how chunky they were and the beaded detail around the top:Here's a few more tips I have discovered. When it comes to outside corners, I use dowel rods to fill in the corners. You can get them in just about any size you need. The skinny dowels, when painted the same as the wood, look just like the bead that runs down the beadboard. It works every time. You can't even tell where they are:

Hands down, the hardest part of installing beadboard is painting it. Obviously, there are ton of grooves you need to get filled in. I always paint a small section with a sponge roller first, then immediately use a small sponge brush to fill in the grooves. When you use the roller, the paint will get into the grooves and puddle up, and you have to get in there with a smaller brush to get that paint smoothed out.

I realized today spray paint may work well to do at least the first coat. It would take very light sprays but I think it could work. The island took one coat of tinted primer and two coats of black. My right hand looks like a claw right now. :)

I will poly over this whole project, but I'm going to wait a bit, which brings me to another tip. Beadboard is like flooring, in that it needs to acclimate to your home. It will expand and contract if you install too soon. (I did it too fast in the laundry room and now it needs to be repainted.) To prevent this, it's ideal to leave it flat, in the space you are installing it, for a couple days. I was good about that this time -- I left it standing up. In the garage. For a day. So obviously, I'm going to wait a week or so to poly just in case touch ups are needed. :)

One more tip -- don't be scared to take off the molding before you start (like I mentioned in my last post). If you have to tear up the wall a bit to get it off, don't worry. The fantastic thing about beadboard is it covers all sins.

Here's a before of the island:
Here's it is after it's first makeover, with paint and molding:
Here it is today. It's never changing again people:

Next project, upholstering the chairs...can't wait!!

Here's my dirty little secret though -- I've never painted the cabinets on the island. I was way too sceered to do it before, but now I think I'm ready. I think the whole thing in black will look fab:

For now, my hand needs a major break. Thanks for your patience! I hope you are inspired.

How to install beadboard.

Happy Mother's Day! (Late.) I had a wonderful day with my two men (the little one and the big one), and then while Hubby had to do a high school musical (not the high school musical), my girl friend and I took her Mom and our four boys for a picnic, some playing at the park and a fun hike.

My little family ended the day with a Kentucky Fried Chicken dinner -- it's what I wanted and Momma gets what she wants. (At least today I do.) I hope all of you who are Mommy's had a wonderful day, and I hope all of you that are waiting to be a Momma had a wonderful day as well. :)

Anyhoo, you have probably guessed by now that the island redo involves beadboard. I just had to cover the laminate -- since I didn't use the primer and the paint was coming off in most spots, I was really over it. So I just decided to cover the whole freakin' thing. And I LOVE IT.

So I wanted to show you how to install this luscious stuff. First of all -- if there is any trim on the island, or on the wall you are working with, you'll need one of these thingamagigs. The name of them has completely escaped me. Soooooo tired people:
You'll want to use a rubber mallet with it, and this will probably be the most fun you'll have on the whole project. Don't be afraid ladies! Smack that baby! Tear it up!!

If you are installing beadboard on a wall, I recommend you remove the baseboards first. You don't have to by any means. It will just look more custom when you reinstall the baseboards over the beadboard. On the island, I removed the corner molding and the quarter round.

If there are any nails from the molding stuck in the wall/island, just use a wrench to pry them out:
Next up, measure the height you need and cut away. In my laundry room, I did it fairly high, around five feet. In our son's bathroom, I did it at about 33 inches. The latter is pretty standard. Basically, any height goes!:

You'll need a good glue, like liquid nails. Put a bead of it along the back of the board:

I recommend nailing them in as well, but you don't have to. It helps to keep the boards secure while you are working and keeps them from moving around while the glue dries. I use a nail gun, but you can just use a hammer and nails. I nail the bottom and top of each board.

Use a level and check it. The first piece is most important. And beadboard is sooooo forgiving...if subsequent pieces aren't perfect, you can make them level even if there is some space between them. After it's painted you won't even notice little imperfections:

I find this next step very important -- before you nail each piece, check the next one to make sure they will slip together OK. Then, you'll want to pull the edge of the piece you just glued on up a bit on the side that slides together. Then slide your next piece on, and nail in the previous piece. Does that make sense? If you nail one beadboard piece down, it can be really hard to get the next one in, just because it's so close to the wall:

Basically, you just want to keep some "give" when you put up the next piece.

I should mention here that you can also purchase large sheets of "faux" beadboard and have it cut or cut it the size you need. It's just a large panel, so the installation is much easier -- glue the panel up and nail in a few spots to secure it. I just love the look of real beadboard and I think it's fun to install. The pieces lock together kind of like flooring.

Take your mallet and tap each piece into the next one, checking level as you go (or at least every few pieces):

If you have to work around an outlet, you'll have to use your hand saw to cut shape out that you need. To get the vertical cut, (like to the right of the outlet here), I used a blade and scored it well, then just popped it off with a wrench. Especially if you are painting it black, you will never see any little imperfections:

Like I said, beadboard is very forgiving. I know, fo sho.

That's basically it. Bead board is EXTREMELY easy to install. The hard part is getting the pieces cut. Here's a few tips:

1. If you have an electric saw, this helps immensely. I did most of the island with my miter box and hand saw before my hand was about to fall. off. With the miter saw it was like I had died and gone to heaven. (I cannot believe I haven't bought one till now.) If you have a compound miter saw, make all your cuts beforehand, and installation will be a breeze.

2. If you don't have a saw, the home improvement store may cut them for you. Their blades are pretty heavy duty and beadboard is not. So they may or may not do it - ask them first. If you don't want to cut them by hand with a miter box, you'll have to find someone who has a saw to help you out.

3. You'll have some spots that will need skinny pieces of molding -- like when you get to the end of a wall. Again, the home improvement store may not cut this for you. Helps to have a friend for this part as well. Good thing is, you will need very few of these cuts done. And again, they don't have to be perfect. Caulk is your BFF.

I will show you the final pics of the island tomorrow. Stop yelling at me! I know!! I took some tonight and they look like crappola, so you'll have to be a little more patient so I can take them in the light.

Tomorrow I'll share how to deal with corners and how to paint beadboard. Have a wonderful Monday!

P.S. I said "piece" about 76 times in this post.

Why I always, always, ALWAYS use primer.

Now I always, always, ALWAYS use primer. Back in the day (even a year ago) I sometimes skipped this step. (Check out my very first post on this blog...)
I sanded this island within an inch of it's life. I'm not kidding. Then I used liquid sander. You see what still happened when I started taking off the molding yesterday?:

Peeled. right. off. Oh well, I'm redoing the island anyway, and I'm almost done. I LOVE IT PEOPLE!!

I'm hoping to finish painting it tomorrow, but for now, it involved some of this...And some of this...

HELLOOOO LOVAH!!

Oh baby, my nail gun is going to be soooo jealous of you my sweet, sweet Lovely.

I hope to post the finished island this weekend. And yes, it is something you can do. And yes, it's easy. AND YES, it's cheap. (As long as you don't buy a $110 miter saw in the process.)

Check HER out!

I have been thinking for awhile now that I need to pay it forward a bit more on this little ol' blog. So many of my bloggy friends have highlighted my projects and I think it's about time I start doing the same for others!

I see so many projects out there I am completely inspired by, so I am going to start sharing them with you as well. Without further adue... ado? Adeu? Whatever, here we go...

You HAVE to go check out Censational Girl. She found me a couple weeks ago and her blog is one of my favorites right now. Another sister of mine separated at birth I say...there are so many of you out there. Huh. Anyway...look at the tree she painted in her daughter's room:
AND she made it look easy. Ummm, OK, she clearly rocks. Mine would look like a tree on steroids or something.

Have any of you seen those ceramic lettered balls out there? We carry them at the decor firm I work for and want them SO BAD! I just can't imagine spending so much money on them. Holly over at Homebody Holly shows how to make your own lettered spheres:

I love it!! It's so so so sad that I've been looking for ping pong balls at Goodwill to do this in the cheapest way possible. Sad.

Do you ever see stuff on the side of the street and drive by it 15 times, trying to decide if you're going to look like a lunatic, jumping out of your car and stuffing it in? (I found a beauty a couple weeks ago, but called my sister to go pick it up cause I was "busy" -- I was just making her do my dirty work.) Well, Karla at It's the Little Things That Make a House a Home did the same and turned a headboard into this:

Oh, be still my heart. That is AMAZING. Talk about transformation!

We all know the easiest update for a dresser is new hardware. But take a look at the extra little step the girls at Little Nannygoat took to bling up a dresser:

This is what I love -- finding something you probably already have, changing it up and making a HUGE statement -- for next to nothing!

Finally, Melissa at 320 Sycamore redid her bathroom. You just will not believe the transformation:

I love love LOVE this space. Amazing. Take at look at her latest posts for more details!

There you go! Paying it forward blog-style. I hope you were inspired!

P.S. Yet again, your comments on my last post had me cracking up!! You guys are the best!

Don't hate me because my closets are beautiful.

So you thought I had forgotten to harass you about decluttering and organizing, eh?? Ohhh, you are soooo not getting off that easy. I am the Jillian Michaels of decluttering:
My body looks exactly like hers too. (Cough.) There are a bunch of you who saw my title and her picture on your blogroll and came over just to see what the heck I'm doing, huh??

Anyhoo, nice try ladies!! I'm not done with you yet! I am determined to show you how decluttering and organizing can change your life. I wish I could express how much easier it makes our lives to have a place for everything.

Most people have fairly clean houses and closets that are a mess. I'm the opposite. Our house is rarely a total mess, but I can live with toys scattered throughout for two or three days. Then I start to twitch a little and have to clean.

One thing I cannot handle is messy closets. I'm a freak I tell you!! Warning: You will either hate me after the following pictures or be so incredibly bored you will drift off into a deep sleep...

We have a linen closet in our loft that used to just have towels and sheets in it. Then I realized we really didn't need 30 towels and 12 sets of sheets. I got rid of most of them and ended up with a ton of extra space:
Now I store cleaning supplies just for upstairs and have turned this into a game closet as well.

I hang stuff in the little corners of closets all the time: If they had a support group for Labelers Anonymous, I'd be the first member:

You can see what's in the bin, but I have to label it. Just in case Hubby gets in a tizzy and decides to clean the whole house -- he'll know where everything is. (Snort.)

Our downstairs linen closet is where I keep the majority of our cleaning supplies. Anyone else have WAY too much cleaning stuff? I'm using up everything and hope to just have a couple cleaners for each floor when done:

I keep an empty bin in this closet for kitchen towels/Bub socks that I don't know what to do with. It's nice to have a "laundry bin" for random stuff downstairs.

Our coat closet still has about 15 jackets we have never worn but at least it's organized. I use a shoe sorter for winter stuff above:

My favorite closet (YES I have a favorite. Shut it.) is our master linen closet. You'll see I'm a complete freak and needed the bins to all match:I can't tell you how nice it is to know exactly where to look for something. Freakin' fantastic!!

You want to see under my sink in our bathroom?:

Hate me. I don't have to put anything under here because everything has a spot in the closet.

Really, don't hate me. You too can have beautiful closets. I swear it!! Get rid of all that crap!!

OK, you other half, wake up now! It's time to announce the winner of Laryssa's giveaway! Random. org picked Sarah from At Home With the Hinsons. Congrats Sarah! E-mail me and I'll get you in touch with Laryssa!

P.S. I think I had planned my Goodwill party for today -- I can't remember. Obviously, I suck and don't even have my button yet. I'll be in touch about that one. :)

L. Herbert Designs Giveaway!

**I've extended the giveaway till 10 a.m. Monday morning!!

I'm so excited to introduce you to my newest advertiser, L. Herbert Designs!

I know many of you have seen Laryssa's beautiful work around blogland. It's just stunning. She creates beautiful watercolor art and is famous for her eggs and feathers:

But she just added some new prints to her store (sheep, little birds, chickens and houses) and they are adorable!!

I. could. just. die. That bird is killing me. Isn't she precious??? Perfect for a nursery or child's room.

I fell in love with the lambs:

Even though the Bub's room will be changed to a big boy room sometime this year, I can't resist this. The lamb will be perfect in his room. I'm getting it. (Squeal!)

Her prices are surprisingly low...a 5x7 print is only $7. Seven bucks people!!

And from now through May 11, Laryssa is offering a Mother's Day discount. You will get 10 percent off your entire order. All you need to do is use the coupon code MOTHER when checking out.

The best part -- Laryssa has graciously agreed to a free print for one of you!! You will get to pick from any of her prints if you win.

To enter, just comment here this weekend. To get another entry, go to her site here, and come back and let me know which print is your favorite! You have till Sunday evening at 10 p.m. Eastern time. (If you don't have a blog, just make sure to leave your name or e-mail.)

Take a look, have fun and have a GREAT weekend!!

P.S. Your comments from my iPhone post had me (almost) peeing my pants!! Thanks for the comments on my hair...my profile pic is misleading...it was shorter in that pic, but with the beadboard behind me you can't tell. I had loooong hair my whole life until last year. Now I keep growing it back out and then chopping it again. I'm going to take a new pic for my profile. :)