Another chair....

So here is another chair I purchased at Tiffany in the height of winter and isn't she grand? I am sure we all agree. The question is where to go from here. I decided to give the chair away for after all how many chairs can a girl need!!!!

So a chenille fabric is on the agenda that is for sure. This one from Turkey is quite exquisite.  Some people favour an animal print too...

One thing is for sure. One yard of material should not cost more than 12 X the price of the chair...and my all time favorite does....

Nevertheless, with the snow melting and Spring knocking on the door I decided to swing over to Joann and see what would tickle my fancy. Thus I made a backwards flip and opted for something more "lively" and less conventional. After all it is all lifeandsoup. The receiver of the chair will love it. So I purchased the fabric and moved on.  

So first I stripped the whole thing down that is removed be old fabrics and foam. Not too hard I must admit. 

Next things got harder as I had to remove the old staples without causing damage to the wood from nicks and crannies. I came to the realization that the best refab projects are the ones that are not only in great shape but are also easy to refurbish...

Upon reflection I decided to get another solid blue or green tone upholstery fabric for the base to break out the flower power reflected in the material I purchased. But that is later....

Nevertheless, things didn't look too shabby today and after a bit of elbow grease with sandpaper and steel wool I decided  to take a break and apply some stain tomorrow to even out the wood tone and head to the store to get "Restor a Finish." After all the idea is to maintain the character of the chair... and this product claims to do just that.

Well, plans are subject to change so I decided to sand a bit more with steel wool, apply wood conditioner and finally stain. No "Restor a Finish."

I must say I like the results. All I need to do now is wait 5 hours before applying the quick drying poly finish..

So it is snowing outside...

It is snowing outside...

Nevertheless, that has not stopped the existence of beauty. Not now nor in the sixties....

Na you won't find any pics of regular women walking around in the snow then...Narcissism was an unknown trait featured solemnly in the modeling profession due to lack of technology........ But as we see women kept warm with beautiful garments...

With the lack of all that "stuff" that fills the coats that keep us warm today I would think the streets looked far more interesting and attractive on snowy days....

Thus, it is time to take a beautiful warm coat from the 60's and recreate it to meet the requirements of today's cold eastern Winters.  So this story starts with a 60's coat from Bond's 5th avenue made to endure the cold winter months and left to its own demise in a second hand shop. Here she is in all her beauty, but would she not look prettier shorter? Well I thought so.  

 As you see this girl was made to endure extreme cold winter months...with extra woolly lining and interesting collar detail. The large plastic bottoms were one of a kind... 

 So first I headed to the local store and bought a good old bottle of Woolite and gave her a much needed bath after all she is almost 60...Yep. She was filthy.

 Next she was hang on the line to dry and spot cleaned. 

Shrinkage was minimal...Thank God otherwise it would have all been for nada. 

Next came sewing and more sewing....I started with the woolly part and after cutting the bottom followed the steps of that tailor 50 years ago in the hemming process. No the sewing machine didn't work. Too thick. 

 But finally things had started to take shape. Only that double lining left....yuck.......

Tja after 3+ days of work she was finished....Shorter but not too short. Thank God those buttons did not go all way to the bottom!!!

 And voila...Here she is in her new home ready for the 21st century.