Sofa Before and After...and After

Today, I'm sharing a little about a before and after and then another after which made the first after even better!  Below you get a glimpse of the after.  Next you will see the before.  And at the end you can see the after, after.  Are you ready for the story?  Oh good!  I was afraid I might lose you in all the before and after and after again.

I've been searching for a new sofa for quite a while.  Mike has complained about the one I brought with me into our house almost since the day it entered the door.  I loved it because it was big and snuggly and comfortable.  He hated it because it was big and hard-to-get-up-off-of and French/distressed.  You can see it below in all its glory.  

Recognizing that it has seen better days and the upholstery had become dingy and the cushion threadbare, I began the search for a new one.  There were certain things that fell into my criterion.  It needed to have a tight back - no cushions on the back.  I wanted one bench cushion to sit upon.  I wanted it to be a little less deep than the old French/distressed model.  I wanted it to be light in color so that it didn't overwhelm the room.  I wanted it to be a wee bit smaller than the old one.

My criterion certainly narrowed the candidates.  My criterion certainly upped the price range.  My criterion almost made me give up and settle.  Settle for more cushions or settle for darker fabric or just settle for something different than what I wanted.

I would find one I liked and search for it, only to find that the model had been discontinued.  Or I would find one mentioned or featured in a blog post only to find that it was way beyond what I had hoped to spend.  During the last few days when my team and I were working, I mentioned my dilemma during lunch one day and pulled up examples to describe my ideas to my friends.  Luckily, my friend, Stacy, was listening and kept her eye out for me.  

I had been working on my closet project - more about that later - and had fallen asleep on the old snuggly couch.  So, when I awoke and saw her text message with photos of one that was beautiful and fit in with almost every single criterion, I immediately sent her a text message even though it was in the wee hours of the morning!  See the photos she sent me below.

When the sun arose, she responded with more information about the beautiful option she had run across and I contacted the seller.  I learned that it retailed for $3900 before it was discontinued and it was being offered for less than a fourth of that price.  After several messages back and forth, I made a thirty minute trip to sit on it and inspect it and the couch became ours!  The young couple delivered it and even helped my bonus son, Stephen, to lift it into the house and put it in place in our den.

I immediately set about settling her in and poofing it to suit.  When I had time to research, I found that it is the Maxwell Sofa by Universal Furniture and is upholstered in Belgian linen.  The frame is milled kiln-dried solid hardwoods and the cushion is a down blend and has nailhead trim. 

There was one slight problem.  Rosie, my robotic vacuum cleaner could not clean beneath it.  I had sort of dreaded all the cleaning that would be needed after I had committed to buying the sofa as I was mid-project in another area of the house.  Yet, when Mike and I moved the old couch out so that I could donate it locally, I was so pleased that very little cleaning would be required.  There was only one little cobweb and a wee bit of crud in one little spot but the rest of the area was clean as a whistle! 

After being so pleased with the job Rosie does, I realized that this was a problem that could easily be remedied.  Recently, Karianne, over at Thistlewood Farms posted about updating an outdated chair.  So, I knew this would be a simple problem to solve.  The short round bun feet attached could easily be screwed out and new feet screwed on.

However, I didn't realize just how many choices in new legs there actually are.  There are all sorts of shapes and heights and colors available.  Finally, I decided to stay with something similar to what was already attached and simply add a little height to the new sofa.  So, I landed on these. 

Rosie needed about an inch and a quarter to slide easily underneath the new sofa and keep the floor clean like she had with the previous one. 

The new feet added about an inch and a half in height.  So, Rosie slides easily beneath and keeps things clean and beautiful!  Yet the sofa is not too tall to sit on and is easy to rise from.

Mike and I have both tried it out for napping and I even slept on it for most of the night one night when my back was giving me problems.  The seat cushion is firm and seems to provide that extra support. 

We couldn't be more pleased and the before, after, and after changing out the legs on it makes it even more perfect!

Adding a Little Fall (Part 2)

When I went back to add the post for today and looked at the  previous post, I realized that my title was broad but my focus was a bit narrow.  (typical writer's problem!)  The focus was adding a little fall - to the den.  The post seemed a bit long since I was sharing changing and shuffling that has been taking place.  So, today I will continue with where I left off at adding a little fall and sharing the changes and shuffles.

I started with my view when I'm lounging on the couch.  Then, I swept toward the right to the pumpkin, checkerboard, and giant pinecone.

Here is a better look at that area.  The pillow in front is one that my mother made using pieces of my Dad's shirts.  The garden stool is one I was thrilled to get at $25 more than twenty years ago when Hobby Lobby had a half-price sale.  It is topped by a little Longaberger basket that holds chocolates for the grandchildren when they come.  Behind there is a print of a house in a meadow that Mike's mother gave him, a small china cupboard that was one of the few pieces Mike had when we married, a globe I found a few years ago in the storage room in our basement that Mike had no idea he even owned.  The print on the opposite side of the china cupboard is one Mike had that I did a frame makeover on several years ago.

On the opposite side of the fireplace is the matching chair and ottoman.  Beside it is an old Purity Dairies milk can that Mikes mother gave us.  She had it sitting outside her garage doors but I cleaned it up and it makes an ideal place to set a book or a drink  when the TV program gets boring.  Behind this chair is the buffet that has been there for years but above it is the aerial photo of the farm where I grew up.  Sentimental feelings wouldn't let me say no when Mom offered it to me but I had no idea where on earth I would hang it.  My bonus son came in one afternoon when I was shuffling and moving things around to make room for the heirloom gifts and marveled over it.  He went on and on about how it was really neat.  So, I asked him, "Where am I going to hang that?"  He scanned the den and noticed a painting on the wall of a house nestled amongst some trees and suggested, "You could get rid of that picture because we don't know where that place is but we do know about this one."  So, I knew I needed to hang it somewhere and began pondering where in the den.  The prints that came from my Granny that I did a different frame update on, got moved to make space for the aerial farm photo.  That pretty much covers the west side of the den.

Moving to the south wall, I gave away a sofa table that I had picked up at a yard sale and painted to make space for this piece of furniture.  It was used to hold bulk flour and cornmeal in the store that Mike's grandparents ran.  It is a beautiful, simple, old piece that both of us love and appreciate.  I put the cow lamp that was my Daddy's on top of it, added a few books, a piece of blue and white, photos of Mike and me and a basket with a few treasures.

I usually have fresh  flowers in the cobalt glass basket that was a gift to me from my niece, Rebecca's mother-in-law,  (I hosted her bride's maids luncheon and will always treasure the sweet gesture from Mrs. Taylor.) but right now everything has just cooked and I have nothing blooming.   I plopped a small ceramic pumpkin atop the blue and white candle holder and left the wood candle holder, blue and white ginger jar and box and called this area decorated for fall.

On the east side of the den is the sofa where I lounge crash each evening after dinner.  Here is where the prints from my Granny's moved.  They are now flanking the antique painting that was given to Mike by his mother.  It came from relatives on the paternal side of his family and the frame is a beautiful one that I recently did a bit of a touch-up on. The cross-stitch piece is one my Mom did and gave to us.  It may be getting a frame touch up sometime in the future so that the frame fits better with the others on that wall.

To add a touch of fall, I changed out the pillow covers.  A couple of them are a leopard print, a couple have a cream background with a golden brown toile-like print with pheasants.  In the center is one I made from a tapestry piece I got that has a Holstein steer surrounded by pumpkins.  The blue and white quilt/coverlet is one Mom made using pieces from Daddy's blue Oxford-cloth shirts that he favored as dress shirts.  Wrapped in it sort of feels like a big hug from my Daddy.

I love how the fall colors play off and sort of highlight the pretty blues in the artwork.  This room is difficult to photograph because the porch shades it and the natural sunlight that comes in during the morning hours tends to only cause a glare.  It usually feels cozy and comfortable in here no matter the time of day, though.  Just to the right of the couch is another addition to the den. 

This little table is one my Mom gave us.  It was made by my Daddy and Mike has already fallen in love with it.  The funny thing is that I think Daddy would love how he uses it.  Inside is a shelf and it houses Mike's TV snacks - cans of peanuts, chips, etc.  There is often a plethora of snack cake wrappers and such littering the top alongside his TV remote.

On the other end of the couch is another gift from Mike's mother.  This rocker is one that she said Mike's dad used to sit in and wait for the bus.  She said Pop and his brother would get ready for school and then they might start wrestling or messing around and so their mother set up a rule that they had to sit in one of the rockers after they ate breakfast to prevent them from messing up their school clothes.  Aptly, the pillow propped in it is one that is made from a pair of Pop's jeans.  The cane adds a bit of texture to the den and I added a little stool that I wove the cane top on twenty-five years ago or more.  It is a comfy old rocker and the story behind it really makes it a special addition.

There are a few things I'd like to do to this room yet.  While I love my big old couch and it is a great one for napping.  However, it is large and I'd like something a little smaller and I would like to have a sofa table with a lamp on it behind the sofa to make reading easier and the room lighter.  The ottoman/coffee table could use a refresh as the upholstery is starting to look a bit tired and the walls could use a refreshing paint job as well.  For now, adding a bit of fall has made it feel cozier and the additions made causing changes and shuffles have updated it to make it seem fresh.  So, I'm satisfied - for now.  Is a room ever really finished?

Adding a Little Fall

Earlier this year Mike's mother sold her house and moved into our basement.  We had to do a major clean out and get rid of things.  The two-bedroom apartment with a full kitchen and den was fully furnished and we had loads of stuff in the storage room as well.  Since she was down-sizing, we were the recipients of a few items that we made room for upstairs as well.

Then, my mother married and moved into a new house and combed through her belongings, giving away items to us as well.  So, all summer I have done some shuffling and moving and redecorating to find space and the just-right place for those items that have joined our household.  So, as I share how I've added a bit of fall, I will also share some of the shuffling and changing that has taken place.

Above is my view as I lounge on the couch.  I shifted the two wingback chairs so that they flank the fireplace.  They were rescued from the dumpster by a friend almost twenty years ago.  My parents had them recovered for me as my Christmas gift in 2007 and Bryan repaired one of them back in the spring.  The ottoman between them is a yard sale purchase that I slip-covered with a companion fabric that I'd bought at the same time I bought the fabric to cover the chairs.  The floor lamp behind the chair on the right is a second-hand project that still makes me smile when I think about how it changed with a little DIY.  The mirror is one I got second-hand for thirty dollars.  I felt like the mantel needed just a little sparkle and I like how it bounces sunlight back into the room in the morning from the windows that are on the opposite wall and at night bounces it back from the can lights in front of the fireplace.

To the hearth, I added a ceramic pumpkin that came from the clearance aisle at Hobby Lobby a few years back.  It was set in front of a checkerboard that came from Mike's mother.  I set a giant pinecone that came from my mother's to make a trio of items on that bring the look of fall to the right side of the hearth.

On the left side of the hearth is a blue and white pot full of small pinecones and I just added three natural shed deer antlers found here on the farm to it.

I added three baby boo white pumpkins to the mantel.

I love how the gilding of the mirror and the reflection of the light gives them a little glow!

The first photo showed a glimpse of the ottoman we use as a coffee table.  I added a blue and white pumpkin that I picked up about twenty years ago at a thrift shop.  It joins a thrift store wooden tray that corrals some books and the TV remote that has been on the ottoman for a couple of years.  I used a silver tray that Mom gave me which was a trophy we won exhibiting cows at a fair about thirty years ago.  I use it to corral a blue and white lantern, a box Lillie gave me for Mother's Day when she was about two or three, a blue and white box, and a basket holding cut glass coasters and another baby boo pumpkin.

There are a few other touches of fall added into the den but I will share them in another post later.  Surely mother nature will add a bit of fall soon.  It is still in the low nineties here and we are sweltering!

A Little Touch Up for an Antique Frame

Mike's mother recently gave us an antique painting that is in a beautiful frame.  It once belonged to one of his father's ancestors.  Over the years, it had gathered a few nicks and dings and I felt like they sort of distracted from the overall beauty of the frame. 

The two photos above show how there were these white spots that just seemed to jump out to me and were distracting from the painting and the beautiful frame.  I wanted to do something that didn't alter the integrity of the painting or the frame.  So, when I ran across a post on the blog, Edith and Evelyn, where Cindy shared her secret Homemade Glaze, an idea tugged at the corner of my brain.

So, I mixed up a bit of that glaze and did a few little touch ups.  I didn't even remove the painting from the wall.

There were a dozen or so little dings to which I added a light coat of glaze.  The total time it took me was about ten minutes and that counts the time it took me to find the paint and thin it with water.

Above is a grainy phone picture showing the finished product.  The painting is a bit dark and the paint has cracked a bit but it is a relaxing pastoral scene with a house set in a meadow surrounded by a copse of trees. I am wondering if it could be cleaned but for now, we are enjoying it and the beautiful frame adds some class to our den!

 

Little Update

Since the days were a bit chilly and dreary this past weekend...

Since I didn't want to tackle an outdoor project...

Since I had a day planned with some friends over the weekend...

Since I had noticed the popularity of cheetah prints lately...

I did a little mini update in the den.

Cheetah print pillow covers!

My friends and I went to the Fabric House on Saturday.  I was looking for fabric to coordinate the room with my Granny's quilt.  No, I still haven't landed on something to finish out that room.  I still need a bed skirt, pillow shams, chair upholstery, and a coordinating fabric for the Roman shade fabric I have selected.  I even looked at trims with the thought that I could go with a white fabric and trim it out to coordinate the quilt and shades.  Nope.  Didn't land on anything that just sang out to me.  So, I stopped off at Hobby Lobby on the way home searching for something else altogether (I'm getting ready to do a bit of organizing round here.)  I stumbled across the cheetah print.  Remember that I've noticed it in several places lately and decided I needed a bit of it in my house.

I love that it is a simple cotton fabric that I can throw into the washer.  I simply made an envelope pillow cover.  I debated upon piping it with black piping but in the end decided to simply top-stitch the edges with black.

I think these are the perfect fall accent to go with my pheasant-covered pillows and the steer amongst the pumpkin pillow.  Happy fall with a little update!