Best "Before and After" Upholstery Projects of 2010

By: Modhomeecteacher Dec 29, 2010

From the time-lapse sofa, to a professionally tufted side chair, reupholstery is still on the front burner as we head into 2011. As the veil is lifted on basic upholstery techniques, many more DIY-ers are jumping in. If you start simple, don't spend a lot of money on fabric or furniture right out of the gate, why not try it?  You may be suprised what you can do. I continually remind my students that almost every mistake can be fixed or disguised. Take a look at what made the… Continue Reading

4581 views | Comments (1)

Devolve a Chair Into Sculptural Art

By: Modhomeecteacher Nov 30, 2010

We've repurposed discarded chairs by stripping, painting and reupholstering, but it never occurred to us to turn a mass-produced, discarded chair into a whittled down piece of sculptural art. Asked to upcycle an unvalued object for an article 'Hack It Better', London artist Karen Ryan continued her Whittle series with Chair No. 3. Here's what she started with before she got busy with her pen… Continue Reading

1051 views | Comments (2)

Ask Curbly: TVs, Clawfoot Tubs, Cheap Organizing and Weird Beds

By: Bruno Nov 18, 2010
created at: 10/08/2010

If you've never checked out our Ask a Question forum, now's the time to start. It's a perfect place to ask for help with home improvement and decor questions, and you can help others out by offering your own expert (or amateur) advice.

I thought I'd highlight some of the more interesting recent questions from the forum today (please add your answers or suggestions if you have any):

xox_nicole: How can I make a clawfoot tub into a couch?

I have always wanted a clawfoot tub, a la Breakfast at Tiffany's, but I've never been able to find anyone who has actually turned their clawfoot tub into a couch.  I've done a little research and found out that you're supposed to use a cut-off saw with a fiberous cutting blade, rather than a circular saw, to cut cast iron. Anyone done this before, or have any helpful tips about… Continue Reading

487 views | Comments (0)

Recover a Chair in 5 Minutes

By: Diy maven Nov 16, 2010

An abandoned chair goes from sad to sensational in just five minutes. Wanna guess how this was… Continue Reading

4104 views | Comments (4)

Upholstery Before and After: Plain Green Chair

By: Modhomeecteacher Nov 05, 2010

If you said this green isn't that bad, I'd have to agree....until you see how Kim turned it into a… Continue Reading

1109 views | Comments (1)

Hyper-Realistic Paintings

By: Bruno Oct 20, 2010

Quick quiz, is the image below a photo or a painting?

Paintings by Justin Allen

Answer after the… Continue Reading

466 views | Comments (0)

NO SEW: Make a Pillow Form Look Like French Linens

By: Modhomeecteacher Sep 23, 2010

created at: translation missing: en, 2010-09-23 14:00:58 -0500

When planning this little tute, it occurred to me, "Why even bother with a pillow cover, just use the form AS IS". How can you miss with natural, white, clean, pure, and contrasting trimmed out details? Come on - It's NO SEW! 

When you tire of it, you can strip off the details and stuff it in a boring old pillow… Continue Reading

3381 views | Comments (6)

Make an Anthropologie-Inspired Zig-Zag Pillow

By: Diy maven Aug 30, 2010

Don't you love it when people make great knock-offs of expensive stuff and then share the how-tos??? In this case, the pricey item is a zig-zag pillow from Anthropologie ($68) and the knockoff is the darling pillow pictured above, which, I have to say, I like better than the original. Here's what you'll need to whip one… Continue Reading

535 views | Comments (0)

Make a Bird Covered Pillow

By: Diy maven Aug 24, 2010

Recently, Jessica from Running with Scissors was the creative guest on U-Create, contributing a tutorial for this beautiful bird pillow. She was inspired by some quite expensive alternatives that clock in at $125 to $135 a pop. Jessica's… Continue Reading

544 views | Comments (0)

Adirondack Chair Made of Pallets

By: Diy maven Aug 16, 2010

 

atla-061408-palletchair.jpg

Nina Tolstrup of Studiomama makes furniture out of wood pallets, which she sells. She also sells plans to make some of the furniture as well. The up and downside for Ms. Tolstrup is that her for-sale plans are simple, which also means they're knock-off-able… Continue Reading

6356 views | Comments (1)

How To Buy An Office Chair for Your Budget and Body

By: Modhomeecteacher Aug 12, 2010

 

Mr. Mod measures in at 6 feet and 5 inches tall. He often works from home. No matter where he's sitting, he complains about his lower back. He needs a good executive ergonomic office chair. I did some… Continue Reading

274 views | Comments (2)

Upholstery Workshop: How to Pleat a Rolled Arm

By: Modhomeecteacher Jul 26, 2010

created at: 07/26/2010

Now what? You've started attaching the inside arm of that Goodwill chair, but you have no clue how to get that rolled arm pleated and finished. See how the pros do it,… Continue Reading

1332 views | Comments (1)

How to Reupholster a Hide-a-Bed

By: Modhomeecteacher Jul 12, 2010

sofa

A hide-a-bed was my first paying upholstery job. The funny thing was that I was putting a big blue plaid back on the sofa sized hide-a-bed. You can only imagine how I agonized over the plaid matching nightmare. When I met my husband, he owned this same type of Herculon plaid sofa hide-a-bed. I used to say you could drop a cheeseburger onto it and it would disappear. I mean this stuff NEVER showed the dirt. The downside was you had to live with the ugliness, unless you were willing pay an arm-and-a-leg, or tackle the reupholstery yourself. Local blogger and online bud, Beckie of Infarrantly Creative, just sent me over a fully photographed tutorial of her reupholstered hide-a-bed… Continue Reading

1821 views | Comments (1)

Goodwill Kid's Rocker Moroccan Makeover

By: Modhomeecteacher Jun 30, 2010

created at: 06/30/2010

One late afternoon I stopped into my local Goodwill store. Immediately, I spied this vintage child's rocker in the furniture area priced at a measly $6.99. Old, worn out, and saggy, I was a little interested, but not quite sold until I saw someone else become very interested in it. It was… Continue Reading

2173 views | Comments (3)

Turn a Pallet into a Lounge Chair

By: Diy maven Jun 30, 2010

IMO, all pallets are waiting to be made into something beautiful, like this outdoor lounge chair for instance. Simple, yet stylish in its construction, the materials and tools to make one are… Continue Reading

2341 views | Comments (0)