Curtain panel repurpose

So here's how the madness began...

After about a year, I finally convinced husband that the kitchen stools we got from his aunts needed a facelift. I love a freebie, but I also wanted to put my own stamp on the chairs and coordinate them to our living area. 

Thru Pinterest, I had read several tutorials about how to reupholster a seat cushion and it seemed relatively simple if I could get my hands on a craft stapler and the perfect fabric. This is where I hit a snag. I searched and searched for a fabric I liked and couldn't find anything. I scoured my local craft and fabric stores looking for something that caught my eye. I didn't want anything too commercial or trendy, but didn't want a plain fabric either. That's when I got the idea to check out the pre-made curtain panels in Target. I could get an entire panel of designer fabric for between $20-40 bucks. We naturally selected one of the more expensive panels but were pleased to find that it was on sale for $19.99!!! That's like 2 1/3 yards of home fabric for 10 bucks a yard(it's a really good deal compared to what I've seen at fabric stores). This is what we chose. 

From here it was an easy one night project. I picked all the seams apart and ironed the panel. While this step took me about an hour, I wasn't about to waste all the extra fabric that was hidden in seams and hems. 

Here is the tutorial I used loosely, http://m.wikihow.com/Reupholster-a-Dining-Chair-Seat. 

- removed chair seats from stool

- cut fabric to size

- stapled fabric in place(starting center and moving outwards). I did not remove the existing fabric since it was in decent condition with no gaping holes or tears.

- cut extra fabric and secured loose ends

- reattached cushions

Easy peezy, right? Except there was all this extra fabric. So I just HAD to make seat cushions for our desk chairs. And that lead into the NEED to redo our rushed kitchen chairs. (Tutorials to come on those projects)

So we should be ok for now, but I do have my eye on our living room chairs. Stay tuned.....

A few weekend DIY projects...

Floating kitchen shelves: 

During the kitchen wall renovation in early 2013, we had to get creative with the space. There ended up being a lot of pipes in the wall we removed so we re-routed as best we were allowed. This however left wall space we hadn't planned on. This extra space by the new transaction bar top we put in, ended up becoming our coffee nook. The problem was, we no longer had cabinets to store coffee mugs(and we have a lot!). 

I had found several ideas for this area, but this one stuck out. (Shanty 2 chic is quickly becoming my favorite planner of diy projects!)

http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/DIY-Floating-Shelves-Free-Plans.pdf

You start by making the brackets which are drilled into the walls. We had to go ahead and stain one side of them because the final location wouldn't allow us the space to do so. 

Normally, you would find the studs and screw them to the wall. Yeah, we didn't really think this one thru. Remember all the pipes we had to reroute during the kitchen reno? Guess where they were?Behind this wall. So we had to think outside the box and set in dry wall screws(very carefully). 

Once on the wall, we used wood glue for the bottom piece and then used brad nails for the remaining side, top and front.  We secured them with braces while hammering on them just to be cautious. 

Then we used wood filler on any of the gaps and holes. After a gentle sanding, we stained them using the Kona stain from our farmhouse table. 

They turned out beautifully! We still have to figure out what to do with our coffee cup collection, but this holds enough for us and the occasional visitors. 

I also bought some extra wood to make a silverware caddy I saw on Pinterest. I did all the cuts myself and I still have all my appendages! 

Here's the tutorial: http://thefreckledhouse.blogspot.com/2012/09/napkin-holder-and-silverware-caddy.html?m=1

I plan to use this tutorial to create some long rectangular centerpieces for an upcoming baby shower at the house. Inspiration pic: 

Stay tuned for some additional crafty posts!