upcycle

DIY Project: Boston’s Comic Book Drawers

by Chavah Kinloch on October 7, 2010

What do you get when you cross this:

With this:

You get this!

Do you like them? I know they won’t be everyone’s taste but I, personally, LOVE them. I can’t believe how great they turned out! They are going to look so good in Boston’s room.

The children can’t stop going near them, so I think I’ve created a hit.

I went searching for 2nd hand comic books locally but had no luck, I found two tiny ones. One was totally weird and I just had to buy it because it was so weird. Andrew and I had a good laugh reading through it; I’ll use it in another creation some day. The second comic I found was an Archie comic. I loved reading my cousins Archie comics! I’ll also use that for something else in the near future. I got those two comics plus another really pretty colour book for all of twenty cents. So as you can see, I didn’t get what I wanted for this particular project but I bagged a bargain; even if it wasn’t what I set out for. :P

Growing up my brother had a tonne of comics so naturally, I would borrow them to read. Xmen, DC comics, Asterix etc. Loved them all! Now that I have a house full of boys (and one lovely little lady) I want to introduce them to all sorts of things I enjoyed as a child and show them how to be creative. I thought these drawers would be perfect for that.

After having no luck locally, I was still determined to create the set of drawers in my mind so I hit up the internet, of course.

I picked these comics up for from Trade Me. I got five of them delivered to me for $3.50.

The set of drawers were hand me down drawers, to Boston, from his big sister. The drawers I’ve been working on here and the old blanket box I tidied up here, are now hers and I figure instead of buying new things in these renovations, I’ll just use as much of what I have, as possible, to keep costs down and make it unique.

Side note: I have actually finished those drawers now, well the first set anyway but I’m saving the unveiling until I get around to working on her room….so you’ll probably see them sometime next decade.

Anyway, $3.50 for the comics and $21.50 for the totally overpriced furniture glue (IMHO), means the the total of these drawers was $24.50.  Great price for something like this but still too much for my liking.

Now just because I want to show you more angles of the drawers, here are some extra photos:

*The drawers aren’t totally closed in that middle photo.

ETA: I’ve just added this to the Design Refuge – October This is Me Challenge. I think this project is a pretty good representation of my fun, upcycling, eclectic, authentic me style.

{ 15 comments }

Update on a DIY Project for Boston’s Room

by Chavah Kinloch on September 21, 2010

Last night I got back to work on the chair for Boston’s room.

Did I happen to mention that I’ve never actually upholstered a chair before? I think it turned out pretty well for a first attempt! I’m not finished with it yet. I have to add the finishing touches to cover up my tracks but I’m feeling confident that I can actually pull this off. Exciting times!

The yellow is so incredibly bright, the only way I’ll be able to get a shot with it’s true colour is to drag it outside when the sun is shining. The above photo has been enhanced but it’s still not there. So lets hope, that come the time I finish this chair, the sun will be shining and I can finally show you just how powerful the colour is.

I confessed the other day that my sewing skills are almost non-existent, so obviously I’m attempting to reupholster this magnificent little beauty without touching a sewing machine. This next stage may need me to try to sew a straight line but that’s as far a I’m taking it!

I figure that it’s best I attempt to create my own little yellow chair instead of going bankrupt trying to purchase the likes of this:

Oswald armchair with hakon yellow velvet. RRP of £1495 which equals $3212.90 NZ.

If I had the money spare to buy such luxuries, I would. I do appreciate designers. They are, after all, artists. Like the average stay at home Mum though, their gorgeous products are a little (read: a lot) outside of my budget.

If I had the ability to choose exactly what I wanted to buy; nothing spared, no worrying about money; my home would be a  mix of both high and low end items. I’ve never been a label snob, I like what I like, it doesn’t matter if it costs $1 or $1000. Handmade items are a favourite because of the love that goes into creating them while an expensive designer item has always guaranteed me quality.

Where do you sit on the scale? Are you a bargain hunter or designer diehard?

{ 6 comments }

A DIY Project for Boston’s Room

by Chavah Kinloch on September 16, 2010

Sometime time last year I picked up this chair from Habitat for Humanity. I knew I wanted a really comfortable single chair in the corner of Bostons room so I went looking around. I came across some really fun chairs being sold at furniture stores and online; but their price tags were in the thousands of dollars region… a little out of my league.

So on one of my trips out to my favourite second hand stores I spotted this chair.

I found it really comfortable for an oldie but it was in dire need of some love; so I brought it home.  The chair only cost me $10. Not bad I think.

I set about removing the old fabric, it was a hideously dusty job.

I must have picked out a million nails, pins and old staples. Very tedious.

I flipped it over and painted the legs.

Then lined the bottom cushion of the chair with clean fabric.

I went out today and bought some new fabric to cover the chair with. I LOVE it. It’s so bright and cheerful, I can’t wait to see the end result.

Want a sneak peek of the fabric?

Let’s hope I can pull this off!

{ 16 comments }

Sexy New Subjects

by Chavah Kinloch on July 26, 2010

Welcome to the first official day of my regular routine! I’ve loved my time off but am really excited to be back painting my paintings and venturing into finishing and starting new furniture projects to take from wreck to ravishing.

This is my current project. I was going to make it extremely artistic but now I’m not sure if I want to anymore! I’m thinking I’ll change my mind and go a completely different direction.

Purchase price: $15.00

This is the lampshade I purchased in Dunedin. I loved it’s colour and lantern-like shape. I bought it the day after I visited the most kick-@$$ Chinese restaurant and was feeling inspired by the restaurants interior design. I’m considering adding some bling to this.

Purchase price $10.00

This was purchased from the dump. It looks to be part of a mid century Scandinavian design set. I love the little curves in the bars and at the front of the seat. It almost seems like sacrilege to take to it the way I want to but alas, I’m still going to do it my way.

Purchase price: $5.00

I’m not a huge fan of cane furniture but there are some pieces that I see potential in. This is one of them. Right now it has a rustic feel to it and is in need of a good spray and wipe. I’m sure it will come up a treat when I’m done.

Purchase price: $2.00

How cute is this stool?! My husband saw it first and told me he knew I’d buy it as soon as I saw it. He knows me well.
The seat is more of an olive green colour. It’s cute enough as it is but does need some TLC to bring it to it’s full potential.

Purchase price: $6.50

I looove how sexy the base of this table is. It’s REAL wood, extremely heavy. This is the project I really want to get started on BUT my rule for myself is I have to finish one thing first before I move on. So I’d better get back to it now :)

Purchase price: $20.00

Do you have any current projects on the go? Feel free to leave your link! I’d love to see.

{ 17 comments }

The Latest Project – Side Table Drawers

by Chavah Kinloch on June 25, 2010

Ahhhhh. First off, I just wanted to say I’m feeling great. Thanks for the lovely comments I got all around the place :)

Next up, my latest project!

So my favourite places to shop down here are Habitat from Humanity and the dump. This particular project was found at the dump.

Shopping second hand down here isn’t like shopping second hand in a big city. Everything is labelled ‘antique’ when really it’s just old and nasty and only worth a dollar. So buying an affordable set of drawers is no easy feat. Not to mention a set of drawers that match.

When I saw them I instantly saw gorgeous side tables for a living room, hallway or bedroom. The shape of them is stunning IMO., and those handles…yes! The drawers are quite big/deep so they’d actually store quite a bit even though there are only two of them. At $15 each, I couldn’t say no.

I’d heard you could actually refurbish veneered wood so I thought this might be a good introduction to working with it.

So here’s the before:

I’m still working on them but here are some during photo’s:

I still have a long way to go with this project but I’m hoping the end result will come out as what I envisage in my head.

I’m working in my dining room.(The whole middle of winter thing.) I’ve completely trashed it.  Well, I’ve gotten paint everywhere, my baby has trashed it lol. I’ll be doing something that requires a lot of elbow grease, like sanding.. and he’ll come along and pull things off my desk and sprawl everything across the floor. Darn him for getting bigger! He’s into absolutely everything right now. I think he believes he’s helping me… but really… lol.

The results for the drawers are great so far and I really, really hope I can pull it together. So keep watch! All going well I’ll have it done by next week… unlike my painting which is STILL waiting on goods to be shipped so I can finish it.

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Update on the Yellow Chair

It’s finished! I finished it last week I’ve been hanging out to get this post up to share it with you all. I had SUCH hard time finding the right fabric for the cushion. I knew exactly what I wanted but no matter how gorgeous the choices of fabric were, I couldn’t find it! I [...]

I Love 2nd Hand Crap (That’s not a swearword in NZ)

So I’m currently working on a dining chair I picked up on the weekend. I love all things old and beautiful so when I spotted the chair I had to have it. My conversation with my husband, over buying the chair, went like this. “This is cute, I think I’ll buy it.” “Ok.” “What do [...]