Project #1: Hanging Map Chart.
I've always loved these vintage school charts and thought it would be fun to recreate one...
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During a trip to NYC last year, I found this amazing letterpress/stationery shop selling beautiful old posters and picked up a vintage reproduction map of France for less than $8(!). I wasn't sure where I'd put it until the master bedroom started coming together, and thought it'd be perfect on this narrow wall between the bathroom and closet doors:
So I gathered my supplies, which included two wood dowels from Joann's for around 80 cents each (which I cut to 20" and stained dark walnut), some twine and hot glue (any strong glue will work).
I centered the dowel along the bottom, ran a bead of glue on the paper, and pressed them together firmly:
For the top, I tied my twine on either end and trimmed the excess...
Then glued it to the top. Took all of 3 minutes.
And I think it looks pretty authentic.
It just adds a little something to break up that plain wall of doors and no color.
When we remodel the bathroom, the doors and that whole wall will be reconfigured, but for now I am enjoying the simplicity of it.
Total project cost: $10
Alright... project 2: Chair reupholstery.
If you can remember back to a couple weeks ago, I picked up this antique chair at our local flea market for $5:
It makes for a sweet little accent next to the dresser. But it needed a seat, of course.
First I sanded it down a bit and applied a dark walnut stain (mixed with a hint of gray):
To make the template, I flipped the chair upside down on a piece of poster paper and traced along the inside as best as I could:
There's a decent sized lip on the inside, so I drew around the circle around 1/2" or so, and cut it out. Then I traced that circle onto a piece of plywood.
I cut the plywood with a jigsaw and set it down for a test fit...
Good enough. It would be covered with foam, batting and fabric so it didn't matter that it wasn't 100% perfect.
I have a bunch of leftover foam and batting from our kitchen bench seats, so I used that along with a steak knife to trim it to size:
Then I flipped it over and stapled the batting onto the back.
I picked up a 1/2 yard of solid navy fabric at Joann's for a couple bucks...
This part proved difficult since it was a round surface and pretty much impossible to avoid visible folds. I just did the best I could and used a ton of staples to try and flatten it out.
It just adds more character, right?
To attach it to the chair, I flipped them both over and drove a couple screws through from underneath.
Ta-da. Susie gives it the seal of approval.
I think this navy ticking stripe pillow works quite well with it.
Total project cost: $7.
Okay... project 3: DIY Antler Plaque.
I scored a few old antlers at the flea market earlier this year in hopes of mounting two of them on a plaque (I think they were just a few dollars each—our flea market is the bomb).
I thought our paneled wall needed something to take some of the focus off the TV and liked the idea of adding another rustic element, so antlers it is.
A $2 wood plaque from Joann's, stain and a couple screws were all that was needed for this...
After staining the plaque dark walnut, I placed one antler in the approximate position I wanted it to be mounted and made a small mark underneath where the screw would be inserted.
Then I found a couple screws that were the right size, grabbed the appropriate sized drill bit, and made my hole:
I thought the bone would be really hard to drill into but surprisingly it went right through. Maybe because these antlers are older and less dense?
After drilling into both antlers, I did the same on the plaque:
Then from the back I inserted the screw partially, placed the antler on it and finished driving the screw in until it pulled it tight:
Easier than I thought!
Finally, I added a sawtooth hanger on the back to mount it.
And here it is.
Total project cost: $8.
And there you have it... 3 projects for a total of $25. Gotta love bargain shopping + DIY'ing.
And that's all you get until the reveal ;)
Over the next few days I'll be working on organizing the inside of my wardrobe/vanity area, which of course I'm super excited about. Check back Thursday for the details!
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