Mission Impossible (Part 1)

Remember this? Dingy old 3-seater sofa?

Just a note, I'm not a professional. In fact, this is my first attempt to re-upholster a 3-seater, Victorian chair. You'll get to see my progress, and I hope this turns out well. I think it'll take me sometime to complete this. So bear with me. Worst case if I fail (cross my fingers), I'll send this to the upholsterer.

Yes, it's time to re-upholster it. I've not bought any professional tools yet. Reason being I'm unsure what's underneath when I take away the exterior. I was hoping that the materials inside are still in good condition so I can minimize working on it. It seems that I was wrong...

These are the tools I'm currently using.

Anti-clockwise from top:

1. Pliers for pulling out the staples
2. Pair of working leather gloves
3. Hammer (I need buy a magnetic one soon, but it's so hard to find!)
4. Cutting pliers
5. Flat headed screw driver (aid me in removing the staples)
6. Tack/Nail remover

My fabric has also arrived. Somehow my camera doesn't capture the pale blue background of the fabric.

Mission Impossible Day #01
The exterior cover has to go, so I went & work on it.

I'm taking out the staples from the front cushion part so that after the back cover is removed, I can un-staple the lower back part to completely remove the cushion cover.

I've removed the back cover. This is the inner piece covering the framework behind.

Ok, now the inner piece is removed. I was expecting webbing lining the inner parts, but I was surprised to find rubber strips instead. I doubt that it can last for the next 5 years. Which also means I have to tear it down to the bone & start from scratch. So much for wishing... This calls for professional tools... O_o"

I have to un-staple these parts in order to remove the cushion section.

See there's two sections? The top one is for the back rest section of the sofa and the bottom one is for the cushion section. Un-staple them.

Ok, cushion cover is off.

 Now to remove the bottom layer to see the construction of the sofa.

Huh? This is their spring system? Looks similar to the mattress types.

It's also a good idea to track the parts, so I labelled them and kept a record.

The sales person told me that the sofa's frame is made of teak wood. It's one of the hardest wood around, so it'll be tough to work on. While un-stapling, you cannot imagine how filthy this sofa is. I was wondering who are the people sitting on this chair. Piles of dust and dirt gather in the corners and areas not exposed. I found dead mini leaves, beads, a coin, a pill, a hair pin, and probably dead insects.

That's it for today. I have a feeling that my fingers will get a muscle cramp and be sore. Uncovering the back rest is a challenge for now. I'll have to do some observing and research.

Stay tuned for part 2.


xXx

It's A Tight Fit!

Wanted to change the light bulbs from a florescent to a LED one. My other half was commenting that the price I paid for the LED bulbs compared to the "benefits" of saving on electricity bill will take a long time to break-even. Yes, it's $28 for one bulb, which consumes 5W. My kitchen needs 8 of these bulbs and currently, each florescent tube consumes 13W. Anyway, I need to change them to white light, so might as well...

Honestly, I must say I have a lot of patience BUT fixing this really tested it. I had to take breaks in between to cool my temper before the axe comes out to SMASH IT!!!

Ok, this is the downlight that I've worked on. It requires 2 tubes with a snap on connection.

Now look at the size difference for the bulbs.

Already, the florescent tube is a snug fit. Try fitting the LED one in. It's really a super tight fit. So this calls for slight modifications. This is the "before" picture. The aluminium piece is the reflector and it is absolutely needed to reflect the light out. Due to the tight fit, I had to try various combi before arriving at the best solution. Now, remove all of these including the reflector.

See the original shape of the reflector? 

I had to cut off the centre divider to make space for the LED tubes (my fingers could hardly move with that minimum space). For some downlights in my toilets, due to the odd corners I couldn't reach, I had to cut a bigger hole!

Ok, time to fit the pieces together. It took me a few attempts to snap it in. Apparently, the connection point's "female" parts are just nice to fit in a tapered "male" part, BUT the new bulbs I've gotten are trouble! The "male" parts are not tapered!! (See above for the picture of the bulbs - look at the difference in the "male" parts)

Finally, I got them in! I'm pretty happy with the new bulbs, they are brighter than the previous 13W ones. I don't want to think about changing them in the near future... they really are a hassle. Maybe by then I'll change to new downlight casings that require less effort.

For now, I'm taking a break from these!


O_o"

Refreshing Wardrobe Knobs

I've been searching such a long time for you.... oh my beautiful... knobs!

Yes, I've been finding suitable ones for some time now. I know that this brand - Gainsborough, has nice ones, and they cost quite a bit, so I've been looking for other options.

Eventually, I gave in and bought 2 types. One for the master bedroom and the other for my mum's room. It has a 10 year guarantee which I'm quite happy about. Even the sales person who worked in this industry for a long time assured me that the print will still be there at least 10 years. If you're interested, you can check their website to find out more. I got mine for $10 bucks for one, changed the base plate for a gold one. Cool!

http://www.gainsboroughhardware.com.au/default.aspx

These were the initial knobs I bought. They are cheap and they look cheap. So, those went into the storeroom...

This is for Mumzie's room:

And for moi:

 The "Before" knobs in my room:

The "before" knobs in the rooms are a mismatch to my current theme. Mine's Victorian/French and mumzie's is floral. So these new knobs fit right it. It especially fits my mum's curtains that is also in blue and white floral.

The only thing that irks me is the tiny holes you see on my wardrobe doors. I've yet to try the wood putty, but I doubt it works as the wardrobes are just laminates, not solid wood. 

Gainsborough also sell ceramic door knobs, and there's more selection compared to the cupboard knobs. Well, my room doors are still working fine, so there's no need to change them. There are other brands out there but so far I've not come across one that gives a 10 year guarantee at the same price I've paid. It's a good buy and worth checking out if you fancy them.

xXx

Give Me A New Coat

Nice? I’m so glad it’s finally over! I gave my doors a nice coat of glossy paint.

 

Many tell me painting the door is tough and it’s different from painting the walls. Door paints (for wood and metals) for the fact is oil based, which also means:

• You need to handle it faster than water based paints. Once it reaches the semi dried state, you won’t want to brush through it.
• It “bleeds” at the corners (I’ll show you how to minimize that).
• It’s messy and sticky
• The fumes are suffocating (it’s best you work in a well-ventilated place).
• To clean off any stains, you’ll have to use turpentine, which I find it quite damaging to my skin (advisable to use gloves handling this)

Well, it is tough, because I had to paint all 11 doors… :(

I can only manage 3 doors + frame in one day. Plus I took breaks in between before completion. I tried painting 2 days in a row, I ended up with muscle cramps in my fingers and a sore wrist!

In short, if you have newly polished parquets like mine, you’ll avoid all cost to step on the drips of paint from your prepared surface onto your floor. Cleaning it when it has fully dried is quite a time consuming task. Amidst the chaos, you’ll have to act fast to reduce visible brush strokes setting on your door… a lot to juggle right?

Let’s begin…..

Tools you’ll need:

Super must haves:

1)      Short haired roller sponge

See the sponge next to the gloves? This is the number #01 must haves in my list of door painting. Make sure it is the short haired types. It’s quite hard to find and most hardware shops sell only the standard ones. Also, buy a bunch of them. I never wash and reuse them because you’ll need to use a lot of turpentine to clean it, plus it’s a hassle to dispose the turpentine.

2)      Plenty of disposable gloves

3)      Natural haired paint brushes (works better than nylon ones)

4)      Odour-lite door paint (I’ve tried using the standard wood paint. I’ve not seen odourless types in the market though. Boy, the fumes were unbearable & I feel dizzy after breathing in the fumes for the whole day)

You’ll need lots of prep work as well:

Make sure you tape vital areas and protect the surface of your floors.

Take note if you use newspapers, have it thick enough so that the paint won’t seep through. Remember, it’s not like wall paint.

Get rid of any peeling paint, stickers, and stains by sanding that off lightly. If you want, you can also give your door a wipe before painting (I did for mine).

After painting, make sure to leave the tape 1-2 days at the corners to completely dry and stop the “bleeding” process. Look at the screw up of my first painted door. I didn’t expect the “bleeding” to continue after 1-2hrs of painting, but it seems like it did. It’s still there and I’m having a hard time removing it.

Some pointers when painting doors:

1)      Take out excess paint from your brush before painting

a.       This will reduce dripping paint onto the floor

b.      It reduces “bleeding”

2)      You’ll need 2 coats to have an even colour. If the base of your door is a dark colour, you may need 3 or more coats. It’ll be better is you can sand down the door a little, but I’m too lazy to do so. Just make sure that coat 1-2 is completely dried before putting on the 3-4 coats.

3)      While painting the 2^nd coat, check on “bleeding” at corners & brush them off lightly before it dries.

4)      Always wear gloves! In my first attempt, I didn’t despite my mum telling me. I had paint all over my hands and soles of my feet! Best part was, I forgot about it and touched other things in the house!!! It became a mess!

5)      If you accidently drip/ stain places where you don’t want the paint to be, get a ragged cloth and quickly clean it while it’s still in its liquid form. (In the picture above, I’m really having a hard time as the paint has already dried. Smart me thought I could use the scrapper to scrape it out… I just made it worse!)

I always paint the areas which my roller sponge cannot reach with a brush first. Like the frame, patterned areas of the door and corners. My record is painting 3 doors a day, so I’ll make sure to maximize the use of my sponge rollers.  I didn’t wait for the paint to dry before painting on the second coat. The roller sponge is good as it doesn’t leave brush patterns on the door. It also gives an even coat of paint without much dripping and splashing droplets of paint out (provided you roll out the excess).

I’m pretty happy with the results. It feels like having a new shiny door now!

If you’re attempting it, try out my method and take note on the pointers. I screwed up 2 doors before getting it right. Lastly, you really need a lot of patience. In my opinion, painting the doors take more effort than the wall.

Good luck!

Stoney Love

Our first guest on our new dining table! This cheeky baby lizard has been around the house since...

Choosing our dining table had been a hard job when we have thoughts of getting a chandelier. From our love-at-first-sight for a one piece hard wood table, we changed our minds when we thought of how the crystal chandelier wouldn't fit the wooden table. At the end, we decided on a stone table.

Yes, a stone table. I know marble tables are expensive however, I didn't know that they are that pricey! (I mean it's OK just as long as it's under by allocated budget) Then we started looking at another option - Granite.

A trick question: Is Marble or Granite more expensive?

Before research, my answer was Marble is more expensive. Close friends and family whom I have asked also said the same thing, BUT, it is all a perception! Granite is just as pricey as Marble! Plus, since Granite is a harder material, it also means that it needs more workmanship = more $$.

We spent a few weekends going to & fro the stone factory looking and confirming the stones we have choosen, then bringing the samples back to imagine how the different colours would fit the dining area. This process took us close to a month.

Finally! We chose a black granite slab - Russian Volga Blue. Granite is more hardy and not as porous as Marble. I'm quite a lazy person, so the lesser work to care for the better. This selection turns out slightly more costly than the initial marble slab that we have chosen.   XO

And the whole table weighs a whopping 360kg or more!! Had 4-5 men handling the delivery of it.

 First step: Table base

This table is not designed for lifting. You definitely need assistance from these suction handles at all four corners!! 

Cleaning the inside before the final step.  

 Whoa, super heavy! It's 160kg!!

Table is ready!

Well, I'm waiting for the delivery of our dining chairs. It should be ready in mid-Oct. This is how our chairs will look like:

Our dining room is almost done. We bought 6 cream and 4 black ones. The table is a 8-seater, but we bought two extra in case for guests. The extras will be used in our rooms. :)

I can't wait to see how it fits the whole look! 

Look out for my updates!

xxx

Dress Me Up (Part 2)

I'm back to continue the lamp shade. :) After measuring the base circumference of the lamp shade, I realized that 1 meter of organza is not enough. So my head seamstress had to halt this project till we buy enough fabric. *Sigh*

BUT, I've sewn on the crystals onto the shades (recap, I've bought 2 of these floor lamps). I'll show you the process. Just make sure to get working leather gloves, thick needles for upholstery purposes and a ball of strong thread.

Let's start.

I started off by laying out the pattern and colour assortment sequence per pane on the table. After, I measured and placed markings on the shade. For each pane, I had 7 (middle) + 1 + 1 (both ends of pane)

 Tie a knot and start on a new marking. (I'm continuing mine in this picture)

Slot in your crystal beads.

Pull it tight and snug to the frame.

 Make another round.

Secure with another stitch. The shade fabric has 2 layers, note when doing this, make sure that your thread goes in-between the layers to hide the thread. 

 Out on the next marking and repeat the process.

 On the underside, it looks like this. Clean looking with just the stitch.

The end result!

My hands were a little sore from pulling & pushing the needle onto the lamp shade. As this is 2nd hand, the hardened glue on the edges of the shade makes it even tougher. That's why I need the aid of the leather gloves. If not, the needle will go through my hands.

Ok, last step will be to put on the fabric. 

Stay tuned for part 3!