A Weekend Project: Make A Bed

Hello, did you have a nice weekend? What did you get up to? Oh ya know, bought a new king sized mattress, then realised we didn't have a king sized bed base, so, as you do, just made one. Yup. Made an entire bed base. Timber slat, upholstered side rails and headboard. I think that's what you get when you pair a builder with a designer. Minds set on a project and that's it. There's no stoppin' us.

DIY TradeMe Trawl

I was trawling through the wonderful finds on TradeMe this morning, dreaming of the day I am in a 'settled' situation and I can snap up some of these goodies, and came across this sweet old 'Don' chair - obviously it is in need of a bit of TLC but it gives me goose bumps just thinking how fab it could look! I think a lot of people don't realise how easy it is to sand/scrape back the timber on these chairs, give them a good oil, and how you only need basic sewing skills to re-cover the squabs. If you can find a really cool fabric, you will have an instant 'new' chair. Check the springs first to make sure they aren't broken (you will need to get an upholsterer to replace them if they are), and check the foam to make sure it isn't rotting or disintegrating inside (this can easily be replaced). If all else fails, and it goes in the 'too hard' basket, there is a fantastic place in Wellington, ES Design, who specialise in restoring and re-upholstering old chairs, in particular mid 20th century styles like this! Check them out here, or visit them at 1 Marion St, Wellington.