Blog Birthday Party

Just a heads-up for my loyal readers...I'm planning to make some exciting new changes around here over the weekend to celebrate my 2 years of blogging.

I have some giveaways planned, so please check in, starting Monday!

Home Reserve Chair Reveal

As promised, here it is: the finished chair.  It is the Laney chair in Eureka Natural fabric.

Eureka is a textured cotton fabric.  It is spot clean only.  However, both the seat and back cushions are reversible for double the wear.  That’s more than I can say for some discount furniture stores (like Ashley) that have one-sided cushions.  Home Reserve does offer many machine washable fabrics, including a selection of stain-resistant fabrics for pet owners.

I’m wondering if I got the last of Eureka Natural, because it is no longer on the website.  Eureka Bleached Natural, a pure white,  is still available, though.   I was originally leaning toward the Tux chair in a  houndstooth, but decided on very neutral since I wasn’t sure where the chair would ultimately end up.  I also changed my mind and went with the more traditional rounded arms of the Laney over the modern arms of the Tux.

Craig is 6’2”, and said after sitting in it that he has a good first impression.

I am 5 ft even, and while I found it a little too deep to comfortably sit with my feet on the floor, that is my reality with any chair.  Curled up like this, as I pretty much always do, I was quite comfy.

I think my favorite feature is the under seat storage.  Seriously, how awesome is that?!  I have since taken three times that many magazines and catalogs from the coffee table, which was in danger of disappearing under the load, and hidden them in the chair.  Think how much storage you would have with a full sofa, or, good grief!, a sectional!  Games, blankets and throws, seasonal decor, canned or paper goods if you lack a pantry…the possibilities are endless!

I think it’s a very good-looking chair!  My Target pillow adds a nice shot of color, but you can order throw pillows from Home Reserve in any of their fabrics, as well as ottomans, wall art, and designer storage cubes.

The seat cushion is definitely firm, but I didn’t find it uncomfortable; granted, I have yet to sit in it for longer than 30 minutes.  The company president said that in the past their foam was too firm, but they have made improvements in the last couple of years.  Based on that, I imagine it will break in a little with use.  I will weigh in on that at a later date.

My overall first impression of Home Reserve is very favorable (and I’m not just saying that because they sent me a free chair!).  Yesterday I gave them good marks for fast delivery, packaging, engineering and ease of assembly.  Today I give them thumbs up for looks, affordability (chairs start at $179; this one would cost $230), unique features, and reasonable comfort.  Durability and long-term comfort will need future analysis.

What do you think?

My Free Home Reserve Chair Is Here!

Background:  I blogged about Home Reserve furniture a couple weeks ago, and had a couple of comments from readers whose experience with it was not great {post here}.  I also had a comment from the president of the company offering me a free chair to try it out for myself {post here}!

I looked through the website and choose several fabrics I was interested in, and Sandy, the customer service rep,  overnighted the swatches to me.  I ordered the chair on Monday Sept. 13 and yesterday afternoon it arrived on my doorstep.  That’s an eight day turnaround; pretty quick considering they cut out the fabric specifically for you and don’t work weekends. 

 

Everything was vacuum-packed into this one box.

The hardware was bagged and labeled; there were even some extras enclosed.  In addition, they  included a pair of gloves and a sanding block in case there were any rough edges.  We only used it once.

All the wooden parts are very visibly numbered.

The instructions were easy to follow, and all the parts fit very well and without too much effort.

Craig did most of the assembly, and he was extremely impressed with how well everything fit.  The video says the parts are computer cut with 20/1000 of an inch tolerances!  They fit together like a puzzle, and all the holes for the screws were positioned correctly.

From the look of the wood, you might think it’s not very strong, but this is not cheap particle board.  From the website:

“The frames are made from aspen, an engineered wood panel of the type that builders use on houses. We’ve had our products tested in a laboratory and everything carries a five-year warranty. Very rigid and solid, our sofa will support over 2,000 pounds.”

I should mention, however, that 3 of the 4 arm sides did have a break in this very narrow area.  It was not a support piece, though, and in fact once assembled was itself supported by the piece that fit in it.  The warranty says they will send out replacement parts if anything breaks during the 5 yr period, but I’m not concerned that this will have any affect on performance.  (Update:  Sandy contacted me and offered to replace these pieces.  I didn’t accept because I really didn’t think it was an issue, and she assured me that any time during the 5 year warranty I can get replacements if I choose.)

Assembled arms (upside down) and frame:

The fabric pieces were conveniently packaged in the order called for in the instructions.  While snug, they were not difficult to put on.  Though not technically a slipcover, you can take the fabric off for cleaning (some are machine washable, but not all) and can order new cover sets to change your furniture’s look.

Well, this is really long, so I’m going to save the final reveal and review for tomorrow.  Up until this point, I give Home Reserve an A for fast delivery, packaging, engineering and ease of assembly.

Tomorrow:  the final product!

For a 3-minute video on how it’s all made and packaged, go here and click on the How We Make Your Sofa video on the top right.

Make a Fall Wreath With Dollar Tree Supplies

I can’t take credit for the idea for this wreath; I saw it at Thrifty Decor Chick.  You probably read her blog and have already seen it, but I’ll take you through my process anyway.
Dollar Tree has these really great-looking fall leaves in packages of ten.  I bought five packages.  I also bought a sheet of foam board to make the rectangular backing.  TDC made a square.  If you want a circle, they also sell 18” vine wreath forms, although I think it might be easier to have the big flat surface of the foam board to attach the leaves to.

I cut the board in half width-wise, and then cut out the middle, leaving a 4” border all the way around.  It was about 1/4” thick and cut easily with a craft knife.



Cut the wire stems off the leaves.



Following TDC’s example I scrunched the leaves up a little to give them some dimension.



Then I started hot-gluing them to the foam board.  I was kind of concerned about getting them perfectly random and yet not putting too much of the same color too close together, but in the end it wasn’t an issue.



I scrunched and fluffed a little more once the wreath was hanging. 



This was super easy, quick (under an hour), inexpensive ($6), and looks really nice, if I do say so myself!

 

Joining these parties:

 

What I Did With the Frame

So, I got this huge frame at a consignment store for $2.50.  I took out the picture and painted the frame Heirloom White.  (I actually don’t think the artwork is too bad, but I was looking for a frame, not artwork.)



I cut a big old bulletin board to fit and covered that with burlap, then Craig attached it to the frame (okay, well he did the cutting too).  Now I have a big awesome bulletin board for school schedules and lunch menus, etc.



The kids’ school went to a system this year of labeling the days A-E instead of Mon-Fri.  That way if there’s a day off, they just pick up where they left off instead of skipping Art or whatever.  The problem is, each child has a different class on each day, and we never know what day it is.  So I printed out A-E and will keep moving the purple push-pin over, and hopefully that will keep us on track.



This is part of my information hallway just inside the garage door.  One of my first blog projects was the magnetic chalkboard that hangs on the other side.  It’s also made out of a old frame ; see this post for info on that project.



 
 

I’m linking this up with CSI Project’s Ballard Designs Challenge.

My corkboard is a pretty good replica of Ballard’s Madison Corkboard, at $199 plus shipping, plus $15 oversized fee for the one closest in size to mine.

What's on Tap

I've been trying to get a couple things done this week, but have failed to see them through to completion.
I found this huge frame at a consignment store a couple months ago for $2.50.  It's 52"x28", and that is an unheard of price for a frame that size.

In fact, whoever originally purchased this back in 1958 (I'm guessing), paid $16.99 even then.

I've started on my project with the frame, but need to finish it up.

I also finally found the top to my great-grandmother's mirror, which hangs in my powder room.  Back in January when we did that room, I couldn't find the piece and it looked broken to me.

 So, now I've got the piece, but it's just sitting there, and I still need to glue it on.

I hope to get both of those things done this weekend.


And, guess what is coming up?!  My two year blogging anniversary!  It hardly seems possible.  I'm going to have to think about having a giveaway, and maybe doing a little blog remodel.

Have a great weekend, and here's hoping you'll get all your projects done!

Even Better Mantel

In Monday’s post about my mantel, I took you through the accessorizing process, and then in another post showed which one I chose and why.

This is the one I kept

But this is the one my commenters liked the best (well, maybe not the whole thing, but they like the branches):



Based on that consensus, I got back to work.  This is what I have now:



I like it best of all!  (Yes, we still have a bare lightbulb in this room.  I don’t even notice it anymore, although I do intend to do something about it.  Eventually.)  There is a reason that the left side is visually heavier than the right side, which I explained in that second post {here}.

I plan to spray-paint the A a more true white since it looks yellow compared to all the other elements.

So, what say you now?  I don’t plan on changing it again, so at least pretend you like it (jk).

{I’m linking this to Nester’s Fall Mantel party; even though I wasn’t specifically thinking fall when I did this, I think it has a rustic, earthy, understated fall feel.

If you are visiting from the party, I have several giveaways going on this week that you are welcome to enter.}