Tag Archive | "Do It Yourself!"
Let’s Roll Up Our Sleeves
The Toronto District School Board has opened up its fall course roster and there are six spots left in the 11-week upholstery class running Saturday mornings from 9:30 am - 12:30 pm, beginning September 17. The class costs $223 and covers the basics including furniture stripping, frame reinforcing, cutting, sewing, laying fabric and foam. I'm already signed up and I'd love to have some styleNorth cohorts to keep me company. Taught by a master upholsterer, the classes are held at the Burnhamthorpe City Adult Learning Centre (500 The East Mall) in Etobicoke, a pain to get to but what are you going to do?
Full post and comments...Nothing LaZ About This Makeover
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
As I mentioned in my posts about my first upholstery class at RE:Style Studio, my workshop buddy was a rock 'n' roll dad from Hamilton named Jay who hauled his beat-up La-Z-Boy recliner into the city hoping to give it a new lease on life and learn as much as he could in the process. Can you imagine tackling something this complicated for your very first project? Well, Jay was up for the challenge and he was in good hands with instructor Andrea Ford, who helped him wrestle — sometimes rather literally — that chair into submission.
Full post and comments...Learning to Refinish? Start with Teak
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
If you're at all interested in tackling a refinishing project, keep your eyes open for a teak piece in need of some TLC. And never let a little damage stand between you and a piece of teak you might be considering for your home -- it's a snap to remedy if you just follow these simple steps. Just sand and oil, no staining, no worries about streaks in your top coat, never a problem.
Full post and comments...Upholstery Day Two: Putting It Together
Friday, June 17, 2011
The best thing about taking a course like this is that all the tools are provided, which means you can give them a try without committing to expensive equipment purchases. Manual staple guns will suffice for a dining room chair with a full-seat wooden support, but if strapping is involved, you really need a compressor-powered gun to drive the staples into the frame. For me, facing the gun for the first time summoned memories of high school wood shop but in this case I was actually anxious to use the tool rather than flee the building screaming. The gun is loud and powerful but nothing at all to fear. Andrea recommended weaving the straps for further resilience so that's what I did.
Full post and comments...Upholstery Day One: The Prep
Thursday, June 16, 2011
After removing the nasty seat cushions of my $20 garage sale chair, my next task was to remedy the wear and damage to the original wood finish. RE:Style Studio owner Andrea Ford introduced me to the Black & Decker Mouse sander, which did a fine job of removing the old factory finish. Eventually. It took me all morning of our first day to get the chair to the point where I could start the spray lacquering. The process just confirmed my preference for stripping over sanding; a chemical stripper can do in minutes what takes hours to accomplish with a sander, even a Mouse.
Full post and comments...
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