Re{Fur}bished

Via

I love nothing more than a good project. An easy project with instant gratification is even better. Recall, I had mentioned last week that I scored during my recent shopping jaunt to The Springs.

We started the day out in Palm Springs, made our way to Cathedral City, then Palm Desert and on the way home, took a detour out to Desert Hot Springs. We wandered up and down those desert highways and byways, looking for just the right little token to take back home to Holtwood House. Our eyes were peeled, looking for pottery or some type of vintage abstract to hang on one of the (still barren) walls. But the first five hours or so were a complete bust. 

This is the norm with me. I adore trolling flea markets, thrift stores and garage sales, but it's few and far between where I feel I've found "the thing", you know? Some people have that gift or luck or whatever it is. Though usually it's fruitless, it's the adventure that keeps me venturing. But I digress...

I was feeling a bit defeated when like a mirage in the desert, we approached a little storefront called Gypsyland, seemingly overflowing out onto the sidewalk with mid-century goodness. I audibly squealed with excitement, cracking the door before the car ever stopped moving.  It was there sitting out on that gritty sidewalk out front that I saw it. 

I've been tagging a lot of images featuring sheepskin covered footstools. Sheepskin (or Alpaca) is seemingly everywhere these days. I heard Sam's Club was even stocking them (which honestly sort of gives me a little pause... have they jumped the shark?). I've had one slung over my office chair for several weeks, but I've been dying to use it to re-upholster some little "project".  Something that would allow me to have one of these to stare at and fluff with my fingers:

Via

Via

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I had envisioned a brass or acrylic base topped with that thick blonde fur and was getting ready to settle on something slightly more rustic should I come upon something suitable enough. But there it was. Just needed a little polishing and some new skin.

This little Baughman-esque beauty is mine, mine, mine!!!  

The Mister... he didn't "get" it. He thinks brass is so 80's- in a bad way.

You can't tell, but the old upholstery was grody... I mean like totally.

First I disassembled it so I could polish up the base. Good thing I checked. It is plated brass- not the real deal. A couple of wipe downs with a warm soapy rag and the gold was once again glimmering. I then gutted the seat and as it turned out, the foam was still in really good condition. I covered it first in a fabric remnant I had lying around and then stapled on the sheepskin before putting it all back together. 

The result was so satisfying and for relatively little work. I'm loving how it's tying things together in our master.  Now, if I can just keep it from becoming a holding place for sweatshirts and pants and whatever else comes off at the end of the day, it'll be a miracle.