First Project: Metal desk chair Redo!

Ok, it was a bit tough at work. I had a client interview that I think went quite well. Good, because I'll be starting work soon, bad because I won't get as many hours free to surf the net for stuff. No checking craigslist or ebay. <Sigh>. How can I score great deals on books and furniture? How can I check out the latest DIY from my favorite sites?


Anyway, before I get carried away with gloomy forebodings, let me present my first ever project! Yehey, bring out the fireworks! Woot woot!


Ok, as hinted in the previous post (did I give a hint?), I have this freakish bit of chair that I use to sit on when I'm at my desk at home. It's painted black but years of abuse have chipped off some paint and rust is found in many places (namely, its legs). One thin steel bar is missing from its back like so...

the chair relative to the desk

so...


                  so....


                                     

the chair!!!

Tada!!! Presenting the chair! (Gasp, gasp!)

As you can see, it has a missing bar and the seat is not really a joy. The back of it comes up to your lower back only and you end up with stiff muscles after hours of experimenting on various sitting positions (take your pick: the slouch, the stiff back, the half-on, half-off). 

And let's not get started on the hideous fabric stretched across the seat. Where did that come from? Is it black or gray or purple? What's up with the print?! By the way, the screws attaching this to the chair frame gave up many years before so the seat is a bit wobbly. 

Ah poor dear Chair! If I were Chair, I would have hung my head in shame! <T_T>  It's a primary candidate for the makeover of the year! 

Plan of campaign:

1. Take out the padded (believe me, it is padded) seat and relegate the screws to the trash can->done!
2. Sand it thoroughly to remove peeling paint and rust->done!--hard work, never done it before
3. Spray it with primer (without your housemate knowing about it)-> almost done! smells awful!
4. Give it a blast of paint to usher the new era of its life->getting there!
5. Show the padded seat some love!->still brewing in my mind

I'll let you know how Chair progresses. Meanwhile, this is Chair with primer. I used my low tech phone so the quality is a bit off. But the primer is maroon and I'm painting Chair near my cabinet. 

And check out these marvelous transformations (totally love them!):

Waiting room chairs from Fine Diving

Reupholstered chair from Design Intervention

Tomorrow I'll be posting some blogs and sites that I've been following and are constant source of ideas to me. Till then!

Temporary who?

Merriam-Webster: May I present the approved definition of the words 'temporary' and 'renter'? 

tem·po·rary ( \ˈtem-pə-ˌrer-ē\)

--- lasting for a limited time

rent·er (\ˈren-tər\)

--- one that rents; specifically : the lessee or tenant of property

Reader: Er, thanks Webby. That was really enlightening. But I was wondering if the person who created this blog would come forward and tell us why she created this blog in the first place? And why is it called 'Temporary Renter'? 

gryffintiggy: Er, hi. Hi there. Yes, you! 

Reader: Uh, yes? You wanted to speak to me? Oh, you aren't by any chance the blog owner? You are? I wouldn't have known it. You don't look the part. 

gryffintiggy: I don't look the part? Is this a try out for a drama or something? I thought you were here to ask me exactly why I had this blog. 

Reader: Yes actually. I posed the questions earlier.

gryffintiggy: It's simple actually. Now that I have my own place to stay, I wanted to make it something that reflects what I like and what I feel like. But right now I'm finding it a bit difficult to make my room reflective of my personality. Mention walls to me and I think plain builder's white. Talk to me about furniture and all I can think of is  my solid, built-in, laminate desk and cabinet. You get what I mean? That's why I wanted to write this blog. I want to chronicle the experiences I will have trying to make my room my own.

Reader: Do you have any picture to show us? To aid our imagination?

gryffintiggy: Sure, I have some here. 

my room as seen from the door 

the other end of my room with the BIG cabinet and icky towel

Reader: Hmmm...you are right. The walls are white!

gryffintiggy: I know. That and the bed make me feel like I'm in a hospital . Don't get me wrong though. I like my room. It's roomy and I like the big window overlooking some trees. I just don't see my way yet into transforming it to the room I have in mind.

Reader: Well, I'm sure there are a lot of blogs and websites offering decorating solutions. Why don't you try those out?

gryffintiggy: Oh but I want to. It's just that being a room renter has certain drawbacks.The usual array of paints and wall papers applied the usual way won't work in my case. 

Reader: What do you mean?

gryffintiggy: The challenge with being a temporary renter (and a room renter at that) is you can't easily do whatever you like to your room and the fact that you may not be staying there for years certainly puts a damper on the creative juices. The owner might not like any permanent change (even if for the better) done to the room and I have to consider that in the event that I move out, I would want to be able to use the stuff I have in my new place. 

Reader: Oh, I see what you mean now. 

gryffintiggy: That's why I'd like to have this blog. I'd like to share solutions that I've found that the other frustrated renters might use. 

Reader: Do you have several projects in mind?

gryffintiggy: Yup! I've read a number of blogs lately and I'm eager to try out some of the stuff that I think might work for my room. Actually, I'm in the middle of a project that involves my desk chair. I'm posting the details tomorrow. I'm so excited. 

Reader: Hope it turns out OK.

gryffintiggy: I'll keep you posted.