Chapter 2: In Which We Go From Dorm to Denim

I want this blog to be personal/relatable/approachable, without telling you every tiny detail about myself. That's for my diary, not my blog. There is a multitude of people out there, my generation specifically, that think that the entire world cares about every little thing they do... so we live in a world of TMI* stories and horrible mental images. Not this blog. We're going to aim to keep this classy, quality, and crafty.

*too much information. You are now hip and with it.

So without wanting to catch you up on the entirety of my life, I'll just start with earlier this summer. The biggest projects that I wanted to tackle this summer were home decor-based. We had just moved into our new apartment at the beginning of May, reunited with our furniture after it had sat a year in storage during our adventures abroad. Every piece was just as beautiful as I remembered it, even this chair.

Please take notice of the Lord of the Rings map that lives above it.

This chair was a $20 garage sale purchase. I bought it from two teenage boys who live across the street from my parents as they tried to hit on me. It got them to carry it to my mom's garage, anyway, and telling them that I was in college did not seem to deter them. In any case, I got a retro chair and ottoman set that was the perfect tiny size for dorm life. When I got married, we made the chair the centerpiece of a really special spot in our first apartment: the book nook. It was always the place where I studied, where I cozied up with a nice cup of coffee, and where I sometimes took naps in the sunshine of the window that was right next to it. This chair has treated us well, so when we moved into the new place, we knew the book nook had to be established here too.

The problem was, ok, maybe it wasn't as beautiful as I remembered it--the chair was old, and when we pulled it out of storage, it looked aged and in my mind, dorm-y. All of our other furniture was so adult! Here was so obviously a garage sale purchase. A $20 chair that I wanted to look like a million bucks, because let's face it: I never want to get rid of this thing.

I can't afford to have it reupholstered. That is a dream for another day. I can't reupholster it myself. That is a task I have not the time or energy to take on. I could have made a slip cover for it, but I don't trust my own sewing skills to handle a project that big.

Enter RIT dye. My mom had dyed a chair once, from forest green to black. It ended up looking very professional and classy, so I decided that it was the route for me. I had an expert to consult, and the project was low-cost. The dye was 4 bucks and rubber gloves were a dollar and some change. I figured this powder-blue number was the right fabric and the right color to take on some navy blue dye. (I'm a little obsessed with navy—not sure why but probably because it's awesome.) I totally procrastinated on this. I was so nervous I was going to mess it up forever and the only choice left to me would be to cover it with a sheet until I could afford to get it reupholstered... but I didn't want the powder blue to be a part of our new living room. So I dove right in with my rubber-gloved hand to a bucket of navy blue dyed warm water and sponged/scrubbed that color into the chair and ottoman and all its cushions... for three consecutive days.

The chair sporting the first coat, with a powder blue seat for comparison.

The ottoman with the first coat

Seat: no coats; back cushion: one; chair arms: two or three, I forget

Here's what my face looked like the whole time (and my first blog self-portrait)

Tarp underneath (which totally ripped and stained our concrete patio--whoops), I put on the first layer and it was not as dark as I had hoped. Maybe I had diluted the dye too much. I let it dry and put on the second coat. This took much better, and I could have been happy with it, but it was still not quite right. Third coat, third day: success. I am SO happy with the results!

The book nook lives on and looks awesome! The last step, once everything was dry was to heat set the dye in the chair. I plugged in my iron on medium heat and ran it over every square inch of that chair. It is now perfect. I would sit on it with my favorite white shorts and not worry about any transfer. (I left the garbage bags under it for a while on the carpet just in case, but didn't have any problems!)

The best part is the fact that the dark color covered a couple stains that the previous owners had left. It looks like a brand new piece of furniture.

Kind of denim-y, but I kind of like that it turned out that way! It's definitely a one of a kind piece at this point! And still as cozy as ever. Have a piece of cloth furnitire whose color you don't like? Dying it is easy, quick (if you don't dilute your dye so much), and really cheap. It takes a little more time and effort, and it will definitely fade and not last as long as completely reupholstering the fabric. If you're like me and want a short-term*, cheap fix to a furniture dilemma, RIT is your friend.

*My mom's chair dye job lasted 3-4 years before it began to fade. The green started to seep through on the most worn parts of the cushions and arm rests. So short-term here does not mean you'll have to redo this in a few weeks. My mom also recently redyed her chair and it looks as good as ever.

I could dye just about anything—never settle for the colors you're given! Always make them your own!

Lauren