The Crate and Barrel Chair Fix

The living room chair was rocking - but it wasn’t supposed to. It’s a swivel chair from Crate and Barrel. It’s taken a bit of abuse over the last ten years. When we flipped it over we figured out the problem immediately. Of the four screws used to tighten the pieces together, one fell off and a second was missing. We couldn’t quite get the screw back on because the space was so tight. So we used some wire and fish line to tie it in place and at least stabilize the chair. Yesterday we went to the hardware store to get two screws, a wrench, and real wire before we tried to tackle the project again. So we flipped the chair over, cut off the line we had just put on, and tried to get the screw in place. We used our surgical  instruments, fingers, and finally decided to just get the back of the screw on and screw it in from the front. Once that was done we had another one to go. Luckily we had success - and it really is a huge feeling of accomplishment. I really wasn’t in the mood to go furniture shopping right now. We probably should, but we don’t know what we even want. So for now the chair is in one piece. Let’s hope it lasts another ten years. 

Yi’s Interiors Reupholstery in Rockville

For whatever reason, we haven’t been able to make up our minds about anything lately. A few months ago we went to a reupholstery shop in Alexandria to get an estimate on our twelve year old Design Within Reach flight recliner. The price to recover the chair from fabric to leather was astonishing, so we abandoned the idea. It would be cheaper to buy a new chair - and this recliner was very expensive to begin with. The actual structure and mechanism is under a lifetime warranty, but the fabric isn’t. The fabric isn’t terribly worn, ripped, or torn. The chair just needs to be refreshed. So my husband had the idea to try another place in Rockville to get another cost comparison. But this time we wanted to see how vinyl looked as we were told it needs less care and looks and feels the same as leather.  So we stopped at Yi’s Interiors. There was a lot of foot traffic coming and going, and the reviews of the shop were excellent. So we came home with two books of samples after getting a quote which seemed reasonable - except we would need to pay an additional $125 for transportation fees. After spending two days checking colors in a variety of light settings, we decided not to go ahead. I’m not sure when or if we will ever get this done. It just seems like more of a headache right now. But at least we know when the time comes we will have all the information we need. 

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The YLiving Dauphin Spare Foldable Chair

When you live in a tiny space that has one big room, you need to be creative. The room is a living room, bedroom, dining room, and exercise room all in one. It is also our guest room whenever we have visitors. There is enough seating for three people comfortably, but if a fourth person arrives, it is workable, but not necessarily pleasant. A dining room chair can serve the purpose, but it has no arms. The ottomens in front of the couch work too, but there are no backs. So I searched for an armchair that was not space occupying, and could be rolled in and out of the closet as needed so as not to clutter up the already reasonably spaced furniture needed for every day use. I found a padded seat and cloth back number that not only rolls but folds up too. It's from YLiving made by Dauphin. I ordered it on line in the fabric color of choice and it arrived this week. It's not the most aesthetically pleasing piece of furniture, but it definitely serves the purpose. So what happens if we have more than four people in this room? I guess the dining room chairs and footrests will do.