And so it begins...
I got a bit fed up the other day, so yesterday I started work on the house stuff...
Rang Dan The Man and he's coming next week to give us a proper quote for the loft conversion. We need to talk details like dormering the roof and alternative supporting joists and other technical stuff. And if we need an architect to see us through planning and building regs.
And I found a fab upholsterer for my furniture! After a nice natter with seraphinawitch, it seems that the cousin who borrowed all mum's furniture when her house burned down is now ready to move on, and things are coming back to us. praesepe58 will probably organize getting it sorted with seraphinawitch, but some time soon I get Ma's sofa bed and the sewing table. If it isn't wanted elsewhere, I may also get the ex RAF oak chest of drawers with mirror, which might be useful, but I don't really need. But having a sofa while mine gets renovated will be great! Having a sofa BED means the occasional stopovers by friends need not come to a halt! Yay!
The upholsterer had a quote visit cancellation, so fitted mine in yesterday evening. After looking at it all and deciding what really needs to be done, the total quote for the work, with me supplying the fabric from my stash, is £1650. That's about three weeks work, in terms of actual working hours, I said. He looked slightly startled, but I reminded him of my own artisan business. We both understand these things. :) I know it won't all be done in one three week slot, but it's a fair day's pay for a fair day's work. And the work won't be shoddy. He's worked for some very exacting customers! And I've seen the pictures.
I thought I was being extravagant spending £1650 getting the sofa and 4 chairs renovated and recovered. Then I looked for the nearest equivalent to my Sofa Workshop sofabed... Over three grand! And the upholsterer said the little nursing chair we brought down from Sunderland all those years ago was worth renovating properly before he reupholsters it as it's solid oak and a well-known arts and crafts type from the 1930's.
Granny's fireside chairs... Again, good solid frames, need a bit of renovating, and I can't find anything for more than double the price of renovating that looks as good. They are very comfortable, and the right size for the house.
Mum's nursing chair is also basically in good nick, though Himself is going to rub down and varnish the legs to go with the new cover. Closest new replacement I've seen was £215 .
So no. OK, I could probably buy a three piece suite and a couple of extra chairs for less than the price of all the renovations, but then what would I do with the 16m of heavy upholstery chenille and 5m of velvet that I bough all those years ago? I like those fabrics! And would the pieces I bought last between 30 and 90 years? There's enough of the velvet to do the two fireside chairs, and enough of the chenille to do the sofa and the two smaller chairs. And if the chap I found is good enough to work in the Houses of Parliament, he's good enough for me!
I excavated the sofa-covering fabric from Down The Back End of t'Loft yesterday... Shifted 12 boxes of STUFF out the way and back again! I am sure I have earned a glass of very nice white wine box juice!
This morning I'm looking at 14m of heavy fire retardant chenille and 5m of heavy fire retardant velvet and thinking 'BUMS! I do NOT want to haul that back into the loft when I'd have to get it down again next week to give to Roy The Furniture Man!' I may just roll the velvet back up and stash it all in the dining room for now...
Anyone got a small crane I can borrow? And I'd still rather have Mum than the dosh, but as she isn't here, I want to put the dosh to the best use possible, and use it on things that are going to do me good for the rest of my natural. I'm going to start enjoying them as soon as I can too, after last weeks rather disturbing news about my blood pressure and cholesterol levels, both of which are officially 'high' rather than merely raised. Odd to go from almost permanently low blood pressure to high, so it will be monitored. As will the cholesterol, though it looks increasingly likely that I'll end up on something for that as I already eat the way they recommend, don't drink, much and there is family history.
Don't want to think about it, so am Doing Stuff and keeping busy instead. And we have a nice batch of projects right now, so that too will keep me occupied!
Anyway, here's the furniture before restoration!
Plan is that the patterned chenille will go on the sofa and two little chairs and the plain on the two winged chairs.
Rang Dan The Man and he's coming next week to give us a proper quote for the loft conversion. We need to talk details like dormering the roof and alternative supporting joists and other technical stuff. And if we need an architect to see us through planning and building regs.
And I found a fab upholsterer for my furniture! After a nice natter with seraphinawitch, it seems that the cousin who borrowed all mum's furniture when her house burned down is now ready to move on, and things are coming back to us. praesepe58 will probably organize getting it sorted with seraphinawitch, but some time soon I get Ma's sofa bed and the sewing table. If it isn't wanted elsewhere, I may also get the ex RAF oak chest of drawers with mirror, which might be useful, but I don't really need. But having a sofa while mine gets renovated will be great! Having a sofa BED means the occasional stopovers by friends need not come to a halt! Yay!
The upholsterer had a quote visit cancellation, so fitted mine in yesterday evening. After looking at it all and deciding what really needs to be done, the total quote for the work, with me supplying the fabric from my stash, is £1650. That's about three weeks work, in terms of actual working hours, I said. He looked slightly startled, but I reminded him of my own artisan business. We both understand these things. :) I know it won't all be done in one three week slot, but it's a fair day's pay for a fair day's work. And the work won't be shoddy. He's worked for some very exacting customers! And I've seen the pictures.
I thought I was being extravagant spending £1650 getting the sofa and 4 chairs renovated and recovered. Then I looked for the nearest equivalent to my Sofa Workshop sofabed... Over three grand! And the upholsterer said the little nursing chair we brought down from Sunderland all those years ago was worth renovating properly before he reupholsters it as it's solid oak and a well-known arts and crafts type from the 1930's.
Granny's fireside chairs... Again, good solid frames, need a bit of renovating, and I can't find anything for more than double the price of renovating that looks as good. They are very comfortable, and the right size for the house.
Mum's nursing chair is also basically in good nick, though Himself is going to rub down and varnish the legs to go with the new cover. Closest new replacement I've seen was £215 .
So no. OK, I could probably buy a three piece suite and a couple of extra chairs for less than the price of all the renovations, but then what would I do with the 16m of heavy upholstery chenille and 5m of velvet that I bough all those years ago? I like those fabrics! And would the pieces I bought last between 30 and 90 years? There's enough of the velvet to do the two fireside chairs, and enough of the chenille to do the sofa and the two smaller chairs. And if the chap I found is good enough to work in the Houses of Parliament, he's good enough for me!
I excavated the sofa-covering fabric from Down The Back End of t'Loft yesterday... Shifted 12 boxes of STUFF out the way and back again! I am sure I have earned a glass of very nice white wine box juice!
This morning I'm looking at 14m of heavy fire retardant chenille and 5m of heavy fire retardant velvet and thinking 'BUMS! I do NOT want to haul that back into the loft when I'd have to get it down again next week to give to Roy The Furniture Man!' I may just roll the velvet back up and stash it all in the dining room for now...
Anyone got a small crane I can borrow? And I'd still rather have Mum than the dosh, but as she isn't here, I want to put the dosh to the best use possible, and use it on things that are going to do me good for the rest of my natural. I'm going to start enjoying them as soon as I can too, after last weeks rather disturbing news about my blood pressure and cholesterol levels, both of which are officially 'high' rather than merely raised. Odd to go from almost permanently low blood pressure to high, so it will be monitored. As will the cholesterol, though it looks increasingly likely that I'll end up on something for that as I already eat the way they recommend, don't drink, much and there is family history.
Don't want to think about it, so am Doing Stuff and keeping busy instead. And we have a nice batch of projects right now, so that too will keep me occupied!
Anyway, here's the furniture before restoration!
Plan is that the patterned chenille will go on the sofa and two little chairs and the plain on the two winged chairs.