The Interior DIYer
Environmental Resolution

Secondhand tufted office chair – before

As soon as I started working from home in October I was on the lookout for a proper office chair to use. I started off using one of our secondhand IKEA Tobias dining chairs [as seen here], which yes, I can physically sit in, but thanks to hip issues after having Cora, sitting in a hard chair all day wasn’t doing me any good. So, I took to Kijiji to see what I could find.

This was a search where my patience definitely paid off. I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted so I kept an open mind, but at the very least I knew I wanted something padded [hello, hip separation], sturdy and if I’m honest, something that kind of looked amazing.

I was completely open to the idea of a typical ergonomic office chair, but of that type of chair I found, they were either in my budget, worn down and needed repair, or they were amazing ergonomic chairs but were way outside of what I’d be willing to pay for a chair. So I kept looking. Until I found this chair! It of course immediately got my attention aesthetically.

I arranged to view [and sit in] the chair last weekend and it was perfect and exactly what I’ve been looking for; comfortable and unusual. Much like myself I guess you could say.

I know I may not get a great response to this, but I am planning on updating it. Hold on, let me explain! The wood has a very orangey stain and has sloppy faux-aging technique added to it using a darker paint [you can see this in the first photo along the groove on the arm]. The shape is really beautiful and I’ve already tried sanding the finish off, which has me really excited.

Please, trust me. It’s going to look beautiful.

#DarkRomanticLuxe

Curbside find – antique dresser

On my way home from work last Friday I saw something on the side of the road that caught my eye. It was dirty and dusty but beautiful and had the word “FREE!” written in chalk on the sidewalk underneath it.

I called Robert to help me carry it inside.

“And where is this going?”, he asked.
“In the living room. The TV is going to sit on it”, I replied.
“But we already have the TV on something. It’s on the hutch”.
“That hutch is going into the bedroom – where we need it more!”

Honestly, why don’t men catch on quicker to intricate plans that we’ve devised and formulated entirely in our heads over months and never shared with anyone? It’s really not that hard.

I mean look at it. There’s no way I was going to let it stay one moment longer on someone’s lawn. It’s beautiful! It has sweet carved flowers and scrolls across the dresser and on handles. It’s difficult to see, but in places the flower details are stained red and green, but they are long worn down and faded.

I have no intention of touching-up the scratches or distress marks for the time being. We all have our scars and shouldn’t feel the need to hide them. And for what it’s worth, I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in painting it.

Architecture

Lower Town Dollhouse – Part II*

I’m fairly certain the moment I brought Cora’s secondhand dollhouse home and started working on it [now referred to as her Lower Town Dollhouse], I went back online in search for MOAR DOLLHOUSES. Specifically, one for myself.

I set up email alerts for the words dollhouse and doll house on Kijiji in the hopes to find another one just like it, but without the commitment of having to check Kijiji every day [it happened a few times where I found incredible dollhouses for free, but I was a day late in finding the ad and replying to it].

Months went by and nothing. I should say, nothing that I was interested in. Every morning I would get an email full of large, hot pink, plastic dollhouses, which wasn’t what I was looking for. I happened to be talking with my Work Wife last Monday about it and she suggested checking this, how do you say, Facebook Marketplace? I used my dormant Facebook account that I use strictly for posting to my Interior DIYer Facebook page. I logged in, searched for ‘dollhouse’ and there it was. Immediately. A beautiful 90’s Linfield LN190 dollhouse still in its box, in perfect condition, never been assembled, just waiting to be bought.

It’s so perfectly what I’m looking for and is in keeping with Cora’s dollhouse design. It even has little windows that open and close [!!!] and, wait for it, it has it’s own doors. I don’t have to make my own! Though TBH, they were pretty fun to make.

I quickly messaged Robert. “You’re going to think I’m crazy, but I found another dollhouse, but this one is all for me … ” and his response was, “I still play video games. You should start with that as the justification.” I knew there was a reason I married that man.

We collected it the next evening after work and I can’t wait to start working on it. But I have it in my mind that in order for me to started assembling this dollhouse, I first have to complete updating Cora’s Lower Town Dollhouse, which includes making a second set of stairs from scratch and decorating 3 more rooms. This is just how my brain works. I realize it makes no sense, but I also feel like there’s an order to things.

AFTER MONTHS OF SEARCHING ONLINE, I FOUND THE MOST BEAUTIFUL 90’S SECONDHAND DOLLHOUSE AND IT’S ALL FOR ME. THAT’S RIGHT, I AM A FULLY GROWN ADULT THAT PAYS BILLS AND HAS A KID AND NOW I HAVE MY OWN DOLLHOUSE.

—Alex C. (@InteriorDIYer) May 14, 2019

*I need a new name / appropriate hashtag for my new dollhouse. Any and all suggestions welcome. Especially double-entendres and lyrical geniuses.