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5.16.2011

Admitting Defeat

As many women do, I sometimes think I can DO IT ALL!   Well, I'm here to tell you, I CAN'T!

Remember the chair from this post.  



It is supposed to end up looking like this chair. 



I called my upholstery lady in January to get on her list.  Yes, she's good and cheap so she has a pretty long "list".  Well, it's mid-May and she is still working her way down the list.  

Due to my lack of patience, I decided to take matters into my own hands.  I stripped the two layers of fabric from the chair, removed all the staples and painted the base cream.  



Any sane person would have stopped there, but oh no, not me.  I watched a few You Tube videos on upholstering and then I got out my staple gun.  Seemed pretty easy to me. Why not save myself some cash and some time and just do it myself!  This is where the "defeat" parts comes in.  I tried covering the seat first thinking it was just some cutting and some stapling.  Ummm, no, it was disastrous!  Not only was I completely butchering the fabric, the staples weren't going in right and my four  year old kept trying to help me with his plastic hammer.  After a long frustrating two hours of  my "I can do this" attitude, I took the fabric off, hung up my staple gun and called another upholsterer.  The chair is now in the hands of a professional.  I'll just add this to my list of "Things I Cannot Do".

Here's a few other things on that list:

1) move a couch down a fight of stairs by myself
2) beat my brother-in-law at arm wrestling
3) beat my husband in a race (me running normally and him running backwards)

Believe it or not, I honestly thought I could do these things.  Not only did I think I could do them, but I actually attempted them all.  Defeated, defeated, and defeated!  You live and you learn, right?

Don't worry, I haven't let this latest defeat dampen my spirits.  Honestly, I think if I took an upholstery class, had the proper tools and an ounce of patience, I could probably make it happen.  But for now, I'm willing to pay a professional to do a great job so I can focus my efforts elsewhere, like training for an arm wrestling rematch!  Look out Mike, I've been lifting weights.  

What about you?  Are you sometimes overconfident in your abilities at times?

10 comments:

  1. A couch down the stairs by yourself?? LOL

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  2. What a great attitude. I think you must have had parents like me. "You can do anything if you just put your mind to it". Well that's a great thought but doesn't always work. Always worth a try though.

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  3. What a wonderful statement... so many times we don't even get past the "starting line" because we think we won't "win".

    ~Chris

    PS.. I think we share the same "defeat" list :)

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  4. I am so laughing out loud! I blessed my husband can re upholster just about anything! I did try my hand at slip cover last year (even then he had to help!) Great try!
    Dee Dee

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  5. OMG! The couch down the stairs totally got me!! DId you really try that!??!?! I give you props for attempting the chair. It does look manageable online but Im still too scared to try it myself!

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  6. Better to have tried - what if you discovered something new that you loved to do? Maybe this isn't it but good for you for trying! I'm very impressed. That inspiration piece is so pretty - can't wait to see your chair finished someday!

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  7. You can do it all though I am not touch my hidden away project til I get there (smh) Good luck!

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  8. I agree you have such a great attitude! Really do like your blog!!

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  9. Oh, how many interior defeats I've run into. I'm currently working on cushions for our dining room and praying that I will prevail on this project. Unfortunately, my curtains remain unfinished in one room. Best of luck. So happy to be your newest follower.

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  10. Haha, too funny! Yes, I would have thought maybe I could do that and I'm pretty positive I CANNOT! :)

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