Decorators A.D.D. - It's a real problem people!

Admitting the Problem

Thats the First Step...or so I hear.

I know that we are WELL past the New Year and all the talks of resolutions and all but I made a resolution to myself this year that I am having trouble keeping.  I resolved to not start any new projects until I finish the one that I am working on.  I really hate myself for making that resolution.  Do you know how difficult it is to NOT start a new project when you are waiting to finish the one that you are working on?  I mean seriously.  I have ADD when it comes to projects I have realized.  So much so that I even tried to work around my own resolution in an effort to keep said resolution.  Sooo…I started 3 projects at once.  That way I could work on all 3 of them simultaneously and it would not be like “starting something new”.  It makes sense right??  In theory at least…or so I thought. 

My mom has this cabinet that she wants painting.  There is nothing wrong with the cabinet the way that it is.  In fact, most people would be in love with it as is.  The problem is, she’s had it for years and the color no longer goes with the décor of her kitchen.  Since purchased she has moved from a white “farmy” feel to more of a rustic oak and black vibe.  And now she wants the cabinet to feel the same vibe so to speak.  So it is in the beginning stages of its transformation from white to black.

 

Then there is this chair that belonged to Mr. AKM’s grandmother.  It has sat like this in our home for about 2 years. 

It originally was covered in green shiny type fabric that was worn and stained badly but useable.  Then we moved from Turkey back to the United States and the chair suffered some broken arms.  It was sad.  Mr. AKM refused to let it become trash so he duct taped the joints of the arms to the back in an effort to save it.  That’s right, I said duct taped.  It actually sat in our living room like that for about 6 years before I decided it was time to start ripping it apart in an effort to repair it.  A few discreetly placed screws and some wood filler were used to mend the broken arms.  I wish I had pictures but that was long before my blogging days. 

Fast forward to now…I started by pulling all the upholstery wrapping off the seat.  Sanding the chair down and applying a single coat of ASCP in Old White…and then I hated it even more.  It was just TOO much white!  In comes the sander.  Using 120 grit first I started sanding off the white to let some of the wood show thru.  Slowly, I was falling in love again.  Then my 11 year old wanted in on some of the sanding action (I so wish I would’ve grabbed my camera for this!...BAD BLOGGER).  Now I typically use my sanding block for distressing but for some strange reason this time I decided to go with my electric palm sander.  Not a bad choice in my opinion as it was really working to my favor…until said 11 year old got involved.  Then ½ the paint disappeared off the back of the chair.  He had a hard time grasping the concept of “lightly” sanding.  We stood there looking at it dumb founded for a few minutes when Mr. AKM walked by.  He gasped and the 11 year old and I started to jump in with all kinds of we can fix its and don’t worries and Mr. AKM said “Why?  I totally LOVE IT”!  Insert collective sigh of relief here.  Whew! 

I then applied a coat of Annie’s Clear wax to the piece and lightly sanded with 220 grit then applied a 2^nd coat of wax.  This chair is baby butt smooth let me tell ya!  LOVING IT! 

I had to search around a bit to find some new upholstery wrapping for the seat.  Finally found it at Hobby Lobby.  Who knew?  I’ve never re-done a chair before so I had NO clue where to find this stuff.  The wrapping was originally nailed to the frame but I decided to spare some time and just staple the stuff on using ½” staples.  Worked like a charm.

And this is how the chair sits.  I’m a bit intimidated to move on to the recovering aspect with fabric.  I’m es-sceeered to mess it up BIG TIME!

Please ignore the bad lighting.  I do most of my work at night and lets just say that the moonlight does not cast an etheral glow.  :)  I promise that when it is all finished I WILL take photos in the daylight so that the true colors show up.

So back to working on the cabinet….or NOT working on the cabinet I should say.  It’s been sanded and primed and sanded again and is eagerly awaiting its first coat of paint.  I got all the supplies together to get moving on this as I am SUPER excited to be working with my paint sprayer again (you can read about this magnificent little tool here).  When it is discovered that my air compressor has a leak in it.  GAH!  Seriously?  NOW it decides to get a leak after 5 wonderful years together?  Mr. AKM tore the whole thing apart to find said leak.  And he did…and he got after it with some JB Weld to show it who was boss.  Then the pipe that had the leak fell apart…and showed Mr. AKM who was the real boss (hint, NOT Mr. AKM). 

So here sits the cabinet until we get a new air compressor.  It’s a sad sight.  Sure I could go after it all old school with a brush and a roller but after you’ve tasted the glory of a sprayer…you just never really wanna go back. 

And while all this was going on, I decided it was time to tackle the files in my office.  I’ve always hated the cabinet that they are stored in.  It’s big and brown and ugly!  Mr. AKM got it many years ago when he was working from home to store all his business files in.  Sure I could repaint it but the truth is, we just don’t need all that file space. 

            

One day when I was walking through Tar-jay, I spotted these out of the corner of my eye on the clearance rack. 

They are the exact colors that I wanted for my office space.  SCORE!  At $4.97 each…I’m thinking I got a heck of a good deal!

Then found some awesome little file folders to match…

And was even able to print out these sweet little labels on my printer thanks to the online template they provided me with. 

And that’s as far as I’ve gotten because now I want to paint my office and add curtains and build shelves for the closet and.......the list goes on!  As if one needs to do all those things before making new files.  Jeesh!

Hey, I don't pretend to understand my own way of thinking...it's just who I am.

So there you have it...three projects started…not a single one finished…and a HUGE list growing of all the others that I want to be working on. 

Do you do this too?  Please tell me that I am NOT the only one suffering from Decorators ADD!