Too stool for school.

Bare with me here. I admit, this is no feast for the eyes. But she's very old, and she was free, and she has been sitting in our back bedroom gathering great dust since we moved in. Since the very weekend we moved in, to be exact. 

And furthermore, now she looks like this.

This is officially my first project of the new year. I mean, This is officially my first project of the new year! A good way to start in on my winter to-do list, which hangs on my desk right here. Reupholster tufted chair, paint blanket chest, paint clearstory (that awkward space above the stairs that probably hasn't been painted since 1962), tile inside fireplace, copper leaf coffee table... yeah, I've got a good long list. 

The project ended up being free, and damn, I love it when that happens. I kept the weird straw cushion (whatever), and covered over it with a layer of cotton batting. The fabric and braid I had in The Stash-- it was truly one of those times when it rocks to be borderline-hoarder. I even reused the damn tacks I'd pried out. Hey, c'mon, it was snowing out and all our tools live in the garage and I was rocking pajama pants and fuzzy slippers. You'd reuse the tacks, too. You would.

I'm not sure where its permanent home will be. The fabric looks terrific next to our dining room walls, but doesn't match the yellow accents going on in the rest of the room. For now, it serves.

Anyway, one might think that a list of fiddly painting and finishing projects might be enough to round out a winter that will also include plenty of sewing and seed-dreaming and writing. But we're planning on tackling our upstairs bathroom this winter, too, which will be major. We have Patrick's dad on board to help us through it (new floor, new tub, tile, new toilet, built-in shelving, new sink, new lighting...) thank goodness, but it will still be messy, and chaotic, and an adventure. I need to round up some inspiration photos for you all, then I'll post about what we've got in mind. It was one of the worst rooms in the house when we bought it, just cheap and ugly, and it's nice to know that soon it'll be fresh and bright and purty.