Creating the beautiful...

Like many girls, I want to be just like my mom when I grow up. However, that is quite a general statement. I admire many things about Kathy Johnson, but one thing that is totally rockin' about my mom is her ability to create beauty in anything she touches. From gardening to painting, she beautifies everything around her. This summer I decided to take advantage of her talents, and learn from the pro.

My mom was always the center of a handful of home-improvement projects while I was growing up. One summer day I found my mom painting my boring dresser into a yellow and white striped treasure. Another day I found her staining our living room bookcase into a deep chocolate. My baby simple bedroom walls were quickly transformed into a lovely garden, with cutout flower wallpaper waist high, blue walls and a yellow ceiling. Our dining room didn't stand a chance when mom found out beautiful hardwood hid beneath the aging carpet. Soon she was hard at work perfecting the wood into a floor people pay hundreds for.

Mom's latest project was to redo the seats on our dining room chairs. Once a beautiful sage fabric, time has taken it's toll.


With a quick trip to the fabric store and a swish of my mom's talent, our dining room was looking classy.

As I perused the fabric store with mom, I found a lovely black and cream pattern that I couldn't leave without. I was convinced I would find a vintage chair to spruce up with this new fabric.


Next came the desperate hunt for the perfect chair. The Layton Saver's and DI proved unsuccessful, and mom was patient enough to accompany me to the Harrisville DI for a third try. Upon entering the furniture 'department,' mom and I were both silently drawn to the same dreadful chair. We didn't say a word, but we knew it was the one. With a little sweet-talking to an employee, we managed to seperate this chair from its' sister bench for a mere $12. The chair was stained, worn, sunbleached and highly outdated. It was perfect.

When I proudly set my new purchase in the living room, Joel wandered around it to inspect the damage. "Ew," he said. "You spent money on that?" As I worked on this project I was reminded of the story of the ugly duckling. Even the ugliest things in life can be tranformed into something incredily beautiful. You just have to give it a chance.

The project I expected to complete in a day or two stretched into more than a week. Mom must have made 4 trips to the fabric store for me, and she spent night after night teaching me the things she knows.

After we painted the legs and stripped the 70s fabric.

Tying the buttons into place. I got really good at tying knots.

BEFORE

AFTER

I like my project chair better than this $300 Armen Living designer chair.

Mom said I need to keep this chair forever because of all the hard work we put into it. Not to worry, it will be the first piece of furniture in my own home one day.

With my newfound skills I'll promptly break ground on a second chair that I discovered at a yard sale today.

Thanks to my mom, I too can make anything beautiful.