Furniture

A cardboard light box…

| plyders

I have been brainstorming ways to use what I already have to create an interesting display of products from BypPauline for the upcoming ARTist Saturday at Armature. Supplemental lighting is encouraged, so I decided to make my own ambiance floor lamps. Using heavy duty cardboard (yes, I’m still making use of moving boxes) I created a “Golden Section” rectangular light box. Tracing a few glasses of various sizes as templates, I cut a few holes on each side and even across one corner. I’ve never wired a lamp from scratch before, but the plug and inline switch were super easy to install onto the cord using the instructions. The actual lamp holder was more of a challenge to wire because it didn’t come with instructions. But thanks to YouTube, I safely attached the hot and ground wires and turned on my light box with giddy excitement.

Concept base for a pouf…

| plyders

The two poufs I made have proven very useful in our livingroom. My daughters often choose to sit on the poufs rather than the couch or armchairs. But I wanted them to serve as more than a footrest or seat. I sketched an idea for a simple base tray that can alternately be underneath or on top of the pouf. I created a prototype out of scrap cardboard. When underneath the pouf, the base tray raises it to a standard seat height so it function as extra seating at our dining table. If I flip the base tray over and place it on top of the pouf, the combination functions as a side table.
Ultimately, I’d like to make this base tray out of finish plywood, but I lack the tools and materials. When I get around to making cube poufs, which I prefer, I will make a square base tray prototype.

Stuff a pouf with scraps…

| plyders

While researching creative uses for my bins of scrap fabric, I found a pattern on bhg.com for a pouf. I chose an outdoor cotton duck fabric and pretty much followed the bhg.com instructions verbatim except that I opted for minimal hand stitching to finish the top and bottom octagons. To fill the pouf, I used two large storage bins of scrap fabric and fiber fill from three old pillows. It was very satisfying to use so much “waste” to create something so useful, lasting, and attractive. To be totally honest, I am not in love with the octagonal shape. If I make any more poufs, they will be cubes. I found two wool blankets at a thrift store that I felted just for this purpose. Since I am all out of fabric scraps for filling, I can purchase bags of rejected thrift store clothing for $0.10/lb.