Refinishing and reupholstering: The monster tasks

The past few months I've been a busy bee. For the most part, school and work have occupied all of my time, but I have snuck a few DIY projects in!

Number one monster task: First time reupholstery.

I have an ancient desk chair.

It's AT LEAST fifteen years old. The arm rest fell off on one side whilst the other looks as though I took a knife to it in an enraged fit (I definitely didn't). The chair itself is stained and the old blue fabric looks outdated and, quite frankly, hideous.
Since I could not purchase a new chair, I decided to reupholster. First step was to find a fabric that I love. Unfortunately, we are short on decent fabric stores around these parts so I settled for some outdoor fabric from a nationwide chain store. Can you guess which? har

I took apart the chair and fought with my electric staple gun. I nearly broke the back of the chair and questioned by decision to take on such a project in the first place. But I persevered! And earned a snazzy looking "new" chair! (Excuse my foot for sneaking into the before shot).

I also decided to repaint my nightstand. From white, chipped, and blah to blue and beautiful! I love it. It adds so much more personality to my bedroom furniture.  However, in the future I will invest in an electric sander or at least a helpful tool instead of going at it with the sand paper on my lonesome (hello, sore arms!).