Our living room is almost complete except for a gaping spot with no furnishings or pictures, so for the last few months I have been perusing the thrift stores and craigslist for a chair. I really wanted a slipper chair that required no work. I quickly discovered my price range would not accomodate these standards. So, last week at Restore I found this chair:
I love her lines and while I'm not a huge fan of caning this chair has extra large caning that says to me "I'm retro" not "I'm an out-of-date '80's wicker chair." When I found our her price was only $15 I decided to take a chance.
Now I need your help...
1. Should I paint the wooden parts? Perhaps a distressed white
2. Any fabric suggestions for the upholstery? We currently have a mix of tans, dark browns, and greens in the room. The artwork features quatrefoil design and the curtains have some paisley. All the furniture in the room is a solid color, so I really want this chair to have a pattern.
3. Has anyone done any upholstery projects? This will be my 1st one we'll see how it goes, but any advice would be welcome.
Kristen...I own this chair's sister! :) Here's where I blogged about the project: http://oh-write.blogspot.com/2010/09/yellow-cane-chair-tutorial.html
ReplyDeleteIt was a little bit of a time-consuming project, but I was thrilled with the end result. I get compliments on the chair all the time.
The fabric I used was quite heavy, and I didn't mind working with it one bit. I think white would look great...and I would totally go for a bold pattern. I have found (from other projects) that working with small patterns or stripes can be tricky...too hard to keep everything straight and mistakes are way more obvious. My only other advice is to take pictures of EVERY step while you're tearing the chair apart. I went back several times to look at how things went together, and I was so glad to have the pictures for reference. All of my other knowledge is on my blog. I can't wait to see your finished chair! Have fun. :)
I immediately would say something fun and unexpected like a cowhide print with choc brown wood but that probably isn't kid friendly. Hmmmmm...I may have to think on that a while. BTW I still have that brown/white houndstooth fabric scrap for your very cool pillow that you haven't made yet. :-)
ReplyDeleteum I have recovered chairs a couple of times with my mom and that one looks pretty easy. I agree with Kate that although a strip would be fun it would be hard. Durable would be the key and it may be time for another trip to JoAnns. I can help with this one it won't we that hard. Do you have a staple gun? I would have to look at it but you will probable need one.
ReplyDeleteThanks guys!
ReplyDeleteKate, great advice on the pictures and I can't wait to look at your chair tutorial. I'll let you know how it goes
Patty, Oh I'm very excited about the houndstooth for a pillow...maybe that's an idea for the chair
Candace, I will definitely take you up on your offer to help. I'm pretty clueless about this stuff.