I stripped it down to its frame before the holidays began, but sadly, it was cast aside for the frenzy of Christmas crafts and holiday décor.  I tried to finish it before Christmas when I discovered how to make double welt cord, but then my last needle broke and the chair was returned to the garage.  This past weekend, I returned to this project, and finally finished it! 

Here is the chair ‘Before’:

And ‘After’:

I kept it classic this time.  I didn’t pick a snazzy modern fabric or the latest geometric for the upholstery to wow you.  Instead, I chose a neutral camel velvet because I wanted it to be a timeless piece ~ one I could rotate throughout the house based on whim, feeling, and mood ~ all the things that dictate furniture placement in my home these days. 

Here’s the brief ‘How To’:

First, I stripped the chair down to its frame, then gave it a coat of RustOleum’s ‘Canvas White’ gloss spray paint.

Note, there is a basic wood frame with springs that sits inside the seat of this chair (not shown).   I stretched the velvet to fit the back of the chair and stapled it in place.

Next, I added new foam, batting, and then the velvet on top, all stapled in place with a staple gun.

For the new cushion, I used the old fabric as the template.

Do you have disappearing ink pen?  They’re a fabulous magician’s tool for marking your fabric before you sew all the pieces in place.  The ink disappears the next day. Genius!  I found mine at Joann’s Fabrics in the sewing section.

I stitched up some basic piping in a casing like I mentioned here and then a simple slipcover around 3” foam for the entire seat. 

I attached the foam wrapped in batting, and new slipcover to the wood seat frame mentioned above, then attached it to the chair frame.  As a last step, I attached my double welt cord with some hot glue.

There is one thing I learned from this latest makeover: it will be a long time before I reupholster anything with velvet.  It is not a forgiving fabric, rather, it’s a temperamental stretchy diva of a fabric. 

Is it absolutely perfect?  No Siree.   Is it good enough for me?  Yes indeedy!

I am rather proud of the back, it is lovely.

Do you approve of the new lattice pattern wool rug?  I exchanged it for the blue version you saw here.  If you love it too, you can buy it from RugsUSA.  I had big plans to take this chair upstairs and let ‘The King’ use it for himself.  Alas, I think it might just have to live downstairs for awhile to make ‘The Queen’ happy.

Speaking of The King, have you seen ‘The King’s Speech’ ?  We saw it this past weekend, hello Colin Firth?  Incredible!  I’m in love love love with Mr. Darcy.  And he won the Golden Globe for ‘Best Actor’ last night!  

As great at the story was, I also loved the cinematography.  Several walls throughout the film took my breath away.  Some were the gorgeous wallpapers from Lionel’s home (Geoffrey Rush who plays the speech therapist), big props to the film’s set decorator and art director.  The wall in Lionel’s office just mesmerized me.   Layers of muted but colorful plaster, like a giant piece of abstract art.  Stunning! 

I highly recommend the film, but note I’m a lover of well acted period dramas that tug at your heart strings!  This one definitely qualifies. 

What about you?  Dragged anything home from a thrift store lately?

xoxo,

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I really needed an extra chair in my new home office for a co-worker or a visitor.  So when I spotted one on the floor of the local thrift for $15 dollars, I quickly grabbed it with the intention of repainting and recovering the seat.  In anticipation of my friend Amanda’s Decorating Dilemma’s party at Serenity Now, yesterday I repainted the chair, and recovered the seat this morning. 

Here’s a glimpse of the Before and After:

A question for anyone who knows vintage chairs.  This label was attached to the underside of the chair.  Is this a Drexel Heritage label?  It has a registered trademark symbol.  Or is it simply another furniture company named Heritage?  Please, I must know.  Google taught me nothing.

Transforming My Thrift Store Heritage Chair:

Step One: Remove seat cushion and existing fabric.  This seat was very well constructed so I needed both a screwdriver and pliers to remove the fabric.

Step Two:  I sanded the existing paint job to remove debris, varnish, and some chipping paint. 

Step Three:  Prime baby prime.

Step Four:  You know what I’m going to say, right?  When my primer was dry, I gave the chair two coats of the great ‘Heirloom White’. 

Step Five:  I liked how the original chair had some hand painted elements highlighting the detail.  I repeated the same effect with a small artist’s paintbrush, but with less ostentation and a more modern color.  I used the same acrylic paint that I used for this mirror project. 

Step Six:  When my paint was fully dry, I applied a thin coat of Wipe On Polyurethane to protect my painted finish.

I bought one yard of a textured aqua velvet Christopher Lowell fabric at Joann’s for 40% off with a coupon.  Yippee, $15 dollars for gorgeous velvet!

Step Seven:  I made a pattern with my original fabric, and then stitched a strip of fabric to the pattern to form a new cover.

One note on sewing notched inside corners.  (Is there a technical term for that?)  On an outside corner, it’s easy to simply rotate your fabric on your sewing machine to follow the curve.  On an inside corner, you have to allow for extra fabric to pool underneath so that your fabric will corner correctly, and your cushion will sit right on your chair.  Lesson learned the hard way today.  I’m still bitter, so I don’t want to talk about it. 

Step Eight:  I used my original foam, which was in great condition and lacked any odors.  I stapled the new cushion cover to the underside of my seat base, then reattach my new seat cushion to chair.

Isn’t she a fair little chair?

And a lovely addition to my office, currently under remodel.

Have you ever known the satisfaction of transforming a chair ?  Do tell.