since i won’t be posting on thursday (but i will be posting tomorrow) i thought i’d share some great before & afters today. this beautiful chair makeover comes from d*s reader pamela- she found tihs old office chair at a local antiques store 5 years ago. she loved the lines but was daunted by the thought of recovering it. so last weekend she and her mom decided to tackle the project using amy butler‘s bright buds fabric in aqua. they made a tight slip cover and then stapled it in place under the cushion- 2 hours later they were “pleased as punch” with the results- and i have to agree. great work, pamela!
32 Comments
that looks great!
Even though the After is darling and a half, I kinda like the before better. But maybe I’m not fully grasping the sad condition the chair before.
yes, it looks amazing. I would never think of trying to re-cover a chair like that, but I think it looks fantastic!
Wow! Great DIY! That fabric is perfect. Was it hard to reupholster that chair? It seems like it would be pretty difficult because of the shape.
nice!
Ooooh pretty!
whoa – i went from “hate it!” to “love it!”
Hmm… Very cool chair. I don’t like the cushion fabric on the Before, but it’s a whole lotta pattern in the After. I guess I’d prefer somewhere in between?
Still I commend a job well done. Goodness knows I couldn’t do anything like this!
LOVE!
PERFECT fabric choice…this is so adorable!
I’m actually not hating on the before OR the after. I sort of agree with Kristan that it might kinda be a lot of pattern going on (maybe a solid cushion in a coordinating color?) although if it’s in a room that really needs a pop of color it would fit.
this is gorgeous. i am dying for a chair with those great lines that i can diy. how fun!!
The after looks lovely, but… the before looks better. I would have just changed the seat part…
However, this is a wonderful job reupholstering:)
Noooooooooo!
I love this! I don’t the find the chair overpatterned at all – I think it would totally brighten up any corner of the room that it was put in.
Hey, what happen to the kids’ time out chair? Now they think it is fun to sit in it. Good job!
I love this. Amy Butler makes the best patterns.
This is amazing!
ayayai! im sick of this tired cliché. i way agree with angela: Nooooooooo!
dark rich blues, especially juxtaposed with neutrals are much fresher and “fashion forward” not to mention timeless, than day-before-yesterday’s turquoise with all over stylized plant pattern. get over it people! evolve!
this before and after brings a design tear to my eye.
I can’t believe people are hatin’ on the pattern…
I think it is a perfect chair to try a pattern like this one.
Just gorgeous — great job!!
so glad you didn’t paint the legs. they’re great as is.
i think it’s an attractive result and hats off to Pamela and her mom for doing it. BUT i really think the pattern diminishes the impact of the chair’s shape. you look at that before pic, and you think “The Jetsons.” now it, well, looks like a lot of other chairs.
I love it – it looks so happy. The print is a popular one, but if you love it, who cares?
I have to agree with Orlando to some extent. Although I would hardly call Amy Butlers fabrics ‘day before yesterday’ and I do like the after chair, the before was a mid century wet dream! That deep blue vinyl and the faux boi jacquard cushion was magic! Im hoping that Pamela hasn’t removed the original fabric and if and when she gets a bit tired of the print or has an interior that could use a dark, moody little chair, she can strip of the fabric and Viola!!!! Im hoping.
Leagues better.
I had to come back to this and see the comments. “Mid century wet dream”..too funny. I do think the shape of the chair is it’s best asset and the redo diminishes this. Plus maybe I’m just a little “dark and moody.”
the big patterns and color on this chair are AWESOME! i would just be concerned of using a standard amy butler fabric for upholstry, you might consider an upholstry fabric for this application. Maharam and Knoll both have mid-century inspired fabrics that would be stunning on the chair, keeping your fab big pattern, but keeping more with the style of the chair and will last forever.
I saw the before photo and was scared to scroll down…. it was so beautiful before! I agree that the fabric choice is a little ‘day before yesterday’ but think it could have looked nicer as a pillow accent for the chair. I’m not afraid of pattern, just this one!
oh, that’s heartbreaking. but to each their own.
I love it!! Amy butler has lovely fabric patterns. I think before the chair looked dated and drab. Kind of reminded me of a chair you would find in a laundry mat.
this is what i love most about this website.
love the original chair. only woulda’ redone the seat, if i had to. sorry, don’t like the do-over at all..
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