before anyone flips their lid, we have plenty of non-chair related before & afters coming up today, but i can never resist a pretty upholstery job. had enough of fabric? stay tuned for the next two before & afters at 12 and 1pm (and a brand new column at 2pm!), which have nothing to do with upholstery.
first up is d*s reader amanda, who decided to make this antique chair her first reupholstery project. i love the cheerful makeover and grey frame (it’s nice to switch things up from black and white). great work, amanda! there’s another colorful chair makeover after the jump, so be sure to click “read more” below.
[have a before & after you'd like to share on d*s? just shoot me an email right here with your images]
CLICK HERE for beth’s colorful chair makeover after the jump!
this next chair makeover comes from beth at wellfleet waters- who used wellfleet’s new indoor/outfoor cotton canvas to update this sweet wooden chair.
60 Comments
Wow, I absolutely adore that old gold/turquoise fabric you used!!!
Love the fabric on the first chair – can you provide the source?
GORGEOUS!!
Wow! This is probably the best before and after I’ve ever seen on d*s!
The fabric used on Amanda’s chair is so great. It looks quilted the way she lined up the tufts and buttons.
hmmmm….. I don’t know….
What fabric is used in the first blue chair? I’ve seen it before in a pink/red hue too, but haven’t yet been able to find who designs it!
Very nice job. Love that they didn’t paint the second one.
That first chair is remarkably awesome!
I’m so amazed by the redesign of this chair, congratulations !
these are both simply gorgeous and i would love them to be in my home to look at every day!
The grey painted frame brings out the joy in this chair design. Lovely work!
Wow…..the work done on your chairs are very professional looking….You rock!
Nothing wrong with another great chair! Amanda’s is fabulous and the colorful fabric+grey frame looks amazing!
The chairs are very elegant!
wow they’re amazing. specially first one is very beautiful
Love LOVE the first chair! The orange piping and buttons really bring it together. For those who asked, that’s Anna Maria Horner’s fabric from her Drawing Room line. I think this print is called ‘Trellis’
That first chair is to DIE for. Love it! I love how it’s reminiscent of the original chair with the orange buttons — it’s like keeping the spirit of the original piece intact. Beautifully done.
that first chair is stunning! LOVE the fabric & colors!
Did she reuse the orange buttons and piping from the first chair, I wonder?
I think that first fabric is from Anna Maria Horner
This is sooo inspiring.
I have this old gorgeous Victorian couch that was given to me, and is in great condition, except for the fabric. I really want to reupholster it, but have never done this before. It doesn’t have cushions that come off that I can just sew cases for…like the second chair here…and i would love to use the metal button/peg things that hold the fabric on. Does anyone have any advice, suggestions or info on how to reupholsterer furniture like this? Any would be greatly appreciated!
MORE CHAIRS. I LOVE ‘EM. They’re inspirational. It’s something I can do too. I have neither the ownership of a kitchen or a budget to do that myself. Keep the chairs coming.
Hey I LOVE the upholstery make overs….so I say, keep ‘em coming! Beautiful fabrics are one of the better parts of life, yes?
And you do a great job finding some fabulous before and afters! Thanks for seeking them out and being such an inspiration for creativity!
Both chairs are beautiful re-dos. I’m going to make a copy of the first one to put up in my studio for my DIY Upholstery classes to see. Wowza!!!
I love the fabric on the second one. Not so sure about the fabric chosen for the first one, but I greatly admire the precision upholstery work. Well done!
Oh I am so glad everyone loves the chair. I am delighted with the outcome. The fabric used was Trellis Stripe Blue by Anna Maria Horner from the Anna’s Drawing Room Collection. And yes! I reused the buttons from the original chair because they were just perfect.
That first chair looks amazing.
Excellent!
Oh my, those are devine!! Very inspiring :)
The chairs are gorgous! Great job ladies! FYI: The fabric in the first chair is by Anna Maria Horner. Her fabrics are beautiful!
oh wow! i am in awe!
That chair is ABSOLUTELY phenomenal. I would have never pictured such a unique print like that, and it completely transformed it into a beautiful piece!
This is AWESOME!!!!! i want these chairs!!!
as mentioned a few times above that fabric in the first chair is amazing! So gorgeous worth mentioning a gazillion times.
Perfect!
I think Amanda’s chair is gorgeous. I also am interested in the wall behind the chair…can she tell me what was done to get that stucco look?
Is it possible to have Amanda email me with the answer?
Joyce
Wow! Absolutely STUNNING! I so dig the fabric used on the first chair. What a wonderful color pallet. I just adore the before/after projects shown on your site. Thank you!
I would really like to have seen that chair painted orange instead of grey
love both chairs, especially the bright orange in the second. i cannot believe that this was anyone’s first upholstery project – very impressive.
i would love to learn how to upholster…i have two mid century chairs currently wrapped in black vinyl they are screaming for change!!
can we find out how she did it?
jill
we’re working on posting an upholstery tutorial soon :)
grace
Thank you for all your comments on my furniture redo ! I love taking an old piece of dump worthy furniture and making her pretty once again. It’s tremendously satisfying for your creative side and good to reuse. So head out to your local Goodwill or even sidewalk on trash day and transform a throw away into a thing of beauty ! FYI: Tutorials on upholstery are on You TUbe.
WOW. Both are great but WOW the fabric on the first one is PERFECT, and I love the gray. I wish I knew how to do that…looking forwards to that upholstery tutorial!!
The bright colors paired with grey? ::swoon:: :)
please please PRETTY PLEASE post an upholstery tutorial! anyone have ideas as to where i can find classes to take? i’ve tried at local colleges and community colleges but no dice.
I absolutely LOVE that first chair. I’m not a huge fan of the ubiquitous painted wood/flower fabric combo but this is gorgeous. Would love an upholstery tutorial!
I’m sorry, did you have a good look at the classic design of the chairs before you decided to repop them? These fabrics might be fun, but they date easily and you’ve lost the classic features of the chair. There is nothing wrong with the original fabric and you could have bought similar. If you liked the fabric so much you could have made a wall hanging.
these are both amazing, but that first one is to die for! love it!
This might be a silly question, but what type of paint is best for repainting old wood furniture?
cat
i’m not a pro, but i always sand and clean thoroughly, and then coat with a primer to make sure the paint sticks evenly. i find that’s the key, over any type of paint. i’ve used oil-based (i know, awful. bad, grace!) water-based and “furniture” paint i’ve seen at stores and they all pretty much work the same for me…
grace
Thank you so much Grace!!
I absolutely love the fabric choice for the first chair! Massive improvement and very striking
Do you think the first chair might be for sale? I’ve been lusting after it daily since this post.
I thin it would have been a less interesting effort to keep the original fabric on those two chairs. Their freshness and re-exploration play up their design. I love them both. If left with the old fabric I can smell the mustiness from here.
I’m utterly speechless on the gray framed gold/’turq’ chair. Wow. Love it. So unique and different.
These chairs are fabulous! love the fabric choice. so great..
Here’s a link where you can get the upholstery fabric for the first chair.
I’m upholstering a chair in the same fabric, only the pink and tan version, next week!
http://quilthome.com/Anna_Maria_Horner/Drawing_Room
I’m afraid I like the original pics of both chairs much better! I love that faded oaky wood of amanda’s chair – and can’t believe it was painted over with grey. Granted the orange velveteen needed a change, but you lose sight of the beautiful shape of the chair with such a busy, kitsch print. I also love the mysterious dark blue and gold brocade of the original fabric on beth’s chair – the replacement red daisy fabric looks like a placemat at a daycare centre.
I’m all for modernizing old furniture, but I think these look a bit cheap. Sorry!
Amanda how did you learn how to reupholster? You did an amazing job, and I would love to know how you got started on it. I have an old chair I’m thinking about redoing but I am just too nervous to reupholster myself, and currently my funds don’t allow it to be professionally done…help please!
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