this past spring i was helping my sister redecorate her home office, and we ran into the obstacle of trying to find attractive office chairs. well, that’s not exactly true. we found some nice looking office chairs, but we discovered it was difficult to locate office chairs that were attractive and had personality. office chairs aren’t usually the statement maker in a room, which is why i love this office chair makeover from amber and kyla in victoria, bc. since opening their interior design studio inoui design collective and moving into a new work space (congratulations!), the pair wanted to freshen up the office with great furniture. i think they’ve accomplished just that. the large scale marimekko fabric works perfectly on the back of these chairs, and i love how each chair has a different part of the pattern. great work, ladies! –kate
CLICK HERE for amber & kyla’s other awesome project after the jump!
when it comes to coming up with creative ideas, i am one of those people who get them right before bed, and they keep going late into the night. this usually leaves me up until two or three am one night a month, wide awake and periodically grabbing the notebook by the side of my bed and trying to scratch ideas down in the dark. it’s nice to know i’m not alone: this project came to kyla in a late night of brainstorming, and i think it’s genius. she and amber had collected a whole bunch of old meter sticks (i know some hardware and paint stores give these away for free, or at least they sell them for close to nothing) and didn’t know what to do with them. thanks to kyla’s late night eureka moment, they are now the front panel detailing on the stairs leading to their studio! apparently it’s a small detail that always makes a big impact on people when they enter the space. another great idea, amber and kyla!
Love these! How adorable and fun for an office. They definitely give some spice to the room :)
Now those chairs have me written all over them. Love them.
The ruler project is very unique. I would have never thought of that!
laura.
I LOVE these office chairs! I have been looking for a good one but maybe I will just re upholster my own like this! Great ideas! Love your blog!
-Amy
those chairs would inspire me to work all of the time.. beautiful!!
The chairs are fantastic. The fabric is amazing. At $55/repeat though, it’s totally out of my price range. Does anyone know a good resource for fabrics like these at substantially lower prices?
Awesome! I KNEW I should have grabbed that old office chair on the curb last week!
I see those kinds of office chairs all the time at thrift stores and I always pass them by but never again! Those chairs are fabulous – great choice of fabric. What a wonderful way to liven up an office.
The vintage yardstick stairs are very clever.
The chairs! FABulous!
The stairs are just awesome too.
Very, very cool ideas.
Heidi
You girls are amazing, creative, talented. Great ideas and great to see you in the Sponge.
My best friend collected a bunch of old, multi-colored yardsticks and used them as “paneling” on the bottom portion of her hallway walls. It looks adorable– esp w/ her collection of vintage Chinese checkers boards!
love the stairs, that’s really pretty and original.
those stairs are fabulous.
So GREAT.
I have chairs very similar to this that I just couldn’t let go (they are sitting in my garage). I love the shape, but didn’t know what to do with dingy legs – love the idea of having black legs – did you spray paint or have them powder coated?
Hi Miriam,
We spray painted the original bases (which were brown with brass wheels). This definitely doesn’t hold up as well as powder coating but is far less $$.
Good luck with your chair make-over!
The choice of that large-scale fabric was absolutely ingenious! Love it!
both the chairs and the stairs…SO cool! i wish i had thought of the rulers…it’s so creative without being over the top!
amazing! i think i would actually like my job if i got to sit in those chairs everyday :) nicely done!
hi,you did really a great work, i’m lovng it very much! i just find that there was one chair n my house and i want to make a new cloth for it, but i don’t know how to start to make it… can you teach me or give me some steps to do it? thanks if you read it :)