I have a thing for rescuing and restoring chairs. And, I love to use bold fabrics when I reupholster. It’s the perfect way to showcase your personality. Here are a few of my co-stars…
This navy velvet stunner belonged to Mother’s best friend Miss Margaret. Her precious daughter Pegie gave it to me as a token of their friendship and I love having it. It was covered in a beautiful green silk, but I put the twist with a bold navy fabric.
This cutie is in my office at home. It belonged to Mother and was dark burgandy, then I recovered it in a brown and white Ikat pattern. When I moved it to its final place in my office (it’s the perfect reading chair), I wanted something bold. Mother loved birds and she also made the peacock curtains hanging in my office. I added a turquoise ottoman and it’s the perfect pop of sunshine.
I shared this little gal on Instagram recently. She was a castaway I found on the side of the road with cigarette burns. I freshened her up with a chinoiserie fabric in colors of pink, red, green, soft blue and navy. It’s the perfect chair in Miss Bee’s room. I made sure my upholstery guy replecated the ruching on the arms and tufted back just like the original version.
I bought this chair on Craig’s List. It was a nice navy and white fabric, but I had animal print in mind. I mixed an orange animal print with a geometric fabric in the same shade. I love how we did the arms and backside of the chair in geometric and animal print on the seat and front of the chair. Don’t be afraid to mix your patterns. This chair resides in my ladies lounge where I keep all my cookbooks and dishware on open shelves. The pop of color from the pillow is another addition of mixing patterns.
In my opinion you always need at least one pair of neutral chairs that you can mix with any color if your tastes change. I bought a set of these chairs at World Market a few years ago. They are light weight so I can easily move them all over the house. They have cute covered buttons in the tufts. I can change the look with a throw or pillows.
I purchase my fabric on Etsy and Hobby Lobby. If you are in Fort Worth and you are looking for an upholstery guy, I highly recommend Alfonso who is the owner of Teocal’s Upholstery, 5260 Trail Lake Dr, Fort Worth, TX 76133, (817) 423-0355. He is very reasonable, meticulous about how he matches the fabric and has a super fast turnaround. I can stop by with a photo of something I want recovered and he tells me the price and how much fabric I need to order. He does not deliver or pick up so you will need to make arrangements to drop your furniture off.
Have fun with fabric. Life it too short to be neutral. Go bold! Your furniture will thank you for the new life you are giving it.
Love these ideas
Thank you Harriett for reading my blog and commenting. It sounds like “hue” like color too! Have a great day! Melissa
Oh Melissa, this post just made my day and planted some seeds in my head for what I may be doing with some of my chairs. I am a chair addict. Usually I buy small children’s chairs that are antique or almost. But I also have some upholstered chairs that need a redo. So happy that you shared the name of your upholstery guy. I will be calling him. Thank you for sharing your amazing ideas with all of us. Thanks too for sharing your space with Holley. I’ll never quite get the Holley look down but I love getting her suggestions. Then when I see something in the store I know it has her stamp of approval. Big hugs! I should be able to make it to the book club this month since the grief group finished up last Thursday. I’m really into this current book. Suspense and surprises for sure! Hugs dear friend.
I love having my grandmother’s vanity chair recovered. The first time I did, when the blue and white floral fabric came off, my upholsterer gave me a tiny note with her handwritten notes from when she had upholstered it herself. I’ve recovered it twice since. It now has orange and gold mums and bright turquoise piping.