She nailed it!

I like the plain better for some reason...

When I saw the before picture I was terrified someone had ruined a beautiful chair- but I like it.
Good job

I agree with pier723, the before is much better.

Definitely liking the before more than the after.

I like both ways.

Hats off to you on the good work.

Liked the before. The after makes it look generic.

I like the before,too. It showed off the beautiful classic lines of the chair. I like the little side table, also. I think that's a Ballard Designs table. I've admired it many times in their catalog.

The trim really added something to an already wonderful piece.

its a cool concept. it probably comes down to a style preference...my pick is the 1st

I like the after. It looks good.

Ooooh... this is something I cut out of my headboard design... I think it's just found its way back in!

It's so nice to see the individually done nail heads instead of the faster (& tackier) strips. Beautiful!

You nailed it adding the nail head trim!

Don't know if I would do this. Would the nails make the fabric rusty in the future?

I am a fan! Lovely, Janell!

And for the commenter who has admired that side table in Ballard's catalog, there is a cheaper version at Urban Outfitters if interested!

I bought our headboard there---also featuring nailhead trim. You can see it in this post.

http://thenestinggame.com/2011/05/16/summer-nights/

Very cute idea. Definitely transforms the look of that chair. If it were me, I'd totally do the inner edge as well.
Nicely done.

LOVE the chair! Where did you purchase it?

Great~ the After is more formal!
The "bling" could work with more distinctive colors too. Contrasty black or white, or some kind of green offsetting the khaki-olive. Great idea.

for me i like the before image, i just want the simplicity of the before image.

Love it.

I was petrified someone was going to totally ruin that beautifully simple chair. And while they didn't ruin it, I do prefer the before.

I was afraid it was going to have some God-awful stencil on it. The nails are OK, but seem unnecessary.

While I LOVE nailhead trim, this wasn't done very well. As I learned a long time ago, it's not easy to do. I really think it would have looked better if the nails were closer together. But it's a good effort.

The trim doesn't seem necessary when all that was really "needed" was to add a pillow...

I like the chair too. Where is it from?

I like the clean simple lines of the before. The nails are trying to toughen it up, but beige linen doesn't take to being rock'n'rolled up like that. I can appreciate the effort that went into it tho'.

It looks great!

I like both. I'm just happy they didn't re-upholster it in Chevron, or something that'll look dated tomorrow, or worst of all, do that fabric paint thing that's sweeping the web. Looks good both ways.... but I lean a little more toward the before.

Keep the pillow, lose the nails. Sorry.

I love it! The nails mimick the metal side table, which is nice. Ties together the two materials, metal and fabric. Nice work! Looks professional to me!

Love it Janelle! Keep up the good work, it fits perfectly into the design of the room is was meant for! :)

It looked better without the nails. JMHO.

Why are people so mean on here? Any feature I've seen is always followed up with such negative comments. You don't like it? Move on. No need to leave a disrespectful comment on it. I think the chair looks fantastic, Janell! Way to spruce it up a bit!

Comments aren't just for praise, but for others to get ideas from, too. I think it looks fine, but the commenters who don't like it have a point. It seems to now be a meld of two distinctly different styles. Which is fine if that is the look she was going for (clearly it was). Others who like their design styles to remain more pure or separate like the before better, because the nailhead trim contrasts oddly with the modern style of the chair. I find it clashes most in style with the modern legs of the chair.

i like the idea, i think i would like it better if the nails ran up both sides of each arm... if that makes sense.

Whether or not this improves the chair (it certainly does change the look), I can't help but think about it from another angle. I can't imagine having completed enough big house projects that I'd be able to target a detail this small, on something that didn't need much help in the first place! Must be nice. :-)

I love it! I've admired her work on that chair since she first posted it on her blog months ago. I also tend to be drawn to anything that melds styles together. I love the juxtaposition of the modern style and clean lines with the more traditional touch of the nail heads. I'm a huge fan of these types of hybrids, and I think she did it perfectly. I also really appreciate that she took the time to use the individual nails. Those strips are cheap, tacky, and OBVIOUS.

The iron nailheads pair well with the iron sidetable in the after picture.

Whether you like the nails or not, you can just make a handy little spacer out of a piece of cardboard and move it along as you hammer in the nails. Simple solution for nail setting.
(Nice work Janell!)

I'm not knowledgeable enough about furniture to comment on the "purity" of it, or whether the nail heads interfere with the clean lines. I just like what I like. And this looks FANTASTIC.

Chris44 - I often wonder why people are so nice on here haha!

The table, or one very similar to it, is available from urban outfitters.

It was a beautiful chair before, and now it's perfect. Great idea!

The nailhead trim on the chair is just perfect. The culture of negative criticism on Apartment Therapy is disappointing.

Snark, snark, snark. Whenever there's a Before & After, there's always like a thousand people screaming that they like the before better. Is that a thing now?

Anyway, this is good design. Very good design. The nailheads are done so well. And I love the green accent pillow. Bravo!

The before-and-after projects usually take something that needs improvement and transforms it. This takes the chair and changes it, but neither improves or transforms it. There is a reason clean design is called that. This is project akin to gluing sequins on Chanel jacket.

I’m not sure I understand the need for everyone to post pseudo-positive platitudes. You might be happier at a site called prettykittiesandfluffyclouds.com.

I would like to know the thought process for adding the nail things. No criticism, it looks fine both ways. But I do feel it's a little disingenuous to add the cushion and the side table to the after shot and not the before one, because I reckon the before would look better than the after with the same styling. Nice chair btw.

Nice - hard to make such a great chair better but . . . yes, you accomplished it well!

I agree that the chair was lovely in the original form and while it looks fine with the nail heads some additional styling with a cool patterned pillow or throw would have added a cool pop to a very neutral piece, and would be easy enough to change out now and again.

I like hearing other people's points of view, both negative and positive. As long as both are respectful and constructive then the more opinions the better as far as I'm concerned.