To many of us, this chair may look too gross to let live. Kindall, on the other hand, recognized the chair's good bones so she took it home and transformed it from grubby to gorgeous ...
When I saw the "before" photo on the blog Kindall's Creations my first thought was, to be honest, oh yuck! That grubby old chair just looked too gross to ever be revived. And then when I scrolled down and saw the "after" photo, I couldn't believe it was the same chair. That Kindall was able to renew the life of such a dirty old eyesore is absolutely incredible.
Kindall picked up the chair at her local ReUse warehouse, confident that she could give it new life. After stripping off the dirty old fabric and painting the legs white, Kindall reupholstered it with a modern print fabric. As this was her first re-upholstery project, Kindall turned to the interwebs and followed a few tutorials to learn the process.
Kindall freely admits that this project required a lot of patience. Merely stripping off the old fabric and getting the chair down to its skeleton took almost five hours! In the end, however, it was worth all the effort (and blisters).
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Looks wonderful! I am so jealous of your skills!
Holy crap, I'm impressed! My husband and I are nervous about reupholstering a simple pair of mid-century chair pads and all that takes is a staple gun!
what an accomplishment. it looks great!
Wow! I wish I had skills like that. *eyes her dying recliner*
To be honest, it does look like a first-time reupholstering effort -- the weird bumps in some of the seams, the way the seat cushion looks warped, and the wrinkling around the arm rests are among the clues -- BUT the choice of a busy, contrasty fabric makes those details far less noticeable than they might have been. A valiant first attempt, and certainly more appealing to sit on than the original.
Beautiful - I'd be proud of that if it were my first attempt (chicken that I am). I'm wondering - maybe Ulrika can tell us - are there rules about aligning a busy pattern such as this one? For example the medalion is nicely centered on the back, but not the seat cushion. What do you guys think?
that's great!!
something with a smaller repeat would have been better... but great for a first effort!
Fab!
i need upholstery lessons!! wow
Good job! I taught myself how to upholster from the library. Just be careful removing the original fabric because those become your patterns. ;-)
Lazy_lurker, yes, a pro would match up the pattern on the seat cushion---both with a centered medallion and on the front boxing.
Wing chairs are a very difficult first project. If you want to start upholstering, go with something simpler at first. Ottomans are good!
Also, with something this grungy and even less disgusting pieces, always replace all the padding. It might look reasonably clean but I can assure you it has absorbed a LOT of odors. I reupholstered an entire 50s sectional and didn't replace the padding and OMG it stinks so bad in humid, warm weather. Not when you're just sitting on it but if you stick your nose up to it. UGH. Never again!
Looks great!
As an upholstery teacher, I say GOOD JOB. Mainly because you just jumped in and tried it. A wing chair is a tough piece to start with.
I would say that after two more chairs, you will be upholstering like a pro. Keep it up. It gets easier. Of course, having a good teacher lead you through the process is a good thing.
shelly leer
www.modhomeec.com
Oh! I almost forgot. Take photos of every step of fabric removal and label each piece you take off. You'd be amazed at how fast you forget where each piece goes.
great job !!! New inspiration for that old chair I have in the garage! thank you!
Wowie wow. Reupholstering is not for the faint of heart (which is why I have never done anything more complicated than staple gunned chair seats and a tailored window valance). You are the man and I mean that in a good way! Many a very cool chair I have passed up because I just don't have the stones to attempt it! BRAVO!
ew that "before" pic makes me want to wear gloves before touching it! you did an incredible makeover--kudos!
Wow...I wouldn't have even had the nerve to try this. Great job!
I have a wing chair that I want to recover. I really don't want to strip off the original fabric. I plan to make a pattern by using kraft paper and tracing around the chair itself. Does this sound crazy? Also I thought to just whip stitch the pieces together. Do you think this would work? The chair desperately needs to be re-covered, the sun faded it out horribly,but I just dont have the patience to do it the way you did (which of course is the right way) :{ I have sewn for 20 yrs or more,so I know my way around; I just want to take a shortcut. Any advice anyone?
Oh, I forgot to ask what is ply grip and what did you use the Upholstery tacking strip for?
artsygirl-sounds like you're going to make a slipcover. Ply grip is a metal strip you attach to edges. It "grips" the fabric on cleats, it's pounded closed and it gives you a finished edge of fabric, no raw edges, staples or tacks showing.
I admire your patience!
Looks great.. was really gross to begin with. So kudos to you!