It's one thing to find a vintage chair and see its potential...but when it comes to actually doing it; well, that's a whole other beast entirely. As a contestant of Top Design once said, "Reupholstering ain't no joke." And judging from Lis Landmark's photos of her recent project, "Operation: Malmsten Armchair," we'd guess that she'd agree.
Lis' gorgeous armchair fell victim to two criminals: The first being her cat who clawed through the original pinstripe grey flannel upholstery and then took a liking to the stuffing as well; the second being a vigorous vacuuming that took out the front two legs. Not to be deterred, Lis decided to salvage her beloved armchair--and while she was at it, re-cover the dining room chair cushions as well.
The cushions were a piece of cake compared to the chair: simple slipcovers in black, cream, and purple striped upholstery to match the brilliant jewel-toned purple that she picked for the armchair.
The armchair here is waiting for its mended legs and tuft buttons that were being re-covered as well.

The chair back to its glory, with a new headrest pillow in the same fabric as the dining chair cushions. Love the new color, and what an amazing job!
(Images: Lis Landmark for Sköna Hem)

Ercol Bar Stool
Gorgeous color, wonderful job! I would love to read in that chair!
Well Done! Looks Fantastic!
Beautiful job! Just wondering ... does the kitty stay away now?
Saved chair! Love it and really love the coordinating stripe.
Way to save that fantastic chair! Great job!
WELL done!
What a friendly-looking chair. In its current color, it reminds me a little bit of Grimace. Love the coordinating fabric for the dining chairs as well.
How does one go about learning to do something like this? Seems so complicated but the end result is fantastic.
Wow - that's a phenomenal redo!
Wow! Great job!
Wow, it looks great! But complicated. I have the same question as bemyescape, how can someone learn this?
That is simply gorgeous! I love it.
You are a real talent.
bemyescape and periwinklepeach-
it looks much harder than it is. best way to do it is to dive right in! i would suggest getting a "practice" piece at first, that way if you really screw it up, its ok. take a lot of pictures during the strip down so you remember how it all goes together. use the old fabric pieces as templates to cut the new fabric and re-assemble. some require minor sewing, depending on the piece. if you know your way around a sewing machine, this shouldn't be too much of a challege! watch some youtube videos, read some tutorials on it and you'll be well on your way. its lots of fun too! hope this helps.
Gorgeous.
Very nice!
The solid colour is so much better than the original stripes - it allows the fluid shape of the chair to speak. Well done!
Looks very nice, but what about the kitty brat?
lovely colour, I agree that the solid looks definitely better than the lines. Very well done, simple and inspiring!
The cat is still a brat. I wrap the chair in blankets sometimes to avoid claws.
There are educations to learn how to do this: http://www.liu.se/utbildning/program/mobeltapetsering?l=sv
I guess you can use google translade....?