Old family favorite or not, it is hard to look at JC's chair before and visualize anything other than the garbage dump. Ripped, stained, and cobwebby, this armchair certainly doesn't look destined to anchor a soothing reading corner. Thankfully for all, JC had a different vision.

Yes, we will pause a moment so you can bounce back and forth between pictures in disbelief. Somehow, against all odds, JC took that poor sad little chair and transformed it into this masterpiece!
JC has more pictures and advice over on her blog My Rustic Cottage Life if you are hoping to apply her experience to a chair of your own. Though I suspect taking on such a project is something most of us would never contemplate, it is always good to be reminded of the power of a good eye, a bit of imagination, and lot of hard work. Thank you JC for sharing this transformation, and congratulations on creating such a beautiful piece for your home.
Check out all the details, including plenty of photos of the entire rehab process, on JC's blog — My Rustic Cottage Life: Vintage Chair ReUpholster Before and After.
Images: JC at My Rustic Cottage Life


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Nice!
wow! it's gorgeous now! i wish i knew how to reupholster!
Oh my goodness! That chair looks incredible! If you recovered it yourself, I am extremely impressed...and jealous of your unique and useful ability.
Wow! I can't believe that, it looks so good.
Amazing, looking for somthing like this for my place - but they dont come cheap finished! is there much risk trying it yourself? Cant really break it much further...
Wow!!!! Looks fantastic!!
There's a similar chair sitting on the curb down the street from me, it's been there for a week or so -- if I didn't have a million other things going, I'd pick it up and try this! If anyone in Seattle wants to grab it, it's on the west side of 31st Ave S, between Irving and Day streets.
Gorgeous! I love the fabric.
Wow! I wouldn't have touched the "before" with a ten-foot pole, realy ick! But "after" is gorgeous!
I love it when the "after" photo looks so much better than the "before" photo! well done!
I am laughing because I am thinking what SHerryBinNH wrote. :-) Kudos for tackling the job, I don't think I would want to touch the chair in the "Before" state. Heh.
again, with the bravo for having the guts to get it started. i have such a creepy-crawly phobia - spiders, termites, bedbugs, etc., which makes projects like this rather daunting.
Fantastic!
Congrats to your new chair. It was an ugly duckling.
Sorry, but I prefer the before. Bwaha...just riffing on the usual deep and meaningful discussions that 'before and after' posts tend to provoke.
This is a lovely redo but since when did re-upholstery become such a mind-blowing concept?
Beautiful!
Really nice job!
I don't know, I preferred the before... kidding - Great job!
That's not a transformation, that's a resurrection!
Even in the before, you can tell the chair has a nice shape - wonderful to see a "saved-from-the-dump" story turn out so well!
Meowza!
Yowza! And @amygoog, what a great idea!
First off, congrats on being featured on AT (that's huge), and second, the chair is a great success. I even think your "unprofessional" (as you called it) back of the chair looks professional in the pictures.
I'm with everyone else; great job and love how you staged the picture with the other 'vintage' pieces. Nice!