apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I live in Alabama--nowhere near a fabric store that sells anything other than florals.

Does anyone have a good online resource for contemporary upholstery fabric?

I have 6 Danish Modern-esque dining chairs that are begging for something in a vivid green or cobalt blue and two more traditional scallop backed living room chairs that would look great in a more modern fabric than their original worn damask.

I've looked on ebay, but haven't found enough yardage of anything I like.

I appreciate your help!

Is it ok to mix wood colors as far as furniture goes? My bedroom furniture is all a light birch color, but my kitchen/eating area is in the same room basically right next to my bed. I want to use some chocolate brown pieces in the eating area (dining chairs, maybe a sideboard of some type). Would this work?

Nicole,

You might want to try www.reprodepotfabrics.com or www.contemporarycloth.com.

cmschmidt, of course you can do that. It might even work to define areas of your space. The only downside is if you want to move pieces around in the future- it wont really work to mix a blond piece with a wenge one. If you are going to have different wood tones try to maintain a similar style of furniture. That way what you are varying is color not style.

I have a similar thing going on. My kitchen eating area is all blond and my living room is kind of a dark walnut. I actually was in love with all that dark colored wenge but decided against that because if I decide to repurpose or reorganize pieces they wouldnt transfer to other parts of the house.

Thank you, Sasha.

cmschmidt - on the contrary, I think wood furniture and finishes look best when there are several different types to play off of one another.

Are velvets or silk dupioni appropriate for upholstering the seats of dining chairs? Say yes--I found the PERFECT color :-)

cmschmidt,

I think so. I don't think I own two pieces of furniture that are even remotely the same shade. I think it works. I just try to keep the vibe of the pieces somewhere in the same universe, although I am trying to weed out some of the more boring hand-me-downs.

The only problem with mixing woods is when you get around to painting the walls. Dark and light can mix well, but if the wall is light, the dark pieces stand up and shout. If dark, the light pieces take their turn.


Does anyone know if I can put a water based varnish on a table stained with an oil based product?

Nicole R,

Velvet and silk dupionis are some of my favorite fabrics in the entire world, but it comes down to the stains issue. I think a velvet would be easier to clean, and you could probably apply stainmaster to it (it would likely change the color of the silk) before you apply the fabric to help reduce the stains, but if it's expensive fabric, you might night want to invest in it. But if it's not likely to show, reasonably priced for you, I say go for it! Additionally, if you can swing it, make more fabric covers right away and stash for later use should they get stained.

Also, to note, when some silks get wet, the color bleeds. Talk with the fabric seller to find out what the likelihood of color bleeding would be in the type you're eying up. And submit pictures when you're done!

Thanks for the comments guys. I've been apprehensive to mix, but i think it will turn out well.

Alana, you cant mix a water based product with an oil based one. Your best bet is to completely remove the oil based layer completely and start fresh which may be tricky. Alternately, find a oil based product to put on top of the older layer.

Trumystique--I hadn't thought so, but it would save $$ and time if I could have!

The oil based layer was applied after sanding and scraping off a botched job with a water-based stain. (Which is why I have water based varnish!)

So, it's off to find an oil based varnish.

Thanks!

Does anyone know the best way to remove a wax finish? My dining room table has a tinted wax finish which wears really badly and I'd like to strip that off and refinish with oil or stain. I've seen a couple of wax removers but they all sound like they may not totally remove wax to a raw wood state. Mineral spirits? Turpentine? Or do I need to use some caustic stripper to get the table ready for a new finish?

know any good resources for cool modern indoor plant pots in small sizes?

cmschmidt, jamali garden is the best for that. they have these great white cube pots that i bought a bunch of...look awesome! i think it's just jamaligarden.com...