apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

thank you for this post, the yellow and grey chair on the right is fantastic.

incidentally, lat fall i took upholstery at city college sf, from a fine teacher (unfortunately this current semeser is his last) mark miller.
nearly everyone takes it as a hobby or to redo a piece they have and like; it seems pretty hard these days to break into the field as a career, altho if you really want to, it's very possible of course.
or, rather, it's hard to get an apprenticeship actually, mark has said, because shops are reluctant to take people under their wing who are then going to set up their own.

some people pick it up quickly.
one student, his first semester (altho he knew how to sew) totally completed a wide, squat, beautiful 50's wing-ish chair, in a sort of gold and green tweed like fabric (a lot like some of the fabrics at jonathan adler) from discount fabrics.

the chair looked better before. now it is cheesy

I'd be interested in recs on SF or Peninsula-based upholsterers who aren't designer priced.

good point erinorea.
i'm a sucker for yellow grey tho.

I was recently given a chair that looks just like a Room And Board Bianca chair (except this one's ancient, the fabric is falling off, and the springs are sagging). Needless to say, I love it! I have some crazy fabric that I'm longing to use to reupholster my new chair. Now I just need to figure out how to do it...

The class I found was already full, but I'm going to keep searching around.

I may get a professional to re-tie the saggy springs and tighten the webbing. Then I think I'm going to go for broke and do the rest myself.

Timely post, thanks.

I've taught myself how to reupholster furniture. I had no choice: I have seven cats. Any upholstered furniture that enters my house will need re-doing in about 7 years, maximum. I also tend to get bored quickly, so sometimes I reupholster a piece just for the hell of it, just because I can.

Since I'm doing it myself, it's a pretty cheap fix. That means I can justify reupholstering a piece of furniture with a stapled-and-glued pine frame, as long as that piece suits my needs. There's no big investment at stake.

(Reupholstering anything that includes particle board in the frame is a losing proposition, however.)

That said, I'm always on the lookout for deeply discounted upholstery fabrics. Buying them well in advance of need means that I have plenty of time to hunt for bargains. I know how much yardage it will take to cover specific pieces, so if I see a good deal I can grab it. If I change my mind later, I've found I can sell fabric I don't want on eBay (I've done this twice and broken even, which is fine with me).

I disagree with erinorea. While the fabric may not be to your particular liking, it is no longer misshapen. I really like the appearance of the legs! Very nice!