apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Loved the inspirations here. I'm re-reupholstering a chair. (First time--2 years ago--was a learning experience in terms of both technique and choosing fabric that will wear well) and I think the room needs some sort of bold floral print, but I'm having trouble committing to one.

i was actually just wondering about this because i bought a vintage stool to reupholster and it seems like a risk to use patterned upholstery. was just thinking of going with either stripes or geometric prints to keep it more streamlined in my modern home. any tips??
http://pearlsandgreentea.blogspot.com/

mrslee, you mentioned at the link that this is 'your first big DIY refinishing project'. If you're also not terribly familiar with re-upholstery, I will tell you from experience that stripes and geometric prints aren't as forgiving as a floral print for a novice. You can get a floral that has a distinct up and down almost perfectly straight and it will look fine, but a stripe or check has to be perfect. And that stool looks like the fabric is tacked to the side of the stool and not wrapped around the bottom like a drop-in seat would be, so it would be trickier to get straight.

I hate to sound like everyone else on this, but use whatever pattern (s) you love. I like streamlined modern furniture but also like paisleys and brocades. I just try to keep the colors consistent

I think bold upholstery would work particularly well in a rented apartment, which usually has bland walls. (I'm always too lazy to paint the walls, knowing that I'll have to paint them back later.) Must be on the lookout for fun furniture!

Using the same fabric on different upholstered pieces (sofa/chair/loveseat) is okay, but rather department-store-set predictable...

Instead, using the fabric from your sofa or armchairs for your window treatments (draperies or roman shades) gives any room an instant "designer" touch. Most midrange furniture stores (West Elm & IKEA, No - Pottery Barn & Crate and Barrel, Sometimes - Room & Board, Ethan Allen, & Willams Sonoma Home, Yes) will gladly sell extra yardage to match the upholstered furniture you purchase from them.

Either have a great eye, or live in Palm Beach. :-)

About 40% of the images used above didn't work for me at all. I thought the rooms would look better without the patterned upholstery, particularly the floral upholstery.

But do what makes you happy, and again, I refer readers to the very gifted home furnishings author Katrin Cargill who can show you how to mix patterns if you want to do so.

It really depends on the design of the fabric before I will move in this direction and part of that is my mid century to mod modern esthetics where sublty in pattern (bits of color interwoven in the fabic of a basic color say, pink with some black thread interoven in it for example) or solid colors primarily are used in the upholstery fabrics while the bold "prints" are in the form of the artwork on the walls.

That said, I DO like that blue room where they used a bold pattern on the backs of the chairs to the dining corner in that blue/black/white room, first pic, second row the best.

one thing I should say also is if you do use a bold piece and have two similar pieces, say a couch and a love seat, it might be best to have them done in the same fabric and do the chairs in some different each. If too much, leave the larger pieces in a solid and do the chairs in the same bold print but NEVER just do all of them in the same, no matter the fabric or it's boldness or not, too much like Sears etc would do.

I am in love with the colours and fabric in the blue room, and infatuated with the ones in the yellow room. Beautiful finds.

Where is that red chair from in the last picture? I checked the links to this article and I couldn't find it. The pattern looks like Ora Kiely.

If you commit to bold upholstery then find several years later that you need something different do slipcovers. Amy Butler's, "Midwest Modern" has some great examples of slipcovering most everything including modern pieces.

I like the idea of covering the back cushions of a sofa in a print, yet leaving the seat and the rest in a solid. White or chocolate brown appeals to me as the solid, and patterns that have or look good with those colors.

I find that bohemian patterns in complementing colors or tones tend to almost always work. Bohemian and prints just go together, so anything with that vibe seems to work, and clashing seems intentional.