apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

sad.

Part of me loves it.
Part of me hates it.

I'm not opposed to the idea, but if you're going to tuft the inside back, the go ahead and make cushions that aren't total crap.

I love, love these!

I logged to post exactly what Jackson did. The juxtaposition I see it great upholstery work on the same piece as total garbage.

Somehow, maybe this is due to my interest in contemporary art, but I can't help but to see this as some ironic statement on slavery : the Ivory Coast written on the burlap, the French 19th century (thus colonial period) style chairs, the rich/poor idea it suggests... It's probably not done on purpose but it bothers me.

Exactly. The idea could work if the upholstery job didn't look so sloppy.

A better job reupholstering would have made those chairs really look designer. As of now, they look cool and hip for the idea, but kind of sloppy in execution...

Burlap is terribly itchy ,I cannot imagine being comfortable in one of these.
Better as props I think.

Love it. Would love it even more against exposed brick.

Good idea, bad workmanship.

I'm another one who loves the idea but hates the execution.

Itchy.

And isn't cocoa from west Africa often harvested by essentially child slave labor? I'm exaggerating a bit, but not by much.

What might have been a little better is using flour or rice sacks, which are at least muslim or light canvas.

I think they're seriously ugly.

Too baggy, and scratchy. Might as well throw some hay on it.

@ Daniel Poitiers, Bolder:
Spot on. I like the idea of mixing high/low, but this particular example makes me feel uneasy.

they look cool, but i bet they're itchy to sit on. maybe if they had used the graphics printed on a different fabric, i'd buy them.

I agree, the workmanship does look shoddy at best. Not a great update on what should be a timeless classic. They actually seem more like a styling prop taken straight from one of Anthropologie's magical shop windows.

Bolder, I believe you mean muslin.

they look like lumpy pieces of crap. too bad, the chairs have a nice shape

fugly

fugly

Love these! It's pieces like this that give rooms personality, instead of everything looking like it is pristine & straight out of pottery barn/dwr/ikea/CB2/[insert any other big box furniture retailer here] modeled to look like something from Domino/Dwell/Elle Decor etc...all fine stores & publications, but our houses are becoming as "clique-y" and cliched as our society.

The itchy/scrathy comments, burlap softens up amazingly well after a few cycles in the wash. My only issue is the cushion upholstery- think a more professional/tidy job would look better.

Failed in whatever they are trying to say.

They could have at least used an iron

Agree on the Anthroplogie store window reference...these look like props. Kind of like the bizarre clothing on the fashion runways...meant to spark interest and conversation but not to be worn by real people. I completely love them on a theater level, but for actual furniture..um...no. And at the $1400.00 each price tag, it seems a bit ridiculous and forced.

Evidently it takes a lot of money to look like you are a poor art student who creatively and whimsically reupholstered a great curb find one Friday night while enjoying a bottle of wine.

I like the chairs themselves. A place I used to visit had the exact ones but in a check/gingham fabric. Very comfy, very inviting. These are awful, and there's nothing appealing about burlap.

if the upholstery was meticulously tailored, this might work. as is, looks like a slightly cheap shabby-chic aesthetic, rather than a couture high-low look.

i know burlap isn't the easiest material to work with from experience, but the upholstery job could have been much better.

ugly.

You actually admit to liking these? WTF? The execution is soooo fugly.

I might be more offended by the monochromatic hide-on-cheap-woven-rug combo. That's just bad merchandising.

If I was poor and had no furniture in my home and they were giving them away I would say, "No, thank you."

Why? Cause I don't put ugly crap in my home.

i think it is just stupid...and at $1400? Crazy.

Ahhh.. every time I get down on AT they lift my spirits with something fun like this!

Personally - hate the chairs. If you're going to do high/low you need to make it WORK. Gild the damn frames! Ditto to everything thats been said about crappy sewing job.

LOVE LOVE LOVE the furor that this posts creates!

Yuck! And the price? puleeze

LMAO!

I'm in the "like the idea, hate the execution" camp. The wrinkles are killing me.

I believe that this is quite traditional for high-end upholstered furniture-- a rough shape in burlap is then covered by cotton batting and your choice of fabrics. This is not, then their intended finish.

Cool idea; the crooked text is killing me, though. Also get the same slavery vibe as Daniel Poitiers, unfortunately.

It would be cool if they didn't do such an unprofessional, sloppy upholstery job.

Burlap looks nice (IMO) but on these chairs it doesn't.

Why not a birlap bean bag? Burlap gives off lots of dust, and smells as well. The food grade sacks are oiled with vegetable oil, so they don't have the petroleum smell of other burlap, but still...

Connotations of colonialism aside, do these remind anyone else of the dresses made of burlap potato sacks Ricky and Fred duped Lucy and Ethel into wearing in Paris? For that alone, I love the chairs.

Heavens, no.

Not only is this terribly ugly, the cushions aren't even upholstered properly and they look horrible.

Awful. Awful. Awful.

i cant imagine them being very comfortable

@dagmarr Usually the strapping underneath is burlap, but the base is muslin. These are intended to make a statement. I'd like it if the workmanship was perfect.

I'm wanting burlap drapes with muslin sheers, but neatly done, and not to sit on.

I'm new to AT and this kind of post is what keeps me checking back regularly.

Thanks!

Please tell me this is one of the pop art installations by fine art student.

I agree with a lot of the people here. Fantastic concept, mediocre follow-through.

Would look cool in a little coffay shop... bonus points if the bags really smell like coffay....

great idea - but the burlap must be itchy - i think vintage feed or grain sacks in cotton or linen would be really nice - and you still get the fontabulousness

Love the concept, but the burlap would be uncomfortable, and it's too baggy. Cotton flour sacks would give the same look, but feel nicer. In any case, want.

Aw heck, against all reason I ADORE THIS!! I would even spend $1400 on one--and I'm an dyed-in-the-wool "never-spend-more-than-$100-on-a-chair" gal.

I especially love the crappy treatment of an inhospitable fabric. The sloppy upholstering is kinda the whole point. If it were nicely tailored it would be too too self-aware and pretentious--this is just STELLAR! (But yes, flour sacks would be a better choice of fabric.)

Would want to see the frames gilt to take it to the next level.

great idea, but tacky execution. needs darker wood, tighter upholstery and a more industrial setting.