Before & After: A Worn Out Chair Gets a Wake Up Call

Written by

Jennifer Hunter
Jennifer Hunter
Jennifer spends her days writing and thinking about decor, food and fashion in NYC. Not too shabby.
published Nov 12, 2014
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Post Image
(Image credit: Linda Wilgus)

Not long ago, Linda spotted a picture of a Mid-Century Ercol armchair on Pinterest and completely fell in love. It didn’t take her long to find a similar style chair but it was in massive need of an update. Not only were the original cushions sporting a suuuper fashionable needlepoint-style print, they were torn to bits from decades of sitting.

(Image credit: Linda Wilgus)

From Linda:

I spent some days browsing fabrics and finally settled on an upholstery fabric from Clarke and Clarke featuring a large tulip print. It reminds me of 1970s Marimekko fabrics and I love that its retro print is in keeping with the chair’s vintage vibe. I used the old worn-out cushion cover to get the measurements right and sewed up a new cover. The chair also got a wood polishing and a faux sheepskin completes the new look. I purposely did not re-cover the cushion that sits against the back of the chair as I love the look of the spokes on the back; for comfort we use the sheepskin on the back when sitting in it or a large throw pillow that normally hangs out on our sofa. The cost was minimal – just £8.99 for one metre (just over a yard) of the fabric and £2 for the zipper, plus a little bit of sewing thread. The chair itself cost £40 via Ebay.

Make sure to head over to Linda’s blog — Mix of Whimsy — for a step by step tutorial on how to easily sew a new cushion cover.

Thank you Linda!