reader submissions

Before & After: Plain Chairs Get the Artist’s Treatment

Tara BellucciNews and Culture Director
Tara BellucciNews and Culture Director
Tara is Apartment Therapy's News & Culture Director. When not scrolling through Instagram double-tapping pet pics and astrology memes, you'll find her thrift shopping around Boston, kayaking on the Charles, and trying not to buy more plants.
updated May 4, 2019
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Two orange upholstered armchairs with wooden legs in a room with lace curtains and a floral tablecloth.
(Image credit: Kaitlyn )

Kaitlyn bought these chairs as a medium for her art show. The fabric she chose is definitely a work of art!

(Image credit: Kaitlyn )

From Kaitlyn:

I bought these chairs from a local thrift store in Santa Fe, although they originally came from a hotel on the plaza. I bought them to reupholster and put in my college senior art show, where I am sharing a space with 8 other students. I wanted to create something that would be stick out, and also incorporate my skills outside of traditional studio art practices. I wanted small chairs that would be easy to move and these seemed like they were just waiting for me!
I waited to choose the fabric until I knew what sort of shape I was going to be dealing with. The fabric is all Echino by Etsuko Furuya. I chose it because it is so colorful and gives the illusion of being pieced. I also painted the legs a deep purple which doesn’t match the fabric, but compliments the jewel tones.
A lot of my studio art has the common theme of nature, which also appears in the various fabrics that I found which ties it all together as an exhibit in the gallery.
Even though I am calling them art, visitors to the show are absolutely allowed to sit in them!

Thank you Kaitlyn!