A chair story, part two

So you might remember a while back I was challenged to makeover a pretty ugly vintage chair by Chatelaine's decor editor Virginie Martocq, well it's time to share all the pics (thanks VM!) with you lot so you can see the results. Firstly I hafta say it wasn't just me involved, since Virginie also dragged in Tommy Smythe, Jeffrey and Deborah Fisher and Candice Olson to re-do chairs too - And looking at the bunch of them together they couldn't be more different.

That first snap shows the chair in all its - ahem - original glory. Next up there's mine, which looks fantastic thanks to inVU Drapery for the delovely DwellStudio Vintage Plumes fabric, as well as tackling the upholstery (you can see all my prep work here). Then Tommy's chair is ultra chic whith a white glossy frame and wide black and white stripe for upholstery. Jeffrey and Deborah slipcovered and skirted theirs, which did a nice job hiding the rather ugly legs. Finally Candice gave hers a preppy tween feel, dressing her chair in white, kelly green and fuchsia. Got a fave? Then you can vote here. [Images: Roberto Caruso]

A chair story, part one

I'm definitely up for a challenge, so when Virginie Martocq - Chatelaine's Decor Editor - e-mailed to ask me about re-doing a fleamarket chair for the mag I said sure! So, a day or two later when a rather grubby looking chair showed up on my doorstep I knew the game was on. Luckily I'd recently been inspired by a particular DwellStudio fabric I'd spotted at inVU Drapery called Vintage Plumes (you can see a shot of it here) and set to work figuring out the look.

Step one was to unscrew the dusty old red velvet seat and thoroughly clean the chair. Next, I lightly sanded the frame with some steel wool, and carefully painted two coats in a lovely soft beigey grey called Fashion Grey from Behr. Now, I knew that nailheads would be fun but didn't want to commit to nickel or brass. Instead, I'd seen some white painted nailheads at Home Depot and thought that they might be just the ticket. Well, the colour was waaay too bright a white, but that was quickly remedied by pushing the nails into a cardboard fruit box and spraying the whole lot cream all in one go (outside of course). I dropped the chair off at inVU this morning for the re-upholstery job and can't wait to see how it turns out!