The Happy Chair - from 70's brown to retro cool

Saying that this chair looked old-fashioned and worn is probably an under-statement... The previous owner had grown tired of it and decided to buy a new chair instead of re-upholstering it and kindly gave it to me to practise on - a decision she might regret when she sees these pictures... It has a lovely shape, both the top of the back and the wings are swung, and the wooden frame is in perfect condition. The old seat had to go (along with a lot of old dust...), but the springs were still good so I re-used them after putting in new webbing. A bit more cotton here and there to shape up the back and the arms, and new fabric from Osborne & Little and it's already looking very different. By the way, the fabric inspired it's name "The Happy Chair" - all those flowers and butterflies put you in a good mood and when you sit in it, the world looks very nice indeed. At least we thought so on the course at the Traditional Upholstery Workshop (see link on the right!). More pictures will follow when the chair is finished...

New colours for both chair and living room

This chair's owner was redecorating her living room and found that although the chair was still in good shape, the yellow fabric and the studs wouldn't fit in anymore. She found the right colour tones in this floral cotton fabric - the embroidered flowers made the task of making piping rather challenging, but it worked out. In my view piping looks far better than studs on this chair - especially in combination with the new, more feminine fabric.

Modern wingchair in stripes

Dark fabrics will make big furniture look even bigger - this modern wingchair looked very dull and worn and needed something lighter and more colourful. I removed most of the foam and replaced it with bonded hair - better quality lasts longer! It is now covered in Romo's "Postbox" fabric, the new box cushion is filled with feathers instead of the foam it came with - a lot more comfortable to sit on and a softer look. Now I'm thinking the feet would look better in white...

The folding chair

Friends of mine had bought this folding chair on a flea market in Paris. It was in desperate need of a new seat - the old one had lost its webbing and you risked getting trapped in a hole if you sat in it. The tricky part was removing the seat from the chair, I had to take the whole thing apart - only thanks to my Ikea experience I was able to put it back together... I stripped it back to the frame and gave it a new seat with strong webbing, bonded hair and cotton flock and covered it in a fabric that was similar to what the original fabric must have looked like 40 years ago.

The revamp of a dining chair

This little chair was looking very old and dusty when I found it in a second hand shop, but I liked the flower pattern on the back and the neat arrow legs. I decided to French-polish it to bring out the shine in the wood - the effect is amazing! I re-upholstered the seat from scratch - 5 new springs, lots of hair, hessian, cotton flock and calico - and re-covered it in a fabric with tiny white flowers on a white background. V V Rouleaux had the trimming to match. Unique.

Revival of an antique fireside chair

I bought this tired-looking French antique chair in a second-hand shop in Wales. It had an old-fashioned pink velvet fabric, the seat had lost its shape and the buttons were loose. It also came with a small surprise: after removing all the old stuffing, the frame turned out to be severely damaged - it was more or less a chair in two pieces. That wouldn't worry an upholsterer though - some glue, a few screws in the right places and a clamp will take care of the problem. I re-upholstered the chair according to traditional methods (which by the way haven't changed much since the 18th century) and gave it a deep-buttoned back. I chose a damask in a rich red colour to match the antique style of the chair - et voila, a new chair was born! Don't think I will sell this one...

Vanity Chair

Welcome to Vanity Chair!

I created this blog to give people the opportunity to see some of the projects I'm working on. The word traditional uphoslstery may sound a bit old-fashioned, but it just means that traditional methods and materials (springs, natural hair and cotton as opposed to cheap foam) are used to achieve the highest quality - the modern part comes in with the fabrics. If a chair has been upholstered with traditional methods, it will keep its shape and last for at least 30 years.
I'll be updating this page on a regular basis, so watch this space!