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!