Vintage High Back Throne Arm Chairs - She trusted me with her chairs
I would not call myself professional level when it comes to upholstery by any stretch of the imagination. Thanks to trial and error and a few good books, Mr. Frugalista and I have upholstered a handful of projects for our home like our Antique Balloon Back Chair. So when a client asked if I'd not only give the frames of her vintage high back throne arm chairs a makeover but upholster them too, I nearly broke out in hives.
Now I like a challenge and wouldn't think twice about tackling them for my own home but for a client? To make matters even more nerve-wracking, she was supplying her late mother's fabric. No pressure!
.JPG "Novice Upholsterer {she trusted me with her chairs}")
So I laid out my terms hoping in the back of my mind that she'd decide to take the upholstery elsewhere:
Not only did she accept my terms but she said, "I trust you".
Warning: This post has poor quality images. Either my brain was in overload, my hands were trembling, or I ran out of light. Taking good photos was the last thing on my cluttered mind so I apologize.
This is what the chairs looked like before. You can see it's missing a finial on the top right. I would have liked to keep them but couldn't find a replacement. Literally the very next day after lopping them off and filling in the holes my client found the missing one.
.jpg "Novice Upholsterer {she trusted me with her chairs}")
.jpg "Novice Upholsterer {she trusted me with her chairs}")
Next up adding the beautiful and sentimental Faux Bois fabric - isn't it stunning! We made sure the pattern repeat lined up exactly the same on each chair because they would be sitting side-by-side in my client's front window.
.jpg "Novice Upholsterer {she trusted me with her chairs}")
.JPG "Novice Upholsterer {she trusted me with her chairs}")
The obvious choice for braided gimp would have been a champagne color but with the wood being white and all the furniture in her living room white, she and I decided to use white gimp for a contrast.
.JPG "Novice Upholsterer {she trusted me with her chairs}")
Chair back front...
.JPG "Novice Upholsterer {she trusted me with her chairs}")
.JPG "Novice Upholsterer {she trusted me with her chairs}")
.JPG "Novice Upholsterer {she trusted me with her chairs}")
.JPG "Novice Upholsterer {she trusted me with her chairs}")
I really hated to see these go because they looked so good in my living room. Will I take on another upholstery job similar to this for a client...capital N capital O! Way too stressful but I will keep practicing on furniture for my own home.
Next up, sewing a custom roman shade for our new kitchen bay window. Scratch scratch...is that hives I feel coming on? I think I can. I think I can. Choo choo!
Now I like a challenge and wouldn't think twice about tackling them for my own home but for a client? To make matters even more nerve-wracking, she was supplying her late mother's fabric. No pressure!
Vintage High Back Throne Arm Chairs
So I laid out my terms hoping in the back of my mind that she'd decide to take the upholstery elsewhere:
- No Tufting
- No Deep Buttoning
- No Vandykinging (is that a word)
- Nor anything that required a needle
- No Piping
- No Double Welting
- No anything that required a sewing machine
Not only did she accept my terms but she said, "I trust you".
Warning: This post has poor quality images. Either my brain was in overload, my hands were trembling, or I ran out of light. Taking good photos was the last thing on my cluttered mind so I apologize.
This is what the chairs looked like before. You can see it's missing a finial on the top right. I would have liked to keep them but couldn't find a replacement. Literally the very next day after lopping them off and filling in the holes my client found the missing one.
After removing thousands hundreds of staples (it felt like thousands because it took several hours to remove them from each chair) I gave them a few minor repairs. I refreshed them with Old White chalk paint and a light distressing. Then they started taking on a new personality and I wished they were mine.
By the looks of it these chairs had been reupholstered once before. Now again I'm a novice but I'm pretty sure the springs should have been covered with burlap before adding the foam.
So Mr. Frugalista and I took the necessary steps to replace the old foam and batting along with adding fabric over the springs and some fibre fill on top of the foam to add extra cushioning.
Just like this...
Chair back front...
Chair back rear...
In the photo below you get a better shot of the light distressing on the wood frame.
Not bad for a couple of amateurs if I do say so myself!
Next up, sewing a custom roman shade for our new kitchen bay window. Scratch scratch...is that hives I feel coming on? I think I can. I think I can. Choo choo!
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