When I was getting ready for Lucketts, a lot of my friends asked me which pieces were my favorite projects. So, I thought I’d do a few posts about my favorites.
I bought this rocking chair at the last minute, about a week before the market. It had a cane back and cane bottom. The cane bottom looked new, but the back looked terrible. I haven’t yet learned how to weave cane furniture, so I decided to reupholster this chair. And I was in such a rush to finish projects that I forgot to take a before picture. Bummer.
Using spray primer, I primed it and painted it with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Provence. I mostly primed it because I didn’t know what color I wanted to paint it, but I’m glad I did because I didn’t want any of the black paint to show through anyway. After the paint dried, I went over it with a coat of wax.
I was actually planning to put different fabric on it, but at the last second I realized how gorgeous the retro flowered fabric looked with the blue, so I decided to use that instead. Once I had upholstered the front and back, I had to figure out what kind of trim to use. I wasn’t really wanting to sew double-welt cord, so I looked around my house to see what I had. That’s when I saw my big bag of cord that I would ordinarily use to sew double weight cord. The oatmeal color looked perfect against the fabric, so I doubled it up and attached it.
I am so in love with this color fabric combo to the point where I might actually do our unfinished dining chairs in this style. I sold it to a lady who has two little boys and was decorating a nursery for her little girl on the way. I love that this chair will look adorable in a nursery but be able to grow with the little girl too.
So that’s my favorite. I’ll be back later this week with more info.
P.S. Tonight I’m going to see a lecture by Jonathan Adler at the Corcoran with some blogger friends and I’m so pumped. Anyone else in DC going?
Linked to: Primitive and Proper, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Domestically Speaking, Miss Mustard Seed, Redoux, Shabby Nest, Making Lemonade
5 comments
Came here from the Old Lucketts store blog. Congrats on the great show at the market. Fellow NoVa blogger. I was there on Sunday. Remember seeing the green chest and those herringbone tables. You are doing a great job with the blog and all the projects.
Great job on the rocking chair. I think I prefer the upholstered seat and back over the cane. Good color coordination of the fabric and paint.
I've got a similar chair to redo. How did you make the forms to wrap the new upholstery around?
I think that I probably used 2" foam on the bottom and 1" foam on the top, both with a layer or two of batting on it. The top probably has a couple of layers of batting on the back too (opposite side of the upholstery webbing). Most of the time I put the foam up to the chair and then trace around the opposite open side with a Sharpie. I try to cut a little bit larger than my trace line — it's easier to cut down the foam than it is to cut a new piece.
If you're looking for good tutorials, I suggest checking out this tutorial on backs from Design Sponge: http://www.designsponge.com/2011/12/upholstery-basics-picture-perfect-backs.html
And this blog post from Miss Mustard Seed: http://missmustardseed.com/2012/02/best-of-mms-french-chair-makeover-tutorial/
Good luck with the redo!
I would love to see the back. Fantastic job.