Chair Transformation

Thank you to the Washington Post for including this post in your Blog Watch, June 25, 2009! 

Six years ago, I purchased a set of chairs from Scott's, a monthly antique market in Atlanta. They were in good shape, although the upholstery needed to be redone. However, I had spent my budget on the chairs, so one of them sat in my front hall 'as-is' for years, and the other one was relegated to the attic. On occasion, my husband complained about having a ratty looking chair in the front hall, but to me there was a certain charm about the chair in its original upholstery.

I finally decided to take action on the chairs in late 2007, and posted about it here. I received some tremendously helpful recommendations from my readers, and had the chair stripped of its old brown finish and repaired. The chair then went to a fantastic decorative painter in Atlanta, one who does expert work on antique restoration and finishes on high quality reproductions. Little did I know that the chairs would be at the painters for more than six months! The decorative painter does excellent quality work, but she is an artist and she likes to work on projects when they inspire her. So, I called every few months to check on the progress, but I went on with my life.

Finally, the chairs were ready! I purchased some off white linen from a local fabric store, and had the chairs rebuilt and upholstered. And here they are (well, here is one of them - I don't have room for the pair in my front hall, so the other one is in my living room)! The decorative painter recommended letting the natural fruitwood tone of the chairs show through, and she did a light limed finish in a tone that picks up on the off white of the linen.

Just for fun, I had the back of the chairs upholstered in one of my favorite fabrics, Kravet's lemondrop (I had to put felt strips on the back of the chair as the finish was rubbing off against the wall).

Here is the transformed chair in the context of my front hall. I purchased the triptych at the Trinity Artists Market; I love the look of the contemporary art contrasted with the French chair, and pulled together with a sisal rug. I hope you enjoyed the chair transformation that took a mere 6 years to complete!

Please stop by Between Naps on the Porch to see other transformation projects in Metamorphasis Monday!