Feb 24, 2008

A Tale of Two Chairs


About nine months ago, I acquired the above chair from my family. It's a very old chair that has been passed between a few relatives, been upholstered a few different times and then was passed onto me when I moved from one apartment to another. The chair was just too dark, dreary, and traditional for my taste. I wanted something more young, fun, bright, and trendy to match my existing pink and green scheme I had going on. I found some really nice pink, green, and cream floral fabric for both sides of its back. The seat and arms I wanted to do in a different but correlating fabric. I chose a soft green and cream print (almost looks like some kind of animal print) for the seat and arms to mix it up a bit. The chair ended up turning out a lot more like "me" and although I was happy to have my family's donation, the chair needed to reflect my personal style. I was very pleased with the outcome.



I came across another chair today (I am always on the hunt for abused, dilapidated furniture that I can fix up). I thought to myself- this chair has real potential! It was an old vintage cane chair that no one wanted anymore. But I am not the type to look the other way when someone is giving away furniture! If I hadn't of taken the chair it would have been thrown in the dumpster- every chair deserves a second chance, don't ya think? I remember seeing a similar chair on the blog, Jordan Cappella that he fixed up- the end results are fabulous! It just looks so much more up to date and crisp. So I thought- this cane chair does have hope! I could attempt to do it myself but let's be realistic- with the demands of every day life, and with me taking on more clients by the day, this chair would be sitting in a corner of my Living Room (dusty and unfinished) for months. Trust me, I have a pair of old windows that I've been meaning to refinish since early January and they just haven't happened yet!

Anyways, I digress...What I really need is for someone to take my chair and transform it for me! That is when I stumbled upon Again and Again- a consignment furniture store in Dallas that not only sells furniture on consignment but will also take your old furniture and refinish it! This quaint little white house off of Henderson Avenue, started by Leslie Pritchard, is a shop full of treasures Leslie has merchandised. A team of craftsmen also work there to transform your existing furniture through repainting, reupholstering, and refinishing- to your specifications! I have heard rave reviews about this place and I'm not going to lie, it would be nice to have someone else recreate my chairs for a change!
Hopefully my cane chair will come out as beautiful as these below...

What is your vote on how the cane chair should look after its transformation?

2 comments:

Topsy Turvy said...

Well, this is a fun exercise! Here's an idea, not really knowing your aesthetic or where you want to use it ...
I'd paint the chair white, and cover the back (omitting the button tufting) and the seat base in a very textural natural colored hemp/linen. Then take the seat cushion and add to or replace with a really overstuffed thick down fill, and cover with a different fabric. I envisioned a cream colored silk with thin black striping, and found 2 similar ideas at Schumaker. One of Dominique Keiffer's block prints could also be pretty. Lana

Anonymous said...

I totally adore your chair - what a great find! I like the final image the best...a black laquer with a cool fabric on the seat. Right now I'm really into zerbra print - that could look pretty great (if that would work in your space). I have an inspiration photo on my flickr page...

I'm actually on the hunt for a chair to reupholster too! A bergere/louis style one (like your first chair) and a cane chair like your 'new' one.

I'll be interested to see your outcome.