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January 17th, 2008
before and after: chair revamp

chairctainbf1.jpg
amy at day-lab sent over a fantastic project for before & after thursday. she found a pair of chairs marked “january 1970 walnut” at a garage sale for $6 and scooped them up right away. she replaced the old fabric with new marimekko fabric and refinished the wooden frames herself. i think the result is fantastic, but even more fantastic is that amy detailed her revamp process right here. so if you’re looking for a more step-by-step process just check out her post on day-lab. enjoy! [thanks, amy]

chairstainafter21.jpg

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23 comments
Kristi said:
January 17th, 2008 - 12:09 pm

That fabric is incredible!

Patricia said:
January 17th, 2008 - 1:12 pm

Fantastic chair…that’s my favorite marimekko fabric and I have a huge panel of it on my wall.

January 17th, 2008 - 1:17 pm

wow!!! awesome job, amy!

Isabelle said:
January 17th, 2008 - 1:20 pm

Did you use the duvet fabric? I can’t seem to find that particular design in the fabric only section?

alicia said:
January 17th, 2008 - 2:06 pm

what a great project.
makes me look forward to garage sale season!

Chad said:
January 17th, 2008 - 3:38 pm

Isabelle – The fabric pattern is “Marimekko Tuuli”. You should be able to find it in regular cotton just by doing a web search.

velika said:
January 17th, 2008 - 5:39 pm

It’s beautiful, but readers should be warned to exercise caution when taking on these types of projects. Many solvents used in refinishing contain known carcinogens. Always wear protective gear — including gloves and a mask — and work in ventilated spaces when refinishing furniture.

Laura said:
January 17th, 2008 - 6:29 pm

Love that chair! I have a Marimekko purse in that fabric.

January 17th, 2008 - 6:40 pm

this such a beautiful chair. and very inspiring. i was just thinking about reupholstering my couch today and this gave me some great ideas!

January 17th, 2008 - 7:42 pm

I agree with previous posters. The photos are very inspirational. The fabrics are gorgeous. Thanks for sharing!

k1ate said:
January 17th, 2008 - 8:01 pm

That fabric is great, and so are the chairs, but the black and white looks way to stark against the walnut.

EmmyLou said:
January 17th, 2008 - 9:05 pm

Wow. Talk about night and day. And the tip from velika was also very helpful. I’ll be sure to watch for some more project from you. Thanks!!

January 17th, 2008 - 10:39 pm

Wow- these projects are amazing! I can’t believe the difference the slipcovers make!

evie s. said:
January 17th, 2008 - 10:51 pm

Yes, and with a complete reupholstering job (like a couch), be prepared to put a lot of time and effort into it! It’s worth it to spend the time to do it right, especially if it’s your first time.

Kira said:
January 18th, 2008 - 12:00 am

fantastic! i’m now in love with this chair.

Stratos said:
January 18th, 2008 - 7:30 am

Brilliant. I have a similar danish style armchair from my parent’s place and was thinking what to do with the fabric! Great idea!

Felicia said:
January 18th, 2008 - 8:38 am

Love it! Thats an excellent transformation :)

becky said:
January 18th, 2008 - 3:29 pm

I saw this fabric on an antique sofa with a wooden frame in a magazine recently (kind of like the Ruthie Sommer’s one on the first cover of Domino mag). It looks so fantastic on both the chair and the sofa I saw (in Blueprint perhaps? I get so many magazines I can’t keep track anymore!). Anyway, I love the way the fabric is composed on the chair. It’s difficult to do sometimes with that scale and repeat, but this job is aces!

Suzi said:
January 23rd, 2008 - 11:54 pm

This is wonderful! I love the fabric. I have a recently refinished Danish modern armchair and have been puzzling over what kind of fabric would best finish it… I’ll check out marimekko.

becky said:
January 24th, 2008 - 6:17 pm

ah, I found the settee, it’s in InStyle Home with Molly Sims on the cover…I wasn’t sure if I could post a photo here, so I scanned it and posted in on flickr…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/71696744@N00/2216908087/

guest said:
January 28th, 2008 - 2:51 pm

Hi, I am wondering if anyone can help me find non-toxic foam or some type of substitute to do this work. I would love to reupholster a chair similar to this one, have bought fabric, but am having a hard time finding a eco-friendly cushion. Thanks.

Jude said:
January 31st, 2008 - 12:18 pm

I’ve been looking for something similar to the original fabric on the chair for a retro lampshade I’m working on.
Does anyone know the name for this kind of fabric?

Rik said:
March 22nd, 2008 - 7:07 pm

The chair went from ho-hum to artwork. Excellent job, Amy!

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