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September 3rd, 2008
before and after: summer’s chair

beforesummer.jpg
d*s reader summer took the words right out of my mouth: “so many chair re-finishers and so little blog space”. but we both agreed that this piece was too lovely to pass up. so for those of you who are cursing me for running more chairs- i’m sorry, but i love this chair. summer meza of modernhaus sent over this chair makeover- she described the before as a “hospital lobby” chair but after a spruce up and some fab new fabric from ikea (only $5.99 a yard)- it’s anything but a drab hospital lobby chair. i’m loving the fabric so if you’re interested in picking up a yard just click here. thanks, summer!

beforeuse.jpg
aftersum2.jpg
use3.jpg

37 comments
reilly said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 11:18 am

Was the Ikea fabric lined? I thought it was too lightweight for upholstery, but you may have better upholsterers than I.

megan said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 11:26 am

ooh, i love this — especially in juxtaposition with the little yellow lamp. so cute!

modernhaus said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 11:39 am

Reailly-some IKEA fabric is thin (like cotton sheeting) but this, and a number of others, is upholstery weight.

Shannon said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 11:52 am

beautiful! so simple yet elegant.

September 3rd, 2008 - 11:55 am

this is brilliant - and very funny as I am using that material to make a skirt! :-) thought I was the only one to have spotted how good Ikea material is at the moment. It is a thick material about curtain weight. How did you do the arms?

Rose said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 11:56 am

One of my very favorite chair B&A’s! Not only does it look great, it looks so comfortable!

Beautiful job!

Ceek said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 11:56 am

Very fresh!

Judith said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 12:03 pm

That looks great! Nice work.

Kelly said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 12:11 pm

I never tire of a good chair makeover and this one is gorge! This is one of my fave chair styles, I’ll have to keep my eye out for my own makeover candidate.

timf said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 12:15 pm

striking.

Jen said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 12:17 pm

ooooooh much much better!! Love the print on the fabric!!

September 3rd, 2008 - 12:19 pm

awesome transformation :) Excellent work summer!

cindy k said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 12:27 pm

fabulous!

Cristina said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 1:27 pm

I love the chair makeovers! And this one is very very cool. Love the contrast between the modern fabric and the classic frame.

Beth said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 1:34 pm

Very pretty!

modernhaus said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 1:56 pm

Happen Upon-can I commission a skirt? I would LOVE to see the finished product. I know-I go NUTS in the IKEA fabric aisle and it really is incredible quality. For the arms the fabric is tacked down with an upholstery staple gun (just have to pull really, really tight!) and then trimmed. It’s time-consuming but easy!

September 3rd, 2008 - 2:01 pm

This is my absolute favorite chair ever posted on DS!!! Love it!!!!!

lealou said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 3:55 pm

love this!!! it’s definitely a favourite.

Shell said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 5:44 pm

I can see that everyone loves the chair makeovers….but personally, I’m tired of them. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good ‘rags to riches’ makeover, but they have all been following the same formula: start with crappy chair, add shiny paint and a bold graphic fabric, finish with new chair. Can we see some makeovers that use a little bit more creativity??

grace said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 5:45 pm

michelle

if you send one in i’ll gladly post it- but no one has sent one in like you described. i’m posting the best of what comes in every week.

grace

S, Reeves said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 6:06 pm

Grace, Keep them coming!

We have plenty of bandwidth to see what others are doing. I am amazed at all the do-ers. Congrats.

September 3rd, 2008 - 7:28 pm

The best so far! I’m not tired of the Chair makeovers, keep em coming!
I did a “makeover” on my record cabinet this weekend that although looks simple took four days to complete. I was thinking of sending it in, but completely forgot to take a good “Before” pic. The process is on my blog anyway, for anyone who might be interested.

modernhaus said:
September 3rd, 2008 - 7:30 pm

heheheh-it wouldn’t be the blogosphere without at least one hater in the crowd..

September 4th, 2008 - 12:16 am

Wonderful! I love that fabric…I would really love to get my hands on it!!

September 4th, 2008 - 1:45 am

what a wonderful before and after!! makes me drool.

Avril said:
September 4th, 2008 - 8:28 am

This one is really fresh and especially sophisticated…I’m off to Ikea, but let’s not tell anyone else about this fabric, okay? ;)

September 4th, 2008 - 9:28 am

so funny, i have already picked this fabric as the custom fabric for my little one’s crib skirt. i’ve got good timing!

great chair. love it.

September 4th, 2008 - 12:58 pm

modernhaus I would love to make a skirt for you but as this is only my third ever attempt I am not sure you would like it! check out my description. http://happenupon.wordpress.com/2008/08/14/sew-amazing/
about my adventure into Ikea fabric and skirts - very lucky that ikea is less than 2 miles away.

Jess said:
September 4th, 2008 - 4:21 pm

Nothing like a beautiful chair! Great work!!!

modernhaus said:
September 4th, 2008 - 8:53 pm

Thea-your earlier attempts are beautiful! Now I’m tempted to get out the old Singer and make a high-waisted pencil skirt out of my scraps from this chair…..

September 4th, 2008 - 10:12 pm

I love the chair makeovers you post Grace!! The combination of modern fabric with antique lines is always so refreshing.

Alicia said:
September 5th, 2008 - 1:11 pm

This looks great! I just bought a similar chair and don’t know where to start - any how-to instructions for reupholstering a Louis XV chair would be much appreciated!! Thanks :)

themediatrix said:
September 5th, 2008 - 6:31 pm

Please don’t stop w/ the chair makeovers. They give me inspiration! Each one has something different that I takeaway, like this use of the Ikea fabric. Thanks for sharing this!

modernhaus said:
September 5th, 2008 - 8:37 pm

Alicia-buy a staple gun! Pull the fabric tightly while stapling, and cover staples with upholstery trim. You can do it…

Kristan said:
September 8th, 2008 - 10:31 am

I love how this updates the chair but sort of maintains the same general feel. The print sometimes reminds me of Mickey Mouse!

Alicia said:
September 8th, 2008 - 10:32 am

Thanks!

eepo said:
September 8th, 2008 - 1:28 pm

Thanks for the the quicky instructions on how to replicate your work. Do you have any suggestions about removing the current fabric before adding the new? Also, what adhesive did you use to get the upholstery trim to stay put?
Thanks!

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