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January 29th, 2009
before & after: seating love


these simple but pretty makeovers come from d*s readers samantha martin, kelly stone, and nia sayers. kelly decided to make over two chairs she bought at a yard sale in her hometown of albuquerque, new mexico. she sanded and painted them with behr interior flat paint in ‘black lamp’ and covered the seats gunvor fabric from ikea. simple, easy and so cute. thanks, kelly!



samantha took on her first reupholstery project this winter. this chair belonged to her grandfather (who built it) and she decided to keep it for sentimental reasons, but give it a facelift. using amy butler fabric (which seems to be a real favorite for before & afters lately) she reupholstered it herself and voila, updated chair! [thanks, sam!]


this sofa before & after comes from nia sayers, an upholsterer and furniture designer in bellingham washington. she’s got a leg up on most of us in terms of upholstery skills but it’s still fun to see what a big change textiles can make. thanks, nia!

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42 comments
thedarlingchef said:
January 29th, 2009 - 8:07 am

Ooooh, these are so cute! It makes me want to go garage-selling!

January 29th, 2009 - 8:31 am

i LOVE the fabric on the last little sofa…anybody know what that is? the chocolate brown with crazy flowers. it reminds me of something i’d see in anthropologie. love love it.

January 29th, 2009 - 8:41 am

Some times it’s hard to see something beautiful when you’re looking at something so pitiful. Looking at these gives me tons of ideas! Thanks!

January 29th, 2009 - 8:48 am

These reupholstry jobs are all so lovely…I especially like the last one too.

katie said:
January 29th, 2009 - 9:00 am

all of these are inspiring! the last one looks classy and modern after, but i like the before as well.

fabi said:
January 29th, 2009 - 9:07 am

wow!!!! finally a set of “before and after” that i really enjoy! the three of them are just my taste! the first and third are awsome on the fabrics.

Bethany said:
January 29th, 2009 - 9:24 am

Glad to see she refinished the wood instead of painting – it is complimented perfectly with that fabric on the small sofa.

Amanda said:
January 29th, 2009 - 9:26 am

LOVE the first set. Those chairs look awesome!

Dominique said:
January 29th, 2009 - 9:36 am

I am literally drooling all over my keyboard! Beautiful work!

January 29th, 2009 - 9:36 am

The last one stand out the most…great work!

Marianne said:
January 29th, 2009 - 10:10 am

There is nothing I love more than a good before and after! These are great.

January 29th, 2009 - 10:47 am

LOVE IT!

Tamstyles said:
January 29th, 2009 - 11:11 am

I cant wait for my stuff to get redone. But not by me, a professional. I will have posts on my blog for days..maybe you can even post them here because the before pictures that I have up now are UGLY!

Stevie said:
January 29th, 2009 - 11:18 am

i find the first redo’s original fabric to be hilarious!! surely the original fabric wasn’t tie dye!? but it looks absolutely lovely now.

Leah said:
January 29th, 2009 - 11:23 am

Am I the only one who feels it’s a travesty to paint those chairs at the top? That chair was beautiful…just switching the fabric would have been enough.

Agree that the sofa (in particular) is fabulous.

Victoria said:
January 29th, 2009 - 11:27 am

wow i am inspired!

Karen said:
January 29th, 2009 - 11:38 am

That sofa is fantastic!! What fabric is that?

January 29th, 2009 - 11:38 am

my favs are 1 and 3. they are all wonderful though.

Karen said:
January 29th, 2009 - 11:53 am

Im with Leah–seems a pity to paint over what looks like a lovely wood grain. Some new fabric would have been enough.

tara said:
January 29th, 2009 - 12:03 pm

It is so sad that she painted those chairs. No Leah, you are not the only one. I am stunned.

January 29th, 2009 - 12:41 pm

I love before and after shots. But can I say those 2 chairs in the beginning are amazing! I would totally pass those 2 chairs up in a heart beat, but they are so cool done new! I’m jealous

drew said:
January 29th, 2009 - 2:00 pm

The first two remind me so much of a Russel Wright chair. I too, would’ve prefered the that the first two chairs not have been painted.

The Louis setee is fantastic!

Lizzie said:
January 29th, 2009 - 2:05 pm

I agree with Leah. Those chairs look like they’re made of nice teak.

January 29th, 2009 - 2:26 pm

Thanks for sharing these are great – especially the settee!

January 29th, 2009 - 3:23 pm

Usually I don’t agree with the people who are always against painting over wood. But the chairs on top are totally amazing. Now they look kinda cheap, and 80’s. I agree with the people above, a simple fabric change would have been great.

Amazing couch!

shashe said:
January 29th, 2009 - 3:28 pm

The last one looks as if it’s on steroids! And, I mean this in a really good way!

Justin said:
January 29th, 2009 - 3:49 pm

Those first chairs are an amazing change. I love the black on the modern shape. Very Chic!

Kristan said:
January 29th, 2009 - 4:30 pm

I love the first one (black and orange chairs)!

KM said:
January 29th, 2009 - 4:40 pm

Do not despair! The chairs were not made of anything remotely nice like teak.

January 29th, 2009 - 6:45 pm

Great painted chairs; the armchair, however, is somewhat dull. And the sofa is great too, though the frame might be better painted a green to match the green in the fabric. And even if those chairs were teak, there’s no problem with that. Teak gets painted all the time when used in architecture (for windows, et cetera). Just because it’s wood doesn’t mean it’s good (or attractive).

Jo said:
January 29th, 2009 - 7:06 pm

your before and after section is so inspiring! i have a couple of before items that need a desperate after look!

Laura said:
January 29th, 2009 - 9:34 pm

I can’t over that dresser. I never would have thought it had such promise. Time to put my husband to work on all the random boring wood pieces we have around here…

Scal said:
January 29th, 2009 - 9:52 pm

I agree with Leah, what a shame to paint over that beautiful teak. And I actually think the tie-dye is kind of awesome, although, y’know, weird.

Kimby said:
January 30th, 2009 - 8:59 pm

Loved the wood finish on the first chairs, I like black but think it would look more unique just changing the fabric.
The second b&a, the fabric just didn’t do it for me but it probably goes well with her place…
The third was MY favorite but unlike the others I definitely would have painted the wood white just to have a totally modern vibe, LOVE the fabric. I was just thinking of doing the same thing with a set that I’m getting so this was just in time!

Nancy said:
January 30th, 2009 - 11:55 pm

I love that last couch and would love to know what the fabric is. Does anyone know?

January 31st, 2009 - 11:18 am

The first chairs.. Love them!

lauren said:
January 31st, 2009 - 12:43 pm

kelly’s two chairs are just awesome!

Andrea said:
February 2nd, 2009 - 12:28 am

I also have to agree with Leah and others. New fabric aside, the pre-painted wood is just so gorgeous! The black paint sort of cheapens the look I think.

Andrea said:
February 2nd, 2009 - 12:39 am

I also have to agree with Leah and others, the wood on those two chairs pre-paint job was gorgeous. I have to say I think the black kind of cheapens the look…

kk said:
February 21st, 2009 - 2:45 pm

I’m very bummed that the lovely teak on first two chairs got painted. The second chair is great, the stripping job on the wood is elegant. And I think the sofa in the last would have looked much better had they stripped the wood, and while I like the color family of the fabric in the sofa, the pattern reminds me of Target or Ikea. I would have chosen a more more classic fabric that would age better. Nice job on the actual reupholstering though.

Emilia said:
March 4th, 2009 - 3:35 pm

MY GOD!!!! this is so heavenly, y wish i could do something like this someday, great blog with amazing ideas. If you want you can chack out mine. Greetings from Argentina.

bron said:
August 2nd, 2009 - 6:55 am

Hi Samantha,
Love the chairs! I’ve just bought an armchair, very similar to yours, with plans to reupholster it myself. I’ve never reupholstered anything before. Could you possibly share your advice or step-by-step instructions (either here on by email). Thanks. Happy to share pics.

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