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Design Sponge
April 2nd, 2009
before & after: joanie + james’ office chair upgrade

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good office chairs aren’t always the prettiest pieces of furniture, so i always love when someone turns a functional task chair into something cute enough to co-exist with the rest of a home’s decor. this great office chair upgrade comes from joanie and james, who snagged this great retro aluminum frame office chair for $10 at a local reuse store. not only did they polish the frame and refurbish the casters, but they also created all new cushions (using an inexpensive couch cushion from ikea’s “as-is” section) and upholstered them in super-affordable ikea fabric. i think the result is so cute i’d be happy to have this in my home- or my office. which isn’t something you can say about most office chairs. thanks so much to joanie and james for sharing this with us- great work, guys.

[have a before & after you want to share on d*s? just shoot me an email here with your images!]

[ps: today's MS weddings post is up...and it's a sweet one. no bridal-complaining this week. also, i'm desperate for a little veil-advice on twitter. your two cents?]

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20 comments
April 2nd, 2009 - 1:07 pm

love the fabric on this chair! it looks so adorable :)

April 2nd, 2009 - 1:13 pm

Have been following you for a bit, but haven’t had a chance to really read in awhile. I would love to know how to do this!!! SO cool!

Melanie said:
April 2nd, 2009 - 1:13 pm

Nice job!!

April 2nd, 2009 - 1:20 pm

Wow! I totally need to do this to my chair! Thanks for the inspiration!

April 2nd, 2009 - 1:30 pm

just wow. I’d kill for an original office chair like that!

Jenny said:
April 2nd, 2009 - 2:28 pm

WoW!! Love the fabric.

DesignerKim said:
April 2nd, 2009 - 2:47 pm

The new chair looks fabulous! Seriously, this is one of the best before and afters I’ve seen yet.

Loora said:
April 2nd, 2009 - 2:50 pm

Great job ! I love the chair to begin with. I only have one of those awful black plastic chair, and this metal one would be a real improvement.

cara said:
April 2nd, 2009 - 2:55 pm

Eeee, I’m such a fan of the veil, I know that’s terrible of me (congrats on going with the Blush, by the way!) — i vote backup would rock. Perhaps not $70 backup (I snapped mine up on ebay, hee!), but man, I like the simplicity of that veil…

coral said:
April 2nd, 2009 - 5:22 pm

I completely changed my mind veil-wise exactly two days before I had to hop a plane and get married. I ended up buying one from a vintage shop, it had a sort of fascinator decoration at the top and was very short and full. I loved it and it ended up being a major feature to my outfit.
You only really get one chance to wear a veil, well unless you’re some femme fatale of sorts, showing up around town in hats with black netting.

April 2nd, 2009 - 6:55 pm

Awesome upgrade!

April 2nd, 2009 - 7:34 pm

this chair looks amazing and it’s ikea fabric! yay.

April 3rd, 2009 - 12:16 am

Sweet fabric. Love the green in it.

Sera said:
April 3rd, 2009 - 3:59 am

i have a skirt made of that lovely fabric – if i was to sit on that chair i would comfortably blend in! score!

Julie said:
April 3rd, 2009 - 11:59 am

Well done J & J – you guys DIY the home dec like no one else I know!

April 3rd, 2009 - 1:22 pm

LOVE the upgrade!

-The Office Stylist

April 5th, 2009 - 12:59 pm

Adorable! I love this transformation!

April 5th, 2009 - 11:14 pm

That was such a sad looking office chair in the “Before” picture. Amazing what a fabric change can do.

Carol said:
April 7th, 2009 - 12:08 pm

All of these chair makeovers are brilliant! Thank you so much for sharing these inspiring works … something I will certainly share with others in an effort to keep repurposing beautiful treasures …
Cheers!
Carol

April 16th, 2009 - 11:12 am

Joanie and I are really happy with how this project turned out. One thing that really struck me was how much improvement there was in the action of the chair with just a bit of work on the mechanics. The casters barely rolled when we brought the chair home, and they are great now. Don’t skimp on the functional updates!
James

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