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April 2nd, 2009
before & after: melanie’s and ariel’s chairs

before_1
before i head out for the day i wanted to wrap up before & after day with two more chair makeovers. the first is from melanie in hamburg, germany, who reupholstered her father’s chair from the 50s. melanie used a lovely swedish fabric that gives her dad’s old chair a much fresher look. great work, melanie! if your dad has any extra chairs lying around you know who to call…

afterpillow

CLICK HERE for ariel’s chair after the jump!

ebrooking-chair-before2
the second chair belongs to elise, a graduate student in north texas. she found this $12 chair in its dilapidated condition on the street outside of a antique store in denton, texas. with a little paint and new fabric it’s now perfect for… elise’s dog ariel to call her own. i guess every pup needs her own chair.

ebrooking-chair-after
ebrooking-chair-after2

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34 comments
Morgan said:
April 2nd, 2009 - 12:18 pm

Melanie’s chair makeover is nothing short of AH-MAZ-ING! I love the split of fabric on the pillow. Just gives it that extra ‘je ne sais quoi’!

Guido said:
April 2nd, 2009 - 12:24 pm

The first chair was perfect as it was in my opinon. The color palette was just fitting and timeless. That graphic pattern doesnt say fresh and trendy to me but busy and cluttered.
Beside Mad Men tv series is drastically bringing back 50’s- 60’s era in some fashion collections so and the interior design might follow too…although i guess 50’s furnitures has been fashionable before even mad men.

liv said:
April 2nd, 2009 - 12:27 pm

wow, those look GREAT!

laura said:
April 2nd, 2009 - 12:41 pm

Wow, these chairs were so cute before, but the after is really great too. I’m torn!

Kristin said:
April 2nd, 2009 - 12:48 pm

Adore the fabric in the first chair, so fun!

Kim said:
April 2nd, 2009 - 12:49 pm

Love the transformation! The fabric is absolutely FABULOUS!

Cindy said:
April 2nd, 2009 - 12:54 pm

WOW amazing job!

Sheri said:
April 2nd, 2009 - 12:55 pm

I love the after of the first chair and I’m not that much into modern! Great job – I’d love to have the chair myself!

nicia said:
April 2nd, 2009 - 12:58 pm

Love it!!

Lara said:
April 2nd, 2009 - 1:14 pm

call me crazy, but I really love the befores. I think that the understated fabric perfectly complements the sleek minimalist nature of 1950’s mod design. Busy fabrics obscure the lines of the furniture and break up the general harmony of the piece.

Overall, I would go for an unusual felt fabric in a bright pop of color, and let texture do the talking instead.

April 2nd, 2009 - 1:31 pm

Beautiful all around

Kristan said:
April 2nd, 2009 - 1:35 pm

I love the fabrics on these!

April 2nd, 2009 - 1:46 pm

both of those chairs have great bones. the reupholster is wonderful! love the fabric on the first chair.

Susan said:
April 2nd, 2009 - 1:47 pm

is that company’s fabric available in U.S.? The link didn’t tell me much.

Melanie said:
April 2nd, 2009 - 2:04 pm

Maybe Serholt, the swedish company, can tell you where you’ll find their fabrics in the U.S. or if they offer international shipping. There’s an email-link on their site. :)

April 2nd, 2009 - 2:10 pm

Did Melanie keep the nailhead trim on the back of the chair?

Nicole said:
April 2nd, 2009 - 2:21 pm

I just love all these before and afters. Very hip fabrics.

DesignerKim said:
April 2nd, 2009 - 2:51 pm

Love the first after! That chair kicks butt!!

Melanie said:
April 2nd, 2009 - 4:00 pm

Ja, I tried my very best ;) and the nailhead trim’s still there – with broader intervals though.

April 2nd, 2009 - 4:36 pm

I love the way the yellow pattern was centered on the back! And the two material pillow, I see those popping up everywhere!

renata said:
April 2nd, 2009 - 6:49 pm

hi i am from Brasil,
i love the idea, but i prefer the old one!
people, here, loves to transform everything!

Eva said:
April 3rd, 2009 - 7:40 am

Hi Melanie. What a great job you did! I’ve got two very similar chairs (even the color is the same) that I’ve been wanting to do a makeover to. I would love some tips how to do yours. I’ve always been to scared to destroy the stairs while working on them.

georgia said:
April 3rd, 2009 - 9:06 am

Great job! Can you do my chairs? ;)

Bethany Rose Hildenbrandi said:
April 3rd, 2009 - 10:07 am

Adore that fabric on the first chair

April 3rd, 2009 - 1:23 pm

LOVE the first chair. I’ve always been drawn to that kind of shape. Would love to see it in a zebra print as well!

-The Office Stylist

lnm said:
April 3rd, 2009 - 4:55 pm

The ‘after’ chairs look teriffic. I don’t get why some people like the befores better. To me they looked worn out and drab before they were transformed.

Elise said:
April 3rd, 2009 - 10:03 pm

Thanks for posting, D*S! :)

Melanie’s chair is amazing!

— Elise

emma said:
April 3rd, 2009 - 10:14 pm

Wow! I LOVE the second chair! She did a great job and i love that it only cost 12 dollars to begin with! The dog is cute too! Great Job Elise!

Angela said:
April 4th, 2009 - 6:21 pm

Wow! Bravo! I would be so afraid of taking apart the first chair, but it looks amazing! Well done, worth the risk <3

Renee said:
April 5th, 2009 - 5:41 pm

The new pattern really obscures the lovely shape of the chair. Agree with the bright, solid color with great texture comment. Mustard/ochre would have been fantastic.

Bromeliad said:
April 6th, 2009 - 1:47 pm

The before was very classy.

The after – wow. Makes your eyes pop. Love it.

Melanie said:
April 6th, 2009 - 4:50 pm

Hi Eva, I first created paper-patterns of each single form of the chair, before I cut out the fabric and sew the seating and the sides together. The back is made from two pieces of fabric (front and back). I orientated myself on how the chair was “made” and went on little by little. I teared the back apart to stretch the fabric on the seating and the back. And then put everything back together. :)
I thought if I fail I can still give it to a professional upholsterer … Good Luck with your chairs! It’s really fun. :)

Dana said:
April 7th, 2009 - 2:35 am

both the b4 and after looks awesome after its been totally changed. Especially liked the chair from melanie in hamburg, germany who did her father’s old chair and Viola!!! its MAGIC!!!!

Susannah said:
July 3rd, 2009 - 12:31 pm

The chairs are both really creative & fresh looking–Melanie, thanks for letting us know how you did the re-covering. I have a similiar old stained chair a friend gave me-I am going to try to do it!!!

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