Up-cycled Chair #2

   With the Arts North Studio Tour date approaching fast, I am back working on the soft furnishings projects after taking a break for a few weeks and doing some decoupage and yard work!

    I have 8 total chairs planned for the studio tour.  They will all be for sale during the tour and hopefully they'll all sell/find new homes with fellow blue & white lovers!

   Each chair is carefully chosen for its style, condition and sturdiness.  I give them a much needed makeover with paint and gold leaf, and then reupholster the seat AND sew a washable slip cover to go over the seat!  I also coat each frame with at least 2 layers of "Crystalfin" poly acrylic, to protect the paint finish and whatever gold leaf I might have applied.

   This way, the person who buys the chair has 2 options for using their new piece of furniture - and can wash the slip cover if someone gets messy during a holiday meal!

   Chair #2 has a fairly deep seat so I also sewed a small lumbar pillow for support, out of the same slipcover fabric.

   Since all my fabrics are in the same blueberry blue color way, the different patterns coordinate well together!

 I decided, after painting the frame and reupholstering the seat, that the chair needed more detail.

Sometimes you have to stand back and give the piece a good look over, halfway through the project, to make sure its

turning out as imagined.

No big deal making a few changes here and there, as long as it turns out like you wanted, in the end!

Since the seat was so deep, I added a lumbar pillow in the same fabric as the slip cover.  Its washable linen-cotton canvas.

 I thought you'd all appreciate a "during" photo of its paint make over.  I use chalk paint as a primer now!

And since I prefer to use my own durable acrylic paints in my own colors, I then paint the rest of the chair the old fashioned way.  

The final finish is then coated with 2 coats of poly acrylic.

 Sewing wavy scallops with piping was hard - not sure

I'll do them again! ha!!

 Adding the gold leaf...really added character and

a bit of cottage bling!

 Slipcovering the seat.

I removed all old upholstery and changed out the padding to new/fresh stuff.  

I abhor stapled upholstery and only use upholstery tacks.

I then cover the bottoms with a layer of white muslin, also tacked in place, with my logo sewn into the center.

The original with seat upholstered and frame painted, before I added a white accent and gold leaf