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upholstery

All Things Home

reupholstering the French chair | part 4 | selecting & cutting the fabric

Part four of the video tutorial series on reupholstering the French chairs is here.  If you missed parts 1-3, you can find them here… Part 1 – stripping the chair Part 2 – painting the frames Part 3 – distressing & waxing the frames Now that the frames are ready, it’s time to work with the fabric.  As I mentioned in the first video, we set aside the fabric we removed from the chair in order to use the pieces as a template.  I remember the first few pieces I upholstered, I chucked the fabric and started from scratch and that was definitely “the hard way.”  You make things so much easier on yourself if you keep the old fabric and use it to your advantage. When it comes to selecting fabric to work with, the weight of the fabric is very important.  If the fabric is too thin, it

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All Things Home

upholstering a french chair | painting & finishing the chair frame

Here we are at parts two and three of our makeover of these French chairs I found on Craig’s List… We stripped off the upholstery in part one, which you can find HERE in case you missed it.  Once the upholstery is stripped, that is the time to deal with the frame if you want to change it at all.  I love leaving wood frames alone when they are to my taste, but this one had a shiny finish, black speckles that speak to the 1970’s-80’s and a hand painted gold detail that wasn’t really my thing. Stripping the finish would’ve been much more than I wanted to take on, so I decided to paint.  Kriste and I painted the frames in MMSMP in Mora… (In case it’s driving you nuts, I did paint the inside of the back left leg of my chair once the camera stopped rolling.) Since the

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All Things Home

reupholstery series | part 1 | stripping the upholstery

Welcome to my new series on reupholstering a French-style chair!  I’ve been meaning to do one of these for a long while, but a lot goes into making a video and I was a little intimidated by the process.  Now that I’ve learned more about sound, editing, lighting, etc., I’m ready to go!  (Well, I still have more to learn, but I’ve definitely graduated from the poor lighting, kids screaming in the background and such.) There are a lot of different furniture styles out there and some are more complicated than others.  In this series, we are going to start with one of the simplest styles of armchairs to upholster.  We’ll call it a French-style chair, but it doesn’t have to be this specific style.  The idea is to find a chair where the upholstery is done in panels.  You can find Victorian, Gustavian, Swedish and more styles with this same

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All Things Home

say hello to “schloss” | sofa makeover

 This really could be two posts, but I decided to fit it all into one.  The truth is, after a week of hard work, I have a lot of things to share and I’m getting antsy to get them posted! First of all, here is another one of our new European colours in the MMS Milk Paint line…  It’s a rich greige that many of our customers have been requesting and it seemed fitting for the new line of subtle colors.  It’s definitely a chameleon color, as you can see in the collage above.  It looks more beige on the raw wood sample, warm gray on the side table (by Allison of The Golden Sycamore) and a richer gray on the settee frame. For those who don’t know, Schloss means castle in German. This color reminded me of the gray and beige variations in the stonework.  (This is the Marienburg

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Holiday

upholstered Christmas banner tutorial

A few weeks ago, I was browsing Christmas decor and tripped across this sweet “Happy Christmas” banner at Terrain.  The vintage-looking stuffed velvet letters appealed to me, but I wasn’t a fan of the color or the unevenness of the letters. I liked the idea of making one, but I had to think through how to make it.  The inspiration banner looks like each letter was sewn and stuffed.  That process was not even an option for me.  I am not precise when it comes to sewing, which is why I was a horrible quilter, and this project would take precision.  I needed to figure out a Marian-friendly way to do this. Well, I can do upholstery.  I wonder if I could upholster the letters…maybe on wood or thick chipboard letters.  I looked into a bunch of different wood letters, thinking chipboard wouldn’t hold the staples well, but they were

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Before and Afters

victorian settee makeover reveal

I shared a preview of this makeover yesterday, but here is the full sha-bang (that’s a highly technical decorating term)… This isn’t a typical piece for me to buy, but as you may have figured out already, I like to change things up, so I don’t get stuck in a rut.  Buying a piece of furniture that is atypical for me helps me with that.  Sometimes I love the piece and then I want to explore that style more.  Other times, I enjoy working on the piece, but I don’t fall in love with the style.  I really like how this turned out, but I’m not sure you’ll see a lot of stuffy victorian settees here. This is how the piece started out…   It was one of the messiest pieces I’ve ever worked on…shedding grass and old burlap every time someone brushed passed it or breathed near it.  The fabric

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Artistic Endeavors

milk crate & a peek at the settee

When Kriste and I went shopping last Friday, I was looking mostly for pieces to sell at the Chapel Market, but I was also looking for one specific piece for a specific photo shoot – a milk crate.  I didn’t have a particular style in mind, but I figured I would know it when I saw it.  And I did.  Kriste and I spotted this beauty and there was a silent acknowledgement at the awesomeness of the milk crate.  Maybe there was a slight gasp, but words didn’t need to be exchanged.  I turned it around to look at the price.  It was $59.  I cringed.  That’s a lot more than the $20 range I had in mind. I looked up at Kriste, “It’s $59.  Do you think that’s worth it?” “Oh yeah.” “Yeah.  I thought so.” I’ve learned in my years of hunting for antiques that sometimes it’s better

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Before and Afters

the unpainted desk & hemp chair

Despite what some may think, I don’t paint everything. Most of the furniture pieces I buy are in need of some help.  They’re tired, worn, spotted with water rings, sporting chipped & bubbled veneer and have seen better days.  Because of that, I don’t feel the slightest hesitation about painting them. Some pieces, though, are just perfect as is.  Such was the case with this oak desk… The wood and finish were in beautiful condition and the vintage glass knobs were perfect.  We did have to add some new stops to the drawers to keep them from sliding all the way to the back of the desk, but that was a quick fix. Usually, I feel that painting a piece brings out the details, but the graining of the wood made the details, like the cubbies and carved embellishments, really shine. So, the only thing I did beyond adding drawer stops

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I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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