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upholstery makeovers

All Things Home

when I just can’t…

I think you will agree that a before and after is more enjoyable than a before and quit-in-the-middle. But that is the truth of furniture rehab or DIY in general. Sometimes projects are abandoned. Several months ago, I bought two upholstery projects. I was on the furniture-makeover-victory high from finishing the tufted sofa, so I felt like I could tackle anything. The “deconstructed chair” that turned out not being deconstructed was one of them… It took me a few months, but I did finally finish that piece. With a happy ending, I might add. This settee was the other one… Before I even started working on it, I received an e-mail from a regular customer asking to buy the settee once it was finished. She loved the style and the size was perfect for her space. Oh, a buyer already! That will be great motivation to get this piece completed and sold.

June 8, 2017 40 Comments

Before and Afters

Upholstered Chair Reveal

Here she is… Here she was… Again, I have nothing against pink, but the pink didn’t work in my home and really wanted to keep these and use them in my family room. I’ve been on a quest for years to populate my family room with comfy, yet stylish (and budget friendly) chairs and these fit perfectly. Right chair, wrong color. So, I stripped her down and gave her a new look. You can read the very G-rated post about stripping HERE. I’m so proud of the way this chair turned out. It’s definitely my best upholstery work to date. I even put a zipper in cushion. I know, right? Fancy. I trimmed out the fabric with green trim (since I have a lot of blues going on already) and I decided to leave the frame as is. I sort of like the washed look with a

November 10, 2012 5 Comments

Furniture Makeovers

Stripping Upholstery

I finished upholstering one of the pink French chairs today. Woohoo! I even put a zipper on the cushion cover, so it’s legit. With over twelve years of sewing under my belt, this is the first zipper I have ever done! I don’t know why I’ve been so scared of zippers…ZIPPERS, people. Really?! I was determined to not be spooked by something as humble as a zipper. I dissected the old cover and figured it out and the zipper works like a champ. It’s the little victories. Anyway, let’s get to stripping the chair. The upholstery was in perfect condition , but it was pink. Nothing against pink, but it didn’t work in my house. When shopping last week, I found this amazing fabric at Hobby Lobby… It has all of the colors in my family room, so I bought eight yards for these chairs and some pillows. When I

November 8, 2012 2 Comments

Before and Afters

Grain Sack Upholstery

I love using antique European grain sacks for upholstering furniture. It gives an immediate character to the piece of furniture and it’s very durable, which is important in a house with two young boys. So, when I acquired this pair of chairs, I knew I wanted to use a grain sack to cover them. The pair of chairs cost $95 and the grain sack was $40. Here’s the result of my $135 and a few hours of work… I know. I love them. Here’s what they looked like before… I left the paint finish exactly as it was. I wouldn’t have picked black for them, but when I set them in my space, they looked great. So foam, batting and the grain sacks were all they needed. Fortunately, the foam and batting came with the chairs, so I didn’t have to buy that, but I did have

September 7, 2012 No Comments

Before and Afters

French Grain Sack Chair

Unfortunately, I do not have a before picture of this chair. I bought it last summer off of Craig’s List and never snapped a picture of it. It had a wood frame and lavender plaid upholstery. It was in great condition, but it just wasn’t “me”, so I gave it to Ruthie, my upholsterer to let her work her magic. I also gave her two antique grain sacks to use as the fabric. I can hardly take credit for how amazing this chair looks. My contribution was a naked chair frame painted white with some grain sacks and Ruthie did the rest. I love her choices on the position of the grain sacks. My *plan* was to sell it, but I am so in love with it that it’s not leaving my house. Ever. Well, I guess I shouldn’t say that, because I do often

April 23, 2012 1 Comment

Before and Afters

Best of MMS – French Chair Makeover & Tutorial

Welcome to another “Best of MMS” post. A few of you offered up the brilliant idea of sharing some of my past posts while I’m busy working on things for the book, so that’s what I’m doing. (I’m sorry about the wonky spacing in the post. Something funny happens when I put code from my old blogspot blog on my new site.) I painted these French chairs before I had tried ASCP or Milk Paint and I thought I would share the makeover and technique again, so you can see a great look can be achieved with latex paint, which is less expensive and more readily available. I really love ASCP and Milk Paint, but latex shouldn’t be totally forgotten. Here’s how the pair of French arm chairs started… (I had two arm chairs, although only one is pictured.) The back of one was upholstered and the other was caned, but the

February 11, 2012 4 Comments

Before and Afters

French chair makeover & updates

After a whirlwind week of activities and festivities, we dropped my parents off at the airport this afternoon. We got so much accomplished, it’s amazing. I started getting a little teary-eyed today when I saw so many projects complete. I know that’s silly, but some of them have been five years in the making and now they’re almost done. Before I show some progress on the house, I’ll share my latest French chair makeover. I’m really missing working on furniture, but I have a few pieces I’m going to work on in a few days. It was nice to get this chair finally finished. I’ve had it since June, painted it in July, upholstered it sometime in the fall and I finally made the cushion cover and put on the trim this week. Here’s how it started… It wasn’t bad, but it was just a little dated and tired. Here’s

December 29, 2011 No Comments

Before and Afters

the “grass sofa” – before & after

Remember this? This is one of those pieces that people like me have nightmares about. The dresser that is so saturated with smoke that it needs a bath in bleach. The upholstered chair that was used as a dog bed…and then a cozy nest for a mouse. Or the sofa that was stuffed with dried grass. When I opened this one up, I know I was in way over my head and needed to call in reinforcements. “Ummm…Ruthie…I need help. Quickly.” Ruthie swooped in and saved me (and this settee.) Before she came to pick it up, I stripped the fabric away from the frame and painted it in ASCP Louis Blue with Old White and gold leaf detail. I then distressed and waxed it. Ruthie took it from there. She removed all of the contents of the settee, including pounds of dried grass, a plastic feed sack, cardboard box pieces and an

November 7, 2011 72 Comments

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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