Sooo…I’ve been know to rearrange, trade and swap furniture in my house. I’ve always done that, but it’s so much more tempting (and easier) when I have a steady stream of awesome furniture coming into my possession as I’m getting ready for an upcoming antique market. Sometimes I need to love a piece for a while before I send it off into the world. There are other times when I trip across something I’ve been looking for and I know right away that it’s coming to my house.
That was the case with these chairs…
I have been looking for end chairs for my dining room for a while…over a year, I think. The current end chairs are almost exactly like the side chairs and it looked a little “one-note.” I felt like some really great end chairs would add a lot more interest to the space. It’s the kind of thing that I have kept my eyes out for, but I haven’t found what I pictured in my head.
When these antique French wing chairs fell into my lap, I knew they would be perfect. They are small in scale, but stately and comfortable. Just to make sure my “design gut” wasn’t off, I took a chair home to try it in the space. I really loved the shape and scale with everything else.
I liked how the checked chair turned out and looked in the living room, so I decided to use some of that fabric along with grain sacks to upholster the wing chairs.
I got one of the chairs almost finished (it still needs the welting) and I couldn’t wait to bring it home and see it in the dining room.
It definitely adds more oomph to the space, which was looking a little stark without the curtains.
I am planning to put Hemp Oil on the floors and bring the jute rug back under the table to add another layer of texture.
(I’m trying my hand at live myrtle topiaries. We’ll see how long they last. I’m really going to try, though. Any tips?)
As I said in the beginning, I knew I wanted the French wing chairs right away. The second chairs I’m swapping out involved a bit of angst.
I was totally in love with these French bergere chairs when I got them off of Craig’s List, but I didn’t have any intention of keeping them.
I already have a really beautiful set of bergere chairs that I love.
But, the more thought I gave to my living room and the two pairs of chairs, the more I thought that the new pair might work better in the space. I honestly love both sets and want to keep them both, but there are only so many chairs you can have in one house before it starts to be ridiculous. This is also a business and if I’m keeping something, I need to sell something.
So, I decided to upholster the chairs in grain sacks on the inside and my new favorite checked fabric on the outside…to tie into the ones I’m working on for the dining room. I left the frames dark wood (I added some stain to the chewed up arm and you hardly even notice it now.)
It looks so amazing, so I am going to keep them and sell the other set of bergeres, which I never thought I would do! I am going to redo the old bergere chairs, since they are mis-matched and are some of my earlier upholstery work. They are really nice chairs and I want to give them my best effort for whoever buys them.
I’m on the hunt for a pretty fabric to make pillows for the chairs I’m keeping and some artwork to flank the hutch.
While I had the new chair in the room, I decided to fill the hutch with ironstone and open the doors again. I had them closed through the winter, so I could hang a wreath on the doors, but I really prefer having them open.
And I added a little bit of the checked fabric as a peek-a-boo under the petticoat-turned-pillow-slips on the bolster pillows on each end.
I was planning on doing ticking, but the check just seemed perfect.
Moving furniture around always leads to more, doesn’t it?!
I only did one of each chair, so I can make video tutorials as I work on the other two. I bought a head-mount for my GoPro camera, so I can try making a tutorial from my vantage point. Kriste has to sign a waiver stating that she will not laugh at me as I’m donning the headgear…
Love the checks! Do you know the pattern or manufacturer? I would love to have a couple pillows made. As always, everything looks wonderful.
Marian,
You have such a great eye! The new end chairs really anchor your dining table now and they look so beautiful in the grain sack upholstery. I typically don’t like checks but used with French style furniture it works without coming off “country”.
Love it all especially the check added to the petticoat pillow! Please share the info on the check fabric as this would be the perfect dust ruffle for my bedroom!
no you can not sell the 1st. set of bergere chairs they look so much better then the other ones and to me it looks so much like the dining chairs that it is a little to much but I love the dining chairs. that is just me though.
Yikes! I agree with Angela! Sorry!
I LOVE the set of bergere chairs you are getting rid of! I wish I could make it to Luckets- I would buy them in a heartbeat. I love them like Kristie loves the island, and they would be perfect in my family room. If you would ship them, let me know. I have the perfect home for them.
I have an old wing chair that would look fabulous reupholstered much as your new chair (though I will be faking the grain sack fabric)! Thanks for such a great idea.
Love that hutch! I can almost smell that “old wood” scent of the interior. I just found an old pie board this past weekend and it has tiny, pin point worm holes. I am just going to display it but wonder if there is any danger of infecting other wood in my kitchen?
as it’s for display – treat it with woodworm killer. You’re better safe than sorry.
I really like what you have done with your chairs lately. The combination of fabric and grain sack is….awesome and really makes a room pop. It looks like the visitor’s at Lucketts will have lots of good things to choose from.
I love the head dining chairs! They look fabulous and I am proud you’re able to let go of furniture like you do. Like you said, it is a business! It affords you to create beautiful pieces and switch out as much or as little as you like.
It’s really great to see how much you’re grown and flourished these past years with your business. Very hard work but I’m sure rewarding beyond your imagination.
Keep dreaming!!
Betsy Gordon
West of the Square Designs
Love everything about all of these chairs, you have such a talent for mixing fabrics! LOVE!!!!
It makes me smile every time I see you doing something with that fabric! All such good ideas, but I really love the large chair….so fresh to combine the check with the grain sack. You are brilliant,
Did you ever announce the Lucketts pass winners?
All the best,
The Other Marian
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these new looking chairs!!!!!!They are absolutely perfect in your space. The gingham couldn’t be sweeter.Everything goes together so well. Have I mentioned how much I love it?
Enjoy!
Hi Marian, thank you again for sharing you God given talents and your encouraging how-to video. You asked about caring for your Myrtles. I’ve had mine for 1 1/2 years and transplanted them successfully. Here’s what I know. They do not like their soil to become bone dry, keep them moist, but not wet. I water them with fertilized water and use Elenors VF
I know this post was about chairs (which look great btw!) but my favorite part was the peek-a-boo pillows on your couch! I love your attention to detail – what a great eye. 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
Hi me again. So sorry use an Iphone so not very quick. Back to Myrtles. Elenors VF-11 every time you water. Keep them trimmed and try to follow the shape. It is not good for their growth to get scraggly. They love bright indirect light. I have them in the window as do you on saucers filled with pea gravel. lodon’like their feet to sit in water. They love soil that drsins quickly. Reported them to an 1″ larger pot in Edna’s Best Potting Soil and they are thriving. Hope this helps.
I absolutely adore the French wing chairs! You did a fabulous job on them. True love!
Marion,
Please give us some tips on where to buy these lovely grain sacks? We don’t have them in my neck of the woods. Is there a source online that’s affordable?
Marian, I love your tutorials for their simplicity and clarity – not always found together!
I would love to see a tutorial on how you make a tutorial with the GoPro and headset. I am trying to teach a developmentally delayed young woman a crochet technique for her sheltered workshop, and the logistics of camera, hands, AND talking may defeat me!
Love how the checks pull everything together in the living room!
As for the new dining room chairs, at first, I thought the wood was too dark because all other wood you have in the dining room (buffet top, tabletop, hutch doors) is much lighter. But then, since your space is pretty open with a view into the living room where wood on the chairs is darker, the darker wood would work OK.
This us the first time I’ve written into a blog but I just couldn’t help myself 🙂 I love how you have reupholstered your new chairs!! Exactly what I had in mind for a special chair & didn’t even know it 🙂 I agree that four chairs in this style is too much. I don’t think they will seem as special.
MAR – I – ANNN!!!!! Oh, my WERD.
These chairs are seriously perfection. Perfection, I tell you. I LOVE the dark brown wood finish. Truly beautiful…
I am totally in love with your chairs. The use of the two fabrics on the bergere and wingback chairs is so totally awesome! Gorgeous!
Wow, they turned out awsome!!!
I love the chairs you are keeping for your living room. I have access to chairs very similar but I am hesitant to take them because of how low they sit. Are yours low? Any suggestions of how to make them a little taller?
Hmm… could you take the panels out of the doors and add glass or chicken wire instead? Then you’d get to enjoy your collection without having the doors open wide.
Love your new dining chairs!
The chairs and fabric are a great find. The shape kicks them up a notch! Awesome reupholstery. I will just say that I like the paint finish on the existing dining chairs rather than the dark stain. I just think it would help the chairs all tie in and not look like they were brought over from another area as extra seating.
I absolutely love love love all those chairs…i dream of a Craigslist in Portugal! There is lots of second hand furniture here, but the Portuguese are a little eccentric…they haven’t quite grasped the idea that you don’t make people pay more for second hand furniture than you originally paid for it unless its an heirloom, which of course most of it isnt! I really love the way you have decorated your house…its beautiful!
I really do like the new dining chair. What can you tell me about the monogram? Machine embroidery? Thanks.
Oh my gosh!!!! One thing I’ve always wondered is the grain sacks with the initials…. do you put the initials on the fabric prior to upholstering or did you buy them that way??? This room is FANTASTIC!! Like your other readers I sure wish I lived close enough to go to the Luckett’s sale.
Your house is coming along so beautifully. Hope that you are glad that it did not sell and from the sounds of it God had other plans for you with your new amazing business space. You are amazingly talented. Thank you for sharing your life with me.
Myrtle like very bright, indirect light and consistantly damp soil. I gave mine a good “haircut” every few months to keep them full and healthy. I have had the same plant for over 5 years. Love your new chairs (all of them).
I absolutely love the shape of your new bergere chairs. The other two are beautiful too, but i think it’s the shape that makes the new ones. … and of course loving all the gingham. Chairs are one of my favorite things too, and i find it sooo hard to resist them. Your peekaboo pillow is precious and good luck with the topiary!
Cindy
You NEED to post a picture of yourself in the headgear!
The quality and workmanship of the new chairs is great! I know I’m in the minority here, but I like the old ones better and don’t care for the check. Still too country for me… but it sounds like alot of people are loving it! Love your blog and creativity!!!
Marian, LOVE the chairs, all of them! You are truly, truly talented! WOW!
Wow! I am in love with the chairs! Booth! I don’t even care for blue in my home but I would change everything for booth sets of chairs!
I so love All those chairs. But i think you made the right choice. The check really ties it all up.
Those chairs for the dining room are amazing! They fit perfectly and add so much more depth and interest to the space. I love that look for dining rooms, I feel the matching chairs and table aren’t the go to anymore. Great work on the other chairs I am loving the check fabric you are choosing it suits your home and style so much 🙂
I really like your hutch open to, great choice and beautiful home
Lauren | LB Designs
xx
Marian! …..love, love, love…did I say love!!? I have to say that when I opened this email and saw that end chair, It took my breath away! I decorated with blue and white for years….I am away from it now, but I know in my heart that it is my “first love”! For now, I will enjoy and work with what I have and live blue, vicariously through you!!! Thank you for sharing your life, talents and know how! I just bought your latest book for my daughter who is a missionary in Ecuador! By God’s grace, she does so much with so little. She was thrilled to receive your book!
Awesome, just awesome. I love the chairs in your living room tying in with the chairs in the dining room. They are all beautiful. Great job!
Hemp Oil on the floors, tell me more! Are you planning on that being the finish? Waxing on top of that? We are refinishing floors in our old house, and I am interested in this. Thanks,
I really haven’t been reading your blog for very long, so I didn’t realize you were actually reupholstering stuff by yourself! Everything looks so polished and professional. I just assumed you were making design choices and then sending things out! But of course you are doing it because you are AMAZING and you ARE a professional. Duh. Don’t know what I was thinking…or IF I was thinking. (Insert picture of me smacking myself here.) Ahhhh, if only I had even one millionth of your talent and drive! Everything is beautiful.
Hi Mary Ann,
I have to say it… I NEED those bergere chairs. . I have been looking for sometime for those I just found them… in your living room!
Please contact me on my email.
I will be waiting!
xo,
Gail
Do fabric stores have grain sack materiel? If not where do I order? Thanks.
What color of paint did you use on the chest in your dining room?