Well, our second upholstery class was a big success. I stripped all the old fabric from the pieces of my chair and finally decided on a new fabric. Choosing fabric is always such a challenge for me….there are just too many possibilities. I’m really happy with my selection. It’s patterned without being too busy and it has a good mix of deep and bright colors. I really think it will allow the chair to compliment any room in the house. In fact, I bought a little extra fabric because I’m going to make some throw pillows for our sofa…more on that later. 

Frederick gave us a big lesson on how to measure and plan for the fabric purchase. Depending on the shape of the piece, or where you want the pattern to sit, or how you want patterns to line up, you’ve got to cut accordingly. While it’s generally best to have a little more than you need, you also don’t want to waste fabric (or money).  Honestly, I was surprised to learn how technical the planning and purchasing part of the process is,  

So…

Old fabric stripped?

chair parts

removing all the staples

ready to be rid of that nasty old fabric

naked chair parts

 Check!

New fabric measured, purchased and cut?

measuring

ready to cut...and a sneak preview of the new fabric

 Check!

All the while, Kathy was tackling the staples on her monstrous wingback. I decided to make it a team effort so she could move on to the next steps. While staple pulling is a great stress reliever, it can get a bit mundane. However, I will say that I am discovering one of the things that I really enjoy about the reupholstery process is the labor-intensive aspect of all of it. You really have to work to deconstruct a piece of furniture.  This is truly a craft.

Kathy building some serious muscle

showing no mercy

Side note: It is both fascinating and totally gross the things you find when you take apart an old armchair… in addition to all sorts of random lint and dust; we also found what appeared to be a fossilized cookie. This prompted Kathy to ask Frederick, “What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever found while taking furniture apart?” His response, “a pair of men’s underwear…” Ew. 

We’ll be back in class on Sunday and I’m really eager to get guided through the next steps. Will keep you posted for sure!

So, construction on the art studio is well under way and I can barely contain my excitement. I really underestimated the scale of this project…it’s a BIG job. I’ve decided to wait to post photos until I can reveal it completed in all it’s glory. Already, though…it is totally rad.

As I eagerly await its completion, I am busting at the seams with inspiration. There are so many projects that I can’t wait to begin. Case in point, my good friend, Kathy, and I have talked about taking an upholstery class for a long time. We are both such salvage artists that any time we drive by a piece of furniture tossed to the curb it’s all we can do to not stop and rescue it.  (That’s not to say that we haven’t rescued a few things over the years…and thank goodness for her garage.) Now it’s time to actually learn how to turn that trash into treasure!

Initially, I had a hard time finding a formal class or even someone willing to teach us, but we finally found an instructor who taught lessons at a local Joanne Fabrics, so we signed up. Over the weekend, we scoured thrift stores and Craig’s List for a few chairs in need of a makeover.

I chose a small chair that I think would work well in the studio…and Kathy chose a monstrosity of a wingback!

Clearly, Kathy is an overachiever...

On Sunday, we loaded up our soon-to-be-fabulous chairs and went to our first class. Our instructor, Frederick, is a true upholstery craftsman. He’s built a family business around upholstery and along with taking individual clients also does work for local restaurants, hotels, and offices. He teaches on the side as a way to keep the appreciation for the trade alive.

Needless to say, we’re in good hands.

He started the lesson by going over everything (and I mean everything) we needed to know about upholstery; supplies, tools, fabrics, glues, what we needed and where to buy it. Then, we got started on the initial step in the reupholstery process: deconstruction. You’ve got to destroy the old to create the new, right? I really enjoyed learning how my chair had been assembled and learning the proper technique to take it apart.

Here are some images from Sunday.

starting the 'creative destruction' process

the seat was a snap

Frederick showing me how to manhandle the back section

I got it!

disassembled and ready to be remade

So, she’s disassembled and ready for a makeover. I’ve already started shopping for new fabric and I have a few ideas on how to update her arm rests. Will keep you posted, for sure.

The class runs for 5 weeks. I already can’t wait to go back….and it’s going to be REAL hard to not scoop up every-single-thing I see tossed to the curb between now and Sunday.