Reupholstering my Friend’s Retro Chair

When my friend asked me if I could give her antique chair a little tender loving care, not only was I excited to revamp a piece of furniture (which I haven’t done in so long and miss doing terribly), I was just so extra thrilled that a friend asked me to do it for her.

She was basically saying: “I trust you, I like your taste, I know you like doing this, I know you’re good at it, here you go”. Served on a silver platter, a lonesome chair was waiting to be loved. That is probably my favourite type of support I can receive towards my passion projects.

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She picked up this chair at a garage sale for $4.00, and understandably fell in love with its mid-century retro charm. The wood was still in good condition, and the minor scratches gave it a slightly worn character to it. We both agreed that no paint was necessary, and that we’ll leave the beautiful exposed wood as is.

Although the overall structure of the chair was solid, it was very clear that it needed fresh new fabric.

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Choosing new fabric was easy peasy when we walked into my favourite fabric store in Parkdale, Designer Fabrics.  Only minutes into the store, she chose this bright, retro, 60s/70’s inspired pattern. We both loved it and thought it would suit the style of her chair, and I also thought it suited her bubbly personality.

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Equipped with my fabric shears and staple gun, off we went removing the old fabric, and wrapped her seat with the fresh new one. And, in just a few minutes, she got a new, bright, cheerful, loved-again chair.

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It felt so good doing this again, and the best feeling was seeing her expression of pure joy when her chair was revealed. This was for sure one of the cuter furniture projects I’ve done, and definitely the easiest since no painting was involved. All it needed was some bright lemony print and a few staples. I just love the uniqueness of this chair and how it fits perfectly in my friend’s indie urban soft loft. I think I now have a designated chair to sit on whenever I come over.

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