One of the things that got me so excited about reupholstering chairs was looking for and working with beautiful fabrics. I remember almost 10 years ago seeing a few pictures of reupholstered chairs in fun, funky fabrics and wanting to have something like that in my home. I saw them as conversation pieces and beautiful art pieces. At that time I couldn’t justify purchasing an upholstered one of a kind piece because they were “just too expensive”, not really understanding the time, skill, and cost of materials that go into making a piece of furniture.
Since that time I would lose myself in books, magazines and on social media, looking at colourful interiors with beautiful patterened fabrics and envisioning them in my own home. I guess if you think about something long enough and are open to the signs that are put in front of you, and actually listen to your gut and follow through, you can eventually get what you want. In my case that happened because a few years after my first encounter with vibrant upholstered chairs, I started creating the furniture pieces I was previously dreaming about.
Because colourful fabric is the driving force behind my obsession with reupholstering I have garnered quite a collection of textiles over the past couple of years. I know I have lots of company in the “collecting fabric camp”; most quilters, crafters, seamstresses, and upholsterers have an obsession with fabric. When you work with it, beautiful fabric is hard to resist especially if the price fits your pocket book (and even sometimes if it doesn’t), and it’s easy to convince oneself that it will be put to good use one day!
In combing through my own fabric stash I picked out three pieces that I would like to share with you. I actually feel a bit guilty having to choose just three, sort of like picking a favourite child! It’s not like these three are my favourites, they are just ones I want to highlight today.
All of my fabric pieces in my stash have a story behind how I got them. A few were gifted to me by people that know my interest, some were priced just right and were too good to pass up, some are curtains and tableclothes and even old quilts, and some are just plain beautiful that I couldn’t resist. But I will say that the one thing they all have in common is that those that were purchased were done so at a low price point.
There are so many gorgeous fabrics out there that may never become part of my stash because of the price (designer fabric can be upwards of $300 per meter; type in Schumacher fabric and you will see what I mean), so I will continue to drool over those ones in magazine articles and instagram posts.
Before I share three of my own fabrics, here is a photo of chairs covered in quilts. Aren’t they fun?! There are so many possibilities of what you can do with fabric; there really is no end to the inspiration!
Now let’s take a look at three pieces of fabric that are currently waiting to dress the right chair in my workshop.
1. Blue and white floral
This is a drapery/upholstery fabric that I found at a second hand store in the used fabric section. I actually could not believe that someone gave away 10 meters of this beautiful blue and white floral fabric. Because there is so much yardage, I may use it on one of my settees, but there is also enough to do a full dining room set and then some.
2. Pink, coral and green on taupe background
This beautiful piece of upholstery fabric was also found at a second hand store and with the abundance of yardage, it too was an amazing find. I envision pairing this fabric with a pink pinstripe for either the trim or on the back of a chair. I am not yet sure what chair it will dress but I am pretty sure the lucky recipient will get lots of complements!
3. Multicoloured greens and blues
This vibrant multi-coloured turquoise, blue, green, and gold fabric was purchased at an upholstery and crafters market in southern ontario. At the time, I didn’t have anything in particular in mind to use it on and I don’t usually purchase brand new fabric without knowing its purpose, but I’ve since decided on the perfect chair for it.
I hope these three examples will get your creative juices flowing and maybe even inspire you to visit second hand stores and check out the fabric section!
On another note, I started the year off by completing these two chairs that I call Bluebell, and you can read about them here in the “Meet the Chairs” section of my website. I am very happy with how they turned out. I hope you like them!
Soon you will be able to see the most recent chair I’ve been working on the past couple of weeks. One of the three fabrics mentioned above will be outfitting it! Stay tuned for the final reveal.
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