Rebirth of a Chair

Confession: I have a big soft spot for orphaned chairs. I find them at yard sales and resale stores and antique malls and I fall in love with their quirkiness. This chair was no different....it had good bones and even though it was tattered and torn, I could see it had great potential. And so.....it was loaded into my car and delivered to my studio. 

The before photos

I studied the chair for a while and then began designing a custom pattern for it's new "clothing".  

Test fabric for the chair make-over

Testing the fabric on the chair 

A series of individual designs were hand drawn and then cut out of wood to make printing blocks. A piece of upholstery was printed and draped over the chair to test for scale and fit. 

A second pattern was developed and printed for the back of the chair to coordinate with the seat pattern . 

The final pattern choices were printed.....

 And then.....heat set before being delivered to the professional upholsterer, Cristen Sousa.

And.....the finished product! It's hard to believe it is the same chair!