Can You Fall In Love With Fabric?

Chair redo

I don’t think I can confess to the amount of hours I spend looking at decorating magazines and blogs,, and searching the internet for inspiration. It is amazing how my style can be influenced subliminally by frequently seen images. For a very long time my favorite movie was “You’ve Got Mail.” One day I realized my living areas looked an awful lot like Meg Ryan’s apartment. 

Most of my redecorating involves paint, fabric and thrifty finds from yard sales, Craigslist and Ebay. Throw in some repurposing of furniture and moving things I already own from room to room. The chair pictured above was purchased on Ebay years ago…I loved the chair design but.the cushions that came with it were rather flimsy…I had lived with them for years.. A recent jolt of confidence in my skills prompted me to improve the chair to make it more suitable for our living room. 

I replaced the back cushion with a larger more substantial pillow. I looked online and found a site where I could order foam for the cushion cut to order (http://www.thefoamfactory.com/). I chose foam that was three inches thick, more than double the existing cushion. 

 Choosing the fabric at first left me a little insecure. I wanted something that was both traditional and modern, neutral but not solid. Looking at fabric for days online wasn’t enough. I couldn’t tell the weight of the fabric . So off I went to Joann’s to just browse….I was not ready to buy….this decision was going to take more time. Wrong! I browsed the bargain fabric first and nothing spoke to me. So I headed back to the upholstery fabrics. When I saw this fabric I knew it was “the one.” I loved the weight, the texture, the design. I walked away to look at other selections, but came back just two minutes later and decided this was it. A 40% off sale helped to seal the deal. I was in love and taking the plunge. 

My sewing skills are rudimentary, but I can sew a pretty good removable pillow casing. It was finished within hours of arriving home from Joann’s.  I put it on the chair when finished and took pictures to send to my daughter. Lots of pictures. It took a while longer but I managed to sew a removable cover for the seat cushion too, It’s not perfect but I love the results. 

 I am not sure about pairing the accent pillow with the chair (it was made from two placemats from Target) and I don’t ever decorate with teddy bears. It was a gift from a three year old girl for Valentine’s Day. So sweet.

 I do love the way my chair turned out. I already have plans to incorporate the fabric into slipcovering my Pottery Barn sofa without spending a thousand dollars. Stay tuned!

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4 Comments

  1. 1

    I like your frabics a lot, but what I really want to tell you is that You’re Got Mail is one of my all time favorite movies and one of the reasons for that is Meg Ryan’s apartment. I still find it delightful., an of course, her bookstore as well. Cozy spots in a big city.

  2. 3

    Hi Shelley!

    Your chair looks great! I can’t wait to see how you slipcovered sofa, turns out, too. Fabric really can transform a space, so hooray for you in being talented enough to sew and create beauty around you for less. I’m inspired by your effort. Thank you for sharing your project!

  3. 4

    Hi Shelley!
    I have loved fabrics since I was a teenager. I love the hand of fabrics, the colours and patterns and the happiness I feel when working with them. I guess that makes us kindred spirits! 🙂
    Your chair looks great! I hope you will share other projects. Cheers and an early Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

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