Colourful Outdoor Experience
Mokum outdoor fabric
What is it about teenage boys who can’t sit still and need to rock back & forth on the dining room chair.
No matter who I talk to this is a common theme. Of course the inevitable happens , after countless raves at them to stop it – Yep the whole chair breaks. But can it be fixed or do you chuck it out.
After a friend told me about the chair I said I would try to fix it for her. Time to put those lessons from Furnishing Finishing course into use.
First off all the old glue needed to be sanded or scraped off so the new glue would adhere. In a number of areas the snap wood needed to be taken off so it would fit together again. All joints were glued and clamped together.
Once that job was done a fair amount of filling was required with epoxy. Once the epoxy was dried I sanded the areas back to smooth then it was the job of touching up all those areas to get the colour looking the same.
Done.
Whoops one more thing I added corner chocks underneath to give the back legs more strength – hopefully to save from another teenager rocking on the chair and snapping it.
Ok we all have that chair that everybody in the family fights over – sometimes you are lucky and manage to get to it but after a while it more than looks a little lived in – Yep time for a revamp………..
This chair is an original Artifort Lounge chair and was covered in a brown, beige stripe wool – time for a change.
First off what material????? – in keeping with the original it had to be a wool – the client chose a fantastic wool fabric from Instyle – design ‘Mammoth’, colour ‘Decision’.
The Artifort Lounge chair has to be one of the most comfortable chairs there is and was a joy to recover.
Working with a top quality fabric makes all the difference.
I found this material a while ago and have just been waiting for the right project to use it.
Yes – the colours are a bit out there, but I think they are fun, lively and will brighten up a bedroom, giving it a pop of colour.
The old stool definitely needed a makeover.
Now to decided whether to change the colour of the stool to an antique silver black or just leave it. Will have a think, in the mean time I may make some cushions with the grey velvet and stripe.
My client wanted a wingback chair for her formal lounge but with a contemporary look.
I managed to find this great paisley fabric with a matching stripe – she loved it. Looks fab with her other lounges which are in a dark leather.
To finish the chair off I hand polished the legs to get a warm, golden, antique look.
Christmas time for me is all about spending time with family and friends plus about following traditions that have been established over the years.
It seems no matter what age we are, there are certain things that must happen – lights are put out in front of the house in competition with the neighbours, a real Christmas tree is purchased and the old decorations are put on – of course waiting till everyone is home to do so (which is getting harder the older they get), presents are purchased for each other(for 3 boys this can be challenging) I think this is the only time of year they go into a shop and the advent calendar is set up.
Their Grandmother embroidered the calendar for them when they were little but it stills takes pride and place on the mantle.
SEASON GREETINGS everyone have happy & safe holidays, hope you all get to enjoy a bit of time out.
See you in 2014 with new projects.
I loved this chair the moment I saw it – once you looked past the stained fabric and very scratched wooden arms, the potential was endless.
The shape was fabulous and after taking off all the old fabric, wadding, hessian, springs etc I new that I had to restore it with integrity, but with a modern twist.
First was getting the wood back to a warm polished look.
The rest of the chair was another matter.
The only part of the initial inners of the chair, that I managed to keep, was the front roll – who doesn’t like a challenge.
Once the springs were in and laced it was time for the coconut fibre.
The padding and calico was next and it all started to come together.
I decided to use beautiful cotton mix fabrics from warwick fabric from their collection ‘anthropology’.
After a few doubts about where to put the striped and plain fabric I finally found the right combination and love the new look of the chair.
Now to find a new home.
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I think everyone has an old ugly office chair lurking somewhere – this one was found in the depths of the garage. So what to do chuck it out or give it a new lease of life. It still worked fine and all the mechanisms worked, so out with that ugly grey material.
Added some new foam to give it a bit more cushioning and some new fabric – this design was from warwick fabrics in the “Anthropology” range.
After my son saw it he decided it would be perfect for his study area – anything to keep them motivated to study must be a win.
An old drop in seat was delivered with some striped fabric. The owner had found an old chair that needed a revamp. They thought that they were up for the challenge but then like most of us it became all too hard and decided to give me the commission – FAB.
Off with all the old material, padding, tacks, webbing etc – nothing could be salvaged except the original frame of the seat which needed some minor repairs.
The owner was very happy with the seat and send a photo of the updated look of the chair.
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