My Own Bliss & Reupholstery

While I did not attend Blissdom, I had my own weekend of bliss – scrapbooking with friends at a cute Bed & Breakfast style place called Treasured Memories Retreat in Brownsburg, Indiana. Imagine, if you will, breakfast, lunch and dinner prepared for you. Having a nice warm bed to go to at the end of the day because someone turned on the electric blanket.  A large scrapbooking room to chat, hang out and let your creativity flow.
With more winter weather on the way, we were all fantasizing aout how cool it would be to be “snowed in” at Treasured Memories… 
I’m slapping myself back to reality now, and am investigating references in doing my chair reupholstery. The fabric store gave me a couple of names, and I’m mulling over my alternatives. Do I reupholster the chair altogether or slipcover it? One of the references is an individual, and the other has a store location. The individual is significantly more expensive, but then she sent me some photos of her work…

I’m a big fan of slipcovers, so part of me finds that option very appealing. Just not sure how well this chair will LOOK if it’s slipcovered. More thinking to do on that one, but aren’t those pieces beautiful?
What are your reupholstery experiences? Any tips?
Restful, me-time over.  Back to work!
Jenny

4 Comments

  • Reply
    Suz
    January 31, 2011 at 11:01 pm

    I have a chair that I am having the same conundrum over right now. The manufacturer actually still has the slipcover pattern on file so it would fit perfectly, but for the chair and ottoman they wanted over $750! Is that normal? For slipcovers??

    I haven't looked in to the cost of reupholstery yet and I don't want to get a generic slipcover and it not fit. I have no sewing machine or skills, so I can't make one. Ugh.

    Can't wait to see what you end up doing…maybe it will give me some ideas.

  • Reply
    A Vintage Vine
    February 1, 2011 at 5:01 am

    I have played around with upholstering before..only very small items…I always struggle with getting fabric tight enough….Good luck…I say go for it! I am going to be trying a harder piece soon. I slip covered a chair awhile back but now I want to try my hand at recovering it!

  • Reply
    Katie @ OhhBaby
    February 1, 2011 at 8:25 pm

    Reupholstering is really hard but its so worth the frustration when you get it right and can say you did it yourself! I always like a well upholstered chair better than slipcovers because I hate straightening/fixing them! Maybe I am just too OCD about it but they drive me batty!

  • Reply
    Dixie Sargent Redmond
    February 3, 2011 at 4:26 pm

    Oh that chair is awesome! The good thing about trying to do something yourself is that you can always do it again and you're only out materials. BUT a well-fitted slipcover is a nice option which can be laundered. I've made them for wing chairs before, it is do-able, and if they're well fitted they don't need constant adjustment.

    The thing about hiring someone is they already have the expertise and the tools to get the job done. In learning to do something you have to factor in cost of additional tools, costs of materials you waste learning, etc.

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