Monday 14 July 2014

Armchair makeover

One of my recent expeditions to charity shops yielded some old - "vintage" as the price tag claimed - dollhouse furniture. (The pieces in the background are Poundland, several of which I have already transformed).


They were sold as a bundle, although the bed, nightstand, wardrobe and stool are more or less half-scale, while the sofa and armchair are full scale. The half-scale furniture went into my half-scale house, although I think I will repaint it some time.

I have renovated the sofa. Now it is the armchair's turn. As with the sofa, I think the pattern of the fabric is too large for the scale. And too dull. Off with it!


You can see that it is a nice piece, but it does look like a very old, worn-out chair. I am now an experiences unholsterer, and making the Chippendale wing chair in particular was an excellent lesson. The old upholstery wasn't done properly, but I now know the secret. First the seat, then the back, and cut the edges to fit neatly. I make a mistake and used all-purpose glue on the seat, which stained. For the back I used ordinary glue stick.


Then I made the back cushion and the seat cushion. That's the secret: they are made separately, not just glued onto the back and seat. This makes a neat finish, and you don't need to hide the seams with cord. I don't know what other people use for padding, but I use pantyliners. They are just the right thickness, and self-adhesive. One was enough for two cushions.


The result: 


And, to make it clear, before and after. I admit that the angle of the before picture is unfavourable. 



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