My friend Brittany has lived with this vintage slipper chair in her apartment for a long time because, despite how poorly dressed she is, there is an inherent elegance and simplicity to the design that make her appealing to the eye. Given the right clothing, this cinderella could really transform into something beautiful!
Once Brit and I got committed to the under-taking of a make-over, she embarked on fabric shopping. For most people, this task would be daunting considering how many options there are out there. But the girl has an eye and is willing to make bold choices. Happily, she also appreciates quality, and so in the end she opted for a high-end fabric that was a dream to work with. Truly, upholstery is made a LOT easier when working with designer fabrics that have some heft and quality, versus something thin and unsure of itself.
Unfortunately, I didn't take pics of every stage of the process. But I can tell you that the first step was to strip the chair, making sure I kept note of how it all went together! Next, I re-tied all the springs, stapled a new layer of burlap down and then added a lovely fresh layer of cotton padding to ensure the seat would have a nice shape:
Once the cotton had been shaped, I covered it with a layer of poly and then stapled on the fabric:
The back was next, which was fairly straight-forward, despite having to make a few scary cuts for which I held my breath! The most important thing, aside from just doing a good job, was to keep the fabric lined up, so as to match the seat to both sides of the back. I am happy to say I was successful and here is the finished chair:
What a beauty she is now, and what a statement she makes. I do believe she and Brittany will live happily ever after...!
