You know how it is; you can’t walk away from that bargain piece of furniture in the local charity shop and your inner DIY goddess tells you how good it would look with a little lick of paint or a simple reupholster? Well, that was me when I happened upon this lovely little Parker Knoll midcentury chair fresh out of the 1950s. Its seat pad had been well sat on, its wooden frame was scratched and worn, but it was only £30. I was sold!
Here she is stripped back to her bare bones – thankfully the frame and base springs were in pretty good nick.
But that was over four years ago and the chair has been even more sat on and worn down, thanks to a variety of colourful throws and cushions thrown over to cheer it up. That was, until the Yorkshire Fabric Shop got in touch with me to showcase their new ‘Freedom’ collection of upholstery fabrics. It’s a really vibrant range and when they kindly offered me a length of fabric of my choice, knew I needed to grab the opportunity to finally get my little midcentury chair reupholstered!
After much deliberation, I chose this fabric from the Freedom range, as I felt its colours and pattern would fit in well with a few different areas in my home, meaning I could inevitably move the chair around as I wish. (I’m definitely not one for keeping things in the same place for too long – a shuffle around once in a while always makes your home feel fresh!)
Having only ever attempted to re-cover a footstool in the past, I had to accept that my upholstery skills were somewhat restricted to wielding a staple gun, so I enlisted the help of local upholsterer, Nicola Parkes, to ensure my chair would be professionally finished and last the test of time (not to mention my kids’ feet dragged all over it).
I set to work sanding back the wood frame as best I could, then finished it off with a good rubbing of beeswax to bring out the wood’s natural colour and grain (I used IKEA beeswax picked up from the ‘Bargain Corner’ a while back). Nicola then did a sterling job in reupholstering the seat pads with my chosen fabric – it really has given the chair a new lease of life!
I love the fabric’s soft velvety feel and the Ikat-inspired pattern in all my favourite deep blue and rusty hues. It tones with the natural colour of the Parker Knoll’s wood frame so perfectly.
The chair sits very happily in our playroom/snug corner, adding a lively pop of pattern against the muted grey-green walls.
It’s a nice and comfortable spot to sit in when I’m taking a break from working at my desk.
I hope you love it as much as I do. I think it was worth the four year wait!! :)
Do take a look at the wide range of fabric on offer at the Yorkshire Fabric Shop, there’s definitely a design for everyone and for every project. What will you choose to reupholster?
K x
