Sunday, May 8, 2011

Remaking a Craigslist Find

One thing that has come from doing this design blog is inspiration from other bloggers. The DIY movement is alive and well...and there are folks out there creating fabulous things with a lot of effort and a little money. After seeing dozens of examples of courageous bloggers transforming thrift store/yard sale/Craigslist finds into gorgeous showpieces, I figured it was high time I gave it a shot. I have to confess that I have become a major Craigslist shopper. Granted, I've only bought two things there, but I look every single day, hoping to find some amazing item that might just need a little spit and polish. And such was the case with this shield-back chair I scored a few months ago.



I paid $40 for it...and if I'd had the wherewithall to negotiate, probably could have gotten it for even less. It was not pretty. The dark stained wood frame bore the scars of years of use. The plaid teal upholstery was from another time. When I unloaded it from my car, my better half gave me that look that said, "And THAT is going in our house?"

Was probably gorgeous in 1988..but I loved the shape.

"Don't worry!" I said, "It will be fabulous!" This was right around the same time I'd scored an amazing buy on some Imperial Trellis-ish drapery panels for the study. I figured with a little elbow grease, the ugly teal chair could be gorgeous. And so I dragged my drapery panels down to the fabric shop and picked two inexpensize fabrics that matched the colors in the panels. Then, armed with an exacto knife and a few cans of spray paint, I got to work. Now, I'm no upholsterer. If it's anything more complex than a simple slip seat, I've got a few good workrooms on speed dial. So, after removing the fabric, making a few repair to loose joints, and painting the frame, this old girl went off to the upholstery shop.

And she came back looking like this:


Much better, no? I chose a light beige fabric and piping in a deep espresso to match the drapes.





And an Imperial Trellis pillow (scored on etsy) finishes it off. Fabric, paint, and labor, I'm in it for about $200--still a bargain in my mind!

I'm linking to the Met Monday party at Between Naps on the Porch.
And the weekly party at Addicted to Decorating!

13 comments:

  1. Love the chair! Awesome job! You must come visit Decorating Ideas and share your ideas!

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  2. Beautiful chair. Your fabric choice is gorgeous.

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  3. Fabulous job! The colour of the wood has really updated it.

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  4. It looks fabulous!! Beautiful transformation!

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  5. That turned out great! You had good foresight on this piece! Love the darker cording against the beige fabric.

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  6. That really turned out great. I love the fabric selection. I host a link party that opens each Tuesday evening at 8pm EST. Hope you will drop by and linkup this post. Hope to see you then. www.diybydesign.blogspot.com

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  7. That looks gorgeous! I have to know...is the drapery fabric actually Imperial Trellis? And where did you find your bargain? I saw a photo the other day of a room, and the woman had redecorated her entire room for under $300. I questioned how she did it, because she had Imperial Trellis draperies, but she said the fabric was a knock off and she got it for under $10/yard. I was so shocked...and fooled. I even pulled up the photo of Imperial Trellis on the Schumacher website, and the pattern was exactly the same!! I would love to use Imperial Trellis in my office, but even at the wholesale price, I'd never pay that much for fabric for my own home. I just sell it to clients. :-D

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  8. Thanks for all the nice comments! Judy, would love to stop by and link up, thank you for the invite! Kristi, my drapes are NOT real imperial trellis. I actually scored them for $25 at Z Gallerie. (You can read more about that find here: http://southgateresidential.blogspot.com/2011/02/amazing-find-imperial-trellis.html )

    If you notice in the picture above, the pillow and the drapes are reverse of each other. The pillow (I think) is real Imperial Trellis, and my drapes invert the colors.

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  9. Amazing what a change in color will do! You got a great buy. :)

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  10. Perfect for your room and one great makeover. Jane

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  11. Beautiful transformation! The chair looks great!!
    Tammy

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  12. Thumbs up on this remake, what a remarkable transformation.

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  13. Great transformation! Love the light colour of the fabric. Well done.

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