RSS

Tag Archive | "Upholstery"

Upholstery Day One: The Prep

Thursday, June 16, 2011

3 Comments

After removing the nasty seat cushions of my $20 garage sale chair, my next task was to remedy the wear and damage to the original wood finish. RE:Style Studio owner Andrea Ford introduced me to the Black & Decker Mouse sander, which did a fine job of removing the old factory finish. Eventually. It took me all morning of our first day to get the chair to the point where I could start the spray lacquering. The process just confirmed my preference for stripping over sanding; a chemical stripper can do in minutes what takes hours to accomplish with a sander, even a Mouse.

Full post and comments...

RE:Style Success Story

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

6 Comments

It's not like I was expecting a crappy result but honestly, I never imagined my first reupholstery project would turn out so incredibly well! The happy ending is entirely thanks to my coach, Andrea Ford of Toronto's RE:Style Studio: I spent Saturday and Sunday at Andrea's west end workshop where she walked me and a fellow named Jay through our first projects. Jay was ambitious taking on no less a behemoth than a La-Z-Boy recliner. I was much more modest in my attempt to rehab a T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings side chair with removable seat and back; I also redid the seat of another chair, which looks easy but like the back of the Gibbings has a significant curve to it, which presents a challenge to a rank beginner like me.

Full post and comments...

Big, Beautiful Bolsters

Monday, June 6, 2011

4 Comments

My latest designer crush is Baltimore-based Mona Hajj, whose first book, the sumptuous Interior Visions, was recently issued by The Monacelli Press. There's so many things I love about Hajj's work; her deft blending of traditional furnishings with rich, exotic textiles, her taste for cream and claret tones, and most of all, her consistent use of big, beautiful bolsters. Whether in serene bedrooms or calm, comfortable lounges, Hajj punches up her vignettes with lavish bolsters that manage to steal the thunder from some pretty impressive furnishings. It's a neat trick that amateur decorators can easily appropriate.

Full post and comments...

Barrymore Wow!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

3 Comments

Let's face it, decor blogs are about pretty pictures and striking vignettes and when I see one I try to capture it. I was in Toronto's Barrymore Furniture last week when I was stopped in my tracks by this over-the-top Christopher Guy display by Showroom and Design Manager Karen Ottenbrite. The strong colours and the sheen of the silk upholstery were rivetting, nevermind the divine Paul Evans-inspired mirror. None of this stuff is even remotely in my price range (mirror $3,760, settee $7,290, hand-carved table $2,890) but display is about fantasy and this one certainly carried me away. In the photo below you can see how the vignette draws you down the long corridor and that's a trick any of us can borrow -- be brave, go bold!

Full post and comments...

Decorating Detectives

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

3 Comments

You and I would tour Spadina Museum and not have a clue (or a care) that this wallpaper or that drapery wasn’t absolutely accurate but the project’s chief curators, Karen Edwards and Neil Brochu, take authenticity very, very seriously. Spadina reopened to the public last month after a nearly year-long restoration that took the grand old mansion back to its glory days in the 1920s and '30s. From now until the end of November special tours of the house are being offered that examine the enormous challenge of recreating rooms like the library, below, featuring this digitally reproduced wallpaper.

Full post and comments...
« Previous Entries
Next Entries »