The weather here has been so nice I have been running ragged working outside getting all sorts of
projects painted. Unfortunately not all of them get finished in order as the next day ends up with the
sun shining again so I start another, saving the final touches for colder wetter days coming. But I
have managed to get something finished to share with you.
A little birdy dropped off these 4 pretty chairs asking if I thought I
could make them over and have someone love them again.
I said ... "I think I can!"
I just adore the warm patina worn into the wood so of course I wanted to work with them.
I sprayed them black, sanded them smooth with a bit of distressing, and finished them with some wax.
I kept some of the beauty of the wood showing by not painting the seats.
I removed any old wood, upholstery, and all the nails.
I started to replace the seat upholstery with drop cloth stapled in place.
Add the right amount of cotton padding/wadding for a soft landing,
then cover that with a heavy layer of vinyl. The thickness of the vinyl will smooth out any lumps in
the cotton and be a strong layer to hold everything in place.
I chose a red toile for the finished look.
I cut and stapled the upholstery in place.
And lastly, hot gluing trim to conceal the staples.
I thought you might like to read a bit about TOILE fabric:
Toile de Jouy, sometimes abbreviated to simply "toile", is a type of decorating pattern consisting of a usually white or off-white background on which a repeated pattern depicting a fairly complex scene, generally of a pastoral theme such as (for example) a couple having a picnic by a lake. Toiles also often consist of an arrangement of flowers. The pattern portion consists of a single color, most often black, dark red, or blue. Greens, browns, and magenta toile patterns are less common, but not unheard of. Toile is most associated with fabrics (curtains and upholstery in particular), though toile wallpaper is also popular. Toile can also be used on teapots, beddings, clothing, etc. In upper-class (primarily American, but also northern European) society, toile is often seen on dresses or aprons used at such events as country-themed garden parties or tea parties.
Toile de Jouy originated in France in the late 18th century. In the French language, the phrase literally means "cloth from Jouy-en-Josas", a town of north-central France. Although it has been continuously produced since then, it experienced a marked upsurge in popularity around the year 2000. Previously only a decorating design, designers have been recently experimenting with toile-patterned apparel as well, although toile-patterned shirts were widely worn in the 1970s. Sharing at:
