'If you have a dog, you will most likely outlive it; to get a dog is to open yourself to profound joy and, prospectively, to equally profound sadness.' Marjorie Garber

Friday 1 July 2011

Brenda's Chair Revisited

Some of you may remember one of my posts from last year when I revealed my latest creative venture / adventure - upholstery. Well the love affair is still going strong and I am on my fourth project, but I realised the other day when I was merrily stripping, (a chair, not me), that I never gave an update on Brenda's chair. So this is what it used to look like:

Brenda was a very close family friend of my Brother-in-Law's, and when she passed away last year, he, together with her son and my Sister had the task of clearing her home of all her worldly possessions; a sad  and depressing task for anyone. They very kindly gave me this chair, and another later chair, to reupholster. I say they gave it to me but it has such history that I feel more like a custodian than the owner! But I was very excited about the prospect of rejuvenating this piece. So I took it along to the workshop.
And this is what it looked like half way through:



The chair caused much excitement amongst my fellow upholsterers because it was a genuine 'Utility' chair. Utility furniture was produced during and just after the Second World War when materials were scarce. The furniture was supplied under strict rationing to newly-weds or those people whose homes had been destroyed by the bombings. Many of the styles were Arts and Crafts inspired, which was what attracted me to this chair - the lovely lines of the arms, without getting too technical or arty, they are almost organic! So, as you can imagine, I had second thoughts about interfering with this little bit of history, but the original fabric was very poor. I tried to retain as many of the interior bits as possible but a few things were beyond repair after seventy years of wear and tear.  I had to replace the cushion completely because it  had lost all its bounce, but the main body of the chair was in fairly good condition. I used a lovely natural linen mix fabric from Laura Ashley  called Lilacs for my top covering, and natural calico underneath.

Anyway, I am very pleased with the finished product. After the initial embarrassment of my 1970s bedroom stool, Brenda's chair was a triumph!





This is the replacement cushion, complete with piping which I made myself.






And this is Brenda's Chair now...






 
My Cat, Mowgli, loves it and I think Brenda would approve too.

4 comments:

  1. That's just beautiful. Well done.

    I have a chair - a lovely old thing n a Queen Anne style - that belonged to a very grand old lady who lived in a retirement home in London (which my husband's aunt worked at as a sort of manager - and she was given the chair when the lady died and then she gave it to my husband - yes long story).

    Anyway I love the chair so very much. It is covered in a embossed sea green satin - must have been wonderful when it was new. It needs recovering but I am reluctant to do it as I am scared I will ruin it. But maybe one day - perhaps I might summon the courage.

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  2. It does look amazing too!
    Aaah, that chair ... it was on it's way to the Tip, so it truly is brilliant that it's been saved and you've given it a whole new life. There's got to be another 50 years worth of sitting still in that chair!
    xx

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  3. Oh well done! Your reupholstered chair looks wonderful. I have a friend is working on a similar project so I can appreciate the hard work you did to restore such a lovely piece of furniture. Thank you for sharing.
    Anne xx

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  4. wow, looks great! Love Helen, Darcy and Bingley xxx

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