Two French Chairs

I purchased these two French chairs from a friend of mine.  They had a goldish-striped fabric that was in excellent condition and the finish on the chairs was wood.  I really didn't want to get into the expense of recovering them if I could sell them the way they were.  They were a little too traditional and dated so they did not sell and I brought them home and there they sat.

Do you see a pattern here with my last few posts?  Not everything a dealer takes to her space sells for whatever reason.  Right now I am trying to clear out old inventory by reinventing it so I can justify buying more.  I need the space in my work room for new projects so my philosophy must be "out with the old."  I try to only buy items that "speak to me."  They must have good bones to begin with or they don't come home with me.  These two chairs are the perfect example.

Here was my "fix" for these chairs.  I masked off the wood part and carefully painted the wood with Rustoleum's Canyon Black brush on.  Then I carefully sealed it with Deft Spray lacquer being careful to shield the fabric with a newspaper.  When the tape was removed, the goldish fabric now had more of a burlap tone next to the black paint.  Now, the photos of the chairs could have come out better and I think I should have cut out the inside of the transfer paper but I will tell you, the middle section of the image transferred clear and you can still see the stripes of the fabric through the transferred image.  This next photo was my practice run on simple plain fabric.

Now I'll explain the transfer paper I used.  Normally I use Avery light transfer paper on my dish towels, but I wanted to give this new paper a try.  It's by Lesley Riley and it's called Transfer Artist Paper or TAP.  It can be used on wood, fabric, and all sorts of surfaces.  The first packet I bought was 5 sheets for 12.95.  Ouch!  But I wanted to give it a try.  It does give a more crisp, darker image on the transfer so I like it a little better than Avery's.  I can't wait to try it on other surfaces and it also transfers in color too.  The best part for me is it can only be used with an ink jet printer so no hassle getting a laser copy.  By the way, the image is from Graphics Fairy.  I'll include the image here.

I'm happy to tell you I just ordered an 18 pack of the paper from Amazon and it was only $26.37.  That brings the cost way down.  The directions were easy and I will be a repeat customer.

Have a great week and thanks for visiting.

I'm partying at...


Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs       The Graphics Fairy    
                                      Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday
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                                    At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity   Rooted in Thyme
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           My 1928 Charmer Sunday's Best

Slipcovered French Chair

Chair After Slipcover

 I purchased a pair of French chairs at a sale about six months ago that for the time being are in two different rooms in the house.  I don't want to completely recover them in separate fabric because I am determined to do some re-decorating and eventually they will be reunited.  A student in an upholstery class came into the shop one day when I was there and asked if we had any projects she could use for her class.  I let her make a slipcover for this chair so it would match the room it is currently in.  It looks so much better and her prices were very reasonable.  I was glad I took a chance and started her with a small project.  She slip covered the base of the chair.  Recovered the cushion and the only permanent thing she did to the chair that will have to be undone are the little arm patches.  I am quite happy and so are my guests as the original chair was in the guest room.  As you can see from the second photo, not too pretty.  So if you have a small project that needs doing and you don't want to spend a lot of money, search out some adult education classes in your area and see if they have any students looking for projects.  I think I will have her do the other chair now.  It is in the living room and I would sure love to have it done by the holidays.

Chair Before Slipcover

Yucky rust plaid.  A throwback from the 80's.