Upholstery – MY CHICAGO HOUSE.

The den, plaid makeover

Plaid carpet install

The den has been in process for quite some time and not including the kitchen, the last room to finish, but we have a great base with the walls painted Railings by Farrow & Ball to layer on mixed plaid and cozy this room up! As a reminder, this is what the room looked like before we got started.

It is amazing to think that our cozy den was once a bedroom!

The first thing we did was paint the space and remove all traces of gray

It still makes me sad that the homeowner painted the entire home gray to sell it, just for me to immediately re-paint, but alas – the gray is gone, and so is the pink square that the mirror was hiding…

The carpet selection for this room was simple. I knew I wanted a modern plaid rug in a navy tone and was immediately drawn to a carpet from Stark that could be custom cut to fit the room perfectly.

From selection to installation, the Stark carpet was in place within one month

We had a couple of real-time decisions to make as the carpet was being installed. Namely, whether or not we left the “tail” of carpet alongside the fireplace and behind the door. While it is relatively “skinny” I decided to keep the tail as the door is often open and I wanted to see the carpet extend behind the door. I also did not want the door to get caught up on the edge of the carpet when opening and closing. After months of living with this carpet, I am happy we kept the tail.

We debated keeping this “tail” or cutting it short and decided to keep it

The addition of the carpet made such a difference in this room and I am so happy with it. It is a perfect compliment to the Railings paint color.

The carpet is a perfect match to the Railings paint from F&B

Still in process is a cornflower blue pull-out couch from Avery Boardman that will be delivered soon. Once the couch is in place I will select chairs from Chairish (or Ebay) to re-upholster.

Stark carpet in place, waiting for furniture

I’ve narrowed down the fabric to a selection of Colefax and Fowler plaids, pictured below. They all coordinate well with the couch fabric (below, bottom right), and the carpet. I’m debating introducing more than one plaid and am thinking about it all as a big mix and match project. It needs to coordinate, but it doesn’t need to match perfectly.

Swatches from Colefax and Fowler and our chosen couch fabric from Manuel Canovas, bottom right

Keeping in mind the art that we selected for the room, I am leaning towards the plaid on the top right of the image above for side chairs. The fabric has a sense of plum which helps to pull in the tones of the artwork and it feels like a better coordinating fit, to me.

Stephanie Hier artwork in the den, wall painted Railings by F&B

Once the couch is delivered and in place, I will make the final decision. I’m enjoying taking my time on this project!

A Chairish Makeover

Re-upholstering a Chairish find

I am a big fan of the Chairish app and the great deals that are available there. Chairish is like a garage sale without leaving your home. The shipping costs can be a bit tricky, but overall there are some incredible finds on this platform. I recently nabbed two chairs for $315 on Chairish, had them re-upholstered in Colefax and Fowler Bowood fabric, and they are now like new!

Cowtan & Tout, Colefax and Fowler Bowood Fabric

The most important part of getting a good total value here is to pay as little as possible upfront. This helps to accommodate the high price of fabric and labor. Otherwise, you may be better off buying a brand new chair and providing your fabric direct to the manufacturer to upholster. Before I begin searching, I get a rough idea of the dimensions that I need the chair to be, then I sort by these dimensions. I am typically flagging (“hearting”) every chair that has a good shape and size and am not discriminating based on price (I always negotiate). A particularly good tip is to find slightly dirty or oddly colored chairs that generally won’t sell well – and bargain down. My first offer is always the lowest price the slider will allow, and then I see what happens.

SRQ Vintage chairs, purchased from Chairish

In this case, I found a pair of great chairs from SRQ Vintage in Bradenton, Florida that were in perfect condition. They were listed for $595. I offered $315 and I got them. Off to a good start! Shipping was $369 which is really expensive, but I have since learned that if you speak to the seller you can get much less expensive shipping options.

On delivery day, the chairs are in great condition!

The chairs were white-glove delivered to our home and were the perfect size and fit. However, they were missing swivels so I had our upholsterer add a new base. Comfort Upholstery did an amazing job re-upholstering these chairs quickly (and well) and picked up and delivered when complete.

Upholstered Bowood chairs by Custom Upholstery, Chicago

From start to finish this project took 2 months total from the day I ordered (April 7) to the day the chairs were delivered from Chairish (May 9) to the day I sent to upholstery (May 18) to the day they returned (June 6) and I love them!

Bowood chairs happily re-covered and in place in the living room

The chairs required 16 yards of fabric, but there was a good amount left over that has been sent away to be made into throw pillows!

Gucci wallpaper

The front console and overall floor plan has been evolving as I decide on the paint, wallpaper and stone for each room. The Bird and Thistle wallpaper from Brunschwig & Fils was one of the first wallpaper decisions that was made, and in addition to the paint colors, this pattern has been influencing the choices made throughout the house.

The back console will be papered in a beautiful grasscloth from Brunschwig & Fils that has a nice dark backdrop to the woven pattern.

Walnut grasscloth in back console, Brunschwig & Fils

What remained until this week was the circular entryway console and the color of high gloss paint in the dining room. Papers that were in consideration for the front console included everything from an array of Farrow & Ball papers to Kelly Wearstler geometric patterns to Phillip Jeffries Coffered Wood.

Ultimately, the geometric patterns too harshly contrasted the toile in the guest bedroom and I couldn’t get excited for more than a week about a pattern until, .. behold.. Gucci.

Gucci Light-Herbarium-print-wallpaper — Gucci makes wallpaper (and it is fabulous)

As you may know, Gucci makes wallpaper now, and it is fabulous. It is also surprisingly inexpensive compared to other makers with similar square foot coverage. Less than $200 will get you over 110 sq feet of coverage. I am anxious to check on the quality but the design is perfect and the texture is even better.

Close-up texture of the Gucci Herbarium print wallpaper

The wallpaper design is inspired by a vintage fabric and will be a beautiful in the entryway. I’m looking forward for it to arrive and will do a last check then to make sure it works with our paint colors in person.

DIY: Woven leather folding chair

a beach chair gets a leather woven makeover

I made this chair with J and it’s now his favorite reading nook in the house. The chair was less than $150 and was made from an old beach chair that I bought on Ebay and some leather strips that I bought online.

Clean chair ready for new leather straps

The directions are limited because the process is simple. You simply replace the original straps with leather, using the original leather straps as a guide for cutting the leather to size and for attaching to the frame (poke hole, simple screw).

It’s easy and it’s chic and it patinas over time! (See photo at top taken months after the chair was assembled).