Antique Chair: From Decisions to Detours

This antique chair was threadbare and wobbly.

The wobble was fixable with a screwdriver. But sadly, the shredded needlepoint seat was unsalvageable. My plan was to replace the seat fabric and paint the chair, enhancing the grape carving at the top with realistic colors. Or not…

A Grape Print Seat… Or Not.

I planned to recover the seat with a grape-themed upholstery fabric. But then I couldn’t find what I wanted for a reasonable price. So I pivoted. Since this chair once had a handmade seat, I decided to handcraft something special to honor its history.

I used leftover fabric from previous chair makeovers to create a grape bunch applique for the seat. Once completed, I sewed the applique to an extra piece of purple fabric from my recent vanity bench makeover (Vanity Bench Makeover: From Factory to Fabulous!).

The old seat was in too poor condition to reuse, so I cut a new base from plywood and covered it with fresh 2-inch foam and batting. Then I centered my applique design on the top side and stapled the purple fabric in place.

A Painted Frame… Or Not.

As much as I wanted to preserve the chair’s history, I thought paint was my only option to disguise the decades of wear and tear. But when I started to clean the frame, the wood began brightening up.

Given the promising cleaning, I changed direction to try to preserve the original wood color. I applied one of my favorite products, Wise Owl furniture salve (see, Furniture Salve: From Dry to Dazzling). Yes, that’s the SAME leg as above! So I jettisoned my plan to paint the grape carving and decided to retain some of the historical marks of age.

Plug That Hole… Or Not

I had planned to use wood filler and stain to disguise the hole at the top of this chair. Then I learned that it might be an example of an old practice where chairs were hung on walls if floor space was at a premium. To honor this chair’s history, I kept the hole but gave it a little bling with a handmade tassel.