upholstery

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    Good as New

    ByHeather Bailey

    GardenDistrictChairT

    Getting back to project eye-candy, here's my finished chair. I went with St. Charles Bouquet in blue—which is perfect with my living room decor—and a distressed green finish to pay homage to the original condition of the chair. The contrast between the crisp new fabric and the lightly-weathered frame makes for a bold, yet elegant statement—in my smug and humble opinion.

    Upholstery470wThis is my Garden District™ fabric collection which came out right around when little bub came out to meet the world. I announced the collection to my newsletter subscribers but never managed to post any reveals here on the blog. Having a baby can be disorienting, to put it lightly.

    St. Charles Bouquet is a modification of Rose Bouquet from my Pop Garden™ quilting-weight collection. Those of you who have collected my designs will note that the focal bouquets of the print are much closer together and the scale of the design is much larger. The artwork was re-created and re-colored with home decor specifically in mind.

    The other prints in the Garden District™ collection are all new. Mockingbird is a print I put together at first for my Nicey Jane™ quilting-cotton collection, but it was swapped for Picnic Bouquet at the last moment, favoring the scale and mood of Mockingbird for home dec projects. Plus, Picnic Bouquet was too perfect for Nicey. It is one of my favorite prints in that collection.

    GardenDistrictFabricRolls470T

    I have received many pleas to release these home dec prints on quilting-weight cotton and laminated cotton as well. It would be helpful to know just which prints you're most interested in seeing in these other formats. They would need to be rescaled, paired with the perfect companion prints and recolored perhaps. There is a lot of thought that goes into balancing a cotton collection so the variety of prints can be mixed into the same quilt or craft project. It's complicated. But it can certainly be done.

    This collection was inspired by the urban gardens and vintage architecture of historic New Orleans. The prints are distinctly romantic with an urban influence. A portion of the collection is printed on a luscious cotton sateen, and others are printed on a sturdy cotton canvas. (In my opinion, a well-designed and inviting room offers a variety of textures.) The sateen prints are 55"/56" wide and the canvas prints are 58"/59" wide. Think bedding, curtains, pillows, purses, jackets, skirts, nursery decor, and more. At $17 to $19/yard, they are considerably more affordable than most designer decorating fabrics.

    That stack of chairs I just posted about… Garden District is the whole reason there IS a stack of chairs. My furniture-collecting habit reached new heights once this fabric collection was put into production.

    Finally, great color for the home! I got tired of searching for the perfect fabrics for my own home and decided to give up already and design them myself. I am genuinely, personally relieved.

  • Good as Old

    ByHeather Bailey

    Chair_Before_Pixel470T

    I was digging through some old pictures today and came across these 'before' pictures for a chair I upholstered last spring. If Shredded Chic worked in a family environment, I might have kept the chair as it was—it had its own appeal, all shredded and torn.

    ChairSpring470wtOnce I had the chair fully dismantled I learned it was much older than I expected —and really well made. The frame was solid. The whole thing was upholstered with tacks and the arms were padded with horse hair. I had incorrectly assumed that its larger size meant it was much newer.

    This thing was old. Perhaps big-bummed-bustle gowns explain its size.

    Tacks are more of a pain to remove than staples—but more gratifying. Once you get a good purchase on one, it prys out like butter. They aren't so friendly on bare feet though.

    I only had one day to finish the job before photographing the chair for a tradeshow. I was 5 months pregnant so this was quite a task. Upholstering is like wrestling a dusty, groggy bear. Afterward, you're covered with claw marks and you're sore all over.

    Isaac was very attentive that day, fussing over my swollen self, bringing me tools and water, untangling the air hose as needed. He was fascinated with the process and envious of the loud racket I was making. Though I learned upholstery back in college, Isaac had never witnessed me do the work.

    UnsprungCrop470T

    He got involved here and there. He had his first adventure with a webbing stretcher; he tied the springs back into place for me too and made sure the frame was square again—he did an excellent job.

    I'm planning to have him do ALL of the prep work next time. That should save me a few pulled muscles.

    ChairLegBefore470wI have a stack of collected chairs waiting to be upholstered with Heather Bailey home dec prints. More chairs than I have room for really. So, birthday presents for friends? Reception seating for the office?

    I'll post 'before' photos of my next project and get your take on color/fabric combos.

    Truth is, such physical work is a nice change of pace. With gear laid out and a queue of chairs ready to go, the blazing heat of the garage is nothing a freezy Jamba Juice and a run through the sprinklers can't remedy.

  • I am…

    ByHeather Bailey

    Couch2

    … admiring my new old couch, purchased yesterday.  I'm
    looking for the perfect color combo.  Gray fabric, I think.

    … moving along on photoshoot prep for our
    next brochure.  My adorable model has been measured & it's time to
    make a fitting muslin.

    … replenishing the felt selection at the HB store — now all of the pretty colors are visible again.

    … playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey with all of these overlapping sewing and building projects.  My head is spinning.

    … justifying a break to say 'Hello' on the blog.  Hello!

  • Shredded

    ByHeather Bailey

    ReUpholster4
    I just counted and we own a total of 13 rolling office chairs.  That's
    a lot of office chairs.  Of course, the one I prefer at the moment is
    shredded and hideous.  It's the ugliest chair of the bunch.

    My
    neck and arm are all out-of-whack from trotting all over NYC with two
    heavy bags.  This chair holds me together best.  It's a bit
    out-of-place in my studio though.  So, today, I'm slip-covering it. 

    No big style-ambition this time.  I'll be glad to take it from hideous to mediocre.

    Yep, that's exposed foam in the back there.