Modern Baroque Armchair

About two years ago, I bought an old armchair for about 25 $. Unfortunatly, I don´t have a "before" picture, or any pictures taken in progress. But this is a special piece for me, because it stands for my personal return to crafting.

When I first went to college, I had so much going on, I kind of forgot to do creative stuff.
In school, I took a lot of art classes, but then I just pretty much stopped. It was only in my final year in university - which was really stressful - that I started to craft again. And I remembered how happy and relaxed it makes me. I think drawing or crafting is a lot like meditating - I get lost in the moment, but am still very much with myself.

This was when I decided I had to keep crafting. That is also one of the main reasons I write this blog. It gives me one more motivation to create something fun today!

This chair was one of the first pieces I upcycled. It was all dark wood and a nasty old beige fabric before.

If you want to create something similar, you need:

- an old armchair (obviously)
- thick fabric - if you want it really sturdy, buy the stuff especially made for upholstery
- cord for the piping
- white acrylic paint
- stapler
- glue gun

1.Take off the old fabric, and use it as a pattern for your new fabric.

Fortunatly, the padding of my chair was still decent. It is possible to cut new padding from foam, but for the first time, I was very happy to keep the old one.


2. Sand the wooden parts and put on one or two layers of white acrylic paint. I am always impressed with other bloggers professionalism when it comes to painting furniture, but in the end, I am slightly lazy and quite cheap. So I always go with simple acrylic paint, and it hasn´t really failed me yet. However, if a perfectly even shiny finish is what you want, go with laquer!


3. Staple the fabric to the chair.
It is important to keep it well stretched, or you will end up with wrinkles! Best fix it carefully with one staple at every side before stapling it every 5 cm/ 2 in. Remember to fold the fabric to get a clean finish before stapling it.

4. The staples don´t look all that good, and that is what the drawstring is for! Use the glue gun to fix the cord on top of the staples, creating a pretty piping.

Baroque chairs are awesome! Everybody sitting in it immediatly looks very regal, kind of queen-momish  - even the guys ; )!

I am linking to these cool parties:

http://www.flamingotoes.com/

http://www.threemangoseeds.blogspot.de/

http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

http://www.redouxinteriors.com

http://www.shabbynest.blogspot.de

http://www.kammyskorner.com/