Wednesday, November 10, 2010

The Perfect Slipcover ~ Found ~

I have this chair that I have an unnatural attachment to.  I can remember the day I bought it.  Who I was with.  How much I paid.  Where it was.  What I was wearing.  Okay, maybe not what I was wearing.  But I remember that it was at a second hand furniture store.  They had this back room that you could go in and it was part of the store, but it was like a giant storage garage thing (I'm totally not doing this justice).  And you could go back in there and explore.  And they'd have stacks and stacks of old chairs and tables...all kinds of stuff.  It was heaven for a girl like me.  So, I saw the chair sitting there and I was in love.  This was back in my bright vintage stage of decorating (if you could even call it that).  I had just gotten my first apartment and had a bunch of hand me down furniture from my grandparents.  So I was trying to put my stamp on the place.  Back to the chair...I found it in this dirty garage and it was filthy.  I asked the man who ran the store how much he wanted for it.  He said $100. Way too much.  I said $50.  I can't actually remember for sure how much I paid, but I know it was closer to $50.  I have definitely gotten my money's worth, considering I've had it for about 10 years now.

So, you can see, I have a special attachment to this chair.  I cannot get rid of it.  Plus, I just really like the shape of it.  But it was bright red and my bright vintage stage is long over, so it didn't exactly go with anything else I own.  I decided to get a slipcover.  Have you ever googled slipcover for a slipper chair?  Not much luck finding anything.  Apparently there isn't much market for chairs without arms anymore.  So, I asked my good friend who sews how she'd feel about sewing me a slipcover.  She said yes and began her journey...she had no idea what she'd gotten herself into.  Apparently sewing something like a slipcover is quite different than sewing say, a dress.  But she did amazing.  Seriously, I'm in love.

So, here are the pics.  Disclaimer ~ that pillow is from my more formal room and doesn't exactly go with the chair.  It's too dressy and too tall.  I need something about half that tall and in a much more casual fabric.  I'm on the lookout.  But for now, that's the closest thing I had.  And it just looks better with a pillow.  

Please excuse the toys in the background.  See what I mean about the shape of the chair?  I just love it.  It reminds me an old fat woman sitting on a porch.  And the pleats?  Love.  Like the old woman's skirt hanging down and showing off her ankles.

I had to go deep into the bowels of my computer to find this "before" picture of the chair since I didn't want to take the slipcover off to take a picture.  Wow, this room has a come a long way.  And see that couch?  That was part of my bright vintage stage.  It had a chair that matched.  I loved it, but it was not comfortable at  all.  Oh, and we had that Steeler guy thing for like 2 days and it broke.
DSC_0225_1

If you've ever thought of slipcovering some furniture, I highly recommend it.  Just don't ask my friend...I don't think she's in the slipcover making market anymore.  But feel free to check out her blog post about sewing it for me here.  I will be doing a photo shoot for her in the near future with her beautiful family.  I can't wait!

3 comments:

  1. love the chair. Although boo to you for spoiling her slipcovering ability. I was hoping she'd teach me how to slip cover our favorite chair. And it has arms so it would be that much worse. It looks great! Jen

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  2. Wow. I'm completely speechless...not sure how to respond to all of your sweet words! I'm so very glad you like the slipcover...and it wasn't all that bad :) It just stretched me, that's all. And remember, I had some help! Anyway, it looks great on your blog and your pics do it so much more justice than mine do. I'm planning to post an "it's finished" post soon!

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  3. I am so happy to see how good the finished product looks, and even happier to know that you are so pleased with it! (Kristen's mother-in-law)

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