So I thought I would share this great up-cycled chair project that my partner and I worked on last year. I share this to inspire all of you out there with an old piece of furniture that's been sitting around just waiting to be loved again and crying out for some fabulous new fabric. And, in accordance with our mission of being a truly sustainable company - revamping this vintage bamboo chair in the greenest way possible was our ultimate goal. The final upholstered fabric is called Madeira Vine (one of my favorite designs) in marigold orange - 100% hemp.
Here we go!
First sanding, getting rid of ugly old brown dingy paint color. Lots of elbow grease.
Arms sanded down to a nice clean, smooth surface - more elbow grease.
Final sanded chair - ready for a first coat of primer. It's so rewarding when you get to this point in your project. Seeing your chosen chair down to it's bare bones like this really forces you to appreciate the structure and design.
So, while my partner was doing all that sanding I was measuring and cutting our Madeira Vine fabric for the new cushions, which by the way, I did not sew. Our local lovely Ms. Quigley helped with that part of this project. The fabric is 100% hemp, twill construction, 12 oz; a perfect weight and strength. We wanted a high end looking finished piece so we decided on a 4" thick cushion, gusseted and corded with our 100% organic cotton twill tape. For the interior we went with a 100% latex foam (crazy expensive) It gives a firm, comfortable seat and it's a natural, biodegradable, renewable resource. (Latex is inherently hypo-allergenic, anti-microbial and dust-mite resistant. Because it breathes to remove body moisture, it keeps you warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. latex is not a plastic foam, like polyurethane. It is a denser product made of rubber to last a lifetime)
wrapped in 100% organic wool and notice the inner cover made from our lightweight hemp linen - 6oz. So that's 2 completely removable covers that can easily be cleaned.
Finished cushions, looking lovely with org cotton cording, zipper closure in back.
Ready for painting
First coat of primer - 'YOLO' zero voc white - interior semi- gloss.http://www.yolocolorhouse.com/#2
Painted Chair with YOLO no voc tinted white base, semi-gloss cream to match our fabric. (YOLO paint meets the Green Seal ™ environmental standard for volatile organic compounds (VOC's) and other ingredients. All ingredients are selected as zero-voc.) BTW we will be trying out Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint for our next DIY in an attempt to cut down on prep-time, should be fun. http://www.anniesloan.com/
CHAIR PROUD!
Thank you for visiting. Please e-mail us with any questions or comments you might have. If you are interested in any of our fabrics, just call. A little goes a long way with 54-58" printed widths. And we sell 1/2 yard lengths for smaller projects!
Happy Hunting
Dawn
Oh, and I'm linking up over at Miss Mustard Seed
