I bought this set of four French Provincial style armchairs at the end of last summer, so yes it HAS taken me a while to get to them! I knew I wanted to treat them as two separate sets so that I could refinish each set differently.
Last summer I forced asked my middle daughter (16) to help me by removing the old fabric and staples… there were a LOT of staples but she watched TV in the cool basement while she was doing it so she wasn’t too terribly upset… honestly I think she was just happy she didn’t have to help me sand or paint in the hot garage!
BEFORE
After all of the staples were removed I sprayed two of the chairs with flat black spray paint, one coat, then I distressed the chairs with 220 grit sandpaper, waxed and buffed them to give them that rubbed through look… a very quick update.
I refinished these two chairs as part of my upholstery class where I also refinished the French Script chair… I did some of the work at home and some of it in class so that I could make sure I could get them both done!
I chose this beautiful dark navy blue velvet fabric for the chairs… the fabric looks more blue in the pictures than it does in person, it is so blue it almost looks black. I made double welt piping for the first time, it was a little time consuming but I like the way it finished the chairs.
AFTER
I love the lines of these chairs and how the original wood finish peeks through the black paint.
The finish on the chairs have a nice hand rubbed look…
One of my favorite parts… the back! I upholstered both backs of these chairs with this fabulous French script fabric, the script is navy blue with a red seal stamped across the script.
I think the coordinating fabric was the perfect finishing touch for these chairs!
The four chairs were originally used as dining chairs, but I see them more as armchairs for the living room or bedroom… which is why I am treating the sets differently. This is not to say they wouldn’t look great as chairs in the dining room…
I hope you like them as much as I do, they were a labor of love and I lost quite a bit of skin from my fingers hot gluing that double piping down… YIKES!
I still have the other two to get to, I have the fabric… now I just need to make the time!
Thanks for stopping by…
Until next time!
Linking to these parties!
Between Naps on the Porch, The Dedicated House, Coastal Charm, A Stroll Thru Life, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Elizabeth & Co., Savvy Southern Style, Domestically Speaking, From My Front Porch to Yours
WOW. WOW. WOW.
Gorgeous!
Just WOW………………
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Thank you.. Thank you .. Thank you 🙂
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So pretty Susan! And the back is a nice surprise!
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Thanks Sharon.. I feel like someone would need to have these not shoved up to a wall so the backs can be appreciated!
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How beautiful, love the fabrics and the choices made.
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Thanks Cynthia.. choosing fabric is always so hard for me!
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Beautiful Susan! Love the contrasting back. One of these days I’m going to learn how to upholster.
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These were pretty simple, just time consuming!
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Beautiful job!
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Susan, As I mentioned before, your creativeness is absolutely unbelieveable. The chairs ares beautiful. Will they be for sale?
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Thanks so much Kathy! The chairs are for sale, they are listed on my for sale page…
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Susan they are fabulous! I love the black and the fabric. Wherever did you find the french script fabric? What a great result!
Linda at The French Hens Nest
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Hey Linda! Thanks so much! I got the script fabric from Fabric.com I think 8.99 a yard and the velvet fabric from Hancock Fabric, it was originally $40/yd but on sale for $18/yd… Lucky me 🙂
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Wow – these chairs are stunning.
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Thanks so much Cherie! I love them too..
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love the black with deep blues…drama….and I think you are spot on with doing two as I think they will sell that way,,,,you might go with a compliment look with the other two so that if the buying customer decides she can buy all 4 and set around the table using both pattersn complimenting each other congrats on such a great look
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Hmm… That is something to keep in mind, thanks do much for the suggestion Kathryn!
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I love your chairs. They look beautiful. Great fabric on the back as well. I hope you will come and link this up to my Winter Blues Wednesday party that opens each Tuesday evening at 8pm EST. Hope to see you then.
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Thanks Judy! I will stop by your party next week!
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Cheers to you for the double welting – great job. I love the surprise of the French script on the back.
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Thanks Donna.. I think double wetting is a pain though…
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Oh my, these are amazing. Thanks for sharing your creativity. Blessings, Patti@OldThingsNew
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Thanks so much Patti!
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Susan those chairs are awesome! I don’t think I’ve seen any I like better! Great job! I want them for my house!
Susan
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Aww! Thanks so much Susan, that makes me so happy to hear!
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What a fabulous find and your redo looks amazing. I love them. Thanks tons for joining TTT. Hugs, Marty
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Thanks Marty! I appreciate the positive feedback 🙂
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What a beautiful transformation! Love the fabric you used on the backs of the chairs. Very fun!
Mary Alice
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Thanks Mary Alice.. It took me a while to get the right combination!
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Absolutely wonderful! I would buy those chairs in an instant!
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Thanks so much Cindy! I so appreciate your kind words!
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What a gorgeous pair of chairs–I love the paint finish, the blue velvet, and the fun French script fabric on the back–just lovely!
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Thanks so much Athena! I really appreciate the love!
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Susan, OMG the chairs are fabulous!! Beautiful job on the fabric selection and the execution. I just love them.
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Thanks so much Anne! I’m still learning, but I think they came out pretty good..
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Love this. Just Beautiful!
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Beautiful – love it that you have made them more unusual and put the script fabric at the back 🙂
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