Antique Chair Upholstery Makeover in Illinois

We often find vintage or antique chairs on our buying trips that are perfectly gorgeous, but the upholstered seat is showing its age! The seat caning needs to be fixed or the upholstery needs to be replaced. If the chair frame is beautiful quality and in good shape, then we go ahead and buy the chair anyway. We know someone will love to get their hands on it as we often work with customers and interior designers who just know their own taste. They look past the old upholstery or broken caning, and can see that an upholstery makeover will give the antique chair frames a whole new life.

Here's a case in point! Our client Susan D. in Metamora, IL purchased a set of twelve Renaissance style chairs from us. The Belgian chairs date to 1900 and feature regal lion carvings and metal handles. The sturdy oak frames were in superb condition, but seven of the twelve chairs needed to be reupholstered. As you can see from the photos, they turned out wonderfully! Susan did a terrific job in having these dining chairs reupholstered to suit her taste. The rich red looks gloriously opulent against the dark oak wood.

By the way, the color red is often recommended for dining rooms, as it is meant to stimulate the appetite – as well as conversation! (For more red inspirations, see our spotlight on Julie and Bruce in Whitmire, SC, who enjoy decorating with red including in the dining room.)

Susan just purchased this lovely vintage chandelier to hang over the dining table and match the red in the chairs. The Belgian chandelier by Hubert Bequet dates to 1950 and I think we can all see that the deep burgundy red of the ceramic body will look fabulous in Susan's dining room!

Although most of the antique chairs at EuroLuxHome.com are in good shape on the upholstery and caning, we almost always have a few that would welcome some TLC. It's just a fact of life that upholstery wears out when you're dealing with very old, original antique chairs. But they offer great value for money and give you the chance to add your own style stamp. You can upholster all the chairs the same way, or get creative and design smaller sets: Two sets of six or three sets of four.

If you don't want to find a specialist to reupholster your chairs, this HGTV DIY tutorial shows How to Re-Cover a Dining Room Chair and Better Homes and Gardens has a Chair Upholstery Step-By-Step Guide.