 From Stodgy to Stunning: Makeovers for Inherited
Furniture
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- (ARA) - Wondering what to do
with Aunt Wanda's dining room chairs? Not sure if your Grandmother's
antique sofa will look great in your living room? Inherited furniture
can be a blessing or a burden.
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How do you decide if inherited
furnishings have "good bones" and are worth revitalizing
with fresh fabrics and custom details? The design mavens at Calico
Corners offer the following advice:
First consider whether you really
like the piece. Is it comfortable? And is there a place for it
in your home?
- "If you have a good quality
chair or sofa frame, it is probably worth reupholstering -- even
if it is decades old," says interior design expert, Donna
Talley, the national spokesperson for Calico Corners, a retailer
of designer fabrics, custom window treatments, upholstered furniture,
bedding and accessories. "Good quality means that it has
a hardwood frame and good lines, even if it is a little dated
in style and fabric."
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Reupholstery is major surgery
for furniture. Springs are replaced and retied. Fillings and
foam are renewed. The frame is reinforced if needed. In short,
you'll practically have a new piece of furniture when the upholsterer
is finished.
Although the basic shape of a
furniture frame cannot be altered, a good upholsterer can restyle
an old chair or sofa. Channeling or tufting can be removed. A
cushion that is too hard-edged can be plumped and softened. Furniture
can be given better proportions and updated details (such as
a higher skirt), so that the piece you get back looks stylish
for today.
Whether you are designing a new
piece or redoing an older one, custom details can make all the
difference. It's easy to find great fabrics -- Calico Corners
offers more than 3,000 choices -- to create a great new look
for an inherited or antique piece of furniture. One fabric can
be the main upholstery, another could be contrast welting and
a third could be used for side pillows. The same frame can look
completely different in a dressy damask compared to a casual
washed chenille. |
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 Talley
offers other tips for home decorators when it comes to making
over inherited furniture. "Slipcovers are a great way to
transform a piece of furniture," she suggests. "If
you love the comfort of your parent's old sofa but not the fabric,
change the color, pattern or texture with a slipcover. Use contrast
welting to further customize the piece."
Traditional dining room chairs
can be updated to fit with today's eclectic decorating trends.
Think beyond simply recovering the chair seat -- a curved or
rounded chair back can be customized with a slipcover that fits
right over the top, closing with a placket and buttons. A chair
seat can be dressed up with a tie-on shirred chair skirt.
Colorful contemporary colors
such as aqua or raspberry instantly freshen an antique piece
of furniture, creating a more modern look. Wood-framed chairs
from the 1940s can become new classics when recovered with soft
textured fabrics in pretty hues of robin's egg blue or pale kiwi
green.
Another approach is to go neutral
and add accents with pillows. Reupholster an antique sofa with
a textured solid fabric such as a slubby linen, and jazz it up
with custom throw pillows in fashionable zebra or leopard patterns.
You can also add a pop of color with forsythia yellow or parrot
green pillows -- in cotton for a casual look or in silk for a
dressier look.
The bottom line? When it comes
to inherited furniture, there are plenty of design options that
can help you take quality older pieces from frumpy to fantastic. |
