Ugly Furniture Series: Blue Chair After

This past weekend, hubby and I drove up to pick up my reupholstered ugly blue chair. But before the reveal, a reminder of what we were working with:

That fabric, those flappy pieces of whatever on the front arms, that squattable height. UGH! This chair was certainly an ugly duckling. I originally purchased it off Craigslist last year and it has sat in my basement since then. That's were all my old, ugly furniture goes...my dirty, little secret. 

But, I saw potential in those big, beefy arms and that masculine frame and this is what it looks like today:

I decided on a dark blue microfiber, as it was very durable and reasonable in price. I was initially looking at velvet or mohair, but I wasn't feeling it and I think that it would make the already beefy chair look more bulky. I hindsight, I might have gone with a more masculine, weave-type fabric like tweed to make the chair look more unique, but for a no-name, mid-century ugly duckling, this is a HUGE improvement. 

Besides updating the fabric, springs, cushions and padding, I changed out the old legs to these beautiful, walnut ones I purchased from a craftsman in Vermont. It sounds fancy, but the price was extremely affordable. 

The old legs were pretty beat up and were missing some of the ferrules. Plus, the old legs were only 5 1/2" long and made it hard to even sit in and get out of the chair, so I had the new legs made at 7".

I am still on the fence if these legs are TOO long. I dunno...I reached out to some of my peeps on Houzz for feedback and it's been mixed. 

What do you think? Are the legs too long?

As it is, the chair kinda reminds me of one of those bodybuilders who forgets leg day at the gym.

The seat height is 19" at the top of the cushion and it is comfortable to get in and out of. I've thought of either shortening the current legs by 3/4" or ordering newer, bulkier legs to match the chair's style. For now, it is growing on me and I do love it. 

But overall, I am thrilled with how it came out. It was a little more expensive to have done than my last chair, but I definitely paid less than what I would have for a real, reupholstered mid-century chair from a showroom or designer.  

Ugly Furniture Series: Blue Chair

Take a look at this blue, floral monster I picked up on Craigslist a few months ago for $50:

Ugly little beast, isn't it?

But I have to admit, I liked it's bones, and those extra wide arms are swoon-worthy. It's not a designer name, but for a moment I thought it was an Edward Wormley piece. It does kinda look like it would be one of his, doesn't it?

Anyway, besides desperately needing new reupholstery and cushions, it was very short...I mean get-low-and-squat short! The top of the arms are maybe 22"- 24" off the floor. Not to mention the old legs had seen better days:

The front legs do look like they have brass ferrules (that's what those caps are called), but I wasn't sure of the back legs. And surprisingly, it is hard to find replacement ferrules, plus there's the whole height thing, so I ordered brand new, custom made, black walnut legs from ThirteenColonies on Etsy. 

The old legs were only 5 1/2" long, so I ordered new legs at 7" and they are the perfect height. The new ones are solid genuine black walnut that were finished with a clear coat for natural color, then waxed and buffed to a beautiful finish. I mean, take a look at these sexy legs, will ya'?:

ThirteenColonies is an American-owned company in Vermont that makes custom-turned wood furniture legs and feet. From what I've seen so far, they do EXCEPTIONAL work. All I had to do was contact them and tell them what I wanted for my chair and they pulled through like true professionals. I wouldn't hesitate to do business with them in a heartbeat. 

Now, what to do with this little beast? I'm thinking of staying in the blue color scheme, but definitely a warm blue like one of the three examples below. Which one would you choose?

Ugly Furniture Series: Sexy New Chair

After I had my ugly Duncan Phyfe couch reupholstered last year, I was hooked. Since then, I'm managed to snag a few other ugly, sad pieces of furniture that were in desparate need of some magic. For example, I grabbed this sad, faded, brown mid-century chair a few months ago for $89 at an antique mall.

Yes, he's ugly, but MAN look at those lines! Very masculine, no?

So, I took him down to my favorite reupholsterer and NOW look at him.

RAWR!

Yes, that's an animal print fabric you are seeing. Snake-skin to be exact. Could this previously ugly, sad chair be any more sexier?

The fabric itself has a khaki-colored background, so I had a khaki contrast welting/cording sewn into the sides and cushion. In fashion, animal prints are used as a neutral, so this was my line of thinking. I think the pattern gives the chair interest, definitely plays into the masculine lines of the chair, and it's neutral enough to be used with other furnishings. The teak legs got a polish with some English Leather, and now they glow.

Even my husband, who normally doesn't give a rat's behind about my interior design adventures, liked it! I had a lot of fun doing this and when I saw it for the first time, it was like the feeling you got as a kid when you opened a present on Christmas for something you really, really wanted, but didn't expect to get. To say I was thrilled is an understatement. It made me think that maybe I should be doing more things in my life that bring me as much joy as redesigning this chair did.

It cost a couple of hundred to have done, but definitely cheaper than a very high-end designer chair you would buy from a designer. I spent less than $700 total.

Ugly Couch: Before and After

I have a confession to make, I love ugly furniture. Not just ANY kind of ugly furniture...it has to be furniture with potential to be beautiful. Lately, I've been following Emliy Henderson A LOT and she has inspired me to buy this ugly, neglected, chintz Duncan Phyfe nightmare:

I found it on Craigslist for $150. It weighed a ton (mahogany), it smelled, it was torn up in the back corners from someone's cat using it as a scratching post, and the frame was wobbly. I had a vision. I knew it had the potential to be something exceedingly wonderful.

After 5 weeks and $2K, we picked it up from the upholsterers last Friday. It is now drop-dead GORGEOUS! The material I selected is a light camel colored linen that really shows off all of her sexy curves. I know $2K is a lot of money, but it was worth every red cent. They basically had to redesign the sofa into a new style, and I dropped off little more than a pile of wood for them to work with.

I probably would have spent $2K for a nice, brand new sofa from a furniture store, but instead, I spent $2K on a sofa that would now sell for twice as much as that in an antique store and will outlast ANY brand new sofa that I could buy. Not to mention, I have something that is totally original from anything else I would have ever found in a store. Go me!