New Block Printed Upholstery

Obviously it is a very busy time of year for most. I have been running around and quite productive despite having addition holiday and year end errands and activities. I've actually gotten a lot of bits and bobs around the house done lately. For example, this chair...

I believe this was a street find. I've had it for, like, forever. It's a bit rickety but the paint's got excellent patina -like you couldn't faux fake this paint job. Thing's probably just swimming in lead, but nobody is licking it, so I think it's ok. 

This chair has been living in the garage for the past few years -that explains the state of the former upholstery. Even the messiest of the messy would have difficulty getting to this state of affairs in normal circumstances. We've been using it as a step ladder, with an obviously filthy floor. 

I used the old upholstery to measure for the new -a prewashed and ironed linen that I used for this project. 

Do to the extremely grody nature of the upholstery, I decided it'd be a good idea to also refresh the batting. I doubled up some cotton batting that I have in my sewing war chest, then I used some curtain liner scrap to cover the fill. To upholster, I used the very basic method of pulling tight by hand -starting in the center in both directions and staple gunning. Always do the corners last. Not rocket science. 

Then came the fun part of block printing. I did this before upholstering. I made this pattern for the new shades in the master bathroom which I have yet to photograph. There is a slight glimpse of them here. In this scenario, I used white ink on a darker background, which gives a nice washed out look. 

Along the way, I decided that a small detail of colored piping would add a nice twist and help to counter the country/shabby chic tendencies of worn paint and linen. I made this piping from a vintage wool blanket I bought in London this summer. So far the blanket has yielded three pillows (one for me and two as a thank you gift for my sister who hosted me) and some patches, and I still have some scraps that I'm sure to use eventually.  I like the way the red picks up nicely from the carpet tying in the green/blue/red scheme going in here.

Previously there was a vintage painted iron plant stand in this location. I got tired of it. I might move it to the yard. 

Cheers.

Thoughts? Do tell.