Tag Archives: recreated

Before and After: Green Sofa

25 Saturday Feb 2012

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Good afternoon, and Happy Saturday!

Today I’m featuring Recreated’s most recently completed upholstery project for Re:style Studio. This was a really great project! Based on the needs of the client, the piece had to be re-designed and parts built from scratch, but the challenge just made it more fun.

Here is what I had to start…..

The piece was found by the client but it didn’t have a cushion.  Also, the client didn’t want a tufted back, so I had some shape re-design to do, but first the gorgeous antique frame was refinished in a pale gold.

As you can see, the fabric the client chose was a rich jewel-toned green velvet. I built up the back and sides with smooth curved lines, so that it retained the original antique look (i.e. not too bulky), but was still comfortable to sit on.

Once the fabric was on, matching twisted cord was used for piping around the edges.

Then we had to build a cushion from scratch, which was very fun.  We decided to make one large french-style settee cushion.  Andrea of Re:style sourced a 10 pound bag of down feathers and I sewed up a form. Getting the feathers in the cushion was definitely a two-person job! But even with both Andrea and I on the job, by the time we were finished we were literally eating feathers.  I think it was at least a few days before the feathers were totally gone from the studio.  Here is an uber-unflattering photo of us after the cushion filling….but I wanted you to see the feather chaos.

hmm, now that I look at it, this photo is also a little phallic…..and given that fact, I may be hugging the cushion a little too lovingly, but I digress.  Once the cushion was made, I sewed up the fabric cover, and it was done!

And here is a picture of the finished product, shot in the client’s home!

Another challenging and rewarding project with Re:style Studio.

  If you are interested in getting quote for one of your projects contact me at lgrecreated@gmail.com

Have a great day!

The Tale of the Tufted Loveseat

06 Friday Jan 2012

Posted by in Before and After, Furniture and Design

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Hi everyone!  Today I’m excited to share a before and after of a tufted loveseat that I recently reupholstered for a client.  Yep, I said it, a client! After years of re-upholstering “freebie” pieces for friends while I learned the trade, I completed my first paid piece!  Andrea Ford (who I have been working with at Re:Style Studio) contracted me to complete some pieces for one of her clients who is completing a massive home renovation project. This client had some beautiful antique furniture that she has chosen to have reupholstered for the new space! After many evenings and weekends at the studio, this piece came together -  but the tale began with this….

….followed by probably the most difficult stripping job I’ve ever had to do….the music was all wrong…. and I forgot my “routine”…. and my Lucite heels were too tight…oh, sorry, wrong type of stripping*.

Then a little was applied on the frame.

Next up, building up the up the seat before the fabric is put on….wait till you see this fabric.  Definitely not my taste, but certainly a bold choice.

This is about the point in the process that I was informed that this loveseat was being reupholstered for the client’s dog.  The piece had been the dog’s seat/bed and was being reupholstered as part of the renovation. I have to say while working at the studio well into the wee hours of the morning and fussing about getting the tufts just right, I was feeling a bit jealous of the lavish life this dog must lead. Yes, I said it……I’m jealous of a dog….but I digress.

On to some tufting for the seat back….

And here is the fabric – black and yellowy-orange velvet damask…like I said, if nothing else, it’s a bold statement.  Here is the tufted seat back starting to take shape…

There was lots of piping detail on this one, some single piping and some double.

AAAAnd, drum roll please….

The finished product, back at the client’s house!

The problem with this fabric is that because of the pattern and color, you don’t even see the tufting unless you are up very close, but I can assure those tufts are there.  Overall, I’m pretty happy with the finished product… and so is the client…and the dog :)

I’m just finishing up a second piece for the same client which I will share with you soon! Have a great weekend!

XOXO,

*CLARIFICATION: I am NOT, never have been, and never will be an exotic dancer.

Getting to know Re:Style Studio

06 Tuesday Sep 2011

Posted by in Furniture and Design, Upholstery How-to

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Good Morning!  Today I’m very excited to be featuring Re:style Studio, a workshop and event space offering upholstery classes, decor seminars and DIY parties in the west end of Toronto at the Branding Factory.

The studio was founded by the lovely Andrea Ford, a stylist and market editor with a love of re-upholstering and re-styling furniture.  As I have mentioned in previous posts, when I first started to learn how to upholster, finding classes/courses in the Toronto area wasn’t easy, and there weren’t any that were approaching upholstery in a fresh and modern way. So you can imagine my delight when I stumbled upon Re:style Studio! Andrea launched the studio in December 2010, and VOILA, she has filled a huge void by offering modern upholstery and restyling classes, plus she now has a great space to do her own re-upholstery projects in! Needless to say this studio is right up my alley, and so when I contacted Andrea to find out more about how Re:style came to be, I was thrilled to hear she was looking for someone to help teach some of the upholstery classes and workshops.  We are still sorting out details such as which courses I will be helping with, but I will definitely be spending more time over at Re:style in the coming month and I am pretty excited about that! Stay tuned!

As part of today’s post I asked Andrea to participate in a mini Q and A to get a little more insight into Re:style, and she kindly obliged….

Q: What do you like the best about upholstery?

A: It feels like forensic design. I love that I can strip a piece down and learn something new about construction with every layer. I also find stripping very cathartic and therapeutic. Rebuilding a piece gives me a chance to give it new life and restructure it. Transforming is my favourite part.

Q: What do you like the best about teaching upholstery?

A: The thing I love about teaching upholstery is how satisfied people are at the end of the courses to have either created a headboard or ottoman from scratch that looks like they bought it at a boutique, or totally transformed a piece of furniture by refinishing and reupholstering it.

Q: Do you have a favourite piece you have completed? And why is your fave?

A: The black and white settee is my favourite and has become a bit of a signature. I have a design degree in fashion so that settee is a perfect example of how I take my garment skills such as draping and apply it to the curves of the couch. I knew the stripes would be a challenge but also pay off on the look of the final product.

Now, I was lucky enough to visit the studio a few weeks ago, and let me tell you it is gorgeous.  A sleek, modern, black and white space, perfect for both a crafty workshop or a cocktail party! Did I mention that the space can be rented for events?  Trust me, this space is totally event worthy – here are some pics to give you an idea….

What did I tell you?  Great space.  Now a little on the classes! Upholstery classes offered include the Head of the Bed DIY Headboard class, Put up you Feet DIY Ottoman class, the weekend BYOP Re-Upholstery Workshop (Bring your own Piece) and well as the Learn to Restyle class. Class sizes are small enough so that you can get the one-on-one help you need and you get to complete your projects in a great atmosphere. More detailed descriptions of these classes, as well as other offerings, can be found here and the fall schedule is up on the Re:style Studio website! Here are some pics showing finished projects and before and afters from the classes…..

All Photos via Andrea Ford and Re:style Studio

There are still spaces left for the BYOP Re-upholstery workshop this Saturday and Sunday (Sept 10 and 11), so if you have a piece that you want to transform into something fabulous in just 2 short days contact Re:style right away to get booked in! I will be at the studio this weekend during the BYOP workshop working on a new project, so I hope to see you there or in future classes!

I hope you have enjoyed today’s feature and many thanks to Andrea for taking the time to give us a little insight into Re:Style Studio!  Have a great day!

Before and After #2

06 Friday May 2011

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Happy Friday Morning!

Here is another project I completed for a friend recently.  She bought a beautiful wingback chair at an estate sale and wanted to moderize it.  She choose some fabric and I got to work.  When trying to determine how long a upholster project is going to take, a big factor is the time it takes to strip the piece down to the wood.  It varies from project to project but always budget ALOT more time than you think.  I learned that lesson on this chair.  I thought, maybe a 2-3 hours to strip it down.  It ended up taking almost 7 hours!  The previous upholsterer was NOT shy with the staple gun.  In some area it seemed like there were 100 staples per sq. in.!  OK….maybe I’m exaggerating…..it was time-consuming – but the end product was totally worth it.

BEFORE

AFTER

 

Have a great day!

LG

Before and after #1

26 Tuesday Apr 2011

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after!

 

before…..
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This was the first project that I did for someone else.   It’s a cushioned armchair that my best friend got at a yard sale. It was a really solid frame with a good shape but the fabric was very old and damaged.  The final product turned out great, mostly because of the amazing fabric my friend choose.   I love when something old becomes new again. 

Welcome!

25 Monday Apr 2011

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Welcome to Recreated!  I’m a hobby upholsterer and new blogger.  I’ve been inspired by so many great blogs on furniture, design and lifestyle, but I have found that blogs with a focus on modern re-upholstery are more difficult to find.  So my goal will be to try to help bridge that gap.  I’m new to this blogging world so it might be a slow start.  I will showcase some of my own upholstery projects, and projects by others, and share other design or furniture items that I find beautiful and interesting.