Ooh La La ~ the search was worth it!
Eagerly, I spent months trying to pick the perfect upholstered chair for the master bedroom. First I started with the idea of buying it brand new and viewed top furniture manufacture websites for styles that could fit in with the French Country flare that is going on around here. Then with a list of prospects, I rushed off to shop stores that carried the brands of my preferred styles and I sat, and sat, and sat, and sat, and yes, sat again...until I became frustrated. Most of these stores didn't have any of the "pretty" chairs from my list on the showroom floor, or any others that were actually drool worthy.
Going through one of the largest fine furniture showrooms here, I began to wonder who in the heck is its buyer and floor display designer? They must get some type of bonus or huge stock discount for showing basic unattractive fabric covered chairs. Perhaps they don't have a floor designer anymore like they did in the 1980s, when I was in my 20s, drooling while browsing thru and too broke to buy from them. If they do, trust me they are stuck in a timezone of the 1990s when big gaudy furniture in deep earth-tones was the "IN" Texas thang! The alternative on the floor was of course 50 shades of beige (which can be beautiful, as well as earth-tones) but even that looked dated in their store showroom.
All I was looking for was a "pretty" well made and affordable upholstered chair that I could COM some Belgian linen on, without it looking trendy. Why was that so hard to find?
After feeling discouraged, defeated and scared away by the close to 3k prices I was getting for any special order that would suit my whim, I began to ask myself...Why must you be so picky? It's just a bedroom chair that will get occasionally sat on by moi.
I mainly hang out downstairs in the living room in front of TV #2, streaming movies on Netflix, or Apple TV. I know where hubby sits daily; upstairs in his mancave on his "special" leather Scandinavian style chair with its matching ottoman, in front of TV #1.
So I told myself to get over the fact that new affordable pretty chairs aren't made as well as in the good old days. Then a light bulb went on in my head...
I mainly hang out downstairs in the living room in front of TV #2, streaming movies on Netflix, or Apple TV. I know where hubby sits daily; upstairs in his mancave on his "special" leather Scandinavian style chair with its matching ottoman, in front of TV #1.
So I told myself to get over the fact that new affordable pretty chairs aren't made as well as in the good old days. Then a light bulb went on in my head...
START SEARCHING FOR AN OLDER PRETTY CHAIR AND GIVE IT A MAKEOVER!
I started prowling through the resale shops here in Austin, but came across nothing that made my heart skip a beat. I really wanted it to look at least a little French. Next, I began to prowl through eBay and there were some good prospects, but I just could not click to purchase.
I refuse to settle.
Then one day while shopping thru Etsy for some vintage French decor items, I thought to search for a used vintage chair that could use some love and satisfy my picky side.
Suddenly, I imagined a French horn blowing…
Voila! There she was!
Voila! There she was!
My heart started beating faster looking at the side view.
I felt a little light headed staring at the details.
This pretty chair had to be mine!
Then my brain reminded me it sat in a store way up the country. I had to shut off the over-thinking because that was no big deal. Greyhound shipping was offered at a reasonable price! The info also said she would get a makeover if I sent them the fabric.
JACKPOT!!!
The wise one of this remarkable service is Richelle at Sit On It...A Chair Gallery in Kansas City, Missouri. She and I began discussing the chair over a few emails and I sent her a sample of the Belgian linen fabric I had been hoarding, upon her request for approval. All linens are not created equal for upholstery use and a good upholsterer knows that fact. She gave me the big okay and I rushed to the UPS store to send her the yardage and a check.
A quote from the Sit On It...A Chair Gallery website:
"Sit On It...a chair gallery, LLC is a unique custom upholstery studio and full service interior design studio. The designers at Sit On It...make great interior design easy accessible and affordable! Our workroom specializes in updating fabulous vintage frames with fashion forward fabrics. By respecting to the original construction of your piece, the integrity and value is maintained and restored."
Perfect! I truly admire businesses that love to sell and restore vintage items at an affordable price.
Several weeks later the beloved "pour moi" chair arrived, looking not pretty like I found her, but instead she is now seriously GORGEOUS and wearing that Belgian linen very well, I must say.
Even Cerise thought so and had to strike a pose on her.
(I must remember to make a matching throw for the seat to protect from fur kids)
Below she sits with a lovely Ankasa throw pillow that I purchased last year. It was marked down 1/2 price and hanging out in the clearance room at Wildflower Organics, a store that offers not only luxurious linens and decor, but also both organic mattresses and furniture brands to the Austin area. I love how she looks with the black walls and sisal flooring in the master bedroom.
The experience I had with Richelle at the Sit On It...A Chair Gallery was fantastic and the quality and craftsmanship of their work is professional and well worth the wait. I would shop them again in a heartbeat, if I could squeeze in another chair somewhere in our little townhouse, lol. Hmm, perhaps for a sofa to fill that empty space I mentioned in a previous post?
This gorgeous chair is too heavy for me to pick up alone. Apart from filling my "pretty chair" criteria she is well made and solid. That is exactly what I wanted and is what you can expect with most fine furniture from the good old days. Now she has even better days ahead.
Check out what's going on at Sit On It…A Chair Gallery by viewing their Facebook page.
Check out what's going on at Sit On It…A Chair Gallery by viewing their Facebook page.
Till next time
If you are chair shopping, please consider buying vintage or used.
~
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