Home of Chris and Dave Plantan, photograph by Vickey Weiss (via Design*Sponge)
Louis Chair DIY Makeover
So. I caved. I was supposed to wait until my wingback chair was done before I refinished my Louis XV chair. But, it was just sitting there. And my fabric came. Sooo…
It really wasn’t that hard. (Though there’s a lot to be said for having the right staples.)
First I ripped off all the gimp (the trim that was glue-gunned on) to reveal the staples, and started removing them. (I used a flat head screwdriver and a pair of pliers, which worked well.)
The previous fabric was not great quality, and whatever was used on the faux finish flaked off while I worked, so I was glad to be redoing it. The foam, however, was in great shape.
The chair back consisted of fabric stapled to the inside of the frame, a piece of foam, and more fabric stapled on top.
Then, because I’m lazy, I didn’t remove the seat foam to redo the frame, but covered it in a garbage bag and duct tape (I tried painters tape, but it was exceptionally lame.)
I call this look “White Trash Chic” :)
I sanded and wiped down the whole frame and did a layer of primer (though I barely had any left, and wish I’d done a better primer layer). After that I followed up with a few coats of Rustoleum’s Heirloom white - a creamy ivory colour that works well with my fabric. (Which, by the way, is “Varenna” in the “stone” colourway from Tonic Living.)
Once the paint dried I used the fabric I’d removed from the chair as a template to cut new pieces of fabric (however, I made my fabric pieces about an inch bigger on all sides to give me a margin of error.) I then stapled away, attaching the new fabric and cutting off the excess. For the seat back I had shorter staples that went in perfectly, but when I ran out we bought longer staples, which gave me all sorts of grief. And here’s what I have now!
The chair needs a few paint touch-ups, and I have to find or make some welting cord to cover up the staples. However, I’m guessing I’ll have to sew double welting cord… which I don’t know if I’m up to this point. So I might just buy some gimp as a temporary solution.
And I have officially decided to only recover small chairs from now on!
Doux Rêves…
This week I received a question from a reader (one-point6180) regarding the bed from this beautiful picture from the portfolio of Rachel Whiting:
(From Photographer Rachel Whiting, UPDATE: bed from Laura Ashley)
The reader wanted to know what this style of bed is called, and where to find such a lovely piece of furniture. Here’s what I have for you!
This style of bed is the Louis XV upholstered bed, but can more generally be called a French upholstered bed. It is linked to the French King Louis’ that are behind all of the beautiful French chairs so many of us love. So you may search for “French upholstered bed”, “Louis upholstered bed”, or “Louis XV upholstered bed”.
When rounding up some similar style bed options I realized I don’t know where this reader is from… but I came across some gorgeous options out of the United Kingdom!
Cream French Upholstered Bed from Sweetpea & Willow
King size Louis XV bed from Farmhouse Furniture
Or this glamourous option, the Ascot from OBC Original Bedstead (available in a number of finishes/colours)
But perhaps you’re looking for something out of North America? You could look into these more “mainstream” options:
The Heiress Bed from Ralph Lauren Home (also check out the Chatsworth bed - more of a true Louis XV style, but they show it in leather.)
Ther Lorraine bed from Restoration Hardware isn’t quite as curvy but gives the same vibe.
The Gabriella upholstered headboard from Pottery Barn is just a headboard, but has a similar look.
However it makes me think you could also find a nice used curvy wooden headboard at a thrift store or online and MacGyver a way to upholster it…
This is a different Louis - the Louis XVI-style upholstered headboard from Wisteria has more of the straight, square lines of King Louis the XVI.
This Lilac Bed from PB Teen isn’t upholstered… but it could be with a bit of DIY creativity!
And of course you should scour Ebay, other online used furniture websites (like Craigslist or Kijiji), local antique shops, etc. You never know when you could find a steal of a deal!
Hope this helps!
P.S. Here are a few stores where I didn’t find this style of bed for sale today, but are worth checking out in the future:
French Accents (an antique store from Baltimore, Maryland, USA)
