Upholstery: Sofa and Armchair ! Before & After !
/But it is all good now.
Almost.
First, I had to travel to Italy this summer. I packed all the chosen fabric from Thailand into my suitcase. Before arriving in Calabria we stopped in Venice for a wedding. Then, I repacked the suitcase. The fabric continued the journey by car, while I travelled by air. Reunited in Pizzo, I entered the house - the sofa was gone! But that is another story that I prefer to skip.
It is all good now.
Almost.
The craftsman who was introduced to us had a look at the furniture and the fabric. We explained what we want, he made a proposal, and we agreed. Since it was summer, the craftsmen would need longer than 10 days for the work. We were awaiting guests and did not want to miss dining chairs. Therefore, we decided to have them, the sofa, and the armchair picked up after the holiday peak Feragosto (August 15). When everyone and everything goes back to normal.
One day after summer, we were long gone back to Asia, our order was ready and delivered - or picked up - from the tiny upholstery workshop in the heart of Pizzo. My father-in-law made some snap shots and mailed the result to us.
From what I see, the sofa looks good.
The armchair looks wrong.
The dining chairs look okay.
For the sofa, there was a big surprise: I never saw the back! I did not know we would need fabric for the back too! I am very glad, I bought some spare fabric.
From what I heard, my mother-in-law did not like at all the new upholstery for the armchair. She "discussed" with the craftsman - got a chair for free - and asked me to buy more fabric, in order to redo the seating cushion.
Apparently, I was not clear enough about the fabric direction for the armchair, as well as for the dining chairs. One chair had even a similar fabric and the fine stripes ran from front to back - and not from left to right. But who knows why the craftsman changed direction.
Now, our 7 dining chairs of three styles have something in common: a dark finish and a bluish upholstery.
Lessons learned:
- Always buy more fabric than you need! Miscalculation or mishap may happen.
- Explain your idea clearly! Direction of fabric, border, nails, finish tone or colour for wood - don't leave room for unexpected creativity.
- Be sure about the finishing before choosing the fabric (silver seems not the right choice for our armchair)
Maybe, I should think about a DIY upholstery project next time? I researched some books about upholstery and think, this might be a good introduction: