Q: I have two chairs, one from each grandmother…Their small scale will fit my small living room perfectly, and they are both quite comfortable for a 5’3″ gal.
My dilemma is how to pick fabric for them since they are clearly two very different looking chairs and will be set on the same wall separated by a window. I suspect to put them both in the same fabric would look very bad, but is there a way to make these work together?
Erin Trame, Ann Arbor, MI
A: Oh, Erin, upholstering them in the same fabric would be GOOD! Very good. The chairs actually have a lot in common – size, tufting, vintage – and using the same fabric will underscore their similarities.
I was at the Washington Design Center on Monday for a bloggers’ event – more on that later – and the Kravet showroom happened to be displaying two different chairs in the same overscale fabric. I thought they were gorgeous.
As with your chairs, these share an aesthetic. They’re both semi-curvy, with tight backs and no sharp edges…the chair style is more traditional than contemporary. But one has a skirt and one has legs, one is taller, and the arm styles are different (although both are rounded). But see how the same fabric makes them look like a pair? Close friends, if not identical twins.
Now, we won’t use such a large-scale pattern on your chairs. But the idea of keeping the palette neutral appeals to me: it’s easy to tire of a wild, multi-colored pattern. We know that reupholstering is expensive, and we want you to love these for a long, long time. A contemporary fabric will help with that. One modern neutral pattern I like is Beacon Hill‘s Jinan in Noir.
If neutrals aren’t your thing, or if you want to set a lighter tone, use one – maybe two – colors plus a neutral. Here’s Indonesia, Indigo from Tonic Living, in blue and cream.
F. Schumacher’s Deco Flower, Berry would be a bit more traditional – and busier (below right, red background).
And Fireworks, Mandarin also from Schumacher, would be a fun, contemporary contrast to the chairs’ conventional style (below).
In sum, you are looking for a medium-scale loose pattern: a floral, toile, or other non-geometric design.
– No stripes. I don’t like what tufting does to them.
– No solids. We want to blur the differences between the chairs, which a patterned fabric will do.
– No overscale patterns. Again, tufting screws them up.
And here are some tips for upholstery hunting in general:
– Check that the fabric is “upholstery weight,” i.e, thick and durable. Thin silks and cottons CAN be used for upholstery, but they won’t hold up to any kind of stress. Like sitting on it.
– Buy more fabric than you think you need – you can always make a pillow or arm covers. I’d buy 7-8 yards of fabric for each of your chairs.
– Keep the colors in any large pattern to a mininum – 2, maybe 3.
I hope this is helpful, Erin. Let me know what you decide. And send pictures when they’re done!