All New Shabby Chic Thread!

newmee

cuddles123 wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm from the Sewing Room, but have found this thread and am loving it.
My house is a different style, so I have never done SC - thinking about it though!

I would love some advice please.
My daughter is pregnant and would love to use a chair that has been in the family for years as a Nursing Chair.
However the upholstery foam has broken down and needs replacing and recovering.
I would tackle just the recovering, bur replacing the foam is going to be harder as it needs to mitred at the edges to look good.

Can anyone advise, or recommend an Upholsrerer in the Newcastle area to get a price?
I've no idea what it will cost, but the actual size is 24" x 45" and I have taken some pics.
Any advice appreciated.

Hi cuddles123. I recently re-covered a footstool (pictures a fair few pages back, union jack design) When I looked up info on recovering it recommended NOT to strip off the old covering or foam unless it was damaged, just to cover straight over it. I followed this advice for my footstool and it was fine. I used a staple gun my mum found laying around (not the best but did the job) it was very easy really. That chair has no complex shapes to it and I think would be really easy to recover. Practice with some spare material or cheap calico first if you're unsure.
Good Luck

suisidevw

xxvickixx wrote: »

And I know that this is always being asked but... Just checking, I sand, prime, paint, varnish right?

I always sand, prime, paint, light sand to get out any impercetions, paint and never varnish my items............

I always use an eggshell when painting wood/metal as I prefer the matt appearance

xxvickixx

Thanks suisidevw, and welcome too!

I was planning on sanding the top down and varnishing the plain wood does that sound OK, or is there a better way of protecting the bare wood?

Does anyone know of a good primer?

And what is the difference between the oil based eggshell and the water based. the Laura Ashley is water based and the F&B is moving over to water based?

Oh and if I wanted to distress it afterwards how would I go about doing that. I saw a lovely table in LA yesterday and it was gorgous that way.

Sorry to ask soooo many questions, I'm really scared of making a mess of the beautiful table!

PinkTiger

if anyone missed the Mary Queen of Shops programme where she helped a couple with their furniture shop it is repeated tonight (wednesday) at 7 on bbc2. i'll be watching it again, couldnt quite believe my eyes first time!:eek:

lovely chic-ing everyone, just had my 3 piece suite collected by a charity shop, now i have room to move i'm hoping to get started on my decorating x

gingababe

Happy Birthday Bibberty !!!! Hope u are having a fab day! xx

Kandipandi

Happy birthday Bibbitybob:bdaycake:!

tiff

Happy Birthday!

MrsMoo2U

Welcome suisidevw. The room looks lovely and cosy. Look forward to seeing all your bits (ooer) on here soon.

MrsMoo2U

xxvickixx wrote: »

Thanks suisidevw, and welcome too!

I was planning on sanding the top down and varnishing the plain wood does that sound OK, or is there a better way of protecting the bare wood?

Does anyone know of a good primer?

And what is the difference between the oil based eggshell and the water based. the Laura Ashley is water based and the F&B is moving over to water based?

Oh and if I wanted to distress it afterwards how would I go about doing that. I saw a lovely table in LA yesterday and it was gorgous that way.

Sorry to ask soooo many questions, I'm really scared of making a mess of the beautiful table!

I have a wooden kitchen worktop which I use danish oil on - would that be useful for the top? Also I think that the distressing can be done with furniture wax with pigments in. Not 100% sure but I think that is how it can be done. Alternatively I have, in the past, painted a piece of furniture with a darker primer/undercoat (I used a grey primer with a blue on top) than the top coats then used wire wool or fine sandpaper to knock back the edges or the corners so that the primer/undercoat is showing very slightly. I have also dry brushed on very light smudge of a darker colour in crevices and edges corners to make it look aged. Hope that helps. Dont be too scared, but if you are why not find a really cheap bit of tatty furniture and practice the distressing on that. You can always do paint the table, practice the distressing and when you are happy distress the table later.

Bibbitybob

Thanks for all the Birthday wishes, you're all very lovely and sweet :A

House contracts are signed, so once our money is cleared we can exchange and complete - worst case scenario is another fortnight. I've had a lovely day and got some lovely shabby chic pressies; a distressed heart wood photo frame and hanging wooden hearts from OH's parents and a set of 3 giant distressed candle lanterns from mine. Plus some pennies which I've decided to save for buying pretties in the new house.

Welcome suiside!

xxvickixx wrote: »

Thanks suisidevw, and welcome too!

I was planning on sanding the top down and varnishing the plain wood does that sound OK, or is there a better way of protecting the bare wood?

Does anyone know of a good primer?

And what is the difference between the oil based eggshell and the water based. the Laura Ashley is water based and the F&B is moving over to water based?

Oh and if I wanted to distress it afterwards how would I go about doing that. I saw a lovely table in LA yesterday and it was gorgous that way.

Sorry to ask soooo many questions, I'm really scared of making a mess of the beautiful table!

For bare wood you could either varnish it or oil it, depending on the effect you'd like to get.

My favourite primer is B&Q colours undercoat and primer in one. There are two types, a grey for dark colours and a white for lights.

That said, if you're not too fussed about cost the plasti-kote spray primer is very quick and easy (if you're used to using spray paint) but at £6 a tin not the most cost effective.

As far as I'm aware, with the right prep there's not a huge amount of difference between oil based and water based eggshells apart from eco credentials but someone more knowledgeable may come along and rubbish me on that one.

And to distress I either rub down the edges with sandpaper after it's all dry to show bare wood through, or hand paint a colour onto the edges (I did this with gold enamel on OH's Mum's furniture and it looked amazing!).