Picking fabric for your sofa

Don't be afraid of color. Or large prints. Be daring, be bold! It will make your heart happy. You didn't know that did you. Well now you do. An ugly and uncomfortable sofa that stresses you out and makes you sad is bad for your heart.

I haven't lost it. It is possible I've had too much coffee though.

Check out this sofa we're reupholstering. We're halfway done. The team is taking great care to match the patterns. Cushions are getting sewn. The skirt fabric has been cut so it lines up perfectly with the pattern in the fabric.

It's going to be awesome and so much better than it's old plaid self.

I can't wait to see it. And it's not even my sofa.

Renee is the master.

Fabric: Pindler & Pindler
Pattern: Honfleur
Color: Palm

I promise to post "after" pictures when it's all done.

Polka Dot Chairs

It's so nice when a client knows what they want.

The new client belonging to this polka dot fabric walked into our showroom for the first time this summer. There were several people looking at fabrics and the table was a mess. Fortunately, she knew exactly what she wanted. Her plan was to completely change the look of her living room with a bold fabric in black, white and gray.

I knew exactly what to show her so I immediately pulled the Clarke & Clarke book and showed her some big bold prints. Her face lit up when she saw the polka dots.

"This is perfect. I want to paint the walls black. No more country chic." she said with a great big smile. "I'll email you pictures of my chairs so you can give me an estimate."

I couldn't believe it when I saw the chairs. This was going to be quite a change. Goodbye country blue.

We talked about the style of the chair once she was ready to go. I I thought the chairs would look great without a skirt and with the legs painted to match the tone of the fabric. She agreed.

Looking at the chairs now I know we made the right choice.

BEFORE

Clarke & Clarke fabric arrived. I couldn't wait for them to rip off the blue.

Lining up the dots

All done. It looks amazing.

The client absolutely loves her new chairs. She has promised to send me pictures of the living room once it's all decorated.

Her couch is next. I can't wait to see what she picks. Here is a picture to give her some inspiration.

Bolero Collection by Clarke & Clarke

Restoration Hardware Bench

One of our favorite clients picked up these Restoration Hardware benches recently. They were just the size she wanted, but the fabric was more neutral than she had in mind.

A quick change of the fabric and these stools went from nice to fabulous!

BEFORE

AFTER

 

The moral of the story is never settle for nice or okay. If you find something on sale that you like but it's not quite right don't fret. Go for fabulous!

Changing the shape of furniture.

All done and ready for the client.

Sometimes clients bring us furniture that is just screaming to be remodeled. Not just recovered. But remodeled.

Let's face it, styles change. Some pieces are classics and look good all the time. But that's not always the case. Sometimes we buy pieces that are trendy. Maybe they'll be a classic one day. But maybe they won't.

You might be able to change the material or pattern to make it more current. But often it needs more than that.

Furniture that is made well with good quality wood is worth saving and reworking. And that's exactly what we did with these pieces.

The entire shape of the sofa and chairs were streamlined.

The big rolled arms screamed 1990 so the client and their Dallas designer emailed us drawings outlining their ideas and details on how to make it more contemporary. We loved the plan. And we really love the results.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Here's the whole transformation.....

It was a big sofa.

The fabric was stripped and the curve cut off.

It's looking good.

The sofa fabric has arrived from the designer.

Now on to the chairs.....

Bye-bye curved arms.

I was so excited watching the transformation of these pieces.

And you should have seen the clients happy face when he came to pick everything up. He was grinning ear to ear.

Do you have a piece of furniture that you'd like some design advice on? Send us a picture at info@pollinsofnapa.com and we'll give you our best advice.

Guest house makeover - part II

Don't worry. It's not a real ice cream cone. She's pretending to be the Statue of Liberty.

The second chair is done. It's actually more like a chair and a half, or a mini loveseat. We had to upholster one at a time so the guests were not left without something to sit on.

This was the first chair. They'll look nice together. Don't you think?

Elli found it quite comfy when I asked her to give it the comfy test. We always, always, always check to make sure it feels good on the tooshy. It's no good if it looks pretty and doesn't feel good. This one passed the test with flying colors.

And for those of you wondering why Elli isn't in school. Have no fear.  School started. Camp Pollin's has closed. {happy dance!!}

Arm covers will help protect the upholstery in the guest house.

Fabrics: Duralee, stripe pattern 32084, color key lime. Floral pattern Stroheim 2774B-0760, color green apple