Giving a little love to the discarded, my before and after obsession

in art •  9 years ago 

I have started transforming crummy old furniture, to inspire people with an alternative to throwing things out. 

This is my latest obsession. With a little magic in the sewing room, I give ripped, stained and worn chairs a new useful brilliant life.  I only use reclaimed textiles such as coffee sacks, flour bags and sweet vintage/retro scraps from a bygone era in design. This way the whole project makes use of existing resources, saving fabric and furniture from ending up in landfill. 

The first piece I did was an old L shaped lounge that I was given. Aside from the gross stains, the cream colour was never going to work with messy toddlers in the house. The new re-covered lounge is so full of colour and life, it has become the heart beat of our home. Our favourite cosy nook. 

I am a sucker for a good before and after story, that gasp of awe with the final reveal.  So if you love a dramatic makeover as much as I do, you might enjoy this little photo compilation of what I have been up to.     
 



I have a few more pieces waiting for me in my workshop still to transform, some for me and a couple of custom requests. 

Until next time, look for the potential in things, find beauty in the discarded. It could become the next favourite thing you own. 

xx Isabella

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Somebody get this woman some potato sacks! Great job with the photos and the makeovers!

I have used potato sacks before. They are awesome and rustic but a bit heavy duty and fibrous so my sewing machine I am sorry to say is not a fan @random-potato.

These are pretty good. The only one that stumped me was the white chair. Do you always use the same theme, or have you also tried bringing things to life with just solid colors too?

Hi @intelliguy - Thanks for reading! The white chair is actually the under layer, I had already removed the old covers before I took the 'before' shot. It needed a cover as the lining is very thin and transparent. I do love the scrappy patch style but I am not opposed to solid colour either. I guess because I work with only reclaimed material, it would be a matter of finding a piece of recycled material large enough to cover a whole chair. You wouldn't think it but even a single armchair could easily use over 4 metres of fabric.

Interesting, I just learned something :)

Great job!

Thank you very much @hallie123.

Great ....where can we buy one?

Hi @paco - I do put some of them out in my shop in Queensland Australia so if you are ever in this neck of the woods :) They are too big and heavy for economical world shipping!

  ·  9 years ago Reveal Comment