BrittanyMakes

Remember these chairs? Woof.

It’s really difficult to visualize the potential of a piece of furniture when they look like this.

After over a year of hoarding them, I finally saved up my pennies to get them professionally reupholstered. I’ve upholstered things myself, always thinking, ‘man, I do a pretty good job!’ It wasn’t until I paid for professional upholstery that I now think my work is laughable… about downright embarrassing. I don’t have the patience, the finesse, the nimble fingers, or the tools to do as good of a job as a professional. I mean, just look at them now –

You just did a double-take, didn’t you? Oh boy, do I love them! I’ve wanted a pair of the Schoolhouse Electric Jack chairs for a while, but they’re SO much money. I bought 14 yards of fabric and paid for two chairs professionally upholstered for less money than one of the Jack chairs.

I learned a couple things along the way, seeing as this was my first professional upholstery experience – I must share with you how it went.

First, I scoured the internets for upholstery weight buffalo check fabric. It took a lot of searching, I wanted something as close to the Jack chair as possible. There are a LOT of versions of the buffalo check, but I wanted something that looked authentic, wool-like, and most original, and not a hundred dollars a yard. I found the P Kaufmann Checkmate from Decorative Fabrics Direct, ordered a few samples, then ordered the recommended yardage from my upholsterer.

I emailed photos of the Jack chair to my upholsterer so he would have an electronic copy to reference when he got to my chairs. I also printed out two copies and brought them with me when I took the chairs to the upholstery shop. I know the guy is a professional, and he can probably spot the best way to do things when upholstering an chair, but I made sure to point out some of the elements of the Jack chair that I wanted replicated on my chairs. For starters, I wanted the black check to be positioned on the top of the arms.

The second thing I pointed out were the buttons. I did not like the original buttons, count and placement. I asked that he put six buttons, three on top and three on bottom. The backs of my chairs are higher than the Jack chair, six buttons just suits the chair better. What I didn’t mention is, I would have liked all the buttons to be alternating in color to the checks they sit in.  They don’t look bad, but I think the black buttons get lost in the black check.

The last thing I mentioned, was, along with the tops of the arms, I liked the look how the black check helps frame out the front of the chair. The Jack chair has a much darker check, so it’s a little more prominent than my chairs, but you can certainly see how the black helps frame out the top of the cushion and the bottom of the chair. I like it.

I’m naturally a pretty direct person when it comes to how I like things, so I wasn’t afraid to point out some of these elements that I wanted in the finished product. It beats having a discussion later over something you might not have liked, and end up leaving with a negative experience or settling for something that you’re not happy with. I’m the sort to think, If I’m paying this much money for something, I better get what I want! In order to do that, however, you gotta communicate some things, even if the professional already knows it should be that way.

Overall, I am thrilled with how they turned out! Money well spent! As much as it hurt to swipe payment, it honestly was completely worth every penny, and I will absolutely do it again.

If you’re in the area, I went to Discount Upholstery in Concord. Bruce is the man!

Sources: Chairs – vintage, fabric, brass log holder (etsy)