Reduce, Reuse, Revise

Last night I went to the preview party for Revision Home's latest sale. Located in the Fulton Street district, this was my second visit to the shop, which holds such events four times a year.

Revision Home's Aqua Wing Chair

Owner Katie Ernst has an amazing eye for picking out furniture and accessories that "lived a previous life" and breathing new energy into them. Take this wing back chair for example from her latest collection -- the cuvilinear lines are classic and she updated it with nailheads, crewel and coordinating velvet mohair. It's flirty and feminine and would make the cutest little accent chair in many spaces.

The chair caught my eye, not just because I have a slight obsession with wing backs, but because I just used the same crewel fabric to recover my grandmother's chair. Clearly Katie and I have similar tastes!

The original chair

My grandmother purchased her piece on her honeymoon in the 1920s. I always sat in it when we visited her house, and so she gave it to me when she passed away in 2001. I've been carrying it around with me ever since, a little bit too nostalgic and a little too frightened to reupholster it. Working as an interior designer the past few years in Chicago gave me the confidence and contacts to get the job done and I think my grandmother would be proud of how it turned out.

I kept my eye out for the perfect fabric for a year, but since I needed about 7 yards my champagne taste made it hard to find something affordable. I knew I wanted something with lots of color and texture and when I found a blue-green hand-crocheted embroidered fabric at Fishman's for only $10/yard I decided to go for it. My friend Maren talked me into a navy blue cotton velvet for the welt and in total I spent less than $90 on fabric!



The updated chair

I took the chair to Kelly Rauch at Twice, and her associates tightened the springs and inserted a new cushion. I was so happy with the result that we put it in our bedroom (where the big plaid chair and ottoman used to be before we moved it to the nursery).



The chair has introduced that vintage bohemian vibe that I love to our bedroom, and I'm looking forward to picking out artwork now to coordinate. Plus it is a nice way to wake up every morning, keeping the memory of my grandmother alive.