The Willy Wonka Chair Transformation [before & after]

IMG 9937

I absolutely love antique chair transformations.  Each and every transformation is beautiful and unique in it’s own way, but the feeling of sheer bliss it gives me to marvel at the finished product never changes.  Finding the perfect chair to transform feels like winning the lottery to me…my heart begins to race and I feel dizzy with excitement (you might think I was talking about something else entirely 😉 )  That was the case when I discovered this wonderful antique Louis XV Rococo chair at a flea market a few months back.  It sat there in the flea market booth, it’s fabric torn to shreds and it’s stuffing ripped apart, the wood frame covered with dings and chips…an eye sore on it’s best day, but I could picture how this chair once looked in it’s glory and I felt compelled to bring it back.

You should know that unfortunately, I lost a camera full of images so I don’t have the exact “before” picture of the chair.  I did however find a similar photo of a Louis XV Rococo chair (in much better condition), just to give an idea of how this chair started out…

louis xv fruitwood chair before

The fabric on my chair had a similar pattern, but it was no longer in tact, which made the task of ripping off the old fabric much easier than usual =)

As always, I saved the old fabric pieces to use as templates for cutting out the new fabric.  It took me a while to decide on a look for this chair…The antique Louis XV chairs were made to make a bold statement, so I knew I wanted to carry on that look.  I decided to brighten up the chair’s frame using CeCe Caldwell’s chalk + clay paint in Vintage White.  After two coats of paint, I used a damp cloth to lightly distress the edges giving the chair a more “aged” look.  Next, I applied a coat of CeCe Caldwell’s clear wax for protection.  For the upholstery,I decided to use an eggplant colored brushed chenille fabric.  Chenille is one of the tougher fabrics to work with when upholstering because it’s less pliable, but the look is absolutely stunning.  After I finished upholstering the chair, I added silver nail head trim to give the chair a chic twist.

We now refer to this bold beauty as “The Willy Wonka Chair” because of it’s signature eggplant color =)

You can find the Willy Wonka Chair available for purchase at Pickee on Spring and also in our Etsy shop!

2 responses to “The Willy Wonka Chair Transformation [before & after]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *