The wing chair is a sensible, comfortable, durable and economic hearth-side staple, an indispensable element for”curling up by the fire with a fantastic book.” The blinders, or side fires, originated as a innovation at the 17th century; they gathered the warmth of the fire and blocked loopholes that were freezing in rooms. Every time there is a wing chair worn or when you inherit or acquire one invest a little time by restoring it yourself and save a little money.
Hoof and Wing
Wing seats have observable legs but are covered in upholstery, so the legs are a fantastic place. For shabby decor, paint or distressed wood might be the end you desire. Slick on a coat of matte polyurethane to stabilize the deterioration. Update a classic wing for a modern room by painting the thighs together with glossy enamel — shiny ebony for black-and-white faux zebra upholstery, gleaming ivory to get a chair covered in embroidered brocade, yelling banana yellow to get a lime raw silk wing chair using a fuzzy watermelon-ice-pop-colored mohair pillow.
Guts — No Glory
Do-it-yourself restorations are messy, but they might be successful with solid preparation. Step one would be to document each piece of cushioning or old cloth as you remove it. Take the cloth off the frame carefully; you will utilize it as the blueprint for cutting edge fabric that is new. Label and number each piece and photograph every period of deconstruction — your meticulous preparation will save yourself effort and time afterwards. Foam that is still in great shape can be left in place and re-used. But replace the batting with a fresh coating, stapled on closely to make a padded substructure for the fresh upholstery material you can not wait to apply. A pneumatic stapler is a lifesaver on this job — unless you enjoy aching arms and hands. You will do a lot of stapling.
Protective Coloration
Your favorite part prior to the final moment when you get to step back and respect your handiwork that is back-breaking, will select fabric. It might also be the most irritating. You need sturdy, upholstery-quality material, even if it wasn’t made for furniture. Hunt for remnants to save big on designer fabrics that are expensive. Consider a mix of fabrics that are associated but non-matching which can turn a wing chair into a boho masterpiece of cloth scraps which didn’t blow the decorating budget, a hodgepodge layout. Look for linen grain sacking for the chair and cushion upholstery and utilize rougher burlap sack material on the outside of the back and the arms; simply make sure you center any stenciling and match up stripes onto the sheet bits.
Photo-Finish
Create a family heirloom in the household castoff with wing chair upholstery cloth printed with photographs. The ancestral wedding photos are perfect for the front piece of a small pillow, the padded blouse, and the armrests which may be used for support. A family reunion photograph might grace the chair back, and the seat cushion could brighten up. Any photos would work to get a memento chair and matching ottoman. For urbane modern decor, an oversizeiconic photo of a classic film still, a cityscape, or headline news events that are black-and-white create original decor as well as a conversation piece.