The Art of Reupholstery: New Life for Old Furniture

BY MOLLY CLARK - WINTER CAPLANSON PHOTOS

I’M SITTING on my kitchen floor staring at the upholstered vanity stool I just bought off Facebook Marketplace. I realize I’m in way over my head.

When I purchased the stool, I was drawn to the design of the legs, but I wasn’t crazy about the upholstery on the seat. My initial plan was to reupholster it myself, but as I’m sitting here on the floor examining it, I begin to understand that I have no idea what I’m doing.

Luckily, I’ve recently met Kim Pettey of Pinc! Home Furnishings in Stonington, Connecticut. Pettey and her employees are professionals when it comes to all things reupholstery. When I sit down with her and explain my conundrum, she’s happy to help. She reassures me that my project is possible and provides some tips for me, or anyone, looking to adventure into the world of DIY reupholstery.

She reassures me that my project is possible and provides some tips for me, or anyone, looking to adventure into the world of DIY reupholstery.

“Start with something simple,” Pettey advises. “If you’re going to do a dining room chair, I’d buy one that already has an upholstered seat. It’s always easier to start with something you can take apart and see how it was done in the first place. You can tell a lot from taking a piece of furniture apart. Even if it’s falling apart, you can still tell how it was done well the first time.”

I admit to Pettey that I’m too intimidated to even start taking apart the stool. She’s kind enough to provide me with step-bystep instructions for how to reupholster a chair seat.

I know ar

152CT FOOD & FARM / FALL 2021

I have a textile background. what fabrics are going to last and what fabrics e going to work well for a certain application...

1. Depending on the shape of the wooden seat base and its quality, you may have to cut a new one. Use plain plywood, ½ inch to ¾ inch thick.

2. Cut foam with an electric turkey knife about ½ inch wider than plywood all around the wood base. The height will ultimately depend on how high you want the seat to be.

3. Glue foam to the base. Using spray adhesive is good.

4. Put a layer of polyester batting over the foam. Pull it down and around the seat and staple. You will need a pneumatic or electric stapler.

5. Measure from the bottom base of the wood, over the foam and back down to the wood. Add two inches to that measurement and cut fabric to that size. Measure the fabric from each corner to determine where the middle point of each side will be. Mark these middle points with a pencil.

6. Put the fabric face up, over the wood with foam on top, smooth well with your hand to prevent divots. Staple middle points first.

7. Repeat on all sides of the chair.

8. Flip the seat over to see if any parts are loose. If so, fix them and restaple.

9. Fold the corners in and cut away excess fabric.

10. Cover the bottom of the wood board with black cotton fabric.

11. Voila! Your project is complete!

I’m immediately reassured my project is doable, but I’m curious at what point someone on a DIY reupholstery journey should enlist the help of a professional like Pettey.

“I would say vintage furniture. For sure if it’s a family heirloom or something that has value or perceived value, say it’s your grandmother’s,” Pettey advises. “Other than the actual workmanship of getting it done professionally, we can get fabrics that are much more durable than the average person can locate on their own. I have a textile background. I know what fabrics are going to last and what fabrics are going to work well for a certain application.”

Pettey shows me around her workshop where she and her staff are busy completing custom orders including couches, chairs and even boat seats, the latter of which is for a boat that has emotional value for the owner.

When it comes to either a DIY reupholstery or a professional one, Pettey explains why and when it can be important.

“My answer has always been it’s worth doing if it’s something that’s important to you, because it’s an heirloom or because it’s sentimental or because you found it on the side of the road and you absolutely love it,” she says.

When it comes to custom, antique pieces, Pettey often collaborates with Deborah Norman, owner of Grand & Water Antiques in Stonington Borough, Connecticut. Norman, an antiques professional with a background in American history, often finds amazing pieces that need to be reupholstered and sends them over to Pettey who completes the project and returns them to Norman. Norman, in turn, sells the pieces in her antiques shop.

“I had this large round ottoman that was a really good, quality piece of furniture that wasn’t terribly old,” Norman says. “It was a really sad brown suede. I thought, ‘Let’s do it.’ So, we took a Kilim rug and she (Pettey) cut it all apart. It was a statement piece, and it took about two weeks until it sold. So, it’s really fun when you hit it absolutely right.”

Pettey and Norman’s collaborations result in the perfect products for shoppers who don’t want to go through either the DIY or custom reupholstery process, but simply want to walk into an antique shop and buy something they like on the spot.

“My tagline is ‘antiques with a modern twist,’” Norman tells me. “Basically, I take an old chair, the ones I do best are pairs of 1930s and 1940s club chairs because they’re very comfortable, but they need a new life. It sounds weird, but the chair kind of speaks to me about what it wants. Kim is always willing to do anything fun and she knows how to source some of these fabrics that I can’t.”

Norman speaks of one of the appeals of buying an antique piece that has been reupholstered, that is, the history behind the piece.

She tells me a story about visiting a ninety-one-year-old man’s home who was selling his furniture. There she found an African bench that had been owned by the man’s grandfather. He told her that his grandfather had invented and patented conveyor belts, which had been used for diamond mining in Africa. It’s this history of the pieces,

Norman says, that keeps her engaged in the antiques business and often keeps customers coming back.

“That’s the part that I truly love,” she says. “Just thinking about sets of china people had for fabulous dinner parties and what was talked about. Or old mirrors. What have they seen over the course of hundreds of years? Sometimes it can just make you daydream.”

As my conversation with Norman continues, I start to daydream myself. I’m feeling reinspired and positive in completing my DIY vanity stool. I know Pettey is just a phone call away if I get overwhelmed and decide to enlist the help of a professional, and, if I decide a ready-made piece might be my best option, I know Norman’s shop is the place to go.

Next Saturday I’m back on the kitchen floor with my stool. I’m more confident and more equipped to complete my project. I think about Norman’s story about the African bench. Perhaps this piece will someday be an heirloom piece for my granddaughter. I remember Norman’s words: “Put a little time and love into it.”

I smile and get to work.