Mostly when i buy an old wreck of a chair, table or otherwise, i drive home thinking of my expansive plans for re-vamping and re-working my fabulous find. However, its amazing how easily you can get used to a furniture’s foibles as time passes. Not so for this chair though, recently purchased at the lane sale as a pair for £1. Whilst its elm and blue velvet components were visually pleasing, the webbing in the seat was completely gone, making it somewhat akin to a parking your bum on an uncomfortable toilet seat. Thus began my first ‘proper’ upholstery job yesterday. Here’s a recap of the events as they unfolded.

1. Chair on arrival

2. Stripping the seat back to the frame

3. New sisal webbing, fixed with staple gun

4. Next 2 layers: horsehair and cotton

(5. A few more undocumented layers, as it started to rain!)

6. Colefax and Fowler fabric remnant to finish

Now to put it to the ultimate test – survival in our busy household…