Nanny's Chair Makeover

As you may remember a few months ago, I took a little field trip down to the Vaughn correctional center to drop off Nanny's chair for reupholstering. To replace the bristly berry red velvet, I decided to go with an ivory colored fabric. It's a pretty plain pattern of flowers that's all the same color but with a lovely texture. Here's a few after pictures. I wish there had been someone to take a few shots of me wrestling this thing into my house by myself, but the only witnesses to that hilarity are the couple who was taking a house tour of one of the properties across the street.


I have to say, as far as craftsmanship goes, these guys did a phenomenal job. The staining and refinishing work is flawless and they managed to save the gorgeous details on the claw feet of the chair that had been worn down with years of abuse from all of Betty and Babe's kids and grandkids climbing all over it.

The detail work was also pretty excellent. I assumed they would forgo adding studs back to the piece, but it's got a really nice effect against the ivory material. And they even managed to keep the piped backing which I was told is really a challenge.

It looks like it belongs in a formal living room or dining room somewhere. As of right now, it's in my bedroom, actively avoiding coffee stains that might befall it in my living room. Also, the chair has been under constant fire from Alex's discarded clothes. My new rant for the past few weeks has been "I didn't spend hundreds of dollars to make that chair look amazing so you can throw your crap all over it!" We'll see how long it takes me to win that battle.


So there you have it. Nanny's chair has been returned to its former grandeur. It has a special place in my home and will always remind me of my Nagle roots and hanging out at Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop's house for Sunday dinner with all the cousins. I'm glad that it's now relegated to a spot other than my parent's basement and that it's getting a fresh start. It really is a beautiful thing.