Mad Men Inspiration for Retro Chairs

Enthused by blankets being used as  upholstery I was on the hunt for old wool blankets much to my sisters joint horror! So it meant I was kind of half hearted doing it and thinking how difficult it may turnout out to be, so I stopped looking for the blankets and starting browsing around for chairs online. I was amazed by the amount of people looking to emulate the current popularity of Mad Men and how it has filtered down not only into fashion but also interiors with interior designers, shops, boutiques and https://www.pinterest.com/ awash with Mad Men fever......

I came across two check/ tweedy looking chairs that I thought were a possibility for my own private Mad Men look especially as from far away they looked "brownish" but upon closer inspection I could see they had a couple of distinct threads running through them which coincided with my next project I had in mind which was to find an opportunity to mix a few of the Chalk Paints™ by Annie Sloan to see what colours were possible.

(image courtesy of the Chair Depository http://thechairdepository.blogspot.ie/2011/10/inspiration-blanket-upholstery.html

So now my challenge was to turn my original pair of chairs into something Mad Men, vibrant and fun ( a tall order!) and to do this whislt exploring a new choice of colours which I would mix. The two colours I liked in the fabric were a deep pinky/purple like an antique fuchsia and a coral colour. 

(photo taken on the street when I first saw the chairs outside a antiques/vintage store in Dublin city centre)

Mixing Paints, Time to Explore..

So I started to mix 

(mixing Emile and Emperor Silk to make the Antique Fuchsia colour I was looking for and then mixing Barcelona Orange with Emperor Silk to make the Coral toned colour )

Its best just to take your time and I added literally spoon by spoon until I had the colour and tone I had in my head. If you are nervous about doing this then it is time I directed you to an Chalk Paint™  by Annie Sloan veteran and expert who has come up with a fantastic tool whereby you can input the colours you want to mix and you get to see how much you need to add of each percentage wise in order to achieve your colour of choice. 

http://www.thepurplepaintedlady.com/paint-mixer/

It is trial and error and if you are worried, to save you, read this fantastic post by The Purple Painted Lady,

a shining light in the world of Annie Sloan and a true innovator http://www.thepurplepaintedlady.com/2014/05/emperors-silk-chalk-paint-tell-me-all-about-it/

So I painted the first chair in my Antique Fuchsia colour and my second chair in the Coral colour and I am really happy with the result. I then sanded both chairs off, and I applied a lot of wax and then repeated the process. Then I used a brush to buffer them off. 

If you are still looking for that Mad Men Inspiation, read below: 

http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/14393727/list/Why-We-Love-Midcentury-Modern-Design

Red Hot Chairs

Influenced by the number of designer chairs reusing tweed and wool patterns in the fabric of their chairs and having had a good root around some vintage shops in London I was on the lookout for my own pair of fireside chairs. Originally I was thinking I would pick an unusual shape with a low seat and then choose a fabric and have them recovered.

(Vintage Inspiration found online)

Finally, I came across two that attracted me but the fabric was putting me off and they were fairly shabby looking. It was the shape of the arms that attracted me; I just couldn’t resist those curves. I tried originally with a medley of greys, then greens, all of it looked a little insipid and lost and did nothing for the chairs, even if I was recovering. 

(Before Image and after I had tried a paler green option..)

I needed something that would really provide a “pop” and accentuate the curve of the arms as this is the most unusual aspect of the chairs and something we do not see in mass produced furniture today. So it was back to the old reliable, Emperor Silk who can always transform a piece and cheer up a room. So I repainted the arms and legs with two coats of Emperor Silk Chalk Paint™ by Annie Sloan and touched up again on anywhere that looked patchy when first two coats dried.

(Final Outcome)

I then sanded again, as I had originally sanded more than usual as the varnish on the original arms was worn in patches and I didn’t want that to show through. Then I generously applied clear wax, left it and went back, buffed it off and repeated the process. At this point I had steam cleaned the fabric and sprayed it with a fabric cleaner as well as leaving it outdoors when it was not raining (difficult recently!) to air as much as possible, so much so that I decided I would keep the original fabric for now.

(Courtesy of RescuedRetroVintage on Etsy, if you are feeling more adventurous

https://www.etsy.com/ie/listing/164886690/original-soviet-cold-war-overcoat?ref=shop_home_active_5 )

ps: I had originally picked a very unique green wingback chair from the same second hand furniture dealer but he went ahead and delivered when I was not home, deciding that three chairs would be safe in my front garden. When I got home the green one and the most unusual was missing! It looks like somebody thought as they were second hand/preloved ! that I was putting them in my garden enroute to the skip, so they helped themselves, which brings me onto “Skip Diving Etiquette”. There is a plethora of articles online about the etiquette for helping yourself to skips, roadside finds etc but if it i actually in someones garden, it is expected that you knock and ask as you are on their private property and cannot be sure they are actually dumping it !

For some really funny and interesting blogs on dumpster diving and buying used furniture, see below:

http://mywhitsend.org/2011/07/01/the-art-etiquette-and-rules-of-dumpster-diving/

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/the-ten-commandments-of-buying-used-furniture-184689

http://kissthefrogagain.co.uk/shop/vintage-tweed-mummy-chair/