People reupholster furniture for lots of reasons. The reason I like best is that the piece carries emotional content, family ties, memories. If you know me, you’ve heard me say, “Not everything gets to be an heirloom.” That’s true. True heirlooms are more than old. They are pieces that are so deeply permeated with memories, and so evocative of people and place that they must be preserved. Clara is one of those.

You may remember Redstone? Redstone was the new-ish sofa uh... "remodeled" by these adorable family pooches, Fergus and Frannie.

Well, meet Buck. Buck is Redstone’s sidekick loveseat. After completing Redstone the family decided they’d like Buck to match. Backordered fabric (and my schedule) pushed Buck back six months, but we got it done.

Every now and again I do a project where I become so invested in the story, and the time spent that I don’t really want to give it back. Tillie, named after her original owner, Great Aunt Tillie, was one of those.

𝐇𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐥 is a relatively new, apartment sized La–Z-Boy sofa. While Hazel’s size, shape, and “sit” were perfect for the space, the original color and overall vibe just wasn’t right for the homeowner. From a decorative perspective, Hazel was a miss. Moving to a new home brought new opportunities, so Hazel’s owner decided the time was right to make a change. Custom reupholstery gave the homeowner exactly the sofa she wanted, and helped Hazel grow into herself.

This chair has been through a time warp. It entered the workshop screaming 1990!!! And it left ready for 2025!

This is a 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥 chair-and-a-half. 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥 is a great brand. Yes, a chair-and-a-half is a thing. It’s like a cross between a loveseat, a club chair, and an overstuffed recliner. The chair-and-a-half is perfect for sharing space between and adult and a child, adult and two children, two teens, or one very lounged teenager. Visualize throwing your legs over one well padded arm while your head is cradled on the other, the quintessential pose of TV viewing for teens.

This nearly new sofa came to me after an unfortunate encounter with an enthusiastic and determined family dog named 𝙁𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙚.

Redstone takes its name from its new fabric by Anna Elisabeth/Greenhouse, F2849, called Redstone. Redstone is the perfect name for this project. Redstone earned its name through the layered micro-stripes in the colors of sandstone, limestone, iron, gray, gold, khaki, burgundy, and sunset so reminiscent of the colorful layered stone you see in parts of the southern US.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲. 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐉𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝. Yes, this chair is named after the 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤, 𝙅𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙂𝙤𝙛𝙛. 🦁 So, isn’t revival what Jared Goff does? And who fronts Jared at every game? 𝙁𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙍𝙖𝙜𝙣𝙤𝙬. You don’t see one with out the other. So, I give you Jared, the chair, and Frank, the ottoman. They are a bonded pair.

Beiges, taupes, and browns are back, baby! Introducing Dr. Watson!

I would expect to find a piece like this classic sofa at 221 Baker Street, London. Who lives there? Why, Sherlock Holmes, of course! I called this sofa Dr. Watson because it is tasteful, smart, classic, and restrained. It’s upholstered in a khaki herringbone, F1532, by Greenhouse Fabrics.

Roy belonged to my husband's mom. She loved this chair, and she loved Roy, my husband's dad. And given this chair is wearing a beautiful royal blue, he's Roy. He just is.

Ronnie’s Chair was handmade. Though the name of the maker is lost to time, we can only assume it was someone who loved this child and this family very much. Linda remembers Ronnie’s Chair as light blue originally with white welt cord. At some point, in the 1960s, this cherished rocker was reupholstered by Ronnie’s dad in a durable white vinyl. It was time to refresh Ronnie’s Chair for the next generation, to carry forward Ronnie’s memory.

Introducing Edmund and Lucy, named after characters in The Chronicles of Narnia. Edmund was a bit of a pill starting out which is how he got his name. He was a touch willful and there was a bit of frame repair needed at the beginning; however, soon Edmund settled into his mature and elegant self. Lucy was just a pleasure to work from the beginning. Such an easy chair. (See what I did there?) Isn’t it interesting how two identical chairs can be so different? Those differences continued as time went on.

“Lois” was a well loved antique rocker previously belonging to my husband’s mom, “Lois.” Hence, this heirloom chair carries her name. A favorite perch at Grandma’s house, and purportedly “the most comfortable chair in the room” the heirloom Lois Rocker has been in the home of my husband’s sister for the last 20 years.

"I have a few friends who are fun through and through. Their names are Thing 1 and the other Thing 2."

Ok. Maybe reupholstering these twins was not quite

"fun through and through" as described by Dr. Seuss, but holy cow, these things were solid wood through and through! Introducing Thing 1 and Thing 2.

What is an elephant chair? An elephant chair is a mid-century modern chair that when viewed from the side evokes the shape of an elephant: You can see the thick legs and the round shape of the elephant. Can you see it?

This week's project was a family heirloom rocking chair that had been in the client's family for years. Sometime along the way the bottom fell out of the chair and the springs were lost.

Introducing Oscar! He’s big, he‘s heavy, but oh, so smooth! Oscar has left his frat-boy years in the rearview and walked confidently into the future.

Settee Makeover:

This settee is an inherited vintage piece that just did not fit the owner's vision or modern decor. They wanted to keep the settee for sentimental reasons, but it was tired and oh, so dated!

I finished channel back Elsie a few weeks ago and I said that Elsie’s sister channel back, Emma, was coming up. Well, it turns out Emma, deep down, was really Everett. Everett let me know pretty quickly just who he was and how he prefers to make his way in the world. He looks a bit like Elsie, but differs in some really significant ways. He’s the yin to her yang.

Her name is Penelope. She’s strong willed, bright, sassy, and she wants it all… her way. She will not accept half way; she wants it all.

Upholstery is a little like childbirth. Truly. (Got your attention, huh?) You never really know what you're going to get until you push through and get there!