12 day of Christmas – New Year, New You, New Chair!
Out with the old, back in with the old – but make it new!
Are you thinking of changing up your house decor in the new year and need some help matching your old furniture to the new design? We have years of experience helping customers choose the perfect fabrics and upholstery transformations for their preloved chair. From Dining chair upholstery to restoring antique rocking chairs, we can help give your furniture a new lease of life ready for what the new year will bring….
To help give you some ideas on the types of projects we work on, take a look at a selection of our favourite chair transformations which we have loved doing…
Making new from old – restoring French Antique Dining Chairs
Bibiana’s dining chairs were tired and in desperate need of a refresh. Having travelled back from her old home in France to the UK they were wanting to match them to their new decor.
The dining chairs were stripped back to the wooden frame, repaired and polished. They’ve been completely rebuilt with new materials to meet FR standards. Upholstered in the sumptuous Plush Velvet from Warwick Fabrics. Each chair has been individually hand studded to give an individual design flourish and finish off the chair. Bibiana left us this feedback and shared in situ photos.
“Emma re-upholstered my dining room chairs which were looking very tired and needed a lot of work to bring them back to life. She is amazing, did a wonderful job. Highly recommend her”
Stylish Dining Chairs in Liberty Velvet
Our client had a perfectly lovely dining table suite, but the dining chairs were well used and needed a refresh. They didn’t want to replace the whole dining suite so they looked to have the chairs reupholstered with us.
Our client had already chosen a stunning Liberty Fabric Faria but only had enough for the seat backs. So we teamed it with a dark indigo velvet by Warwick Plush Velvet for the seats and double piping. It’s a really durable velvet with stain resistant finish but also importantly luxuriously soft to sit on
The dining chair frames were also given some major attention; they were stripped back to the wooden frames, which were then repaired, waxed and polished.
The beauty of this restoration is that we saved a set of chairs going to landfill, and saved our client from buying a whole new dining room set, when she didn’t need to!
Rocking new life into a family Rocking Chair
Have you got an old family rocking chair which you don’t want to part with, that needs a bit of attention and care? We loved working on Helen’s rocking chair as it had such sentimental value to them and we received great feedback. We took the time to understand what Helen was looking for and fully restored her rocking chair so it can now be fully enjoyed back in their home.
A massive thank you to Emma and her Dad, for beautifully reupholstering and restoring my fathers rocking chair. He bought it 50 plus years ago, but in recent years it’s sat neglected in the garage. Sadly, my lovely Dad passed away in August and he’s greatly missed. 
We’re so pleased to have his chair home in time for Christmas. It’s perfect! I can’t recommend Semper Hopkins enough – will be booking on to one of their workshops next year 
From Drab Chair to Fab Chair
Our client’s old armchair was in need of a makeover. They wanted to make a statement and chose to change the dull brown fabric to a gorgeous velvet from Linwood Casper Sea Green. How stunning is the contrast of the bright blue fabric against the pattern? We added some extra piping details for finishing touches and we are made up with the finished result.
Bespoke Booth seating
We love when we have the opportunity to work on projects a little different to usual. Working on this bespoke seating booth was a nice change to our usual dining chair or arm chair makeovers and we loved the finished result! Our client had an old property where nothing was symmetrical that was why she needed custom made bench cushions fit to size. We helped them select Warwick Plush Velvet. They needed a durable fabric as they have children and pets, but it was also luxuriously soft to sit on.
How to put style back into a Wingback chair
This wingback chair needed a breath of fresh air blown back into it. It is common for antique chairs to show their age with all the wear and tear they go through throughout the years. We completely transformed this wingback chair into a vibrant, statement piece for a bedroom. We used a stunning canary yellow fabric from Linwood Omega Velvet and contrasted it against the bright patterned blue designed by Emma Semper Hopkins. What a difference it has made!
Restoring your Recliner
This mid century American Pontiac recliner was a classic before its transformation, but as you can see it was well used and needed some attention. Our clients had inherited it from a family member and wanted it restored back to its former glory.
The chair was completely stripped back and rebuilt with new materials. We paid particular attention to detail ensuring we replicated all of the design features. It was reupholstered in stunning wool from our favourite Yorkshire based weaver called Marton Mills. The recliner is now like a new chair. Our clients were blown away with the chair transformation and wished they had done it years ago!
Antique armchair
Antique armchairs are always one of our favourites to reupholster as we love giving something old more purpose! The chair had previously been reupholstered but the old fabric was worn and our client wanted a change to go with their new sofas.
How stunning is this Linn Botanica Velvet fabric by Warwick Sequoia that we used to reupholster the armchair? It has completely changed the style of the chair and made it into a statement piece of furniture and we love it! The contrasting piping finishes it off perfectly.
Mum’s favourite chair
We love transforming our clients chairs. Especially when we are trusted with a chair that has been in their family for years. Barry’s mum’s antique iron back nursing chair received a full makeover. They have years of memories in this chair but it didn’t fit in with their home style or decor. It was fully transformed in a bright duo of Amantheon Wool from Warwick Fabric.
Modern Makeover Sofa cushions
Not all of our transformations are old chairs. We often complete modern makeovers, especially sofa cushions. Clients often start looking for new sofas because the cushions fabric and filling have worn out. They often get frustrated with the search when they can’t find anything as comfortable as their current one. This is where we jump in and help. Usually there is nothing wrong with the sofa frame, they are looking to give the cushions a new lease of life.
The fabric was worn and the cushion filling was flat on Nikki’s brown leather sofa. She didn’t want to replace the suite as it was the perfect size for her living room. We gave the suite a new lease of life with new sumptuous foam feather wrap fillings. Making new cushions and scatter cushions using a combination of Warwick Sequoia and Warwick Krayola. Both hard wearing fabrics that can withstand spills and dogs!
It gave the sofa a completely new look and they were thrilled with the finish. Best of all it saved a sofa going to landfill, and it was cheaper than buying completely new!
Bar stools – Diana Stephenson
We love it when we receive photos from clients showing their furniture in situ. We gave Diana’s four bar stools a full makeover. We did the whole consultation process virtually sending samples through the post, and catching up over email and phone to decide the final combinations. They were transformed in the sumptuous Velvet Cosmos Indigo by Linwood Fabric. They were absolutely thrilled with the finished pieces and they left us a 5* review. Saving old furniture from landfill and they’ve got exactly what they want.
“Delighted with the 4 bar stools we’ve just had recovered. They were structurally sound but the fabric was worn. We’ve just got them back and it’s like having brand new stools to sit on. Excellent”
A statement footstool to put your tired feet on
Our client had recently decorated their room in a pallete of mustard, grey and dark blue so their current footstool no longer went with the scheme. Rather than buying new they had their existing piece transformed so they got exactly what they were looking for. The footstool was upholstered in a snazzy geometric print Linwood Bolero Yellow. They now have a statement piece of furniture taking centre stage in their home. They were so please they also left us this great 5* review.
“Absolutely thrilled with my reupholstered storage footstool – it looks better than I could have ever imagined. I also really appreciated the fact that Emma checked in with me half-way through the restoration to make sure that I was happy with how it was looking. Highly recommend.”
Get in touch if you have a chair or a piece of furniture in need of a refresh this new year. You can fill in the quotation contact form or call 01260609021 to chat through the details.
We will help you:
👍🏻 Choose a fabric you will adore as well as considering all the practical things that you might not have thought of.
👍🏻 Add design details and flourishes that will give your piece a new, unique character.
👍🏻 Adjust any aspects that need improvement. Does the woodwork need a makeover? No problem, we’ll sand and polish it. Is the seating too hard? Don’t worry, we can replace it.
The end result is a totally personal and unique piece that you’ll love. Get in touch to start your project.
