I bought a two vintage wing chairs off Craigslist recently for a great price. $50 for the pair.
Now I just need to decide if I should reupholster them in a fun, colorful fabric…
Or slipcover/upholster them in a white or cream linen or cotton duck…
Which would you do?
I love this post! I have two wing chairs in my attic, given to me when my in laws moved to Colorado and ‘right sized’ into a much more casual lifestyle. New fabric and style really reinvents these chairs, doesn’t it?
I have 4 chairs with white slip covers I LOVE. With 3 kids it’s great to throw them in the wash. Plus, I can change the pillows and totally change the look with a fun new print.
Just started reading your blog!! I love it – you’re very talented!! I would choose bold/fun fabric to make the chairs stand out. Can’t wait to see the before/after pics!
Wow! Great post.
Great! Love the slipcovered looking ones. Very pretty!
Seriously, are those the original chairs in that crazy funky fabric?? Awesome! If they’re going in a living area, I would cover them in a colorful fabric and pair them with a sofa in a coordinating neutal with little to no pattern. THEN if you get bored with the fabric later, you can also just pull a slip cover over them, but there are so many fab fabrics out there, I’d just be dying for an excuse to use soem of them!
Fun fabric for sure!
Fun fabric for sure! You can always slipcover them later-
I would love to have two colorful wing chairs. I normally do for neutral, but something about the color really appeals to me.
Although the re-uphoslster idea is very cool I think I prefer the tailored slipcovers. Easy cleaning is always a plus
Will you reupholster/slipcover them yourself or hire it out?
Funny! I’m just buying two matching wingback chairs on craigslist myself this morning! All your pictures that you posted of chairs are done in white or a neutral color so I’m thinking this is what you’re drawn to. I would go with a neutral color and that’s exactly what I’m planning on doing. Perhaps burlap or linen?
i vote for cream. it’s more timeless and then you won’t have to reupholster them again when you tire of the print. and they look so beautiful and classic w clean lines w the cream, imo.
I have the same boat…two wing chairs waitning for me to make a decision! Ideally, I would like to snag two more so I could do both!
Also, just wanted you to know that I live in Pennsylvainia very close to Wilmington, DE…just wanted to introduce myself since we will be neighbors, sort of!
best,
h.
I vote to customize them with your own fabric. What does your upolsterer charge to do this?
Stephanie
Life is short, go wild!
Here’s a thought…instead of upholstery go for two well tailored slipcovers; one in a solid and one if a fun fabric. You can switch them out depending on the season or your mood.
Tricia – Avolli
i’d go for a colorful fabric. and along the same lines as the previous commenter, maybe you could later make slipcovers in white? then you can change the look so easily.
I vote for fun! If you grow tired of the pattern, you can always reupholster them again later.
I needed this post. I am still contemplating how what to pick for my $50 craigslist pair
I would probably have the same deliemma! they’ll be great either way!
ps — you are the Queen of Craig’s List.
I LOVE the first pic, where did it come from?
I started off by saying a fun color fabric but then I got down to the white & neutrals and thought well maybe that….BUT my final is the fun fabric because you got kids kids and you know this is really the time and season for funness. Although…… life is short so if you really love white like I do then……
I myself am really obsessed with white so I recently upholstered a chair in it and ll of the handprints already. I'm not bitter:-) My Mom tried to warn me and thought I was a little crazy.
neutral with fun, colorful pillows
Ooooh, these are lovely! I’d definitely vote to cover them in something fun, and then you can always slipcover in cream/neutral later on.
xox
Definitely reupholster! I LOVE the yellow chair from Horchow by the way! I’ve been drooling over it for weeks!!
I love bright colors. It’s more fun. Although you can always use fun pillows on them. Good luck deciding. We just upholstered an ottoman out of a coffee table and first did it in white and then hated it so it’s a fun bright pattern. I’ll blog about it soon if you want to see.
I have been daydreaming about wingback chairs for weeks now. I’d love to get a hold of a craigslist deal like yours! I’d go for a fun print or crisp clean white. Maybe some nail details?
I vote slipcover too, with fun pillows that you can switch out as you wish. And great find, by the way!
jbhat
I am smitten and always have been with toile or damask prints.
I know whatever you do will be amazing. I cannot wait to see!
What an amazing find! And what a roundup of chairs. I think you’ve got all your options covered in this post. :) Keep us posted on how it turns out.
my grandma used to have a set of wingback chairs in her den, and had summer and winter slipcovers that she changed out along with the drapes- even as a kid i loved watching the room change with just those two switches.
out of curiosity, what’s the approximate cost for upholstery vs. slipcover? (i guess excluding fabric). i always find great thrift store pieces but dont buy because i’m scared those costs are going to be high.
COLOR COLOR COLOR. this post is so inspiring…i’m a bit of a chair freak. pretty blog! so glad to have found it.
I love those yellow zebra chairs, I think a pair of them would be great. But on the other hand, the practical side of me thinks that a slipcover made of a white cotton fabric would be nice to have.
What a great find!
Given that the chairs were only $50 for the pair, I feel like you can be more risky / fun with the fabric. Conservative duck cloth is for expensive couches. Wing chairs are for FUNK!
I vote for fun and colourful! Can’t wait to see the before and after’s.
Oh I can’t pick. Both options will look so pretty. If you have a lot of neutrals in the room than I say have fun and go with a print! You can always get a white slipcover later down the line and switch it up!
I forgot how much I love those clover posters! thanks for the post, you didn’t say where you were putting the chairs, I think this drives your decision.
Oh my god Jennica, are you going to do that by yourself? you are good!
I love your Blog… I’m getting a lot of good ideas.
about the chairs… I will go with funky fabric, but I’m sure whatever you chose it will be spectacular!
Fun fabric all the way!
I have been searching craigslist and ebay daily for months now looking for a pair of wing chairs that I love. Summer Thornton’s home has my favorite pair of wing chairs. You can find it at either decorpad, apartment therapy chicago or summer thorntons website. Plus I always think your big pieces of furniture should be more neutral and classic and be dressed up with the accessories, but maybe thats just me. But, really, google and find the photo of her wing chairs. Beautiful.
Could you show us the room you are planning on placing them in? Both would but gorgeous though.
i’m a white/cream freak. love the classic, timeless look of it. but i also like those fun patterns, too. that’s a tough call!
thanks for blogging. i love it!!!
which room are you planning to put them? I really like the green and white upholstery in the 4th picture, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE the white/cream slip covers. Isn’t that one pic with the brown curtains from the set of The Holiday? I loved the design of that set, I’ve taken a lot of inspiration from it.
I’m all about that first chair with the bold graphic. Fabulous! But two of them done the same might be a little overhwhelming…
I would do the white surefit slipcover, than load them up with crazy pillows depending on my mood.
Love all the pics!
I would go for a fun fabric, but the chairs you show upholstered in white are incredibly appealing. My inclination would be to avoid the slipcovers, unless you’re not going to see the chair a lot. They have this messy ‘just making due’ appearance that really bothers me in smaller spaces. If you eventually get that big house in the suburbs, put slipcovered chairs on a covered porch, or in a summer house, somewhere kindof rustic.
Thanks for all the great comments, guys. Looks like the vote is pretty much 50/50. I’m really leaning toward slipcovers over reupholstery on this project. I love the thought of being able to throw it all in the wash and get the grubby handprints cleaned off! :)
Mindy – Isn’t that first pic so great? I’m 90% sure it’s from House Beautiful. I love that magazine so much. Knock on wood it doesn’t fold with the rest of my faves.
For the others that asked about pricing. I’m pretty sure I’d attempt this project on my own since I’m comfortable with reupholstering and slipcover-making. But I know from some of my design jobs that wing back slipcovers are usually about $150-$250 each and a reupholster job will run about $200-$300 if you shop around. Hope that helps!
So much inspiration here! Thank you!