Chair and Chair Alike

Posted by Rory, Contributing Editor

 

Not too long ago, I risked divorce by buying a sort of slipper-y, princess-y chair for the bedroom without clearing it with my husband. Part of me felt like, since it wasn't pink, how could he object? And the weird thing is, he didn't object. But then doubt started seeping into my own brain, based on something the Anthropologie cashier had said as I handed over my credit card:

This chair is so popular, we cannot keep it in stock. I can't tell you how many women just like you have come in here and ordered this!

As the days passed, I feared I'd spent $998 on a chair that would be the furniture equivalent of Ugg boots. Then, that weekend, we visited friends in Buffalo and stopped by the Habitat for Humanity store after breakfast. There, in the furniture department, I saw a princess-y chair that, underneath its filthy orange bouclé upholstery, I swear is a Dunbar (or a very near doppelganger). The cost? $7.

I didn’t buy it, because I'd already ordered my chair-as-Ugg-boot. But on my birthday, I got an email from my friend Heidi: She had gone back and bought me the chair. She knew I wanted to buy fabric for it, so she also sent along what is still the best part of this whole process: a "cartoon" of herself standing next to the marked-for-measurement chair:

The nice people at Anthropologie let me cancel my order (it was on back-order anyway). Then I bought new fabric for the chair, a natural  denim, and Heidi found a second-generation reupholsterer in Niagara Falls named Tom—I could not make this up!—Virtuoso. In keeping with his surname, he did an amazing job. But after we'd brought it home, I felt it still needed some flay-va. The white seemed bland compared with the tropical explosion of the Ugg chair. So in a nod to the Eames chairs, I made the chair a "bikini top" from a scrap of persimmon Hable Construction fabric.

Comments

[dj]

I love your vintage piece. The new chair looks cartoonish by comparison. Too many designers are trying to recreate retro pieces with horrible results. I say buy the original and redo it and in most instances save yourself a ton of money on a quality piece.

[angelune]

I LOVE what you've done with your vintage find.
People - notice that the armrest covers are removable. It seems Tom HAS done a great job re-upholstering the chair. And with this nice white chair, she can change the look with pillows whenever she wants, and not get stuck with a chair-as-ugg-boot. If she wanted, she could also get Tom, or any other good upholsterer/tailor to make a snug-fitting slip cover.
I also agree that the proportions of the second chair are nicer.

[Davina]

I totally disagree, I much prefer the thrift store chair to the anthropolgie chair. honestly. I think it has much more sophisticated lines. The Anthro chair looks a little bottom heavy/pear shaped, whereas the good-deal chair is nicely proportioned. I also love the tapered legs. More modern. Good choice!

[veronica]

hey, i've been looking for an upholsteror in my area (buffalo). thanks for the heads up!

and i don't think i need to mention that i am sooooo jealous of your habitat restore purchase. JEALOUS!!!!

[Tina]

Anthropologie is highly overrated, and that chair is really expensive. I really like what you did with your $7 treasure.

[amy]

wow, people can be really lame. I think the chair looks great, and you can't beat that deal! i like the spindle-y legs too. bright pillows dress up any basic piece of furniture. Also, i think it's great when people take advantage of great older pieces rather than getting something new - it's conservation!

[Jamie]

Gosh, I can't believe the people posting are so mean. You just saved hundreds of dollars, your friend gave you a surprise gift, and your new chair is awesome! Plus, now you don't have the same chair all those other women do. Jeez Louise. GOOD JOB!

[Suzanne]

I love the first chair, but the second would really be cool if you covered it with a big bold, busy fabric. But you must have a professional upholster the heck out of it.. as tight as the first chair. Slipcovers don't look so great on a chair with great bones.
it would look so cute!
Maybe make the bikini top into a pillow?

[T]

That chair is nothing compared to your first choice, which you should have stuck with!

[vanessa]

the astrid chair from anthropologie kicked off a revolutionary obsession for me and now my life is replete with chairs. my husband wasn't so excited about the chair especially since i dragged him to the store and made him sit in it. he didn't think the fabric was so exciting. so instead i started buying antique chairs for $50.00 and reupholstering them. of course no fabric is as great as your own fabric so i've gone so far as to screenprint several of my own fabrics for this adventure. i've completed 2 so far, but have several sitting in the basement in various states of disrepair. i had no idea others had had the same affair with the astrid chair.

[jennifer dunbar]

oh my god, this was like the least interesting most pointless post i've seen in a long time... but you got a good deal on the chair. too bad the upholstery is ugly. go for the whole persimmon and don't go back to tom cause his work is not inspiring.