This Isn't Your Grandma's Wingback Chair!

Mine was a well-constructed wingback chair that my grandmother gave me. With frayed silk fabric and a cushion as hard as a phone book, it sat in storage for more than a decade until I got the courage and inspiration to reupholster it.

The first thing to go was the mahogany legs. My architect husband Michael McKinley has issued a moratorium on what he calls "brown" furniture, so I painted the legs a grey / black and found the fabric at the Griswold Textile Print Factory store in Westerly at the bargain price of $13 per yard. 

You can plan on using eight yards of fabric and spending about $800 to upholster a wingback chair. The total cost of my "new" chair was under $1,000, which is considerably less than what you would pay for a high quality upholstered chair.

Today, the wingback chair that was once hidden away is now an eye-catching centerpiece in our living room.

Click here for the Griswold Textile Print in Westerly. For more design ideas, check out our architecture firm's blog, or like us on Facebook.