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Thursday, October 17, 2013

Faux Bois Dining Chairs

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Whew...it's already Thursday? I know I've been bad at posting this week but I've been busy resuming my non-vacation life...you know, grocery shopping, cleaning, prepping for trick-or-treaters, etc. One of my (many) errands this week: dropping off donations to one of my favorite thrift stores, which I did yesterday.

While there, I had the find of a lifetime--a complete set of 6 faux bois Louis dining chairs. I know, right? Oh, and they were $35 a piece. Let that sink in for a bit...

My dining room went from 0 to 60 in about 3 seconds with the purchase of these chairs. The room was as empty yesterday as it was when I shared it on our house tour in March. But today, I've got the foundation of a unique-but-traditional space in these faux bois Louis-style chairs.
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 Up close, you'll see that the finish on the chairs is oak. I'm thinking this needs to change. So should I stain the chair frames? Lime them? Paint them? Flat or glossy?
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The upholstery also needs to be changed but I'm hoping that's a project I can tackle at home. Anybody have experience reupholstering a Louis dining chair at home? I want a neutral solid for the fabric--I don't want my fabric choice to compete with the cool frames of the chairs.
Meet Me in Philadelphia meetmeinphiladelphia.blogspot.com
Meet Me in Philadelphia meetmeinphiladelphia.blogspot.com
After discovering these yesterday, I went straight for the internet to research my find. I discovered that Caitlin Creer has the very same chairs in her house!

A few similar pairs were also recently listed on One Kings Lane, and one of the pairs was attributed to Kreiss. Anybody know the maker of these chairs? There are no marks on mine. 

So, I've got a lot of questions for you readers: how should I refinish the chair frames? What's a durable fabric option for these chairs? Who makes these chairs? What table should I pair with these chairs? HELP!

12 comments:

  1. Unbelievable!! You hit the lottery on this one!!! I love those they are beyond fabulous, so jealous my friend!
    Best,
    Karolyn

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  2. I would say lime them or whitewash them a bit on the greige side. I think it will keep them feeling light and elegant. You could pair that w/either linen or mohair. That was a tremendous bargain - good for you!!

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  3. Wow! Jackpot!! I've seen maybe one or two of these but never six and in such awesome condition. I love faux bois and rope chairs so much! I agree with My Notting Hill - either lime or whitewash. Something so clean and Swedish feeling about that look. I think high gloss paint might take away some of the beautiful detail. And I love the mohair or linen idea, but for dining chairs I also love faux ostrich in a pretty blue maybe? For a table? Ugh, that's a tough one. I would say maybe something fairly simple and traditional and in a somewhat darker tone to contrast with your newly lightened chairs. Can't wait to see!!

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  4. I am currently reupholstering (well, attempting to reupholster) a Louis chair and I stripped everything except the fabric oval on the back...I cant seem to figure out how to get to that piece. Do your chairs have fabric on the chair backs? Anyway, I am painting my frames white but I think you should lime/whitewash yours.

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  5. a dream come true!! Were you just so giddy?!! I think whitewash or lime is the way to go. And then there are some wonderful vinyls out there that look like leather. They are way more cost effective and then so easy with children and they can look really elegant. I'm guessing this is leather but I'm imagining a kelly green like Grant K. Gibson's chairs at the SF showhouse a couple years back...it's the last photo in this post - http://kcinteriors.wordpress.com/2013/10/10/louis-xvi-dining-chairs/ Then again, since you got them for a steal and you're going to do all the work you could splurge on leather.

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  6. Love, love, love, love, love! So YOU. You know that Jenny at LGN did a 5-part series on reupholstery, right?

    I would love to see these limed or painted bright white. Pretty!

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  7. Oh my goodness Ashley! What a great find! I love the look and color on Caitlin's chairs. Maybe lime them. I can't wait to see your transformation!

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  8. Ashley, I LOVE these chairs!! You are so lucky! I really like the fabric too - the color is so pretty! I like the idea of whitewash and then reupholstered in a buffalo check! Did you ever see AMy Meier's chair with the buffalo check? So pretty.

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  9. Shut. Up! Cheers to you girl, what a great start to the dining room. I say lime them, as that will let their detail shine thru. And I know you can own that reupholstery job with no problem. Lucky!!

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  10. You should have no problem reupholstering those gorgeous chairs yourself at home. I love the idea of liming them and using a darker stained, clean-lined dining table. I agree with your thoughts on patternless fabric for the chairs. Super good!!

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  11. Hi, everyone! Thank you for these very helpful comments. From the looks of it, everyone's in support of a limewash for the chairs which is great (that's secretly what I was hoping you'd all say).

    @My Notting Hill--I love idea of mohair. Is it going to be very difficult to keep clean though?
    @Heather--thanks for reminding me about Jenny's tutorials. I should figured she'd have something super-helpful!
    @Kim--I totally agree about the dark, clean-lined table idea. Now I just need to find one...

    Thanks again for your feedback everyone. Can't wait to show them off when I get to work on them.

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  12. Amazing find, Ashley! Just want to add another vote for liming. Cannot wait to see how you dress these chairs up.

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I'd love to hear your thoughts!