ME: Learning Why Upholstered Furniture is So Damn Expensive

Another damn snowstorm, a class canceled. Just one of those things to get used to when living in New England. But even without class, I still got a few things accomplished this week.

The first thing I managed to squeeze in (between snow storms) was buying the basic supplies to start upholstering the chair. My first stop was New England Upholstery Supply to pick up my magnetic hammer, tacks, jute, ruby twine, foam, muslin, and a bunch of other stuff. That first stop was pricey, around $250, but I bought some expensive tools and supplies for both chairs (and enough for probably a 3rd or possibly a 4th.)

Then I headed up Zimman's in search of the perfect upholstery fabric. The great thing about Zimman's is the fact that they sell designer fabrics to the public and for reasonable prices. Now, the interesting part is that Sal wanted to come join me because these will be living in our house and he, well, questions my style. After 2 hours and a time-out, we picked the fabric.



We went with a natural tone heavy woven cotton (similar to a linen weave) with French script fabric and a complimentary deep tea colored linen for the seat. Total on fabric... $200 for 2 chairs (the top of my budget.)

The funny part is the fact that I was a little worried about the French fabric being too busy. I would hate to do all this work and be sick of the chairs by time I was done. Well, while doing a Google search for 'fabric chair' to just see what is out there, I came across an image of the fabric I bought! So, when I clicked on it, I found this...



... an ENTIRE chair upholstered in the fabric! And it's not horrible! It's actually really nice! Very classic, rather neutral but still whimsical.

And it's an $850 chair to boot! So, I can't feel so badly spending $30 for my two chairs plus another $150 each in materials.

I did get a little more work done, but that's for another blog post.