Decorating advice: How to dress & personalize your chairs

Yesterday I was featured in a podcast for YFS magazine. (You can listen in here) It was really fun doing the show and after the interview Nicole asked me a few personal questions about being an interior designer. I love when people ask these questions, I also did a really fun interview here on Decor Envy, a new decor blog that I love. All these interviews get me to thinking about the fun parts of being a designer. 

After thinking about it, I have to say, one of the best parts for me are making over chairs. Every good designer gets to use chairs as a playground for mixing in pattern, pops of color, etc. They are such a great way to experiment with style. I have always loved chairs, I always have way too many around the house and at least 3 that I want to revamp. Chairs are my thing. When I was at the Gallery Noir party, I spotted this gorgeous black on black chair with hints of gold and I fell in love. It just made me want to create. So, I nabbed this gorgeous antique chair with yellow damask fabric for my office. Is it bad that I want to recover it with black damask? 

When I first got my grandmothers bamboo chairs, (see the post here) they were a cream color with a preppy pink plaid color. So not my vibe. So I covered them with bright white car paint, black velvet with hammered gold studs. They are now so glamorous. 

A few more chair looks that are inspiring me right now...

I love the idea of an image translated to fabric and upholstered on the back of a chair. 

Black and white stripes clearly are my favorite. I love these from this outdoor space featured on Domaine Home, as well as the lovely beauties we created for my clients on the upper west side dining nook. 

These originally looked totally different. We coated them with glossy white paint, then threw on this black and white striped fabric. We even had their family crest monogrammed into the back of the chair in gold thread. It's important to make a point to create beautiful details like that, they really personalize a home. 

Right now, I'm working on creating some chair options for the project I wrote about the other day. We are looking at these amazing shaped World Market chairs are on sale for $179. These are just screaming for a makeover. I'm also into this squared back from Wisteria, also an affordable option. 

She likes edgy glamour, so here are a few ways we could go. . .

World Market Chair | 1: Turkish metallic abstract fabric | silver leaf paint  2: Kelly Wearstler fabric | black satin spray paint

Wisteria Chair | 1: black croc fabric | high gloss white paint   2: dark grey fabric | gold leaf paint

E-design : behind of the scenes decorating process

I've been knee deep in projects and creating new things, blogging has sort of taken a back seat in my world. So, today I'm just basically going to share my brain during one of my e-decorating client processes. The client is an avid traveler, with New York edge, and a super fun personality. She loves to be unique and different and have a Hollywood glam vibe with a kick (i.e. skulls, guns, rams heads, etc).  This particular project has been spread out in design increments over time, so we take it area by area.  As intimidating as it seems, outfitting the home should be a process, you don't need to nail down everything at once. I loooooove the process and seeing things evolve. 

I'll let you peek at the fireplace area, which is currently whats happening. We are looking to outfit the area and make the wall color different on that wall than the rest of the space. How gorgeous is the mantle? It's got a Parisian swag to it and the white dogs make it modern and whimsical. Antique gold mirror, no explanation needed.  I can really appreciate this nude sketch for the fireplace, too. A nice modern piece of art really tops of the look. Then throw in a gorgeous candlestick or two, these are my favorite. We thought about actual sconces but when it isn't your own home, sometimes extra wiring just doesn't make sense. 

Half of the space will be painted an off-black, the part behind the fireplace and the rest of the space will be in high gloss white. For black walls, I am not really a fan of high gloss paint, I prefer a satin or a matte finish. Something about a softer finish makes it less drastic. I also try to not go for blacks that are too "in your face". Soft blacks, off blacks are the best to go for that dark and romantic feeling. . .not goth fabulous. 

On the opposite side of the room is the TV sofa area, we are going with a bold sofa, its the Ink blue Dunham L-shaped sofa from West Elm, which I am absolutely obsessed with and so is my client. This was definitely the statement piece of the room. We waited weeks for this bad boy. This girl is a total thrift shopper like me and found an Arteriors drum cocktail table for a steal. I suggest finding one for a bargain, like this one here. 

Our biggest dilemma is the rug, and because of the homes unique shape, we have to get creative. My first choice would be to sew 2 of these bad boys from IKEA [black and white Sillerup rug]. Which would look so cool next to the Kelly Wearstler channels fabric, I would love to have curtains made. She loves leopard, so these pillows are a must. So far, if this rug idea works, here is what we have.