The Stuff

Look at 15 projects through new eyes, re-creating old furniture in your own imaginative style. Top upholsterer Lorraine Osborne guides you through her simple processes for salvaging and fabulously renovating old, unloved chairs. Far too much furniture is thrown away and with it the perfectly good materials and resources that we should reuse. It’s not the chairs that are lacking: it’s our imaginations. Using basic upholstery skills, learn how to transform a frame into something unique (or have a go at building your own!). Lorraine shares the excitement of designing and printing your own fabric to fit the shape and style of a remodeled chair. Discover how easy it is, using simple computing knowledge, to create highly individual fabric that expresses who you are. She includes a wealth of tips to help with every aspect of your projects, gathered from a lifetime in the trade that she loves. All that you need are a few basic upholstery skills, an ability to work three-dimensionally, and an eye for shape and design—plus your own personal style and a bit of flair. Insider features include ways to calculate quantities of fabric accurately and 12 of Lorraine's top tips for making your furniture projects amazing. Upholstery has become her art; it could become yours too!