When you’re dealing in French furniture it pays to know your subject both inside and out! So I wanted to find out how a chair is made and what it is made off.

I know from my time at Art school and subsequently my jewellery apprenticeship that learning to master a trade or craft takes many years. However, learning the basics of a craft can be done relatively quickly and gives you good insight to its intricacies.

So what isn’t a better way to start than attend night classes at Northcote College here on Auckland’s North Shore to learn a little about upholstery.

The Upholstery course is run over 8 weeks every Tuesday night and costs around $120. The course is very popular so you need to book well in advance.

This is not surprising since the class in taught by Michael Broadfoot (mikebroadfoot@yahoo.co.nz) who works as a full-time upholster. He is ably assisted by his son Daniel. Michael knows his stuff , has a fine sense of humour and the patience of a saint, the ideal qualities for the perfect tutor. Mike was not only an expert upholsterer but an expert at allocating his time giving one on one tutoring which is not easy even though the number of students in the class are strictly limited. I know from experience how important this when learning a craft to pick up those hard to grasp techniques.

My goal was to turn this old chair back into the grand piece it once was. I had this beautiful chair. I wanted to turn it into something different. Up beat and bold. Something luxurious to sit on in my bedroom with a good book. So off I strolled to my first class. After meeting Mike and the rest of the class, I knew this class would be both informative and fun.

I must admit my project was relatively modest compared to some of my class mates. Rolled armchairs appeared far more challenging, taking a lot more time and little frustration but still with amazing results.

First of all, we had to take everything off the chair. Something I didn’t think of before the course. Covering up yes, but stripping off no. It was the middle of winter!

The original job on my chair was previously done by a staple happy person. Every staple has to be removed which can be rather frustrating when taking out this many! As with any craft having the right tools on hand is a must. Michael advised us to purchase our own stripping tool that cost around $15. This is a one useful piece of equipment that I’m sure I’ll use again and again. Other tools of the trade are a powerful staple gun (the one at the course was a compressed air type) and a very sharp carpet knife (Stanley knife).

Once the stripping was done, Mike demonstrated how to replace and shape the stuffing for the chair using the upholstery foam and tetron. This is where expert instruction is invaluable in learning the secret tricks of the trade. This is when the chair began to take shape and I began to feel the first pangs of pride from my achievement.
Once the stuffing is complete it was time to put on the coverage material. I had selected a pink industrial velvet following a week long hunt around the material dealers in Auckland. This material I sourced from Textiles N’ things in Newmarket.

The key to fitting the material is to learn the correct technique for around the corner areas of the chair. Once the material was stapled on I removed the excess material very carefully with a very sharp “Stanley” Knife. The final part of the job was to fit the braiding around the edge of the material.

I had a lot of fun along the way. The class was as upbeat as my chair and I plan to go back at some stage. My basic upholstering skills will be very useful for the more simple jobs like kitchen chairs and minor repair jobs.

For the major jobs, I can see that they are best left to an expert. It’s faster, cheaper to complete in the long run and you can rely on a quality job. However my new skills will enable me to select, instruct and monitor the quality of an upholsterer more effectively.  I’ll also be able to select my purchases with more understanding of the possible alterations or repair requirement costs involved. All in all the course was well worth the money. I highly recommend it.

I have a love of beautiful old frames and I love hunting around the markets for them.
Here I have given examples of how you can get creative with an old frame. It looks wonderful with my style of french furniture at home.

Wall vases are a great way to create a beautiful feature. I have used silk flowers in these ones. I often also use Jasmine it smells divine and hangs nicely over the vase.

An unusual vase can be a special feature as well, a small painting within the frame, a wall plaque or any other wall hanging you have can look amazing to.

Experiment with what you have it. I would be delighted with your feedback and comments. Please let me if it worked for you.

When you think French Furniture do you think painted furniture, flower patterns, gold gilt, or feminine?
Its not only the French that have a talent for creating a piece of furniture that looks like a piece of art. The Venetians have a flair that is equally elegant and beautiful.

When I was in Venice everywhere I looked there were amazing examples of folk art. This included Venetian furniture, a lot of the beautiful chapels, ceilings, doors, mirrors and window frames. I was inspired by the folk art which reminded me of my Mother who has a passion and gift for folk art.

It is still popular around the world and is a wonderful economic way of creating a lovely piece of art or revamping a piece of vintage furniture.

If you think you can’t draw think again. You can copy folk art on to your furniture using transfers. It may take a bit of practice and patience but the joy of the end result will be well worth it.

This is also another way to use a lovely vintage frame waiting to be rescued.

There are also places you can go to learn Folk Art. The best place I know is Keirunga Gardens in Havelock North. All there information is on their web site.

Another web site that I find inspiring is Moissonnier, their French Furniture is amazing, it gives me so many ideas.

I once had an old door off an antique piece of French furniture that I loved so much I had it hanging on my wall.
There are so many interesting items that look really funky hanging on your wall. An old piece of iron work, an antique balustrade, old screens and vintage wall plaques.
Scrap booking paper is also a great way to make a lovely vintage wall hanging.
Whenever I go into a shop that sells scrap booking paper I always have a look to see if there is anything interesting. As a result I now have a great collection of vintage wall plaques.

What you will need is …
A piece of ply wood cut to the size of your paper.
Glue, a clear liquid glue is the best.
Black paint.
Matt polyurethane.

1 Have your wood cut to the correct size you want
2 Make sure the edges are sanded and smooth.
3 Paint the back and sides of the wood.
4 Drill a small hole in the back at the top in the middle so you can hang it on a nail. Don’t go all the way through, just half way.
5 Spread plenty of glue on to the back of the paper and press on to the wood. A ruler or a damp cloth can be used by sliding it lightly over the paper to remove any bubbles. Allow it to dry well and if any of the edges lift apply more glue.
6 Once it has dried properly paint the paper with a matt polyurethane. This will seal it and keep it place, also allowing you to be able to hang it in a bathroom or kitchen where it may get damp or need cleaning.

Beautiful old pieces of vintage wallpaper are also great to use and can be made in any size.