Oak Dining Chairs

Set of six oak dining chairs reupholstered in Bute Ramshead fabric.

It's not easy to photograph six dining chairs so here's some artistic shots to give you the general idea.

Maybe you'll want to do yours up now..?

This was a commission.

Edwardian tub chair in Bute tweed

An Edwardian tub chair reupholstered in 100% wool tweed by Bute Fabrics.

Edwardian furniture is often referred to as 'elegant', probably because it tends towards finer and taller legs. Also you often get these sharply angled legs with squared-off castors that are a clear departure from their Victorian lathe turned predecessors. But whichever way you look at it, and regardless of age, the tub chair is irrevocably Victorian; its rolled curves and horseshoe shape resembling its namesake - the Victorian bath.

And this one is no exception, particularly the rolled edge on the extended back - it could be a perfect slice of bathtub.

But from the back it might be some sort of Pokemon, don't you think? And of course Pokemon are entirely Edwardian...




This was a commission.

Wingback armchair in Bute tweed

A very large wingback armchair reupholstered in terrific Bute tweed

The tweed range from Bute Fabrics is so good it just transforms any piece of furniture. You won't see anything like this in the shops anywhere. You might see some already dated-looking  plaid, check or other types of wool for quite cheapo prices but you won't find anything like this.

Over 100 years old and likely to last another few hundred.


Beat that DFS.



This was a commission.

Bus Stop Chair near Lampeter

Here's a chair you can relax in if you're heading up to Lampeter on the A482 by bus.

All the bus stop chairs I make are a bit experimental, the whole thing is a way of a trying out daft ideas to see if they work. If they do, good, and maybe I can show someone a picture of what they might do with their chair. And if it's bad I just put it in a bus stop anyway and I don't have it hanging around like a bad smell. This chair came from the recycling centre and was in pretty good nick so I just tried some random buttoning on it. I was thinking it'd be most sophisticated.

But it just looked daft.

Random buttoning is probably a perfectly good idea but doing it after the pub can lead to over-excited button placement. Be warned.

Perfectly ok for lounging in while waiting the bus though eh?

Pair of Edwardian side chairs in Welsh wool

Pair of Edwardian side chairs reupholstered in Melin Tregwynt Halo Ash 100% wool.

Decided to use spaced upholstery nails to finish rather than piping as the pattern is so strong - this worked out nicely as the 'halos' and spots are spaced ideally for the nails to fit between.

 

I think the word we're looking for is elegant, what what?




This was a commission.

Victorian armchair in Bute tweed

Lovely Victorian armchair reupholstered in Bute tweed.

Check out the show-wood detail on the arms

Very tasty.




This was a commission.

Pair of 1920's armchairs

A pair of 1920's armchairs with cushions in Melin Tregwynt wool.

I try not to deal with leather furniture if I can avoid it as I don't use a walking-foot sewing machine which is essential for a quality job. Luckily I know a man who does. Dave lives just a few miles from me and is a car trimmer and leather upholstery specialist and also a jolly nice chap, so we have a bit of a deal where I refer leather work to him and he refers fabric reupholstery to me. It's a great arrangement and means that we often have to meet up to pick projects up from one another, which wherever possible, is done in a pub car park so we can squeeze in a couple of pints.

This project was a proper collaboration where I referred the customer to Dave, he restored the chair backs, replaced the arms with new leather, used the original leather from the arms to make new facings and then passed the chairs on to me to make new cushions and covers in the Melin Tregwynt fabric chosen by the customer.

Teamwork see, it's the way forward, you should try it.

This was a commission.

Nice little footstool

A footstool I fished out of a skip at the recycling centre now covered in fabulous Bute tweed.

You can have this for just £40 if you come to my showroom to pick it up,

Upholstered (waterproof) swing on Llangadog Common

Bespoke swing upholstered with the rubber from a burst gym ball. By 'bespoke' I mean a piece of wood with a couple of holes in.

When my dad died a few years ago I took a very large spool of nylon rope from his garage and since then I've made a few basic swings in the woods with my daughter and her friends - it's the sort of thing that dads are supposed to do isn't it?

Anyway, here's a slightly posher version now available to swingers of all ages on Llangadog Common. And here's that kid enjoying it.

Ercol Old Colonial Suite in Bute tweed

A 1980's Ercol 'Old Colonial' suite reupholstered in 100% wool tweed from Bute fabrics.

We made a single bench seat for the two-seater and some bespoke 'fat feather' back cushions to replace the clumsy originals - the main idea being to expose the colonnade spindles.

Looks great from the back, innit.

Add two of these armchairs to go with it and you've got yourself a very stylish suite instead of the very dated one you had before.

Well, not actually you, but you know what I mean.

This was a commission.

1960's Armchairs

A pair of 1960's armchairs reupholstered in a linen-look cotton fabric.

Great angles on these chairs, particularly the sloped back.

The wood 'paws' on the arms came up really well and look for all the world like finely manicured nails.

I couldn't find a maker's mark on these which is a shame but they're definitely British and were definitely made on the 11th of October 1966. The stamp on the back rail proves this, I think, conclusively.

So these chairs got a brand new set of clothes for their 50th birthday, and who wouldn't want that?

This was a commission.

Bus Shelter Chair at Rhoscrowther

Chair now available to bus travellers at Rhoscrowther, Pembrokeshire.

To be quite honest I don't think the bus comes down here any more but the bus shelter is so nice looking I had to do something with it.

I decided to use one of my less successful 'inside-out' chairs (see here) as the fabric seemed to coincide nicely with the big white paint daub on the side of the bus shelter.

And why not eh?

Milking Stool in Welsh wool

Vintage Welsh wool fabric - very nice

£55

1960's Swivel Wingback Armchair in Melin Tregwynt wool

A 1960's wingback armchair with swivel-and-rock mechanism reupholstered in Melin Tregwynt Mondo Rose 100% wool fabric

This was looking pretty much ready for the dump in a green moquette and a sort of ginger-brown stain on the woodwork, but look at it now.

We sanded down the woodwork (thanks Sam my work experience boy) and reupholstered it in the iconic 'spots' fabric by Melin Tregwynt. This is the last of this particular colourway from them as this fabric design is being discontinued, so if you want a chair done in 'the spots' you better get in here quick - only Natural and Sage colourways still available. To be very honest I won't really miss lining up the pattern - this chair took ages to get right...

I will miss the fabric though, lovely stuff innit. But as we know 'change is good' and Melin Tregwynt are brave to discontinue something that has has become iconic for themT to quote Warhol, "They always say time changes things but you actually have to change them yourself".

Or something.

This was a commission.



This was a commission.

Bus Stop Chair on the B4319 near Merrion, Pembrokeshire

This chair now available for bus travellers heading up to St. Twynnell's, Pembs.

This bus stop is very close to the Castlemartin military firing range and about as close as I could get to leave this chair without causing a security alert.

You see I did the chair with soldiers in mind - it's covered in a applique tweed camouflage (French woodland pattern) I made from offcuts of British tweed from Melin Tregwynt, Bute and Camira fabrics.

I really have a thing for camouflage. It's slightly ironic as I am a confirmed pacifist and know of no situation where war is justified. It's a probably hiding thing - I love hiding, it's a great pastime, you should try it.

Anyway I also have a thing about toy soldiers as you probably already know. And where better to display some toy soldiers near the very place where soldiers come to 'play'. So there's some in the little draw on the side of the chair.

So if you're waiting for a bus or just being diverted from the coastal path because the firing range is active, you can have a little play with the soldiers, in fact, if they're firing you won't even need to do your own sound effects.

And why not eh?

Box Pouffe in Eleanor Pritchard fabric

A large box pouffe reupholstered in Eleanor Pritchard Heathfield fabric

I probably go on about it too much but this is just about the best fabric an upholsterer can work with. It's a doublecloth harking back to the Welsh tradition but woven in Scotland in the tightest weave you've ever seen.

Hand stitching it (above) almost gives a machine stitch finish. And above all it's just beautiful.

It's one thing to reupholster furniture in bright colours and prints and all that but another thing altogether to use this. There I've said it - use this.

This was a commission.

Parker Knoll wingback armchair in vintage Melin Tregwynt wool

A 1950's Parker Knoll 720 armchair reupholstered in vintage Melin Tegwynt 100% wool

This fabric was sold to me by someone who bought it from Melin Tregwynt 'sometime in the 1970's' and it certainly has the typical colours of yarn they use. But it's not like the fabrics they weave today - this is FLUFFY.

And you can't beat a fluffy armchair now can you? Really, really comfortable.

So come on woolen fabric manufacturers, let's have some new FLUFFY fabric.

This was a commission.

Milking Stools

Here's a few more of my milking stools that might take your fancy - all for sale.

Handmade ash stool in vintage Welsh wool - £50

Painted stool in Bute Ramshead fabric - £35

Handmade ash stool in Melin Tregwynt fabric - £50

All hand stitched to piped edge and, you know, total quality.

Call or email if you'd like one - details up there in the 'About' section

Child's Chair in Melin Tregwynt wool fabric

Late 19th Century child's chair reupholstered in Melin Tregwynt St.David's Cross 100% wool

This was originally a rush seat which I replaced with webbing and upholstery. Rush seating has tapered rails to cater for the double weave required at the corners. This makes the corners very difficult to anchor when upholstering so I used some upholstery buttons and secured them underneath.

I've never seen this before but I think it gives a smart finish and adds a little detail which can't be a bad thing eh?

Child's chairs make great gifts and I can often find a small offcut from another project to cover with, making it very inexpensive. Got a little chair in the loft? Then what are you waiting for?

This was a commission

Victorian Iron-back Chair in Pentwyn Tweed

A Victorian iron-back armchair reupholstered in a new colourway of Pentwyn tweed

I chose to shallow-button the back because deep-buttoning greatly distorts the plain pattern. Shallow buttoning 'pinches' the pattern without altering the line of the checks too much.

Nice eh?

This was a commission.