fabric

Here's a post from CasaSugar Community member srnewell from the Su Casa group:

I recently made a couple of fabric-covered corkboards for my office re-do.  I started with some beautiful terra cotta geometric fabric.  I measured and lined up the fabric. I cut it to size and stapled the fabric tightly over the boards. After completing the fabric portion, I placed nail heads approximately one inch apart for the finish. You can see more of this project on my blog.

Have you been doing any DIY projects lately? Be sure to post your photos and tutorials in the Su Casa group! Has anyone ever tried this project?

My friend Rebecca of Loving Living Small recently reupholstered a set of mushroom chenille slipper chairs that she'd purchased new at a great price. "What I was finding was either way out of my price range or way our of my style range," she writes. So she decided to buy the "so affordable, so comfy and, in my opinion, so ugly," chairs and have them reupholstered. She negotiated a great price with a local upholsterer and had them updated in a bold, graphic black and white fabric.

Continue reading to see her newly upholstered chairs!

New Orleans painter Amanda Stone Talley has played around with "alterna-canvases" before, including suitcases, tortoise shells, and even pumpkins, but her new canvas surface is something much more versatile: fabric! Talley ventures into the textile world with three debut fabric designs featuring her signature abstract concentric patterns: Who Dat?, a black, white, and cream design; Broadmoor, a mustard and gray design; and Magazine, a multicolored design. Each is available in four different types of fabric: linen, cotton sateen, jersey, and upholstery twill. She also plans to introduce new designs in the future.

Until March 15, Talley is offering the fabrics at an introductory price of $50/yd with a no-yard minimum, and after that period, they'll ring up at $115/yd with a three-yard minimum. Now's the time to shop, so email Amanda to make your order! And head here to see close-up photos of the fabrics.

I asked Amanda a few questions about her new designs, so read our mini-interview below!

CasaSugar: How was it for you to transition from painting to pattern-making?

Amanda Talley: Not hard at all! It's mainly a digital manipulation of the original painting, and it is really fun. I love that it is a translation of the artwork and not an exact replica. It acts like a mirror that creates a Rorschach-type effect.

CS: How do you imagine the fabrics being used?

AT: I want people to use the fabrics as creatively as possible and send me pictures! I see tunics, tents, upholstered walls, Euro shams, and curtains. I just don't want to be the one to make all of those things . . . I want to paint, but I am working on making canvas rugs, too!

CS: What do you think separates these designs from others in the marketplace?

AT: I worked in a fabric room for eight years, and I really believe that there are no other fabrics that look like these patterns at all. I'm so excited and proud of the designs.

CasaSugar Community member ll1019 recently posted this query in the Assisted Living group:

"I have scoured the Internet for pink chevron fabric that I could use to reupholster a chair. I have found pretty much every color but not pink! Has anyone seen this fabric on the Internet? Alternatively, are there any good websites that sell fun upholstery prints? Since this is my first project, I would prefer something inexpensive (not Rubie Green). Thanks!"

To see my response for ll1019, continue reading.

People these days have a terrible habit of painting and lacquering beautiful old mirrors, tables, and desks to give them "a modern update." On the other end of the spectrum, you have your shabby chic enthusiasts who rub and scrape up pieces of furniture in perfectly good condition to give them "the vintage look." While I'd much prefer antique furnishings be used as-is, and vice versa, there is one artist whose redesigns I don't mind. In fact, I covet them.

London-based designer Huw Griffith reimagines antique décor by covering 19th century mirrors in faded vintage fabric and reworking plywood conservatory chairs with vintage floral wallpaper. His one-of-a-kind mirrors are carefully antiqued and backed with rare textiles so that the papers show through parts of the glass. As he describes it, "Knock off the bits you don't want, and leave on the bits that you do." Before Griffith gets his hands on them, the pieces might've been overlooked at a flea market, but he gives them a time-worn look, transforming them into something more beautiful and nostalgic. He's also created commissioned art pieces from mercury glass bottles to painted mirror cabinet doors to mixed media mantel paintings for the likes of Paul Smith, Gordon Ramsay, Designers Guild, and more. And did I mention that he's also absolutely dashing? Take a gander at Huw's arresting artwork below.

The one and only PartySugar recently wrote in the Assisted Living group asking for help finding this ikat chair fabric, which she spotted on Design*Sponge. It's divine! And it would look fabulous with her pink damask bedroom wallpaper, which I helped her find. I went straight to the source and got in touch with the designer herself, Susan Galvani of Spruce Interior Design, to find out where Party can pick up this dreamy fabric.

To find out what fabric it is, continue reading.