When I was at Kempton, I had my eye out for a duet or piano stool to use as a wedding gift for a friend getting married this summer. I was really pleased with the one I found as the upholstery was minimal but the stool was in really good condition.
Upcycle
A Visit to Kempton
Once I had finished the armchair, I was once again in search of a new project. This time I really wanted to do something for myself, either to keep or sell on. I had been systematically trawling the local house clearance and charity shops but nothing had caught my eye.
Nanny’s Armchair
Nanny was not a person I ever met. She was employed as a nanny for my grandfather when he was a small boy in the late 40s and 50s. Eventually he grew up and she went to work for another family but once she retired, she came back to live with him and his own family. She had a suite of two armchairs and a sofa in her little cottage. Continue reading
The Doll’s House and Ethel’s chairs
Somewhere between finishing Laura’s maternity chair and starting on Nanny’s armchair, I started to think about doing paid reupholstery commissions. I mentioned this to a few people and was offered an old stuffover chair to have a go at. I call it the doll’s house chair because of its interesting back story. It was designed and built by William Lendon Prosser. He worked for Maples in London and was asked to make some chairs for Queen Mary’s Doll’s House. I had a look at the website and found some chairs in the king’s bedroom that look very similar.
Laura’s Maternity Chair
As I got closer to finishing the piano stool, my mind started to wander to my next project. Eventually, moaning vocally to enough people paid off and I was offered a maternity chair by a friend in my dance class. I’d never heard of a maternity chair before and when I first saw it I actually laughed out loud. It is so tiny! I can’t imagine any pregnant woman managing to get into the chair, and if she did, would definitely never get out again. Apparently it’s from days gone by when people had nurseries and nannies. The chair was for the nanny to sit in so that she was at the same level as the children.