Furniture Upholstery

So, I was looking around and saw some Henredon by Barbara Barry dining room chairs that I liked.. and they of course, offer custom upholstery, I can even provide the fabric.

So then I thought to myself, someone .. somewhere.. has had to have gotten something done in a Loro Piana cashmere blend, or 150s wool, or whatever.. and thought it was a nifty idea, though perhaps expensive and not up to the tests of being a "dining room" chair fabric.

Any reasons why one shouldn't do this? Perhaps even buy some extra yardage just for mishaps and whatnot?

The idea is quite intriguing, although I would be cautious not to use cashmere on areas that I knew would be used everyday. If you don't use your dining room chairs everyday, why not?

Originally Posted by Pink22m

Click to expand...

The idea is quite intriguing, although I would be cautious not to use cashmere on areas that I knew would be used everyday. If you don't use your dining room chairs everyday, why not?

Precisely - these would be the formal chairs.. very rarely would we use them.

I am sure Barbara Barry must have some design or upholstery specialists/consultants. Maybe you should talk it over with them, and see what they say.

By the way, how much does a Barbara Barry armoire or bed typically run? I looked on their website, but didn't find anything regarding prices. How would you compare them to Baker in terms of quality and price?

She used to design for Baker; she moved to Henredon either earlier this year or last year.

The prices at MSRP are typically high (at least to me). I'd estimate an armoir comes in north of $8K.. but that's just a guess.

I would strongly advise using cloth as an upholstery fabric. It's just not durable enough, and it will pill and wear out very fast.
Here is a good range of high end wool fabrics:
http://www.kvadrat.dk/kvadrat/?l=2

!luc

Originally Posted by Luc-Emmanuel

Click to expand...

I would strongly advise using cloth as an upholstery fabric. It's just not durable enough, and it will pill and wear out very fast.
Here is a good range of high end wool fabrics:
http://www.kvadrat.dk/kvadrat/?l=2

!luc
First of all, I agree 100% that Kvadrat is the way to go. IMO they make the best textiles around for upholstery. I especially love Hallingdal which is an absolute classic. Divina is a terrific felt. The website for them in the US is www.maharam.com. The textiles of the 20th century collection are superb. Prices are kind of high, but low for the quality. Somebody like Barbara Baker is going to use more "interior designer" fabrics. They are not really up my alley and I don't know much about them. What I can tell you is that they are not as well made as Kvadrat. We had some pillow covers made by a woman in SF who generally works on interiors for $5m+ projects, and gave her some Divina to use as fabric. She was skeptical, but afterwards asked all about it as most designers giver her fabrics that cost 5-10x as much and she thought the Divina was nicer. YMMV. Finally, I don't think that Kvadrat looks great with something like Barbara Berry, so this might all be moot.

I've requested "divina melange 2" samples for my lowland, kvadrat is indeed very expensive (the price went up to 4000 euros instead of 3300 in the cheapest fabric), but they feel incredible.
I don't know who Barbara Berry is, indeed I may be all wrong as to the choice of kvadrat for these particular items!

!luc

Originally Posted by Luc-Emmanuel

Click to expand...

I've requested "divina melange 2" samples for my lowland, kvadrat is indeed very expensive (the price went up to 4000 euros instead of 3300 in the cheapest fabric), but they feel incredible.
I don't know who Barbara Berry is, indeed I may be all wrong as to the choice of kvadrat for these particular items!

!luc
Lowland is a good choice, and so is the felt. We have the same on our bed. Here is Barbara Barry:

Her stuff for Baker was quite expensive (for me) but there were a few pieces that I thought were very nice. But in that price range many options open up.

(for me) as well, but I wouldn't be paying retail.

FWIW. I do own some Henredon and have been pleased with the quality.

Originally Posted by iammatt

Click to expand...

Lowland is a good choice, and so is the felt. We have the same on our bed. Here is Barbara Barry:

well, it's.. uh.. not my style

!luc

It seems rather Hollywood Regency; the expensive Jonathan Adler.

http://img510.imageshack.us/my.php?image=2c2lt0.jpg
OR
http://img510.imageshack.us/my.php?image=9212bdc4.jpg

I'm not sure I agree with the JA assessment but to each his own. I'm not a fan of most of Matt's examples but whatever.

Thanks for the ideas with the fabrics.