The ROCKER
Have you ever bought a piece of furniture at an estate sale or yard sale later to discover it had more history than you originally thought? This was the case for my friend who lives in this old Historic town!
My friend Katie asked me if I could re-upholster her rocking chair that she got at a nearby estate sale for $20. She sent pics of the rocker and I thought it was something that I should be able to do so I told her to bring it on over 🙂
The BEFORE pic
When I first saw it in front of me, I immediately knew it was pretty old but I figured I would get a better idea once I started tearing it all apart. She came fabric in hand!! No shopping required 🙂 I could tell that within it’s lifetime it had about 1 other re-upholstering job and that itself was extremely old. Nails had been used, not staples. Little clues such as the style of the fabric and the way that it was upholstered can help date a furniture piece. When I took everything off, the previous original padding showed signs that it had been originally tufted possibly in leather. There also had been reinforcement brackets that had been installed to fix the wood joints in some areas. Ed and I were thinking this was definitely an antique heirloom. Possibly late 1800’s or early 1900’s? And…Katie had no idea :0
The frame with all the upholstered pieces removed
Once I had all the padding and upholstered pieces removed, I asked Katie if she wanted me to refinish any of the wood frame. Considering how old it is, it was in really great shape. The wood has that rustic flair that she liked so she decided that she just wanted the padding upholstered. I was thinking to clean the wood with Krud Cutter or Liquid Gold but I was worried that the oils from those cleaners would somehow get on the new fabric as I was re-upholstering. I cleaned the wood with BONA which is the product we use to clean our hardwood floors. BONA does not leave any oily residue. It worked perfectly to clean the wood.
Separating out all the cushion pieces I noticed there was an old script on the bottom of the seat with what looked like a name.
Script found underneath seat
Possibly the family name or the upholsterer? I told Katie all about it because wouldn’t it be cool if we could look up old records of names in this old town and possibly know who this heirloom rocker belonged to. Katie said she did some searching on the internet but unfortunately couldn’t find the name Tepper in our town. We thought it was definitely Tepper but perhaps we are not reading the letters correctly. What do you think Tepper, Pepper, or Jepper?
When I pulled the old fabric off, some of the cotton surrounding the contained padding started to shred in half. Because of this I thought it needed some extra padding. I decided that in some areas I would re-foam on the top of the seat and the rocker back support. This would give better shape and feel since the foam was a memory foam.
MY DIY re-upholstering secret tip:
I use a memory foam bedding topper just for these projects that need thin extra padding. I buy a bed topper from Ross or Marshalls and cut it up for a lot of my projects. It is so much cheaper!! If I needed a dense THICK foam I would get it online or a fabric store but with this project I just need to add a very thin amount of padding to add to the existing padding. You can also use an egg crate foam that can be bought in the camping section of your department store. Years ago I upholstered a wooden kitchen chair with layers of bedding topper and batting. Spending a fortune on foam is not always necessary. SHHH….a true upholsterer might choke right now. :/
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- Refoaming
To refoam the seat and the back support I used my POWERSHOT stapler. This is one of the best manual staplers. I have used others…..this is better. I use this manual stapler for small jobs and for tacking foam like I did in these above pictures. I later switch to my air pneumatic stapler for upholstering the fabric.
In my HOW TO RE-UPHOLSTER tutorial (part2), I described how I cut the new fabric by making a pattern with the old fabric. Check out that post HERE. However in this project, it was slightly different. Because the old fabric was so old and stretched out, for the life of me I could not get that old fabric to lay flat as a pattern piece. There was so much buckling, I actually had to cut the new fabric an inch or more larger around the old fabric. That way it would ensure that it would cover the padding completely.
Here are all my ROCKER re-upholstering pics.
I pleated the top roll to be symmetrical on each side. I was so excited how this back support cushion came out!
Side of back support
upholstering the seat
The pieces are done and waiting to get assembled into the frame. The black dust cover was added to the bottom and under the armrests.
I put the dust cover on the bottom of the seat. I glued the black dust cover over the staples under the arms as well. The arm cushions had small holes underneath where the cushion fit into wooden dowels on the rocker. I cut the black dust cover around those holes. That part will not be seen from underneath. The dust cover finishes off the fabric and makes it nice and neat.
I added batting to the back of the rocker. Once again I was replacing the shredded cotton. It really smoothed everything out in the back.
The tacking strip went at the top under the roll in the back of the rocker. For details on how I assemble with the tacking strip, check out my ‘How to re-upholster’ tutorial part3 HERE.
Originally the sides of the back were sewn. I decided to re-create that finished sewn look for the back. I used this special curved needle to sew all along the sides up and down.
My backup plan: I was thinking if the sewing didn’t go well, then I would just staple the back on each side and put trim on top of the staples. But luckily I didn’t need to do this. The sewing turned out great!! I did attach trim on the top underneath the roll to finish and straighten out the line where the tacking strip was. And to my surprise, it added a little drama. I was excited that the sewn sides really gave a neat and finished look in the back.
Trim added
SURPRISE KATIE!!!
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- Back
YES!!! I made Katie the pillow you see there! When one gets something upholstered , they have probably picked colors that match their room. However often times, they bring it home and suddenly say, ‘wow I wish I had that pattern somewhere else in the room to tie that furniture piece in better.’ I have thought this so many times in my own house. So…….I threw in a handmade pillow as a surprise. There was some extra fabric after upholstering and I just happened to have some coordinating remnant laying around for the back of the pillow…OK OK from my fabric hoarding stockpile 🙂 Her heirloom rocker will look that much better with a matching pillow in her room. It’s done!! I’m so excited for you to see the finished pics:
Katie had a vision with a great combination of rustic wood and fabric complementing each other. I really think it will be the centerpiece in any room she puts it in. As thrilled as she was when she picked it up, I am just as happy I was able to execute her idea! I loved being able to give her a little bit of knowledge about this heirloom she didn’t realize she had. Thanks Katie for giving me the opportunity…..And now back to my honey-do list that apparently Ed has for me! haha. Signing out with another project DONE…woohoo…..
K. Rupp
Linking up at these great parties:
Grandmas House DIY.: Wednesday link party #59
Feathering My Empty Nest.com.: share your style #141
My thrift store addiction.: vintage charm party #106
Peonies and Orange blossoms.: Thurs. favorite things blog hop
Imparting Grace.: grace at home #272
A Glimpse Inside Blog.: handmade hangout #177
The Pin Junkie.: pin junkie party #237
This Autoimmune life.: bloggers pit stop #97
UPDATE: This party resulted in this rocker project being FEATURED HERE.
Easy Peasy Pleasy.: funtastic Friday Link party #150
Stacey Embracing Change: creative Inspirations party #46
A Pretty Fix.: sweet inspiration party #80
Unique Junktique.: Fridays Furniture Fix #102
Dwellings- The Heart of your Home.: Amaze me monday #238
DIY showoff.: diy party time 19
Stone Cottage Adventures.: Tues. with a twist
Across the Boulevard: Snickerdoodle create Bake make party#253
UPDATE: This party resulted in this rocker project being FEATURED HERE .
AND YAY! It’s FEATURED HERE……find the button on my FEATURED page!
Wow!! What an undertaking!! I think the word is Tepper but it is kinda hard to tell. I love that the fabric she chose is modern yet in keeping with the period of the piece.
Thanks so much Lauren! It is funny how even script has changed over the years. Yes, I agree she did pick a lovely fabric to complement that rocker. I will let her know. Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting!
Such great work! That rocker is beautiful and will be a new heirloom!
Thanks, yes she has a great piece now! Thanks so much for stopping by!!
Love love love!! Before it was tucked away in our office and never used Now, it is everyone’s favorite chair in the family room. Thank you so much Kathleen! It turned out better then I ever imagined in my head!
Katie, I am so happy it turned out so well and that you love it!! It was a great project! Each of these upholstering jobs are different and I learned a lot from this one because of the age. Thanks for thinking of me to be able to transform your awesome rocker!!! I’m so happy 🙂
You did an amazing job on this rocker, Kathleen – I love it! Thanks for sharing all of your upholstering tips…someday I’m going to tackle upholstery…
YAY! You will be amazed at what you can transform! Let me know if you ever try it! Thanks so much for your nice words:)
This is a fantastic makeover! Thank you for sharing with Thursday Favorite Things! We love having you join us! Angelina @ Peonies & Orange Blossoms
Thanks so much Angelina! Glad I found it!
I adored the makeover .It’s gorgeous and that pillow is a brilliant idea.#BloggersPitstop
Thank you so much!!! Thanks for stopping by and leaving such a nice comment:)
Beautifully done – it’s inspiring but probably a little much for me to do. I can recover very simple things. You’re a real artist.
Oh thank you Carol…that is so sweet! I appreciate you taking the time to stop in to see it! Come back anytime:)
OMG!!!!! What an amazing transformation!! It came out stunning!! You did such a wonderful job!! Thanks so much for for sharing your talents with us! And thanks for taking the time to stop by and leave such sweet comments!! Have a great weekend!!
Hugs,
Deb
Oh thank you so much Debbie! What nice compliments! I’m so happy you stopped by! I love getting to know so many bloggers through the parties who have all different diy interests and skills. Making friends over the blogging internet has been a lot of fun:) I hope you have a great weekend as well and Happy Halloween:)
The chair turned out beautifully! And I think you are correct with Tepper. Thanks for sharing at The Blogger’s Pit Stop! Roseann from http://www.thisautoimmunelife.com
Yeah, I think that name seems to be the consensus. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment and tweet!!
Whoever the chair belonged to previously would be so incredibly happy if they had to see it now Kathleen. You did a fabulous job
Thank you so much Michelle…that is such a nice thing to say! I love bringing back historical pieces! Thank you so much for dropping in:)
Wow, that is gorgeous fabric & the rocker is stunning! Love it! Also I think that name in the bottom looks like “Pepper” to me. For what it’s worth.
Thanks so much Florence for checking it out! That is a possibility! Maybe she will have better luck in the records with that name!
Kathleen, it’s just gorgeous! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm! Pinned & tweeted!
Thank you so much for your nice comment, the pin and tweet! I appreciate you stopping by!
This project has been popular on the Blogger’s Pit Stop so we will feature it this week. Well done.
Kathleen
Blogger’s Pit Stop
Oh WOW! Thank you so much Kathleen! I will be sure to watch for it to be featured and grab a button. That is so exciting! 🙂
A wonderful reupholster job, I never would have thought of using memory foam, thanks for sharing the great tip and your wonderful project at #fridaysfurniturefix, I have to hand out big props to all you gals who tackle those fabric makeovers!
Thanks Brenda! Yes, that tip is great for someone on a tight budget! Thanks for stopping by, your lovely comment and your TWEET:)
Kathleen your chair is a beauty!!! You did fantastic work!!!!
http://www.artdecorationcrafting.gr
Thank you so much for stopping by to take a look and comment!!!! Such a nice complement 🙂 Thank you!
How fantastic! Beautiful!
Thanks so much!
Thanks for the shoutout for our PowerShot stapler! This chair looks great! #MadeWithArrow
Your welcome!!! Love that Power Shot stapler! Thanks so much for stopping by! I love the arrowfastener.com website!!!
Stunning!!!
Thank you so much! And for stopping by!! How are you?
Great, thank you honey! Hanging in there!!!
This looks great! What a wonderful transformation for the old chair! It looks pretty labor intensive. I love the new look. I’d love to have you link up with us at Snickerdoodle Party. It’s opened through Tuesday night.
Thank you so much Beverly!!! Yes, I was happy with how this project turned out and I’ll enter it into the party! Thanks so much for stopping by and the invite!
Thanks for the feedback on our PowerShot 5700 staple gun and nailer. Glad it was able to help with this project! #MadeWithArrow
Thank you so much for stopping by!! Yes, I have always loved my Power Shot stapler! It does a great job and I don’t have to ever wrestle with it like other manual staplers. Thanks for taking the time to drop by and comment:)
The chair looks fantastic. I will be referring to this post when I tackle an upholstery project I need to do.
Thank you so much Debra! Great, I hope you come back:). Thanks for stopping by!
You did an beautiful job with this!…as artistic and crafty as I am, I would be afraid to tackle such a big job…Looking at the back writing I would also say it looks like Tepper ….Now, it makes me think, is this something that would have come from the store named Tepper’s…One town away from me is Plainfield, NJ which was, in the early 1900’s, a “hot spot” for entertainment, resorts and shopping much like NYC….Tepper’s was a “high end” store selling everything from furniture to clothing…It finally closed down around the mid 1960’s mostly due to the racial riots and run down nature of the entire town. I’d be curious to see if there is any link …..
Thank you so much Annette! Oh my goodness….that is so interesting!! Thank you for that bit of knowledge. I had no idea Tepper’s was ever a store. Katie said that when she got it at the estate sale, it had been in the same house for years. She didn’t think that the rocker changed hands very much when she was asking about it at the estate sale. Plainfield NJ isn’t too far away either so it is totally possible it did come from there. WOW that’s so cool…what a fantastic piece of info. I will definitely have to tell her!! And if you are crafty, you could totally do something like this! I learned how to upholster difficult pieces just from taking the upholstery and seam ripping everything apart. You will be amazed at what you can transform! Thank you for such a lovely comment:)
I do a lot of volunteer genealogy research. I believe the name is Pepper, which is a surname I have seen before. I have never seen Tepper as a name.
The chair is stunning! Is this a hobby, or do you consider it to be your livelihood? You are extremely talented.
Hi Marilyn, Thank you so much!!! Yeah, I should count all the votes that come in on this old handwriting. Too funny! If you are into genealogy though you probably have seen old script writing like this before. I had a hard time with the first letter but maybe you are right…could be a P. And yes, I have heard the name Pepper before as an old name. Thank you for the complements! I was really pleased with how everything came out on this one since each upholstery project is different. I do this as a hobby and started doing upholstered makeovers in my 20’s. I have gotten better over the years just by re-doing pieces in my own home. Once I started the blog, my friends have started asking me to re-upholster their stuff. Still a hobby but fun to upload the projects here:). Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment!
Hello from the Sout West of France, about 45/50 miles from the Pyrenees Mountains.
What a great job you have done with the rocking chair, it isn’t possible but I’m giving you 11 out of 10. I think the work is Pepper, like you said it’s difficult to decide.
Well done, David
Well Hello…Wow from France! I always find it so cool to find out where our readers are coming from. How cool! Thank you so much for the nice complements on the rocker! I had a lot of fun re-doing this one. And the best part is giving it back to my friend who loved the makeover. Yes, we are getting a lot of different opinions on the name!! I love that people are writing in and letting me know what they think. Old script has never been easy….and now my kids can’t even read my normal cursive. haha. Thanks for stopping by!!
Thanks so much for making this project look so easy – though it probably is not. And it came out so beautifully!Such good work. You are truly an inspiration to many!
Thank you so much Martha! This project did have some challenges but it seems that I run into upholstery challenges with each piece I do so I just expect it now. Sometimes I will put it aside for a couple of days just trying to figure out how I am going to tackle it. This project took me a bit to figure out how I was going to sew the back and make a pretty finished edge. I always have to have a backup plan if something doesn’t work out. ha! So definitely not easy but the more I do it, I am getting more familiar with how to get around the obstacles:) Thank you so much for stopping by and your nice comment!!