If you have been following me on Instagram, you know I've been picking up furniture from consignment shops with plans on reupholstering. It's been a while since I've been in furniture buying mode and I'm not super versed in the ways of fabric, so the last few months have been a serious crash course.
If you're set on custom furniture (i.e., a specific piece in the fabric of your choice), get ready to spend some stacks. I fell down this rabbit hole thinking I would be saving money.
While treasure hunting, I found two pink chairs that I knew would perfect for my formal living room. They were a steal at $130/each, but the fabric was worn and in need of replacement. "Perfect," I thought. I had been digging in the fabric bin at Paisley House and had several swatches to select from.
When I finally selected The Fabric that would wrap around my bargain beauties, I was terribly excited... until I saw the price tag. $300/yard X 17 yards = over $5,000 for fabric alone. Can you hear me choking? Pass the wine.
So my search for the chair fabric continued, but could not get The Fabric out of my head! On my recent trip to Round Top, I took my precious samples in hopes of finding coordinating accessories. While digging through towers of pillow covers, a man/angel said, "I can get you pillows in that fabric." I literally hugged him. Thanks to Bryan McRae at Botanica my room will include two 22" sofa pillows in The Fabric for under $200!
Thanks also to my new friend Grace Caroline at Paisley House in Houston who has tirelessly reviewed hundreds of text images of my wacky thrift finds and guided me through Designer Fabrics 101.
Check out this great guideline if you're trying to estimate how many yards a piece would require. If you're looking to refinish a piece on a tight budget, there are online fabric stores that have a great selection, discounted pricing, and [most of the time] free samples! Yay for free!