The Upgrade

A few weeks ago I posted some images of the cane furniture that sits on our verandah.  I was very careful not to allow too many extreme closeups as I would have been mortified if you had all seen just how stained and sad this furniture was looking.

Totally irrelevant to the story but I'm getting my stained verandah furniture recovered.  T

Just a few stains!

We bought the two three-seater sofas and a single chair a few years ago and while the bases of the furniture were very good quality, the cushions that came with the furniture were disappointingly cheap and nasty.  The foam padding sagged before a year was up and the fabric wasn’t water resistant and when I removed a cover to give it a wash it came out of the machine in shreds.

Ghastly

Ghastly

Most of the stains on the fabric were from water damage and while the cushions have never been left out in the open they were affected from time to time by driving rain.

So much better

So much better

It got to the point where I couldn’t bare to look at these cushions any longer.  It was very timely then that last month I was whinging to a friend about how desperately the cushions needed to be recovered and how I had an upholster all lined up to do the job but the present delay was that I had no idea how to buy material.  I walk into fabric shops and spin around wondering where to start.

Being out on the verandah is now a pleasant experience

Being out on the verandah is now a pleasant experience

Mel, the friend I was whinging to, happens to be a stylist!  She generously said she would be happy to go fabric shopping with me and so I leapt at the kind offer and a few days later we were in Bargain Upholstery Fabrics and I said nothing and just followed Mel around.

Loving the new look

Loving the new look

Fifteen minutes later we walked out with a roll of geometric-patterned fabric that’s water-resistant and reversible.  I was elated.

Until Carl saw the fabric.  He looked at it and stood there frozen and motionless, then said, ‘I thought we agreed, ‘no patterns’?’

‘There was a change of plans’, I told him.

A lovely place to read a book

A lovely place to read a book

Our upholster, Moses, does a pick-up and drop-off service.  You might remember Moses from earlier blog posts.  He re-upholstered Carl’s greatest treasure and he made Arabella’s formal dress.

Three weeks ago he picked up the cushions and a few days ago he returned them.  As soon as I saw them I clapped my hands.  I love them and so does Carl.  Moses has done such an excellent job.  He’s re-made the cushions, recovered them and piped every edge which gives them a very polished look.

We invited Moses to stay for dinner.  It was most fortunate that earlier in the day I had been reading Tania’s blog and she had shared a recipe of chicken with mushrooms and red wine.  As soon as I saw it I knew immediately that that was what I wanted for dinner that night.

Tania's image - mine was too dreadful to share

Tania’s image – mine was too dreadful to share

With a glass of red wine and a toast to the new furniture, I served up the chicken dish which is so quick, easy and economical to make, yet has lots of robust flavour.  Moses really appreciated the meal and left with me asking him to now make some matching cushions, Archie giving him two leather satchels to repair as well as two leather belts he’d like re-made and Arabella asking, ‘Could you make me a leather jacket?’

There’s every chance we’ll be having Moses over for another meal, very soon.

If you live in the Sydney area and need tailoring, reupholstering or alterations, Moses’ business is One Stitch in Time.

Loving the new look

Loving the new look

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Comments

  1. Danielle says:

    Wow, such a difference! The verandah furniture is completely transformed, it must give you a little ‘lift’ every time you walk out there. Moses has done a wonderful job and hopefully people seeing this will give him more business. Now you just need to protect the fabric from driving rain 😉

  2. The cushions look wonderful. I would have said no patterns, but they look fab! GG

  3. Wow they look brand new!!! Like you’ve bought brand new sofas! That’s awesome and I love how talented Moses is! 🙂 So happy that you finally got an upgrade hehe we recently upgraded a lot of the furniture at our apartment too and it really does make a difference!

  4. Oooh I love the new upholstering – I am very much a patterns girl but you really need to have the right pattern and that looks really classy.

  5. They are absolutely perfect – I bet you keep going out to just look at them. I’m Miss Indecisive I wouldn’t have a clue what to pick but that pattern is so modern and clean and a little Morroccan maybe?

  6. I am not a pattern kind of person but this fabric looks very nice Charlie. A completely new set. Hope Carl has got used to it now. Glad you enjoyed my recipe. It’s always nice to know that someone has cooked and enjoyed your creations x

  7. Love the new look Charlie, just a huge change to old and drab. I bet you will get lots more use of your furniture out there now.

  8. LOOOOOOOOOOOVE the couch & chair, Charlie,
    What a difference a little LOVE can make…& of course, I adore the blue pattern! xx

  9. I like the pattern, and the colour is fabulous (I like blue) It’s always so nice to have someone you can trust to do these things, Moses is pretty awesome!

  10. Love the geometric pattern. Beautiful cane frame too. 🙂

  11. Gorgeous fabric and the upholsterer did a great job.

  12. Talk about upper class! I wish I were closer to Moses – he’s really a gem, isn’t he?

    I saw Tania’s chicken dish and said the same thing – must have it.

  13. Looking good Charlie! What a difference the new fabric made, patterns can be good for hiding the odd mark our two- always handy! It sounds like your family and Moses will be remaining close friends for quite a while to come with all the work to come xox

  14. Sweet Posy Deams says:

    Love the cheerful new cushions!

  15. It’s amazing how much changing the cover can improve cushions! They did a great job.I like the pattern too.

  16. Gorgeous! The fabric you chose for the furniture is really lovely, and will not show stains so easily! That chicken and mushroom dish, oh my word it looks awesome! That dish would be a perfect weekend treat:-) Hugs, Terra

  17. thats are really pretty pattern! i would like some new cushions too!

  18. I adore the fabric you chose, Charlie … it is stunning! Those chairs now have a new lease of life and I’m sure will look good for a whole lot longer. I bet you’ll enjoy sitting out there so much more now!

  19. G’day! Amazing how a small change can make such a big change Charlie!
    Love it! Cheers! Joanne

  20. Great choices my friend, the decor is so gorgeous 😀
    I especially love that aqua colour!

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

  21. That looks awesome. I am book marking this one because you can never know too many good upholsterers. You balcony looks so great. So does dinner.
    Carolyn

  22. They look wonderful Charlie! I’m glad you went for the patterns – the colour and shapes work beautifully and they look fantastic on your verandah.

  23. Wow. B/n Moses and your stylist friend, they managed an incredible make-over. Beautiful.

  24. Beautiful transformation!
    Have an awesome day Charlie.
    🙂 Mandy xo

  25. LOVE the blue! Very nice! You’re lucky to have a place for a nice sunny, airy sitting area! Ahhhhhhhh!

  26. They look great Charlie! What is it with men and not trusting our ideas until they see the end result?

  27. What an update to that furniture, Charlie! I absolutely love it!!

  28. Wow! Moses does great work! I love the new cushions. The color AND the pattern is phenomenal! And that chicken? Shut up!?! 😉 Great work, Charlie!! xo

  29. Nicely done, Charlie. I like the pattern and it suits the canes very well. That Moses is a very talented guy. You’re lucky to have found him. He’s worth his weight in gold.

  30. What a difference! They look great, and I bet it’s a real pleasure to relax out there now. Isn’t it amazing what a difference something like that can make?

  31. Great color and pattern! And so lucky to have Moses!

  32. What a difference!! I think it looks amazing Charlie, such a great improvement

  33. What a great makeover! It looks like brand new furniture. Love the material you chose for the cushions. Very calming.

  34. Wow! How lovely and fresh. Great makeover.

  35. They look incredible Charlie, brand new! Such a pretty colour for the summer. I too hate our cushions now I wish I could get them recovered too. I’m glad you have new patio furniture.

  36. Love the upgrade. That blue is really nice.

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